Tom, NICE clean job so far BTW how much will the kit weigh when finished and will it sit on the shelf or go through it? All of the resin looks like it weighs more than the kit:-X


Bob

Bob,

The shelf is safe - the only resin parts are the gearbox and access panels at the front (moulded from the Academy parts) and the ammo boxes. The rest is all scratched from Evergreen plastic. Even the casting marks are plastic - from a set of Slaters 1.5mm letters.

Glad you liked it!

Tom

hi ya..

I got a Marder 3M halfway through the build stage.. will try to do more this weekend and get some pics up.

laters

[snip]The rest is all scratched from Evergreen plastic.[snip]


Tom, that makes your build even more impressive. Keep posting your progress please.

Bob

Tom, You have me confused Are all the white parts scratch built? If so it looks great but would be a shame to cover it up with the hull. Can't wait to see what it looks like when its finished.

Hmmm... Not long to go so I better pull my finger out!

Should take about an hour for the first one, 1/35 Tamiya 6 pounder.. ancient kit but should be a quick build. Second one is an Alanger 45mm Russian Anti-Tank gun I got on a run-out special from a Hommy place about 6 years ago. Mystery grab bag of so many kits for about $50 I think. Got a good range.

Speed build time...

Sal & Bob,

Thanks for the comments! The white stuff is indeed all cut and shaped from Evergreen plastic. I'll glue the hull together, but with those big hatches and the turret hole you'd be amazed how much of it can still be seen when completed. It's not the first Sherman interior I've done this way, so I know the ropes now, but the complex dance of painting and assembly is really slowing me down. Essentially I need to finish painting and installing the interior before I can move on to the outside...

Those resin bits are yellow in the pics because I cast them from Alumilite resin. I did scratch-build a gearbox on my first Sherman interior, but later decided to make a rubber mould from the Academy parts because life's just too short...

On a brighter note I've just been out back to spray a white basecoat on the hull interior parts, so I should be able to detail-paint them tonight. (The white paint harmonises the white colour, and hides the glue marks!)

Hopefully I'll have more pics soon.

Tom

Took a while (builders block) but this weekend I had a "building sprint" and the Rakete is finally taking form:

Hey MBR,

Great to see progress! This was the kit you were starting in January? Looks pretty good so far. Is the camo brush-painted? By the way, whose kit is it? (Revell?) And was it any good to build?

I think we may need another Bundeswehr campaign next year...

Tom

Yes, that is the one I started in Januar. Got the base hull done than tried (without success) to get something build for the "Military police" campaign (Let's just say figures hate me) and only re-started the build last weekend.

The kit is the Revell Jaguar. Went together quite well and was building with minimal problems. My decals where not that good but that's likely due to the kit getting wet (and me getting it cheap) and not a Revell problem. Some filling was necessary at the edges (not much) and the track isn't 100 percent correct (But won't be visible much in the end) I opened up the mounting aids in the track covers (as seen with most later Jaguars)

One might thing getting the small set from Perfect Scale with the reworked tools, taillights and fenders. If you do this I also recommend the MG3 from that source. Since the total of those parts alone will come to the kit's price and most of it will vanish under camo nets etc. I have not used those parts.

The camo is a mix. Basic is airbrushed but I touched it up with a brush later since the "Mascol" I used did not work out to my liking (Removal damaged the paint)


Another Bundeswehr (or "Continental NATO") campaign would be nice. Even more so with two new kits coming this year (Ozelot and Marder 1A5)

Hi Guys,
@ MBR nice build, paint job looks good too. But in the 2nd photo the MG looks too silver is tat from a flash or reflection or something? My figures look terrible but I keep building them and get a little better (very little) better each time with help from guys on this sight.

Thanks.

I'll check the MG, might be that I forgot to put the last color layer on one side.

Next will be the camo netting and the add-on camo. The Jaguar was known for being heavily drapped with camo nettings etc.

Compared to this model the M60A1 in MERDEC I am also finishing based on some Tankograd pictures almost looks like a gypsy caravan

Looks nice, MBR. I have this kit in my stash, so nice to hear it is relatively problem free.

Looking forward to see it with all the camo netting. If you have any pictures of the real thing you are basing it on, feel free to share them.

I got myself Tankograds "Jagdpanzer" booklet since I was planning to build all four variants the two Revell kits allow (Kanone and Observation, Jaguar 1 old and new optics) This is mostly shots "in the fields" with few "up close" shots of details but useful for non-museum scenes

More detailed shots I have found on www.panzermodel.de that has detailed shots from museum pieces

MBR,

Can't wait to see the camo nets! I asked about brush painting because I can never get a good sharp edge on "hard edged" schemes with the airbrush, regardless of how I mask it...

And yes a "NATO" rather than just Bundeswehr theme would certainly open things up a lot. (Got a M60A3 to do...)

Tom

The JagdPanzer Kanone has the base coat and shading done, I'll put some satin clearcoat on it tonight to prepare for decals.

Pics later in the week I hope

Cheers

Paul

Your "Kanone" looks might impressiv even now.

