Sal, those figures give scale to the vehicle. I had always thought it was bigger. Looks good so far!
-Sean H.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement.... it does help keep me focused on the build and not start thinking of building something else...

@ Phill.....
Actually it wasn't to bad to paint, and if I hadn't shot myself in the foot along the way it would turned out without all the peeling. I use a mix of white glue and food color (to see where it is) as a masking agent... works for me.

@ Jeff.....
This is my first hard edged camo, but I figure that I will end up doing more in the future. As for brush painting it, if I had gone with Vallejo I would have. The thing is that I hate painting - especially brush painting, and believe me it shows in the final product normally.

The thing is that I am learning to do more painting at various stages. Did a WNW Albatros D.V and ended up with the paints out more than the glue! I did the touch ups by hand and they aren't to bad.... they will work out when over coated and weathered.

@ Sal.....
Hey, small progress is at least progress. I agree with Sean the figures will add a touch of scale to the model. Plus with that color scheme it might add a bit of contrast. Keep up the good work...

Later, Bob

Hi all,
A little more progress on the Howie Machine Gun Carrier. I got the fenders made and installed, only to discover some serious errors in measurements, so I had to make a new chassis and a new set of fenders. The problem was that I was working from the drawings submitted with the patent application, reduced to 1/35 scale. Big mistake. At first glance, those drawings look like the vehicle in the photographs, but a lot of things are incorrectly located. The patent drawings were evidently intended to show how the controls worked, not where they were actually placed on the prototype. Fortunately, there is a very informative article by Captain Wendell Johnson in the November/December 1937 issue of the Infantry Journal (available on-line) which provides Captain Howie's dimensions, and with those, the side view photos can be scaled, and the other critical dimensions worked out.
So, after all that, the update.
Top view after coat of gray primer. Fenders, controls, & gun mount in place.
Right side view, showing steering gear & gear shift linkage.
Left side view. The fenders/mudguards presented a difficult problem. I traced the outline from a scaled down side-view photo onto a piece of soft pine, then cut it out with a coping saw. I tied a strip of thin Evergreen sheet styrene over the cut out piece with copper wire, then used a heat gun to soften the plastic and make it conform to the curved form. I wasted a few bits of plastic sheet until I got the heat just right, but eventually, it worked. The front fenders still aren't quite right, but they're the best I can do. Compound curves are a problem.
Underside of chassis, showing steering linkage and brake rods.
It's been a struggle, but we're getting there. Next step, a coat of OD paint and installing the engine.
Cheers,
Dick

Richard mate .. it may be the smallest model in this campaign but i am damn sure its gonna end up being in the list of the coolest .
Very well done man

Phill

Oh! I knew I had another model to get back on! Cannons are really dry now so it's on to weathering.









~ Jeff

Well get it done Jeff mate .. i can't wait to see this ,,its very cool and wins the award for being the oldest

Still only one ribbon tho

Phill

Hi guys,

Tripped over another odd one....



According to the Wikipedia article it is a Soviet Laser Tank...

More photos here....
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Laser_tank_1K17

And the article here....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1K17_Szhatie

Obviously I have no idea if this thing had a ruby laser in it or not.... but it is an odd looking thing anyway....

Enjoy,
Bob

Nice find Bob ,, I do love that chassis ..so many machines have been built on that chassis and my top of the list fav is the SPG version ..its big and looks rather cheap and nasty but what appeals to me .
Damn shame its not a easy chassis to get me hands on .

Phill

A "Laser Tank"? Wow ... that isn't weird but more like sci-fi.

Cannons are now a beautiful gold color (bronze didn't do it for me) so next I will paint black what will represent the end of the barrel (the cannon ball exit ) and start some more assembling.



Then I need to come up with a pennant or battle flag. Haven't decided since not many like the idea of a camo paint job. Weather it and then call it a day.

Maybe?








