Very nice work you got going there Mike!





Calvin, that option would be more appropreiate for creating rough cast hulls like the WWII Tiger tank in my picture.
I should think you'd be better off with Rust-o-leum or Cast-a-coat. In fact some guys spray surfacer via airbrush--But I've never tried it.
But if you must and want to create a not too accurate texture for the Abrams, then you can use Mr surfacer to create rough texture, perhaps with some practice you can represent the anti slip somewhat. But it'll be more work and more often more corrections to get the right look.

Here's how I did my Tiger's texture, working at small areas at a time (quick drying time of surfacer in consideration) I used a stiff flat brush (the chinese painting type) dip in surfacer and "paint" the area, then almost immediately I continously tap the area with the front point of the brush to "poke" and "lift" the surfacer- thus creating the sandy like non slip texture. I also used Mr Hobby/Mr color thinner for thinning the surfacer.

Nick - Thanks for looking and your comments.

I agree with your advice on the anti-slip vs. the rough metal look. Nice call

If the rust-o-leum is not available where you are, you want to look for texture paint. This paint mimics the testure of a clay pot. This type of fine texture is what you want.

Spraying Mr Surfacer is difficult to master. I experimented with it and the trick is to keep it from drying as it comes out the nozzle of the air brush. You can get a case of silly string if it is not done right.

For the price of this can of rust-o-leum, I have enought to do 50 Strykers and do not have to worry about getting a consistant finish. Just put it on lightly.

Rounds Complete!!

thanks that helps alot, good thing my mom has alot of those chinese brushes

Bob & RIc,
Sorry, according to my reference pictures from Ft Knox in April 2008, the turret hatches for the gunner and TC have the kevlar/fiberglass texture, not the anti-skid... As I said before, there is no anti-skid on the turret at all, only on the horizonal surfaces of the hull. Mike did a great job on his via the terra-cotta paint. My pics show some variation in the surface that is hard to replicate without some serious additional work.
FWIW

John

John - I thank you for looking and for your complement. The masking is a PIA but I think the finish is worth it with the rust-o-leum

Thanks for the turret info. I was holding out on paint until I heard otherwise. The kit turret hatches do have a texture molded in to try to give the kevlar/ fiberglass texture. Now I can move to the paint shop and put the rust-o-leum away.

Thanks

Rounds Complete!!

Hey Mike, thanks for your info on the "texture paint"...as I'd really like to try rust-o-leum but I've not found it here in Singapore.

I'd never put surfacer through my airbrush as I've always been pretty bad getting any paint mixes right the 1st go... especially after I had the stringy experience with another paint before... Hell to clean out.

Looking forward to seeing your Stryker complete..cheers!

To finish up the turret assembly (6 total steps in the directions) I needed to complete the armor glass. Since AFV give you a nice set of clear armor glass, I tried an experiment to add depth when looking at the armor glass. First I masked all the glass areas. (I know the blue tape and blue background are not the best contrast)



Then I painted with successive coats of Alclad Gold, then Tamiya Flat Black and then Tamiya NATO Green. After removing the masking, here was what it looked like



Next I painted some clear decal paper with Tamiya Clear Green and also a mix of Tamiya Clear Blue and Red to make the Clear Magenta. Then I spent time with the digital caliper measuring and cutting and then mounting. To finish the turret I mounted the TC hatch, gunners hatch and sight, miscellaneous handles and the gun travel lock….which was a true PIA.



Without going on a rant, there are some parts which are so small on this kit, and there is no reason not to have molded them on the main assembly. Some of these appear to be parts for parts count sake. The side pars on the TC armor glass is an example. Others could make life better if done different. The travel lock is one of them. It is the one major drawback of the kit and does use up a lot of time to work with them correctly.

Back on the build, you see the assembled and base coated turret and drivers hatch.

Moving back to the main vehicle, the tires were nice and shiny rubber. To get them more the “used” look, I rubbed them down with a Scotch-Brite pad and then assembled them onto the rims.



With the tires assembled, I glued them in place on the chassis. Also I assembled the PE screens onto the vents, mounted the front guards, drilled the antenna mounts for an antenna, mounted the antenna mounts and the last few grab handles. After a final basecoat of Tamiya NATO green here is where I am.





