hi everyone, hope you're having a great day.

here's the first model built for my next project, a russian UAZ-452 van now living its life in civilian hands:







the model in 1/35 is from Minimanfactory and is a resin kit. very nicely detailed with crisp casting is what you will find in the box plus pe brass detailing, clear parts for various items and vinyl tires that they say won't shrink over time.

what you will also find are instructions that are pretty basic where parts suddenly appear from step to step. as well the fit between the body and chassis is only going to work with some grinding away of the interior body wall and some finessing of the chassis frame. also there was no steering column for the kit but that is easily made from styrene rod.

i threw some details for the cargo area and scratchbuilt some parts that should be visible through the front grill (they are clearly there on the real thing). i also corrected some of the shifters in the cab, added U joints for the suspension and brake lines for the wheels. i also added little things like interior handles, window cranks with knobs and corrected the body frame part under the rear doors which is a separate panel.

overall i would say this was a bit more challenging model then other resin kits i've built and would put this one at the far end of intermediate builder skill but a satisfying and different subject for my next diorama entitled Shepherds.

thanks for dropping by and will post more once painted. cheers, bd.

So another of your amazing project will start.

I'm very curious to see it Bruce

and so far the model looks, as usual, outstanding indeed

Cheers

Hey Bruce- interesting subject you've got going here. I've always liked the look of these vans- they look great and its good to hear the Miniman kit is decent. Looking forward to seeing what you get up to with this!

Nice work!

For those interested in those vehicles, Bilek makes two kits in 1/35 plastic (I have the Ambulance version), quite nice with photo-etch and great looking decal options.

The chassis parts may not be that good, but the rest is very decent and the nicest thing is the price can be as low as a third of the cost of the Miniman factory kit in Europe.

Cheers,

Christophe

hi everyone,
i have completed the painting of the UAZ-452 van and it is ready for the diorama:






this model was a fun change from the usual paint schemes of armour kits and it was a nice little project to finish up. definitely different in it's sky blue and white civilian colours.

next step is the Stryker 1128 MGS with full slat armour and field upgrades. this model will be a good challenge to build as it will involve lots of scratchbuilt components. now if i can just stay away from MW3 and Skyrim.

cheers for now, bd.

The van looks great. excellent weathering.

You've really finished that beautifully Bruce, I like the faded blue and white, it works well. Weathering is great too, very convincing, particularly the windows, panel lines and wheels.

I agree with everything said so far. Amazing model and the weathering is VERY realistic. Can you explain how to do the windows? Especially the front-the windshield and the wiper marks?

As usual, a master piece Bruce

I really like how have you painted and weathered

Thanks for sharing

thanks everyone for the kind words on my little van, means a lot to get such nice feedback.

to answer Mario's question, i discovered that isopropyl alcohol does not "frost" the standard acetate plastic that is used for most models or the scratch built ones i've used using scrap clear plastic.

with that in mind, i make a wash using 70% isopropyl alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol) and mig pigments, in this case beach sand yellow, which i pre-mix in an old bottle cap and then brush it on the windows. i let it dry for a few minutes and then i use clean isopropyl alcohol to remove the wash.

i do this first in vertical strokes and for the front windshield i clean in a sweep pattern for the blade size. easy to do once the wipers are attached so you can gauge the size and arc shape. for the back windows i rubbed off the wash as if someone had hand cleaned the dirt buildup.

you can always come back to do the clean up long after it has set as the pigment wash comes off easily even on the next day.

for the body, i tried something new (which is my mantra... always testing new things and challenging my comfort zone). i see how many new products are pushing enamels weathering techniques such as AK Interactive. well, i thought maybe i should try this but making my own colours for this model.

i used humbrol cream which is a nice sandy colour for iraqi terrain and i airbrushed it on the lower body area. i waited ten minutes and then wiped this off using a round brush damp with clean paint brush cleaner (recordsol to be exact but any paint thinner will do).

once i had some subtle rainstreaking going on i then came back with the humbrol cream but this time i made it very thinned and airbrushed only the very bottom of the body. i also added a hint to the white roof where it might have light dust built up.

by doing it in two steps i feel i got a more realistic effect and had more control over the nuances of the dusty look.

hope this helps, thanks once again to one and all. cheers, bd.

Thanks Bruce

There's always a lot to learn following your thread

Bruce.. you have done a beautiful job with this kit.. the painting and weathering are phenomenal.. and look totally realistic. And thank you for explaining your methods.

I have this same vehicle in plastic by Bilek.. which I'm hoping to build as a PLO "technical" - working from memory - and I just hope I can do 1/10th the great job that you did

Hisham

Thanks for taking the time to explain those methods Bruce- I think I might give those a go when I get round to tackling Meng's second Pick Up kit.