Hi have started on making the rocket tubes.
I've used Brass tubing & have soldered them with a small strip of brass top & bottom.
still need cleaning up. 1st time I've done soldering on a model kit.


once these are cleaned up I'll start building the framework.

all right guys slow down a little will ya. those builds are looking great. as for sean i see that you had the same problem wtiht the m109 that i am having with the m108 in the left front corner a samll gap thier. and now for the up dae. step 1 is done. so here come a few pics for you. as for my yard duties thier done. but i was drafted be my sister to help her with some thing at her house. i have been paid all ready so i cant complain i was treated to a local mexcain dinner tonight. so hrer is step one done.

@ Keith: Really nice camo, I am impressed with the colors and the effect.
@ Jesper: Great mud on the rocket launcher, I will need a tutorial to be able to match same.
@ Shaun: Nice metal tubes, how long did it take to cut and solder? They are looking great.

ROBERT

Right then, as I missed out the weathering on the wheels, here it is on the tracks instead. I can’t help feeling this might not be the most efficient way to make them, though … all that plastic on the right makes the bit in the middle, and the bit on the left is spare.

But they are good. The upper run is the AFV Club tracks, the lower is the kit’s. Not much to choose on the outer surfaces, except for fewer sink marks, but on the inner side, the finesse of the separate links stands out. Also having bolt heads where there should be bolt heads. There are knock-out pin marks but they’re much smaller than Italeri’s and, under a bit of paint, can be overlooked. Y'know, if you're lazy ...


Stage 1 again: chocolate brown, on the upper run. The lower run is one I’ve just assembled. With a bit of practice this much – one third of one side – takes about three quarters of an hour. There are 486 parts to the tracks; the end connectors are smaller than some of the sprue gates I’ve worked with; and you get exactly the right number of parts. But the quality is peerless. You can actually see daylight if you look into the corners of the little dimples on the inner faces of the end connectors (until, that is, you apply paint).

Second stage: dry-brush earth brown (Humbrol 72, khaki drill) over the chocolate. I’ve not bothered to add Klear because I reckon the tracks would dry quicker than the wheels. Also the Klear on the wheels, which at the moment is still quite shiny, will flatten under varnish, so there will be less contrast.

The next two stages in a single illustration. The top run has a dry-brush coat of Panzer Grey (Humbrol 67) while the bottom has a second coat, of matt black. Shame they barely show up – it’s my poor lighting, sorry. The original chocolate coat is quite thin so bits of the black plastic may show through, but that’s OK with this method as they tone down with everything else under the dry-brushing.

And finally, a 6B graphite stick passed along the contact area to give that freshly rubbed metal look. Some has also got onto the end connectors, but since they’ll be repainted once the tracks are fully assembled, I’ll be able to cover it and add a lighter effect if needed.


More after me hols, with any luck.

It was worse - not only a slight twist to the upper hull, albeit a little less than yours, but the bow plate wasn't quite angled enough either. The filler (more correction fluid, I'm afraid) was the last step afer some very careful glue, set, glue, set ... thank goodness for superglue!

well not to much done modeling wise. i was wore out form helping my sister today at her house. but i did manage to get step 2 complete and pics will be up 2mrow.i hope to get steps 3 thur 8 dont 2mrow and then out to the paint booth. but was looking over the tracks, and thier awful all warped and very wavy. so it looks like i will put in 2 orders for the afv tracks for them because i want to do a m109 after this just for fun.

On holidays at the moment, so I built this in record time (for me anyway). Might add some more weathering lwith pigments later. This kit had quite a few knockout marks and sinkholes in prominent places so I gave up putting my best effort into it as I am a bit lazy. Thought I'd practice my painting and weathering skills and with the stowage set turned out better than I expected. I think with the Voyager PE set it would look awesome.

Thanks for the comments on my BM-13, Guys. I appreciate it

Sean, thanks for the linkt o the bunker site. Bookmarked

There are so many cool builds in this tread and the progress is stunning. Looking forward to see more

Great work on your build Jesper !

Keep them coming !

great build on the priest. is that the new acamedy. i would leaveit as is looks fine to me just like that.

Wow, built & finished in under 10 days.

I think Brett should get a Gold Medal for the Campaign Olympics!

all right here is the update for today. steps 2 thru 5 are done with plenty of pics taken.but i am having some trouble trying to get them to the memory card. they went to the interal part of my camera and for some reason i cant get the transfered to the card. so in steps 3 and 4 i didnt put the head lights on in the front and the tail lights on in the back i all ways leave them off. so that way i dont break them off. thank god for super glue and primer paint that front part was a bear to get done but it turned out all right. and as for the primer it will cover some scratches that i have made on this build.

Well, I am free everyday at the moment and also I used a couple of shortcut weathering techniques that saved me some time. Finally, it's hard to see from the photos, but a lot of the knockout marks and sinkholes were not filled in, especially in the interior.

I think the Gold should go to that Jesper character; he's like a model factory. Seems like he churns one out every week.

all right i figured out my camera problems. and in the process i found my usb cable so the pics are now transfred to my computer but i havent hosted them yet. so they will be done 2mrow and posted., yeah i agree with the others the one that finshed his in 10 days he should get the gold.

yeah, Jesper is a machine!

but congrats on the first finished SPIF entry, Brett!

I'm still wondering about the wespe or brummbar... and these guys are finishing their models..

I call it modelers on Steroids...

Yeah I use to have that problem too. I think it is too much choice and there are too many experts out there in the modelling world. You can literally get bogged down on the smallest detail, so I just say build a GOD DAMM model.

Just went to pick some paint and ended up deciding on my old Tamyia Brummbar, I picked a Zimmerit coat from Eduard and a Gun barrel from Lion Roar.
Next Weekend the Brummbar will be on my workbench...

Good choice! You're doing a Mid Production and I'm doing an Early Brummbar!

I've started my Early Hummel- it just amazes me how fast some of you guys can build your kits- seems like it takes me twice as long to end up with models that are only half as good-
i hope to get some in progress shots up when i get my camera working-

well its all painted as of tonight. i will post some pics 2mrow. also all the little addons have been painted. the only thing that need to be painted is the .50cal and the roadwheels. and then i am stalled with this projest. i have decied to order some afv culb tracks for it. but the company i deal with is sold out of them right now.

well here are the pics i promised last night. i also got an email from sprubrothers and the tracks i need are in and i have all ready oreded them and they should be here by next week sometime. alss got a question on the m108. in front of the drivers hatch, what color should the periscopes be painted? so this is were i am at with the m108.

Good builds, keep them coming.

My Barreldepot M-109A6 Paladin barrel just arrived today. I'll return to my build as soon as my little cousins leave on Saturday.

all right guys here is were i am at with the m108. all the little addons have been added. all i have to do is spray the future and weather it and still do the road wheels and waite for the tracks to come in.. also for those that have built either the m108 or the m109 i have lost part a34 you can see the hole in the right hand corne runder the baskets and next tool containers so if any of you have a spare i sure can use it. so here are just a couple of pics for you.

the overall dio idea involving my hummel

the scene will have two more crew members who will also be watching some type of enemy aircraft