This is my first shot at a diorama. I'm going off of a couple of photos of Saipan and Guam. Some areas were dense jungle, some were more open, with grasses and cane fields. I still need to see if I can scratch some palm fronds and other plants, but here is the basic. I'm experimenting with figure placement as well.




I'll keep toying with this. It's all a learning experience.

Bob I've given the LVT some thought and I've ordered the new Fruilmodel tracks

I was going to do this completely OOTB, but now it looks like it'll have one or two AM bits

Hopefully the Concord book is here in a couple of days and it'll have some nice color plates of camo schemes / colors to think about....

Cheers

Paul

Bob
This is the finished diorama about the Tenaru River for the Guadalcanal Campaign

Thanks

Tom

Tom,
Another nice diorama. Excellent water, vegetation and nice layout. A couple of quick things I noticed, matt out the shine on the uniforms (Usually a wash of brown does a good job of that and gives some good shadows on the uniforms and the Japanese with the sword, I think the sword is backwards. I’m not the best with the figures but I paint them just like I’m doing a tank, washes, dry brushing, powders everything. Other than that looks pretty good. Were you going to try for something for this campaign, looks like this area is what you’re interested in. I’m sure the rest of the group would like to see some more of your work, Let us know.

Russ,
Base looks perfect and Margaret’s looking mighty fine. I think the second photo looks right since they would be using Margaret for cover, you might even try them a bit farther back. Nice progress. I’m still working on Dark Eyes, trying to get the rear wading stack looking correct.

Paul,
You started the monster…. First it’s just the tracks, then maybe a little PE, then some resin because you can see into the interior; next you’ll either be building the whole thing scratch, or going totally resin. Looking forward to seeing your work,

Calvin,
Thanks for the update, any progress on your build?

Jan,
1/10th of an inch, If I could work in that scale I’d be making Aircraft Carriers, really great details on the turret.

I just have the lower hull done on Dark Eyes and will paint them all at the same time. I’m also working on my palm trees and getting everything together for the base.

Thanks everyone for the updates and keep plugging away,
Bob

Yes the monster appears everynow and again Bob...

Hopefully this one is very small

I was silly enough to 'watch' a LVT-4 interior on e-bay, I have since deleted that one

Paul

I finally had some more progress, I got up earlier than normal for school and worked on the rear deck. The plastick card is rough and will need sanding to complete the shape for the round rear deck. Ok! Russ you have some company now.



Now for the hard part, micro sanding/filing which is my least favorite thing to do.

Robert

Robert,
Nice job on the conversion, looks excellent from what I can see.

And the April News Items for the Pacific;

April 1, 1945 - The final amphibious landing of the war occurs as the US Tenth Army invades Okinawa.
April 3, 1942 - Japanese attack U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.
April 6, 1942 - First U.S. troops arrive in Australia.
April 7, 1945 - B-29s fly their first fighter-escorted mission against Japan with P-51 Mustangs based on Iwo Jima; U.S. Carrier-based fighters sink the super battleship YAMATO and several escort vessels which planned to attack U.S. Forces at Okinawa.
April 9, 1942 - U.S. forces on Bataan surrender unconditionally to the Japanese.
April 10, 1942 - Bataan Death March begins as 76,000 Allied POWs including 12,000 Americans are forced to walk 60 miles under a blazing sun without food or water toward a new POW camp, resulting in over 5,000 American deaths.
April 12, 1945 - President Roosevelt dies, succeeded by Harry S. Truman.
April 17, 1944 - Japanese begin their last offensive in China, attacking U.S. air bases in eastern China.
April 18, 1942 - Surprise U.S. 'Doolittle' B-25 air raid from the HORNET against Tokyo boosts Allied morale.
April 18, 1943 - U.S. code breakers pinpoint the location of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto flying in a Japanese bomber near Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. Eighteen P-38 fighters then locate and shoot down Yamamoto.
April 21, 1943 - President Roosevelt announces the Japanese have executed several airmen from the Doolittle Raid.
April 22, 1943 - Japan announces captured Allied pilots will be given "one way tickets to hell."
April 22, 1944 - Allies invade Aitape and Hollandia in New Guinea.
April 29, 1942 - Japanese take central Burma.

