I built this straight from the box with exception of replacing the twin 8mm machine guns with brass rod. I realized that these had been damaged as I removed the kit from the box.

The kit assembles well with little effort. The hatches can be either left open or closed.

The tracks are of the rubber band variety and show some fairly decent detail.

I used Lifecolor acrylic paints (Italian AFV set) and weathering was accomplished using artists chalk pastels and and oil wash on the engine deck grill and vision ports.

The kit decals were used with Micro Set and Micro Sol and I was surprised on how well they adhered to the model with very little shine or silvering.

My bases are fairly inconsequential, just there so that I am not forced to touch the model. Ground work is simply a base of white glue with several shades of chalk pastels shaved on while the glue is still wet. The rocks and pebbles are residue that I "discovered" at the base of my homes gutter downspout, basically asphalt shingle deposits painted with oils to give some added color. The base was then sprayed with a flat fixative to keep the chalk pastels in place.

I was quite satisfied with the overall results. The only problem is that these DOC kits are sometimes difficult to obtain.

Frank,

Nicely done little beast. I like your simple base as even as it is, it adds to the overall effect. However, as this vehicle is so tiny and the base seems a bit large, maybe just a few larger "rocks" or such would help to distract/enhance the scene. Just my personal opinion and what do I know about bases since I've only ever made one!

Cheers,
Jan

Jan,
Thanks for the kind words. I think that you are right about the base. At one point I was giong to add a small hill or partial cliff but but never did. This was a nice kit but very small as you can imagine. It was an optivisor project the whole way.

Hi Frank. Very nice work.
I'm planning to buy one of these little kits soon so it's great to see what one looks like when finished!
Cheers,
Tim