Landing Craft, Tank. LCT (6). 1/350 Black Cat Models

[ArnoldAmbrose]

58 minutes ago, Faraway said:

so off for a bit of a break and decide what to do next.

Yeah, have a coffee and then start and finish the next model. You've got a whole day and two nights until the weekend deadline. 😁 But seriously, you did this in just over a week. It takes me that long just to decide what I'm going to actually do with a build. And it looks very good. Those figures are a nice touch. Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

I think that turned out well Jon.

[Faraway]

9 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

I think that turned out well Jon.

Thanks. It’s ok, just wish I could do this weathering a bit better.

Jon

[Faraway]

1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Yeah, have a coffee and then start and finish the next model. You've got a whole day and two nights until the weekend deadline. 😁 But seriously, you did this in just over a week. It takes me that long just to decide what I'm going to actually do with a build. And it looks very good. Those figures are a nice touch. Regards, Jeff.

Ah, but all I do is get bits out of a box and stick them together.

You have to make the bits BEFORE sticking them together.

I bet you secretly make the box as well. 😂😂😂
Jon

[ArnoldAmbrose]

4 minutes ago, Faraway said:

Ah, but all I do is get bits out of a box and stick them together.

You have to make the bits BEFORE sticking them together.

I bet you secretly make the box as well. 😂😂😂

Thank Jon, plus sometimes working out HOW to make the bits. But I do enjoy the mental exercises in doing it.

But no, I've got enough of the empty boxes, I ain't gonna make any more of them. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

[Toryu]

The dio looks really nice with some action going on. Very convincing how the LCT beached.

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 3/9/2023 at 3:13 PM, Faraway said:

Thanks. It’s ok, just wish I could do this weathering a bit better.

Jon

 

What do you need in order to weather better; knowledge, skills or materials?

[RC Boater Bill]

I think you did a terrific job on the model!  

And those tiny tanks - wow!
 

You asked about ways to improve the weathering….

 

I find that the “dot filter technique” is an easy yet effective way to introduce a weathered effect on a ship model.  A lot of tutorials on line show it on armor models, but I find that it works really well on ships, too.   Because it is little dots of oil paint on top of an acrylic clear coat, it is easy to control the impact - each pass with the thinner-moistened brush removes more of the oil paint.  I find white, red-brown, dark blue, and black are great colors to use on gray ships.

 

Some other comments , if I may:

 

I think the kit’s boxtop art is very misleading, and quite unrealistic.   It doesn’t make sense that a 260+ ton vessel  could be driven ashore that far up the beach.  When you look at photos of the Normandy landings, you see that  the bow of the vessel was never up on the sand— not while unloading.  At best,  the LCT got close to the shoreline.    (Keep in mind, too, that a loaded LCT is carrying another 150 tons or so of load, so it will be riding lower in the water.) The only way the boats on the box art would be that far out of the water would be if they grounded before the tide went all the way out.   But in that situation, they would not have sat  there for an hour or two, waiting for the tide to ebb,  before unloading the vehicles…….

 

Please don’t take this as a criticism of your diorama— I think it looks very good.  The seaweed detail is one that most will miss,  but every Atlantic beach I’ve ever been to has that line of debris at the high tide line…….!

 

[Faraway]

30 minutes ago, RC Boater Bill said:

Please don’t take this as a criticism of your diorama

I don’t.
In fact I agree, after I finished and was looking at my photos, I realised I had the boat too far up the beach. I should have had the tanks wading ashore.

Never mind, it’s done now.

Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 3/9/2023 at 1:47 PM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

But seriously, you did this in just over a week.

 

🙂

[Faraway]

1 hour ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

He's right Jon. We have all been applauding your speedy builds but maybe we did you a disservice. Did we unknowingly encourage you to rush? (It's what happened to me, as you know, and in my case with a definite decline in quality of the finished models.)

 

Looking back at your builds from a year ago, about the time of HMS Mourne, there seems to be a lot longer between the start of the WIPs and the start of the RFIs. I have two questions for you to consider (answers not required by me).

