Well hello Jonathan,

Great to see you back in tha mix my man! Ill be watchin'.

Gary

Yes Jonathan! another sweet post thx. keep it up.
Phil.

great work

Very impressive building and painting. That motor looks awesome. I did this conversion over ten years ago using old kits that were half as detailed as this one. This is very cool.

Rob

I definitely want to thank everyone for jumping right back in this with me. I'll have to tell you though, it has been harder than I thought getting things going again! I've been making slow progress with more than enough rework to especially in the sculpting department, but I think things are finally starting to smooth out... at least a little bit.

As I said, I've been trimming, slicing, and re-sculpting the three figures that I've started.
The gunner had three coat pockets before I decided that his torso was too long and cut down a notch...
Before

After

The loader is coming along slowly...

Maybe I'll wait post the progress on the sculpting since it is progressing so slowly, we'll see.

As for the gun, I got the site finished up, the pictures aren't so good though...



I did pick up a cool new tool too. I'm not exactly sure what all I can do with it but I'm sure it will help with the details!
The USB Inspection Camera...

So here is the screen shot...

And the picture from the camera...


That is all I have for right now!
Thanks for checking it out!

That usb camera is pretty cool. & I know how you feel about the figures, I'm butchering my way through one as well

-Conor

Janathan, just came across your Horch 1A with the Flake 38 build thread, and spent the next few hours reading through every post. Between your scratch building skills, and your PE work, I was just blown away at your skills. Looking forward to seeing it through completion.
I'm assuming that the long time between the last two updates was due to the nicer weather, rather then personal issues.
Have a great New Years,
Joel

Conor...
The sculpting is slowing down the progress that is for sure. I do have some ideas that I will be trying here soon. I'm hoping that will put the fire back in this build!

Joel...
I'm glad you found the build and it's even better that you are digging it! The long gap in there was good weather dragging me out of the basement. That is when I turn my attention to the full size build...



I don't know if this one is ever done though... let's just hope the Horch gets done!

The figures were just not measuring up to the rest of this build, so I had to step back and do a little thinking. I looked over some sculpting here and on Historicus Forma. I decided that I needed to make a change to the sculpting medium, the working time was just too short and the detail was suffering. So I have used the Sculpy type polymers in the past and decided they would be the better choice at this point. The problem is, how to hold the figure while the sculpting is going on. Back to the research... Commercially there really wasn't anything that grabbed me as an economically sound option, but I did come across a DIY solution. 1" dowl rod, drilled, sectioned and a screw added...
like this...

Then 1" holes were drilled in to a piece of 2"X4" to hold the mini clamps...

Of course this is not very refined, but it will work for now...
Let the sculpting begin!... er... continue!

Ack! The lack of finality is killing me....

I'm dying to know how this amazing project turned out. Any updates would be greatly appreciated!

Sadly, the many other hobbies (and of course work) have overcome me! It is still on the bench though... but when?

Incredible work--do not rush. That is a great approach to modeling with sculpy. I will try it.

We'll believe it or not I am actually getting a little model building time in. So I believe an update is warrented, er... well... here is one anyway!

I've been making slow progress on the three figures that I've started. Baking the clay has been the most recent hurdle. With the mixed media temperature is critical. So with the aid of my 3 dollar oven thermometer I have managed to avoid completely melting them.







And



I also began roughing out the base with my new cheapo hot knife. I rally haven't decided on the final dimensions yet. I like big to give it the vast desert feel, but at the same time I don't want the model to be lost in the landscape.



I'm not sure how long I can keep up this grueling pace, but I'll sure give it a go!

Thanks for looking in!

But, it's coming along very well. Nice modification, of the figures. The base is really starting to take shape.

Thanks Matt, I'll do my best to keep pushing it along. I did get an hour or so yesterday to clean up the figures a bit more. Those dang close up shots show it all... I also ordered a different epoxy clay with a longer working time than the Green Suff but no baking necessary. The baking is just too risky for me since I did see some melting even staying below 200° f. I also went ahead and ordered a mini pasta roller for making the clay sheets. So there should be some new and different work here soon!

Stay tuned!

I would never have thought to use a pasta roller. Looking forward to seeing if it works.

Well I'm still waiting for that pasta roller, and the rest of the new sculpting gear. So I'm trying to keep my distance from the figures for a bit. With that in mind I've turned to the base for some work.

I'm still not sure on the size so I'll add the rough detail to it as it is and cut away what I don't need later. Right now it is roughly 26" X 12". I added the core for the concrete guards and shaved a little more off the far end.



Here is the side view with the truck in place...



Here is the test, a side by side with the real deal...



Any thoughts?

It just keeps getting better!

The new clay is here! Wait a minute... so is the pasta machine! This is a good week! Well of course I had to mix up a test batch I used pea size pieces of the new Apoxie Sculpt and Green Stuff. That makes quite a bit of clay, and it even looks like more when I run it through the machine. My first attempt was to place the clay between some wax paper, that is how I was rolling it out on the bench. It looked good, but it was too sticky to separate from both sides of the paper without deforming it.



So for my next attempt I used a little water on the rollers and it came out fine.

The mix is sticky but has a nice consistency and can be worked and smoothed easily with the right precautions. NIVEA cream seems to do the trick on the tools, it keeps the clay from sticking and doesn't evaporate like the water. One of the benefits to this mix is the extended working time, I only have two batches under my belt, but it looks like the working time is easily two hours, maybe a bit longer. With Green Stuff alone I was only getting about an hour to work. The cool deal is this stuff sets up nice and hard.

The next logical step was to scrape off the old and put on the new... well at least it seemed logical to me!





I still need to make a call on the base so I can get it hooked to a board. I want to make sure there won't be any warp before I start laying down the surface.

Well, that is the update for now...

Jonathan, I have only just come across this build. Excellent work! Your attention to detail is nothing short of stunning. I look forward to seeing more of this bad boy.

Based on your results, I will be buying a pasta roller.

More goodies from the postal service! I've been waiting for these babies, a set of silicon brushes... that's what they call me any way. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to test them out until Thursday night (I need more days off!). Matt, I'm thinking these might even be better than the pasta roller!
I know it kind of seems like reinventing the wheel at this stage in the build, but time has brought some new gadgets into play. I’m still learning the ins and outs of sculpting and finding the right combination of tools and media could make all of the difference, I’ve had a couple builds fall short at this stage (Sdkfz 251/1 Scratch Detail and Ye Olde Schwimmwagen) so with a bit of extra effort I hope I can bring this one all the way home. Jason I'm glad ya found this and I hope it keeps ya coming back!

Later All Ya'll!

Can you be more specific on "silicon brushes"? Google will give you nightmares from the number of hits that gets.

I found mine on eBay, they were from Spain though. If you add Greenstuff to the search that may help.

Colour Shaper - Size #2 - Clay shapers - Silicon Brushes - Green Stuff Tool

If I wasn't working from my phone right now I could probably get you a link... darn phone! I'll get pictures and review info for ya Thursday night!

Here we go, better late than never...

The Brushes




At first they seem a little big, but I think they will be fine once I get used to using them. They are great for laying in a smooth coat for gap filling or providing a smooth surface to detail.

For the fine detail work on the figures I am working on the small metal tools are still the best.





So that is really all I have for now, I didn't get a chance to pick up wood for the base and I'm not quite ready to start on the other figures... getting close though!