For a more detailed listing go to;

1942
1943
1944
1945

Looking forward to those updates,
Bob

Russ and Robert, your sports cars (Stuarts) are coming along nicely. I finally was able to make some progress on my Sherman SUV. Found a couple of dust specs on my Optivisor, cleaned them off and then I was able to see the missing parts.

All the bogies are now completed, puttied and sanded/filed. Here's the last one and you can see the fine detail Dragon added. Note that they even managed the casting numbers on the housing.



Here's the bottom with the bogies glued on.



A different angle that shows the transmission cover. I must say that it fit perfectly as compared to my other Shermans.



Hope to get more done today.

A couple of questions to any Pacific/Sherman experts. I have an M4A3 [105] w/ Wading trunks ( the oblong curved kind). I've researched the Internet wondering if these where employed in the Pacific. Two brief references suggest that they *might* have been used for the invasion of Okinawa. Does anyone have any references that can confirm or deny this assertion?

Cheers,
Jan

@ Bob: its not much work, but it sure was hard finding any time to do anything since school started (accounting).

@Jan: [quote]Russ and Robert, your sports cars (Stuarts) are coming along nicely. [quote] I never thought of it that way, I like it. What do you think Russ we are hot rods Thanks Jan for the upgrade from lowly 2nd hand / hand me down unit to the cool kids on the block.

Bob

Hello Jan,

I checked my book on MARINE TANK BATTLES IN THE PACIFIC and just on quick review found nothing about them. If I recall correctly they were not issued until the end of the war.
The US Army decided the 105mm M4 was going to replace the M7 Priest and the M26 was going to replace the M4 as a gun tank. So the MARINES really had no say in it. They just recieved what was available.
They could have been used for occupation forces and certainly were used in Korea after the North invaded the South.

Sincerely,
Brian

Jan,
That’s about as far as I’ve gotten on my mammoth, too large to hold with my tweezers 1/35 M4 Composite, I just finished scratch building the rear wader on Sunday. The Marines in WWII only used the 75mm versions of the M4.

Thanks Brian for answering, looking forward to your build also, have you decided on anything specific?

Robert,
I really hate to say this and will probably regret it but school is more important. That way you can make more money to buy models! Still have a long time to finish, no rush.

Besides the rear wader I’ve also been collecting the items I’ll need for the dioramas, making palm logs and trunks, and gathering the required items for the leaves and bushes. When I finish the Composite I’ll paint all 3 at the same time but I’ll wait to the very end and weather them all including the diorama, the one common thing that brings them all together.

Great to see these updates and hope everyone is still moving on,
Bob

@ Bob: well at 56 you would think that I knew enough, but it looks like I bombed the test this morning Anyway I think I will get a lot done over the spring break I have to be ready for Rus and I to hotrod through the jungle/island in our little speedy chariots


Bob

Thank you Brian and Bob. I'll just leave that one for a future campaign. BTW, sorry to hear about your test, Robert. I did a bit more work today before I went into work. Got all the suspension done and a good piece of the parts on the rear plate. It now looks like I'll have more time to work on the Sherman as they've shut my plant down for two weeks due to market conditions and nobody thought to inform me. Wasted time driving to work that could have been better spent on the Sherman.

Cheers,
Jan

Hey guys, havent checked on this in a while, Bob could you do one or two temporary updates, this week? Ive got alot of school work as it turns out. But no worries, ill be back with the updates soon.

Guys, sorry to hear the bad news

Robert, better luck on the next test and more power to you for going, I’m hitting 53 and there is no way you’re getting me back in school, hard enough just going to those 1 week classes or the on-line method.

Jan, definitely hope it’s just a forced 2 week vacation. But the modeling possibilities…….

Calvin, no rush on the updates, it’s just whenever you get the chance. Keep up the school work.

Thanks guys and here’s hoping things work out,

Bob

Hi Guys, My dio for this campaign involves the the Sherman tank Lucky Legs II. Can someone please tell what version (M4A?) this tank is. Thanks,Vince http://www.owensarchive.com/world-war-ii/pacific-theater-/solomon-islands/marines-battle-japanese-on-bougainville/prod_3707.html

@flipper21 - I am no Sherman expert but best guess it's an M4A1. Probably and earlier "dry storage" as evidenced by the single plate welded to the hull front. The picture is too rough to tell if it's the cast hull or welded hull. Later versions would have had two plates welded on each side to protect ammo storage.