Some questions:

+ How complex was it to build up the tracks

+ How much sanding was needed on the new hull parts

+ Could the tracks be build "broken and thrown" lying behind the tank

I still want to model an event from the 1980s where a "Observer" variant radioed "minor problems, need a replacement track link". Turned out he was at 45 degrees from his tracks. Comment from our S3: You need more than a new link!

Hi MBR !

Thanks for your interest in the JP-K

The tracks are fragile so they need to be very carefully cut away from the resin blocks, and the handling of the individual links needs to be quite delicate to avoid breaking the guide teeth. Links with broken quide teeth are good to use around the driving wheels and idlers - it'll leave plenty for spares and the flat and exposed runs.

I built up the tracks in the following way:

1. made 4 runs (top and bottom on each side) and dryfitted to ensure the fit was Ok and that the tangent to the drive wheels and idlers was correct.

2. made up the four runs for each end / each side (curve around the relevant wheel) with A LOT OF DRYFITTING !!

3 prepainted the lower hull (without the upperhull fitted).

4. prepainted the individual runs (4 each side = two flat and two curved) whilst sealing the glue points with a masking solution.

5. Carefully fitted the 4 runs and glued with CA glue on each side. My advise ---> DRY FIT, DRY FIT, DRY FIT ! Then glue when happy

The new hull bits need a tiny bit of cleaning up, the casting and quality is excellent. The kit parts however

Lots of waviness and sinkholes in several places on styrene detail parts although the hull is a little better in my experience - quite a bit of puttying and sanding on the non resin parts is required overall though ....

I think you could build the tracks thrown, however the links are quite rigid so you would need to be a little innovative to get any twist in the run of links etc. Hot water and patience would help I'm sure.

I hope that helps

This one is dragging on a bit as I'm distracted by my C2 Mexas build on the "True North Strong and Free" Campaign

Cheers

Paul

Thanks for the feedback, Meier. I will check out the Tankograd book.

Well,

I've made a bit more progress painting the interior and detailing the bogies. Next up I'll be gluing the turret and hull halves together before detailing the outsides. With luck i'll be ready to base coat by the weekend...













I'll put more details on the M36B1 thread under Armor/AFV...

Tom

Tom,
Outstanding job.
Cheers to you

Gaaaah.......... I totally forgot to get around to my pictures for this. Finished the SU-85 and mounted it to a base. Ok...... note to self. Try to get a picture of this and post........... yes(?!??!)

Tominizer,

You built an SU-85 for the Tank Killers? If so, then before you even think about uploading pics to the Campaign gallery you will need to go to the Campaigns tab and enlist! I notice you did ask about your build back in January, but it looks like your message fell in a gap since Shane didn't get back to you regarding eligibility etc. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, especially as the SU-85 is an old fave...

After you enlist, post us some pics of the beast from all angles with a short description of your build. In future you really need to post images "in progress" since the whole point of a campaign is to share knowledge and encouragement during the build.

Tom
(Replacement Leader as of March)

Hey Tom............ thanks. In all fairness to the others, I'll leave my eligibility up to the group as I don't have pictures from the build. I will post up the finished piece with some thoughts though for sure.

This model is straight out of the box ......... the OLD Tamiya SU-85 kit with the exception of adding the antenna. Some stuff was deleted off the kit..... for example the tracks on the front, and on the real thing, there are attachment points. But for this build as it's out of the box, I didn't add these details.

Some background........ this is my second kit after being on the sidelines for almost 20 years. Now at a ripe old age of 42, I'm back !! My skills need some practice. And oh my word has the world of modelling changed!! So I'm trying to get back into it and have to say that my skillz are nowhere near some of the stuff I see you all putting out on this forum. My hat goes off to you all. And sorry about the crappy photography......

Ok, here's the out-of-the-box finished piece...... parked on an upward slope..... somewhere.



This kit for me was a chance to play with some new methods of painting (to me!!) to give the tank a sense of wear and abuse. Not sure I pulled it off right but it was a boat load of fun doing it.



A shot of the topside.



Close-up ........ Mr. Surfacer, washes, pigments... all kinds of glorious new media for an old guy like me to learn about!!!



A shot of the front end........ kinda looked like a sunset shot to me..........




All in all it was a fun model to do. It may not be perfect or exact for the purists, and the kit leaves things to be desired because of it's age.............. but it looks nice on the shelf and I had fun with the build......... and learnt a pile about finishes...... and how much I DON'T know !!! Oh, and chips........ chipped paint. I think may now be getting the hang of it. I LUV chipped paint !!!!


Cheers


Tom
Toronto, Canada

Oh BTW.......... the base is a 2x8 piece of wood, with foam covered in plaster style construction. The rock is cast pieces. The base is basically my imagination and in no way can I make any sort of statement that it accurately defines some place specifically where Russian SU-85's were during WWII ........ with regards to accurate rock colors, etc.

The decals for this kit were not used. They were missing. I must have lost them some 20 years ago !! So I hand painted all the white junk on the tank (stripes and numbers).