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Dragon US M2A1 Halftrack
BigJon
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England - West Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: July 12, 2005
KitMaker: 757 posts
Armorama: 609 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 08:58 PM UTC
Hi everyone

this is a Dragon Smartkit M2A1 which I have done a lot of work on from styrene for fun. This is how it looks at the moment



Stowage racks were scratched from styrene as I did not want to buy a photoetch set for this. Theyre not the best, but they work



Stowage has been made from Magicsculp



There has been extensive reworking of the interior, starting early on with cab adjustments



culminating in the rebuilding of the middle section, a rebuilt ammo stowage locker and a detailed top for the radio cabinet, plus modifications to the fuel tanks and details on the gun mounts. Amongst this, various little hinges, boltheads etc have been added throughout.





door handles were made from flattened copper wire and all the tiedowns are from an Aber M4A1 sherman detail set I had knocking around. There is still a little to do... I have had to remove the mineracks as handling warped the cross-bar, I will replace it as the end draws near!

Thanks for taking time to look

Jon
Stampede
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Østfold, Norway
Joined: December 06, 2007
KitMaker: 109 posts
Armorama: 107 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 09:47 PM UTC
Jon, great work on the stowage and the interior! Nice work on them stowage racks too.
Where can I get hold of that Magisculp?

It'll be nice to see some paint on this down the road...
roudeleiw
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Luxembourg
Joined: January 19, 2004
KitMaker: 2,406 posts
Armorama: 2,224 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 10:22 PM UTC
Well done Jon,

The stowage rack is a nice piece of scratchbuilding and cheaper as the one from Blast :-)

Cheers
Claude
Afroman
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Wales, United Kingdom
Joined: April 04, 2007
KitMaker: 152 posts
Armorama: 137 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 10:50 PM UTC
Hi im a fellow Uk modeller could you tell me where you accquired that magicsculpt in the UK id be most greatful thanks.
BigJon
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England - West Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: July 12, 2005
KitMaker: 757 posts
Armorama: 609 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 11:58 PM UTC
Hi guys

thanks for the kind words

Claude - any compliment on scratchbuilding from yourself is a big honour! It is the first time I have attempted such a task, so it is far from perfect, but it does the job.

as for you guys after magic sculp
this stuff is excellent and comes highly recommended by everyone who uses it. I am no different, the stuff is superb.

I got mine from
http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/

I bought the small tub to try it out, I have barely used 1/4 of the tub and I've tried this "tarp" method quite a few times now. a little goes quite a long way.

cheers

Jon
210cav
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Virginia, United States
Joined: February 05, 2002
KitMaker: 6,149 posts
Armorama: 4,573 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 03:19 AM UTC
Jon-- you are doing a great job. Keep it up.
DJ
PvtMutt
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Missouri, United States
Joined: July 01, 2006
KitMaker: 614 posts
Armorama: 601 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 04:55 AM UTC

This build is like having acid reflux.

I get to enjoy it once again.

Great that you brought it out in the sunlight for
everybody else to see Jon.

...Tony aka Mutt...
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California, United States
Joined: July 20, 2004
KitMaker: 1,141 posts
Armorama: 950 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 05:07 AM UTC
Nice work Jon! Keep it going.

Chris "toadman" Hughes
Toadman's Tank Pictures
jimz66
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Connecticut, United States
Joined: December 15, 2006
KitMaker: 1,165 posts
Armorama: 1,105 posts
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 - 08:51 AM UTC
Great job so far Jon, where did you get the information for what size you needed for those racks? Can't wait to see this one with some paint. Keep er coming.
Grumpyoldman
Staff MemberConsigliere
KITMAKER NETWORK
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Florida, United States
Joined: October 17, 2003
KitMaker: 15,338 posts
Armorama: 7,297 posts
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 - 12:30 PM UTC
Shaping up nicely Jon.
BigJon
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England - West Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: July 12, 2005
KitMaker: 757 posts
Armorama: 609 posts
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:21 PM UTC
thanks guys

the DML halftrack is actually quite pleasant to build OOB if you don't mind the inaccuracies. The "Smartkit" engineering is fun to put together, you do end up with a pile of plastic stubs the size of a small country, but it felt almost like a Tamiya at times.

However, if you're not willing to let the inaccuracies slip by, you're in for a bit of fight. Ken at SMW helped me and Keith along the way and the guy was posting up a couple of points a day which needed correcting

AlanL
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
Armorama: 11,675 posts
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:39 PM UTC
Hi Jon,

What more can I say that I haven't already! Outstanding work perhaps

Al
tjkelly
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Maryland, United States
Joined: May 04, 2007
KitMaker: 1,132 posts
Armorama: 1,123 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 01:49 AM UTC
Nice work Jon, looks good! Will be great to see some color on it, thanks for sharing!

Cheers -
Tim
BigJon
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England - West Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: July 12, 2005
KitMaker: 757 posts
Armorama: 609 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 06:52 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Great job so far Jon, where did you get the information for what size you needed for those racks? Can't wait to see this one with some paint. Keep er coming.



Hey mate

just a keen eye measured against certain rivets to judge the position... hence why I said theyre not perfect but they'll do!!

there are PE ones out there which I'm sure are better, but I did this all off the bench rather than buying anything for it so I'm quite happy with the result


thanks for all the comments. I too am looking forward to painting it!
CDK
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: September 24, 2006
KitMaker: 358 posts
Armorama: 339 posts
Posted: Monday, July 21, 2008 - 02:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text


However, if you're not willing to let the inaccuracies slip by, you're in for a bit of fight. Ken at SMW helped me and Keith along the way and the guy was posting up a couple of points a day which needed correcting




Hey,

I know that guy.

This is one of the best fixes I've seen on the internet. Of course Kornbeef's is looking sharp as well.

Nice job all around.
BigJon
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England - West Midlands, United Kingdom
Joined: July 12, 2005
KitMaker: 757 posts
Armorama: 609 posts
Posted: Monday, July 21, 2008 - 03:07 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Hey,

I know that guy.




he's a hell of a whip-cracker, but what a legend

only guy I've known crack a whip harder was Nato308
 _GOTOTOP