As for me, I've made more progress after a couple of frustrating hours trying to get parts to fit. The Dragon instructions are just too vague to be of much use so I have to research before gluing. That being said I had to "rip" off two support brackets for the air intake above the exhausts twice and reposition them. In that case the instructions were just plain wrong as to positioning.

Progress shots:







The strip with bolts on it above the transmission cover was a real bear. It's barely 1/32" (< 1 mm) top to bottom and had a 'v' shaped cross section that needed to be sanded. You get the picture. It took 20 minutes to get it to fit properly. That's why I like Braille scale; it's a challenge.

Cheers,
Masochistic_tread_geek

Hi everyone! It´s been a while since I posted, even though I have been making some sporadic progress. I had to finish my dio for The Bitter Taste of Defeat. I got my first campaign ribbon for that endeavor!!!

before I update on my progress, a few comments.

Bob- I love the detail work you are doing. Your tank really looks great.

Jan- I was trying to figure out what scale you are working in. That is not 1/72 or 1/76 is it? It looks even smaller than that. Great work!

Russ- love your birds. You are providing some great inspiration.

Here is my update: the focus of my entries to this campaign is Operation Ten Go. This is when the Japanese decided to use the battleship Yamato in one big kamikaze operation with the intention of interrupting the invasion on Okinawa. Here the the wiki page for more information on this operation>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ten-Go

A picture of the Yamato on fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yamato_damaged_7_apr_1945.jpg

According to the wiki source, the IJN destroyer that I am building for this campaign, Yukikaze, took part in the rescue of 280 sailors from the Yamato.

Also I posted earlier that I read Yukikaze was instrumental in rescuing sailors in the Guadalcanal campaign. Anywise, I don't have any progress to report on here, except that the 1/350 bird- the Emily that I posted shots of earlier is coming along. I did order the Operation Ten Go PE set for the Yukikaze, and I have that now. Also, I have a small boat set from Hasegawa to go with.

The plan is then to depict some of the equipment of Operation Ten Go. I don't know if am going to have a diorama, but I should have a nice display of equipment, including the Yukikaze, the 1/350 Emily and a bunch of really small boats; that should be really neat.

I also have my 1/48 Dinah that I am reporting on here. The instructions included details about the kamikaze markings I have selected. Looks like this bird is part of the Shinbu Sakura Suicide Attack Unit (Kanoya Air Base, Kagoshima Prefecture, May 1945) This would sort of be a 'what if' entry to my Operation Ten Go theme, as this took place in April 1945, not May. Maybe not that 'what if' if the difference is one month, but really more speculation more than anything.

Anywise, since I was sort of doing a Ten Go theme already, I thought the Kamikaze markings really hit the spot.

Still working but it is coming along...

The last time we saw this, it was just a few bits and pieces. I set out to do a minimal of scratchbuilding some details. It turned out to be minimal, but it is something and I learned a lot as well.





I can see why some of you guys and gals take 100s of hours with this sort of stuff I added some wire and such, but you can't see it very well. I guess these pics really don't have the details I was looking for.



Its kind of blurry but you can see some of the wiring. I have two different sizes here.



You can see the larger piece of paper clip actually behind the headset. This is pretty much amateur hour, but I am just playing around to see what I can do to add detail and interest.



This probably gives the best indication of the detail added to cockpit.





This is probably not going to win the approval of those who scrutinize these things, but I was playing around and added some hoses to the struts.

Also, here you will see I am experimenting with tape, a charcoal pencil, and a knife. In the next campaign over on the Aeroscale side I am going to completely shred the wings off a Zeke and then reposition them folded. As you can see I have no problem destroying perfectly good models, in fact as I kid I would often blow up my models with fireworks and then melt them back together. good fun!















Thats it. I thought I had some more recent pics but I guess I am behind in my processing. This was really from like 2 weeks ago. Next update- decals. I am almost ready to weather. woot!

thanks for looking!

See what missing 2 days does for you, I’m a bit behind. I’m working in reverse order so bear with me,

Billy,
WOW, I will always be amazed at how much detail some modelers can put into something so small. Really great progress so far and I’d be the last to say anything negative to you or Jan, I have problems seeing things that small, great work. And this is also a great story, thanks for joining in.

