hi fellow modelers,

started on a new project, this one is more of a smaller vignette scene featuring Tamiya's new Austin Tilly 10 HP Utility Car, a German figure and two British soldiers. So far i've built the Tilly to a point where i am starting some of the extra detailing to bring a bit more accuracy to an already great kit.

the idea i have is of a broken down Tilly being checked out by a stray German soldier while two British soldiers (one wounded) are hiding nearby. have to see if this will all fit in the base i have... an old film reel canister that i think would make a cool diorama platform and is just the right size for the tiny Tilly.


i plan on keeping some of the subassemblies as separate pieces until the base colours are airbrushed and the interior is fully painted. at that point i will build the kit to final completion and then finish the weathering.


added some extra wrinkles to the canvas cover just to add a bit more detail so that painting can be a smidge more interesting.


added some scratchbuilt detailing for the shaded headlights and started some of the wiring and hose lines for the engine compartment. the hood will be raised on the final model so extra detail in the engine area will pay off.

still to do before painting:
add canvas straps, make rear canvas flap from lead foil, add tie down hooks, add headlight wiring (already drilled the entry holes), add battery leads, add distributor wiring, make hood retaining bar, make hood hinges and add tail gate chains.

the Tamiya kit is great with amazing fit to the pieces. the only thing is the plastic has very little flex and snapping thin pieces by accident can happen during handling. highly recommend this model to anyone from beginner to expert as there is really no way to not enjoy the build.

cheers for now and happy modeling, bd.

Yo Bruce,

Ok, I hooked

Greetz Nico

Great stuff Bruce. Isn't the Tilly a brilliant little model?

Welcome back Bruce

I'm intersted on your dio project. It shoud be great.

cheers

thanks guys for the warm welcome to a new project.

yes Pat, the Tilly is the first Tamiya kit i've built since my recent return to the hobby and it brings back fond memories of trouble-free instructions and wonderful fitting parts. they sure know how to put a nice kit to market.

one thing i thought was quite nice was how the kit can be left in large subassemblies so the interior of the cab can be painted and then the kit just pops together... simply brilliant.

been busy finishing the list i mentioned, more pics soon. cheers for now, bd.

To make wrinkles in the canvas, you could use doped facial tissue. Just something I picked up from another thread. Will be keeping track of this one.

thanks for the tip Matt, i have had success in the past making scratchbuilt canvas tops both in tissue and using very fine handkerchiefs that were ready for decommission (too many holes). the fine linen is great as it doesn't tear and allows you to make patterns ready for forming, like a miniature seamstress.

for this project i really liked the canvas top supplied but just wanted a bit more detail here and there without going all out and making a custom piece. i appreciate the heads up on the helpful advice as i am always learning new things and really like the informative feedback. cheers, bd.

hi everyone,

i finished the construction of the Tilly. i was planning on keeping this build simple but thanks to the great online references i had at hand i found myself wanting to bring as much detail to the kit as possible. here are some pics with info on what i added:


the canvas top received many straps made from lead foil.


the rear flap was made again from lead foil and strapping was added.


the underside of the hood got a reinforcing strip, a bit of extra hinge detailing and the front underpaneling with locking mechanism. those tiny little tabs on the round locking rod are itsy bitsy squares of plasticard... not loosing track of them was good fun.


the front assembly received some battery leads and the radiator hose got a connecting clamp made from lead foil. also, the headlight got wiring added which is quite noticeably missing from the kit. i drilled out the hood locking hole a bit to appear deeper.


tiedown hooks made from spare photoetch brass, tailgate chains from the spare box and tiedown hook thingies (the ones that the rope gets wound around at the ends) made from bent copper wire.


the gas cap also received a chain picked from my spare box and gas/brake pedals were added.


the engine received more wiring, an alternator made from ABS rod and stretched sprue. i didn't add all the wiring yet as some of the distributor wires run from the chassis to the upper hull piece which are not together right now. it was a bit of a trick to get the battery leads made so they slip into the engine compartment for final assembly.

now the kit is ready for painting. while the base colours are airbrushed and left to dry i will start putting together the figures. thanks for dropping by and comments are more than welcome. cheers, bd.

Good start Bruce. Those little extras also make the painting more fun, as they can break up a monotome colour like that of the canvass. Im interested to see how the canvass looks when painted with the exra wrinkles.

hi everyone,

nearly finished building the figures but in the meantime i have had some progress on the Tilly's paintwork. i am trying something different with this project: i painted a base colour and then drybrushed the colour modulation using oils prior to doing any washing. i usually do the washes first and then the highlights but the round contours of this vehicle made me think doing it the other way around might be an interesting exercise.

here is the vehicle with the interior of the cab completed and the engine compartment painted:









now comes the fun part as i am experimenting more with Mig pigments after i do the washes. seems it doesn't matter if it's a King Tiger or a tiny Tilly... it still takes time to get them painted up. cheers for now, bd.

hi everyone,

the Tilly is finished and ready for the diorama. i am learning how to use those Mig pigments a bit better with each new project but find that i wish they could be completely removed if i do something wrong. unfortunately they do leave a small amount of colour behind. here's some pics of the tiny truck:




the wrinkles on the canvas tarp kind of worked as planned and were definitely extra texture and detail for the painting of an otherwise smooth and plastic looking kit part.





the three figures have been built and have been marched over to the paintshop. now i have to actually make up my mind as to the structure/building i will scratchbuild for this dio... hmmmmmm. i have a vision but i want to try some new techniques with cork as well.

thanks for dropping by and all comments are welcome as always.

cheers and merry christmas to one and all, bd.

Looking good so far...I look forward to seeing the progress.