Close up view of the PE screens. These went on pretty easy but do require care.



Close up of the tire assembly. The drive side front is the only tire with the ring. The directions incorrectly tell you to put it on both sides.



That’s it for now. I am working on the front and rear lights, mounting the drivers hatch, tow hooks, pioneer tools, some detail painting on the chassis and remaining PE straps for the chassis. Hopefully I will finish up the chassis this week leaving just the gun section to finish.

All comments are welcome, thanks for looking.

Rounds Complete!!

Hi all,

For the anti-slip or rough texture surface, prehap u can try on using small amount of Tamiya putty mix with thinner, slowly tap on the area using flat brush...!!! (small area by small area).

great build the glass looks great!!!

besides all the small parts is there any faults with the kit???

ive seen on of these in action and its a beast so im tempted
to build on over the christmas hols

Sebastian - Thanks for looking. You could create the surface that way but considering the size and area to be done it would be time consuming.

I try to find things in everyday life that can be used for modeling. You may find something similar to what I used.

Either way, the effect is a great part of the overall finish. Thanks again

James - I can say on the scale of 1 - 10 its a 9. Very well molded. Good part fit. No real flash, pin marks or voids. Directions have a couple of errors but in general are good.

Even though I'm not complete, I would highly recommed it. Just be ready is some areas or with some small parts to spend more time.

Hope that answers your question. If not...ask away. Thanks again.

Rounds Complete!!

Mike,

Some neat insider tricks there on the periscopes as well as the tires. Will have to remember that one for the future. Coming along very nicely.

Hei Mike

I'm enjoying you're build very much keep up you're good work. And thanks for the tipps you put in your construction log. You can never see and learn enough.

I'm planning to do the 0815 stryker with a slat. But perhaps I'm gonna change my subject to the M1128MGS, which is really convincing!


Greetings from Switzerland

Bill -Thanks for the comments. The old engineer always has a new twist!! As always, thanks

AW - Glad to be of help. The idea is to teach and learn. you can never do enough of either. Thanks for looking and your comments.

Rounds Complete!!

Well not to be outdone by all the holiday building, here is what I have completed.

First was the complete assembly of the major components. After assembly I finished up all the minor grab handles everywhere. For the most part the assembly was smooth except the fit of the gun to the turret. The mounting was tight and some work with the sanding stick and #11 blade was required to get everything to fit Here is the overall views of the current state of the build







After assembly I began assembly and mounting of details. Here you can see the smoke launches painted for smoke (Tamiya NATO Black) and WP (Model Master Pale Green FS34227) mix. Ammo cans mounted on the gun side for the M2 50cal (Model Master Dark Green FS34049). Also shown is the gun revolving sight in the rear, with the optics glass done using the same decal method as the armor glass.



Here is the tool rack (I know the picture stinks). The steel heads are painted with Alclad Steel then are dry brushed weathered with Humbrol Gunmetal, the shovel is Tamiya Flat Black with graphite for scratches. The wood is painted with Model Master Wood then washed with Burnt Sienna oil to give the reddish wood grain.



Here is a view of the drivers hatch. You can see the armor glass under the top cover.



Here is a view of the gunner’s sight again done with the same decal method for the glass. Also you can see the gunner’s armor glass and another view of the smoke launchers.



This is a view of the rear. The tail lights were painted inside the lens with Alclad Chrome and the lens with Tamiya Clear Red. The BO markers are Alclad Jet Exhaust. The tow hooks are Alclad Aluminum and the bolts Tamiya Flat Red.



This front view shows the front light with Alclad Chrome inside, turn and side signal Tamiya Clear Orange. The folded in mirror was painted with Poly Scale OD Green 505370



Well that is the current state. The remaining kit items are the M2 50 cal and about 12 PE straps. I will also have to add some other straps such as the tools and some for the rear. I’ll give you a quick update then and prior to decals and weathering. With the long holiday and time off, I looking to finish this up before the new year.

All comments are welcome, thanks for looking.

Rounds Complete!!

Looks great! Maybe I will get to see it in person.