 

1. Have you merely learned how to build to the same (or similar) standard, faster and more efficiently?

 

b. Would you be more fulfilled if you learned how to build to a different/higher standard instead (maybe including weathering etc), taking a lot more time over the models?

 

Also these resin ships aren't cheap and you don't half burn through a lot of them...

I will digest what you’ve said, and try to answer tomorrow. 
Jon

[Col.]

Nice work Jon.

Given that I know nothing about landing craft operations and the Normandy landings in particular I can't pass comment on the accuracy of your depiction and even if I did I'd personally rather simply enjoy your finished diorama as a nice model. Just as there's various styles in the artistic world I'm of the opinion there's room for different styles and a degree of artistic licence within our particular art. So long as you've enjoyed creating your model all other opinions are secondary so I'll repeat that opening statement - nice work Jon.

[Faraway]

15 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

He's right Jon. We have all been applauding your speedy builds but maybe we did you a disservice. Did we unknowingly encourage you to rush? (It's what happened to me, as you know, and in my case with a definite decline in quality of the finished models.)

 

Looking back at your builds from a year ago, about the time of HMS Mourne, there seems to be a lot longer between the start of the WIPs and the start of the RFIs. I have two questions for you to consider (answers not required by me).

 

1. Have you merely learned how to build to the same (or similar) standard, faster and more efficiently?

 

b. Would you be more fulfilled if you learned how to build to a different/higher standard instead (maybe including weathering etc), taking a lot more time over the models?

 

Also these resin ships aren't cheap and you don't half burn through a lot of them...

 

I know you said you didn’t want an answer, but your going to get one. 

 

No, none of you have encouraged me to ‘rush’. I’m often a bit bemused by the comments that I build so quickly.

I don’t think I do.

As you know I’m retired so I have the time, more so as my arthritic knees and hips, limits my ability to walk as much as I did.

 

So in answer to your questions.

1. Obviously I’ve learnt from my builds, and I believe I’ve improved over time. I certainly find them easier. I tend to plan more now, before I used to rush in and make some silly mistakes. Like not reading forward in the instructions and that led to assorts of FUBAR.

And of course, when there are other builds to see from other BMers of such high standards, (I’ll spare their blushes) I don’t think I can fail to improve.

 

2. I am perfectly fulfilled by my builds.

I sometimes look at what I’ve done and am slightly surprised that I did them, and I don’t see how I could get any slower, other than not working on them. Some days I don’t go into my work room, others I stay in there for three/four hours at a time.
With regards weathering, I’m not overly interested in improving this skill, as my preferred build, is to mount them on a wooden base.

 

With regards resin kits.

When bought from places like Starling, Black Cat and Atlantic, all who produce superb kits.
Then the money you pay, is ALL you pay, as extras are very rarely needed, with most others I find I always want to add extra PE and better 3D guns etc.

And more importantly, I can afford them so why not.
I think the cost of the wooden kits is way over the top, considering how much work you have to do, on tapering a mast for instance. For those prices I’d want the thing ready to fit.

 

So, to summarise.

I build my ships for me and me alone.

I’m quite happy to share my experience, and quite happy for people to comment  or criticise them. It’s another way to learn.
I hope I can inspire others, as I have been inspired by others to get better.
 

Jon

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Jon, well said. I think within the modeling community we all have different preferred styles of modeling, different skills, different amounts of time available to us and different financial means.

 

1 hour ago, Faraway said:

I build my ships for me and me alone.

I’m quite happy to share my experience, and quite happy for people to comment  or criticise them. It’s another way to learn.
I hope I can inspire others, as I have been inspired by others to get better.

Line one is what I understood to be Rule #2. (Rule #1 being "Have fun and enjoy yourself")

The other two lines are very commendable attitudes.

 

Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 3/11/2023 at 9:53 AM, Faraway said:

but your going to get one. 

 

🙂

[Faraway]

44 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

Good points, well expressed. Please accept my apologies for my earlier impertinence. 

No apologies are needed.

Jon

[bianfuxia]

I just discovered this via the gallery - a great build! Well done!