OK I am done with the build except for the tracks. I will only be putting about half on per side as you wont be able to see whats under the water. This will speed that portion up also. I guess overall I would say that the Tristar build was "OK". I think the most difficult part of the build was the pioneer tool assy and installation on the fenders. Perhaps either all PE or better moulding. Fit issues are abundant concerning this area also. I am just glad its over.

Here is the box built and painted

And here is the kit with a coat of white primer applied, next its time to paint.

Hi Tim, nice job so far, one thing to check, in some of the pics there is a definite mold line on the gun barrel you may want to address before your final color coat.
Keep up the good work. Regards, Ed

Despite the issues, you have turned this one into a gem! If you have had more fun than headaches, I would say it was worth it(especially with the finished result).

Well times flies when ur working on again off again on a project. here are pics of where I am at as of today.

Looks nice, should look even better in the water!

Cheers,
Rick

Great job on this Tim!! Caught up from the back end to the paint!! Looking forward to seeing this one submerged a bit!!

OK, so I was convinced to enlarge my box so I went from this;


To this;


And using this wonderful product that I overpaid for online and then came to find out my LHS had for $5 cheaper


Here are the results right after the first pour. I will have to let it cure for 24hrs which will give me time to buy some more, I'm gonna need it.

Ah... I was wondering what happened to this build. Good progress on it.

I think you did the right thing by enlarging the box a bit, but depending on what else you have planned to go around the tank, you may have gone a little too big. It also brings to mind an old adage I've heard more than a few times (and personally believe it) that a subject of a vignette or diorama is always more appealing to the eye if it is not sitting squared and centered on it's base.

Thanks guys. I did find out the you must really seal the wood before you use magic water. I discovered this about an hour after I poured and noticed a large puddle of the resin under my box. I applied a field dressing of duct tape which slowed the lks until the resin cured to the point it was no longer fluid. It also seeped at one spot on a sidewall. The tank is not ”directly” centered but it is where I think it should be. My ”hope” is to color and agitate the water to fill in the rest of the ”space”.

Nice work Tim, larger box works much better. keep up the great work. Ray

Hey Ray, thanks. Well here is the latest. I thought that using a saran wrap taped to the first pour would help separate the colors and define river water from churned up muddy river water.



But that wasnt the case, this stuff will find any and I mean any opening and exploit it.


But I liked the color I had achieved.


This was the result after I then removed the saran wrap and just let it flow.



Now these are the last pour that I did tonight. I poured both a green and a muddy brown at the same time and let them flow naturally. I think I need 1 last small pour and shape/mold the surface.

It looks great! I agree about needing to add some surface texture. Is there a certain product you intend to use for this or are you going to try and shape the resin you already have?

I am going to try to shape it myself. Its just finding the perfect time to shape it after its been poured. I just havent figured that out yet. Its gonna be trial and error, probably with the emphasis on error.

You are a braver man than I.

OK after thinking about this while I tried to sleep I think Im going to pour 1 more colored layer then use "Modge Podge" to make ripples/waves.

OK this is the final pour. There is about $90 of resin in this project. The lower road wheels are now hidden and I have covered up to the tracks on both ends. 24 hrs from now will be Modge Podge then a brush coat of Magic water.

That's a lot of resin! I hope it doesn't crack as it fully cures. How deep can you see down through it?

I feel your pain TImothy.
I built the Ausf.B a year or so ago and had the same fit issues as you did. It is not the storage etc but just the way the kits are produced. I think some manufacturers eject the sprues etc from the moulds too early and you get problems like ejector pin marks and warping.
Anybody want an Ausf.C?

Please Bob dont scare me with thoughts of cracking
With the paint added the depth which u can see is very minimal. Overall I am looking fwd to adding the modge podge.

I worked with that 'water' before for project my daughter had for school. We ended up pouring it about 10 inches (25cm) deep and it’s fine. There's not one crack or split anywhere. The trick was to pour in layers just as you did.
We discovered this by accident in a way. We didn't buy enough at first. We made 2 pours, or maybe 3. One of her friends did the same but with one big pour. The water pulled away from the side at the top just a bit and one small thin seam opened in the middle.
My guess is the product shrank just ever so much while setting. With a smaller pour it's not enough to notice but with a larger pour it was.

Robert may be right about the layered pours. I used to work with casting resin quite a bit before it got too expensive to play with. What I found was the thicker the pour, the more likely a problem would occur, though I did have occasional problems with layered pours too. I just attributed it to one of the lower layers curing differently. Fortunately, even if you do have some layer seperation, with the color you added, it'll probably never show.

What I have is a little less than an inch overall. Done in 3 pours. Just my opinion but I think I am gonna come out OK on this one. Im not a resin expert and I value everyones opinions just mine happens to be for not cracking. I will surely let you know if it does crack.

...positive thoughts...positive thoughts...positive thoughts.....

I don't think you'll have a problem, either.

OK tonight was application of the first layer of Modge Podge. This will also be a trial and error exercise.




Part of it has dried and you can see the slight ripples in the water. I will add a couple of layers to build up the action.