Bart

Yo Bruce,

Good job on the litlle Tilly! Good colors and a spot weathering!

Looking forward to see the build up of the diorama...

Greetz Nico

very good job.
with your permission I will take note for when building which I have

Domi

Well done Bruce!!

It looks great

I like a lot your build

How did you render in that very convincing way, those dirty glasses? Airbrush with adhesive masks?

I hope to seeing soon your project completed

Cheers

thanks guys for the kind words on the Tilly, it's a great little kit to build and paint.

i tried something a bit different for the windows this time. first new thing was to do all the paint/weathering while the "glass" pieces were still separate from the model. i stuck the inside face onto a length of masking tape.

for the front windshield i made a wiper pattern cut from masking tape following a photo reference of the real vehicle going through mud. i then airbrushed Tamiya Buff heavily diluted with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner aimed at the bottom edge of each window so that the lower half of the "glass" would get more paint.

i let this dry for about 10 minutes and then took a small brush dipped in clean water and rubbed the side windows to make the "cleaned" areas and softened the edges of the windshield wiper area and dragged the moistened paint downward.

i then sprayed the inside faces really, really lightly (like really lightly) with Tamiya Dullcote Matte Lacquer and immediately wiped this away with Recordsol Paint Thinner. this added a nice subtle haze to the windows making them look less "plastic". i wipe with Thinner twice to get almost all of the Dullcote off.

in the past, i weathered windows when they were on the model but doing it when they were loose separate pieces was easier. hope this helps. cheers, bd.

Hi Bruce,

Great work on the tilly, its really good. I was going to ask you about the windshield, thanks’ for explaining the method. It’s really good! Can’t wait to see it as part of your diorama.

Regards

thanks Vladimir, it means a lot to hear feedback from everyone who takes time to post and ask for more info.

additional info i can give for doing windshield wiper patterns is to first make the pattern out of a piece of paper. i start by trying to find reference pics and i use the actually scale wiper from the model to make sure the width of the "swipes" will match the wiper blades perfectly.

i then trace the outline of the window by putting the paper over the glass and drawing the edges with a pen. i sketch out the arcs as best as i can figure but i make sure i don't do them too small because it is easier to trim down the paper then it is to make the paper bigger (which i can't).

once i have one side trimmed out nicely i fold the paper in half to make the other side identical. test fit the paper template and once you're happy place it on low tack adhesive masking tape (painter's tape is what i use). then cut it out and stick it on the window.

i find doing it in paper first much easier and folding it to make it symmetrical a simple way to get wiper paths done with no fuss. hope this helps. cheers, bd.

What kind of thinner is Recordsol Paint Thinner? A nitrocellulose one? Unfortunately those products are not on sale here in Italy

But anyway, I'll follow surely your tip on my next softskin model (Tam Quad tractor or Bronco Gaz 69). It seems great indeed!

Thanks Bruce

Cheers and merry Christmas

I can almost see the German looking throw the drivers side window after he wiped it off.

Think I'm going to order one of these kits, haven't heard a bad thing about them.

Merry X-mas to all as well!

thanks Jimmy for the kind words, the German is itching to get on this diorama... he's been looking over at the Tilly ever since he was put together LOL.

Recordsol is the chemical name of the thinner i use rather than an actual brand. it can be found at almost any hardware store. the thinner is made for cleaning brushes used for oil painting, degreasing floors/tools and for thinning paints for better leveling when dried. it isn't super harsh.

whatever thinner you have at hand can be tested on clear plastic to see if it fogs the piece up (make sure it dries overnight because the haze/fog may only appear after several hours).

hope this helps, cheers and ho ho ho, bd.

Well bruce, I'll try on my old spare aircraft canopies

Thanks a lot and best wishes to you

Hi again Bruce,

Which pigments and what paint did you use to weather the floor, and what method did you use.
Thanks’
Merry Christmas

hi Vladimir,

i used Mig pigment powders for the floor (light european earth and dry mud colours) made into a thin wash using 90% isopropyl alcohol bought at the pharmacy. i do this over a matte Dullcote varnish finish sprayed earlier from a can.

for the body again i used light european earth and dry mud for the splatter and also used rubble dust colours. i place a small amount of the powder in a bottle cap, add a few drops of the rubbing alcohol, mix into a wash and apply is with a round brush. i then take a flat brush dipped in clean water and blend it to get rid of the rough edges.

for the splatter on the lower body and doors i made a thick wash using dry mud colour and applied it with a small bit of sponge held with tweezers and lightly rubbed it on using a quick swooshing motion. i did this also for the outer edges of the wheel fenders. Mig pigments are new to me and i am learning from each project how to use them as part of modeling.

i have a great reference pic of exactly how the mud sprays on a Tilly so i matched that images as best as i could. hope this helps. cheers, bd.

hello fellows,

the figures are nearly finished (slow go with the holiday festivities) and as i putter with them i started the base. here is the film reel canister i had collected for a smaller project such as the Tilly's tiny stature:



above the inside was filled with R75 foamboard which was just the right thickness.

going through my stash of odds and ends i found this old cast plaster piece from Hirst's line Stonekeep Models that i bought for $4 several years ago. the scale seemed to be ideal for 1/35th dioramas but i hadn't used it for any projects yet.

with no instructions or pics of what it looked like built it was quite a puzzle for a few minutes to figure out how it was to be completed. i glued the pieces together with super glue and then i filled the gaps with thinned plaster that would be softer than the cast plaster so i could sand without eating into the actual arch surfaces.

it makes quite a novel little piece in the end and i may look into getting more of these sets which were marketed for castle building hobbyists in various scales. now to build some wall portions for the scene.

cheers and happy new year to one and all, bd.