Jan,
Same goes for you. Excellent work!

Vince,
First welcome aboard! I’m not sure how much info you want on Lucky Legs, or how much involved you want to get with the build but for you and someone else who asked earlier I’ll supply whatever info I can. I’m no expert and am only going from the evidence I can see;
Lucky Legs II is a M4 medium tank of the 754th Army Battalion, the photo you referred to was when it was giving support to the infantry of Company “F”, 129th Infantry, 34th Division on Bougainville, 16 March 1944.
Here are 2 closer views of the same tank; (Some of these photos come from various sources but all are from archival material) Tank Battles in the Pacific, Steven Zaloga)





From these we know it is an M4, low bustle turret, no pistol port. Notice the soldier talking on a handset connected to the tank. Since no phone box can be seen I assume it is a direct connection to the TC with the wire running either through the grouser stowage or some other convenient hole in the engine deck. Your guess as good as mine. Also note the items not on the rear of the turret compare this to the turret you will build so you know what not to put on. Rubber chevron tracks, you know this because the chevron is thicker. And that the return rollers are the upswept type. The star on the turret is half painted over, why I have no idea, the next pictures show them completely covered on other tanks. It also looks like they used a mop to paint them, sloppy paint job. For the markings notice the 3 and the little “ll” on the right rear.



This one shows a different Company O instead of a triangle and different location on the rear, but shows the stars completely covered.





These 3 are from a movie. The first shows that not all of the stars were painted over, and the extra plate in front of the hoods, but this one has the level return rollers. The second photo of the same tank also shows what looks like a strip painted on the side, lines are 2 uniform but I suppose could be a gas spill stain. The 3rd shows the different rear markings, triangle 1



This final one shows a good view of the front with corresponding details. From the Hunnicutt Sherman Page 189.

So depending how far you want to go with your build, I don’t believe you will find a kit to do an OOB, which is mainly the reason I hesitate to show these unless you want to do some kit bashing, or extra purchase items like a Formations low bustle, no pistol port turret.

http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/qq209/r-kcake/temp/
Direct link for the larger version of the photos.

Thanks again guys, and enjoy the updates and information,
Bob

Bob, Thanks for all the info. I am not a rivet counter but would like to get it "close" . I will be using various Marine Corps figures that I have in my stash. The wife just got laid off, so it would be in my best interest to use what I already have .........Vince

Tomorrow I'll have a chance to match up kits and see what it would take to build one of these, if you don't mide waiting.
Bob

Bob, Thanks again..Vince

Hi again,
I had a little sun today so I went ahead and took some more shots of my recent progress with decaling.

Bob, thanks for your kind words and support. I should say, that if you look carefully and the wiring and details in my cockpit, the ones that you notice are actually raised details and are not my work. Like I said, I added a few pieces, it gives it a little more interest even if it isn´t really accurate. Some of the work I did in the rear area is hardly visible also.

Going to keep my comments short as I should be at work. lol



Two birds. 1/48 Dinah and 1/350 Emily.





Kind of fuzzy, sorry...



Here is a decal that took some damage twice! first it went on kind of funny and split a bit when I applied Sol, then I put my thumb directly down on it like an idiot. Thinking I will give it protective coating and then apply some silver with a Testor's Marker I have which is enamel. Hence the need for a coating (dull or gloss), other wise it may bubble up. (don't know why but I have seen this in my testing).



Here are those Kamikaze markings on the tail.





Still have some work to do here in the wheel wells.



More details of the work space.





I used the flash here, other wise it is hard to see those inside details. Basically I was thinking that if this was a camara, it might have some sort of primitive charging system, which is what the wire hanging out the bottom of the craft is supposed to be. I have no idea if this is any thing near close to accurate.

however, if this was a Kamikaze mission, they probably would NOT need to be taking pictures. So maybe in the dio that I am thinking about, the crew can be shown making the necessary adjustments to go from Recon to Suicide. Just thinking out loud.





Finally you can see some of the wires I added here, to the right. This part took some overspray as you can see, so I need to go back and touch up here as well.



Thanks for looking (again!)

Billy