Bob

So that's what the differe types are...thanks.

Also, a very nice build you have there. It is fun trying to attach the gun to the turret! That, and the tiny pieces that go on the sides of the commandes vision blocks were my only complaints with this kit.

Cheers,
Sean

All those painted details are super!

Lars

Bob - No doubt you will see it soon. Thanks for looking in.

Sean - Regular smoke takes a bit of time to build up. WP will give a big, quick cloud of smoke. Normally to screen you would fire WP followed by HC smoke. By time the WP burns out which is quick, the HC is at full capacity.

Tiny parts are a pain on this kit!!

Thanks for looking in and your comments.

Lars - Thanks for your comments on the details.

Rounds Complete!!

Looks great Mike. Awesome job so far. Keep up the good work.

Gino - It's always a pleasure when you stop by. Thanks for the encouragement.

Rounds Complete!!

Post Xmas update, with the holiday it was difficult to get bench time. Once I did I worked on the dozen or so PE handles for the rear. These are EXCEPTIONALY a pain. As you can see by their size



The two holes at either end have to be lined up and pressed onto pins on the model. It was fun playing PE tidily winks. After a few times on the floor searching for the handle that just flew off and a period of #%*&)+, I finally finished the handles.



Lastly, I work on the M2. I added some rounds from the Academy MG kit to give it the locked and loaded look. You see it above from one side and below from the other after a black pin wash.



That completes the OOB portion of the build. I still will be adding some stowage, antennas, straps and attempt figs. First up will be a few minor touch ups and then the decals. There are loads of little warning decals all over to be put on. Here is what we look like at this point



All comments are welcome, thanks for looking.

Rounds Complete!!

OK….I give….I’m not going to finish by New Years.

First, I worked on the decals. I wanted to use as much as I could from the kit to give it a fair evaluation. One area that falls off is the decals. Though AFV gives you a choice of 4 vehicle markings, 3 of them were the experimental markings. I used the only markings for a production vehicle. The decals have good detail but are TOO THICK. What a nightmare trying to get the edges not to show and to keep them from silvering. This is the one area of the kit that su#%$. You would be MUCH better off to use the set as a template to make your own.

Next, I worked on the stowage. Most of it comes from Real Model Molle Stryker Stowage. This kit of resin parts is fantastic. It is the ONLY set that is correct to what gear is being used today. Everyone else is just recycling the old ALICE packs. Since the MOLLE system came in around 04 and the MGS was released in 06, the only gear that will work is the MOLLE gear. The set includes enough to do 2 Strykers.

On the right side front I made some scratch straps for the tool kit using good old painters tape….painted with Model Masters OD Green.



In the rear I substituted the Real Model gas cans for the kit supplied which I painted Model Master Acrylic OD Green and the kit PE supplied strap painted with MM Field Green. In the rack is the Real Model water cans Painted MM Acrylic Desert Storm Sand, and Real Model 50 cal ammunition cans painted MM Dark Green. The straps were are the same as above and the bundle hung on the side is a camouflage net system from Real Model which has been painted with MM Dark Green, straps painted with MM OD Green then it was washed with a mix of Green and Black oils



The driver’s side front has the camouflage poles. This was painted and washed the same as the net system bag.



In the rear on the drivers side is two more water cans and two boxes of MREs. Straps also done the same as before.



Here is the current overall view



On the drivers side I still have to finish the MOLLE packs. I’m waiting for some things to do the digital camo on them. Also, even if they were done, they hang far enough down to interfere with the weathering in the tire wells. Here is what the MOLLE packs look like.



Lastly, I will see how these turn out but here is the start to Joe & Gino.



I’m off to washes and weathering of the model. Happy New Year to all.

All comments are welcome, thanks for looking.

Rounds Complete!!

Moving right along Mike...don't worry about this one getting on the books for 2008, it will be a perfect way to start the New Year as your first completion for 2009!

Bill - Thanks for dropping in on theis frequency!!!. I know and agree on 2009. I love the kit but some of the small parts have taken much longer than expected and thus .

But it is a new year , I will finish soon.

Thanks for looking and your comments.

Rounds Complete!!