~ Jeff

To Bob Phill and Jeff
here is the detail shots of 1K17 Compression
http://otvaga2004.narod.ru/publ_w7_2010/0033_laser.htm
it was made to blind electronic of incoming jets, I think

Jeff I would drill out the tips of those cannon barrels but make sure you leave the cannon walls nice and thick

and just so you guys dont think I forgot about my build here is some progress. Figures have been added some weathering and a black wash


Still need to add the chains that hang off the front and rear and some more weathering, comments and suggestions are always welcome

oh and Phill just in case you didnt see my post over at the Art of the Battlefield, I found a Dragon Panzerjager II lurking in my stash that needs to be build so I would be in if you propose that campaign

Sal ,, oh comin along so nice man ,, its annoying with that colour,,can't really see that much weathering on it but your doing a pretty nice job of that

Phill

Hi Sal,
Your Land-wasserschepper looks great. As to weathering, you might consider a change of contrast along the water line, assuming you can figure out where it should be. I haven't seen any photos of one of those rigs actually in the water, but judging from other amphibious vehicles, it would be pretty high up the side.
Cheers,
Dick

Hey guys thanks for the complements it means a lot to me
@ Rich, I have no idea where the water line should be, I only found 1 photo of this thing actually in the water and it was sitting pretty low also the other pictures of it that I found you could not make out a waterline
Well I added some more weathering and took some photos outdoors in natural light

I know i could have done better on the guys standing in the front eyes Ill work on that

Anything else you guys think I should do to this before I call it finished and post a pic in the gallery, just give me a shout out

Gosh, I like it just the way it is!

Too bad it's not water-proof for a pic of it near or in a body of water would be cool too! Nice work on the prop and I must have missed it but did you do the rivet work on the back or is it molded in?

Great work Sal!








~ Jeff

Thanks Jeff, the rivets work on the whole kit was molded in. It was an OOB build except for some thread I wound around the winch and the figures. The 2 standing guys were from Dragons Artillery crew and the driver was found in the spare parts box. The kit had some real nice detail to it and other then the completely screwed up instruction sheet I highly recommend it.

Good work Sal....Well done my friend...

Sal ,, this link shows it pretty clear where the water line is on this beast ,,
http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~TANK-GUY/Gallery08/ES-lws.html

Third pic along on the first line .

But i also agree with Hakan .. it looks pretty damn good already .
I think you have pretty much nailed it there buddy

Phill

Thanks for the complements guys I posted a photo in the campaign gallery and I'm moving on But I will keep checking in here because there are some very Strange builds going on

@ Phill, thanks for the link, I saw that 1 that where I got the idea to put the figures on it. I was mainly looking for the real deal
Party on guys

@ Sal..... Nice looking build. You would never know that the PE kept flying all over the place...

Ok, a bit of progress on mine even...



To keep this in the "Family" rating I won't tell you what I think of those tracks as only that one side is done. I will tell you that about half way through putting that one side on I came within a second or two of just tossing the kit and buying a Italeri one and rebuilding it.

As I told a friend.... If this had been my first model I would have taken up folk dancing after this experience.

Bob

Boy do I know that feeling. A brand new spray can of paint got me to that point.

But, I am getting closer to building my paint booth.








~ Jeff

Guys....

At this moment I don't know if I am going to continue with this build or not.... I just tossed it over my shoulder in anger over the crap that Dragon put in as track. Heck, their track didn't even fit on their sprocket... so I had to trim off the guide horns.

When I cool off I will evaluate the damage and decide if I am going to continue or not...

Bob

Bob i know that problem and then i found out the reason why // its a Dragon track trying to fit an old as hell Italeri drive sprocket .
I found this out when i was looking at other kits ,,look at how many bolts there are on the outside edge of the road wheels ..should be twice as many,Italeri put way to few on there so what you have is a Dragon kit with a Italeri hull,i bet the suspension moved to didn't it .
The pure Dragon kits dont have moving suspension and they have the right number of bolts on the road wheels .
Thats why the tracks don't fit .
So to get the tracks to git but of the drive teeth where the track goes..then glue them back into the holes in the tracks ..its quick and looks good and i promise ya buddy ..those tracks will fit .

Phill

Bob Bob Bob this is suppose to be a relaxing hobby no reason to get excited when things dont go right i get up and pour myself another drink and walk away

Guys..... we will see what happens in a day or so.

Phill..... As for the suspension it is all out of the Dragon box the only Italeri parts on it right now are the rear fenders.

Sal..... Have a drink or two for me... never picked up the habit.

Bob