Mike,your build is looking good,thanks for shareing.

Roy

Thanks for taking a peek. Hope to have another update later soon.

Rounds Complete!!

Very short update this week. Working with tiny PE is a PITA and time consuming. Well, I cut off the 16 tie down blobs on the ammo box and used the PE tie downs. As usual about 15% went into the “outer limits” before I was able to complete the set. The painted green is the headlight inserts. The seams on this were also a PITA as the overall shell did not fit well.



Off to the paint box for prime and finish coat. Also getting all the tools primed and beginning to work on PE tool boxes.

As always all comments are welcome.

Rounds Complete!!

Mike,did you have to buy your pe,or did it come in the kit?
i have the same kit but mine has no pe in it.i also have an
old m4-18t kit by Nitto,both kits are unbuilt .

Mike, I just found this build. Its quite a cool subject and your doing a superb job. Well done man!

Gary

Roy - Thanks for the peek. The PE I am using is the Eduard PE, their general set for the M4 HST as well as their door set.

I have built the old Nitto kit many moons ago. The Nitto kit would benefit from the PE.

Gary - Thanks for stopping by and for your comments.

Rounds Complete!!

Mike thanks for the info on the pe,i will look for it.

Well it seems like I can never get enough bench time. Finally had some time this weekend. The ammo box was primed with Vallejo OD Primer and the painted with Poly Scale OD.



With paint on all the exterior major components I used some Tamiya OD mixed with about 10% Tamiya Dark Yellow for darker shadow lines. Here is the ammo box.



Here is the forward crew cabin



Next, using PE stencil set I created masks for 20-inch stars and a 12-inch star for the rear. The masks are created using 1-inch wide painters tape. After the masks are applied and the area is generally masked to prevent overspray, the stars were applied using Tamiya Flat White. Here is the ammo box and the roof of the engine compartment. The small star on the rear door of the ammo box is the 12-inch. All the rest are 20-inch stars.



Here is the forward crew cabin



In between all this painting I have begun working on the tools, toolboxes and the rear crane.
The rear crane is Primed with Vallejo OD primer then painted with Poly Scale OD. The metal contact surfaces are painted with Alclad Steel. The hoist roller, hoist chain, hoist hook are all also painted with Alclad Steel. Here is the finished rear ammunition crane



I will be working on the tools and toolboxes and the M2 50 cal. while I pin wash the hull and major exterior parts. Also will be adding decals.

As always all comments are welcome.

Rounds Complete!!

Looking great Mike. The stars look realy nice. Good job on them and the rest of it.

Looks real good Mike. How well does that kit go together? I have been interested in it but never got one...

Mike,
That looks real nice, great job. I love the idea of homemade masks, any secrets other than a sharp blade, good light, and an extra dose of patience?

Cheers,
Rick Cooper

Gino - Thanks, I truly appreciate you stopping in.

Jim - Thanks for the comments. The kit goes together well but has some big injector pin marks in some obvious finished places that require additional work to clear them. Also as you can see it is a kit that needs painted as you go due to the way the kit is assembled.

Rick - LOL... I don't like using the stencils directly, also they don't fit will around details.

Otherwise, I use 1 inch blue tape, cut a piece and stick it to a cutting mat. First using a sharp pointed pencil I trace the star onto the tape. Then using a brand new blade and a steel ruler, carefully cut. Remove the star, then slowly lift the mask off the mat.

Yes, it is time consuming and requires patience, but worth it. Thanks

Rounds Complete!!

Hi Mike. Really nice build so far. Is the etch included in the set? The paint work/stenciling looks great.

Hi Mike ..Really great job you've got going on..I've got that kit in my stash but you've convinced me to look for the PE sets before I start this one.
Keep up the great work!

Rick

Mike,

Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear it wasn't some $900. laser light cutter you had laying around. I think everyone is always looking for those kinds of simple, inexpensive tips for stuff like like that.

Cheers,
Rick

Frank - The kit does come with PE but it is mainly the PE screen doors for the engine compartment. I am also using the Eduard PE. That has a bunch more items for the dash board, the PE tie downs, the seat belts, and what I am working on now, nice PE tool boxes to go on the roof. Also all the straps for the tools. I am also going to try the PE doors from Eduard. Since the original were canvas, better scale than the plastic doors.

Thanks for the peek

Rich - As I have noted to Frank, the Eduard Pe is worth it, IMO. Thanks for the comment.

Rounds Complete!!

After installing the PE front window hinges it was time to fit up the cab and engine compartment. The ammunition compartment is just dry fit for a check.



Getting the doors ready will require some time to allow drying. The Eduard PE doors require paper for the canvas. Instead of paper, I used my favorite for canvas, aircraft (jap) tissue. Here you can see the tissue attached using landscape cement. After attaching it each side is coated to seal up the tissue and give it strength.



Back to working on all the tools and the M2.

As always all comments are welcome.

Rounds Complete!!

Mike,you are doing a very cool job on the build great work.

Roy - Thanks for the peek and for the comments.

Rounds Complete!!

Hi Mike...Great job on the doors..I picked up both sets of PE from Eduard when I was at the Nats in Florida ...It's all your fault!! Glad I could find them..now I have no idea when I'll get this one on my work bench but at least I got everything I need and this blog to help me out . keep the updates coming !

Rick

Richard - Sorry I gave you the urge at the NATS, on the other hand..... you can never have enough accessories!! I will hopefully have another update tonight with the doors...just need some computer time this evening.

Glad you are enjoying the blog. Thanks for the comments and for stopping in.

Rounds Complete!!

This has been a long week getting my daughter back to college so the little bits of progress I kept to the doors

After coating the doors with airplane tissue, the doors were painted on one side with Vallejo OD Green. After the paint was given overnight to dry, I then using a new sharp #11 blade cut out the window areas and removed the tissue.



After the windows were cleared the other side of the doors was painted. I also painted one side of the window frames. On the unpainted side I applied contact cement. In my particular case, 3M photo mounting cement. This was done by spraying a small amount of the cement into a disposable cup and then applying the cement to the frame with a small detail cotton swab.

Once a set of frames was ready with I cut, with a new sharp #11 blade, a strip of clear stretch wrap plastic. Then I applied the stretch wrap to the frames starting on one side and working to the other while keeping the stretch wrap taught and straight. After pressing to the frames, again using the sharp #11 blade I cut around each frame and removed it from the PE sheet. Here is one of the small windows when removed.



Again, using the contact cement, I place a small bead on the tissue side of the window opening on the door and then applied the frame with the clear window to the door. Here is a view of the small doors with the windows applied.



Once all the windows are applied it is time to remove the doors from the PE Sheet. Here is how the sheet looks with everything installed



Once again using a sharp #11 blade I removed all the doors and the hinges. Since I intend to display with the crew compartment open, I folded the hinges and assembled the doors in the folded position using Gator Glue. Here is the finished set of doors, minus their tie down straps, but ready to mount.



As you can see in the photo, how thin the folded set is which is much closer to scale than piling all the plastic doors together, which would have been more than .080 thick, which would be way out of scale. The Eduard doors are time consuming but much closer to scale

As always all comments are welcome.

Rounds Complete!!

Looking really nice Mike. Thanks for explaining how you're doing stuff too.

Jesse - Thanks for the peek. That is part of the hobby is to share learn and teach. Glad you enjoy the explanation.

Rounds Complete!!

Mike,what can say,your build is getting better all the time.