Hello Fellas,

I have a bit of an accuracy issue with the Afgan war ASU's. Theres hardly any good reference pics of units that were there. Ive seen one picture that i could see the numbers on it. I dont have any matching decals or even any spares that are acceptable. I applied the kit decals for a Soviet ASU but i cut the 1601 down to 601. Now if that an issue that disqualifies me from the campaign, i completely understand. Heres what i have now.



Neither the 1601 or 601 is probably accurate, but could it be close...i dont know. Mike what do you and the fellas think?

Gary

Gary, it looks great. I think both of the marking schemes offered in the kit are museum specific vehicles. 1601 is of a Polish vehicle on display at the Polish Army Museum. 057 is a Soviet vehicle on display at Kubinka. Given how the Soviets played with vehicle numbers, 601 is as good as any.

Gary, simply stunning sir!! It is it & every bit & bugger the decal numbers it ain't getting kicked out in any shape or form!!

We aren't modeling a photo just great ideas!!

I can say I have at least started on mine & hope to post a pic in a day or so, will only be the wheels & partial lower hull, but a start is a start

Cheers Mike

Gary, finally I don`t like the way you did that one...You should send it to me so I can correct it... ON MY DISPLAY SHELF!
Man you`ve done it again, with the preshade plus the highlight, the color variations are shaaaaweeeet bro!
I`ll get back to my miserable t-72 now
Got to get one of those asu`s.

Phil.

Phil,

I agree I got'a try that preshading, I tried to post shade & lets just say won't be going back their until I get better!!

And I am loving your fantastic T72 build!!

Thanks Mike!! You should try preshading, it is pretty simple and awesomly efficient. That said I never seen it as good as The Boggs one`s...Just can`t beat The Boggs

Hey Mace, notice?



I`m Calling you The Boggs now since I`m jealous, I`m calling you anoying names
hahaha.

phil.

Gary, I certainly wouldn't sweat the numbers on the vehicle. You were right though, there isn't much out there reference-wise. I tried to look up -85 photos on the internet just for the hell of it and there really isn't much there. I do think you are some type of undercover Trumpeter sales agent because you have half the thread buying these things....including me. I actually got two -85's on the way. Just what I need right? And your build is killer!!!!


Regards, Ian

Hey thanks fellas, I figured you guys would be ok with it but i wanted to make sure to get right with Mike.

Phil, ill trade the ASU for your FlakPanther.....whadya say???? Boggs is good with me brother, i been called much worse for far less. Thanks man!

Ian, I swear im not with Trumpeter.....or...am...i? Ian i love this kit and recomend it for anyone wanting to try something different or out of thier element. Its only my second Trumpy build but ill be doin' more Trumpeter's in the future.

Gary

Hi Gary, that is now the second time I follow your works of art. No way can I top that.
What can I say to your build
Dude I´m speechless, it´s soooo and as the others all say "don´t worry about the figures", it´s a beauty.

Well then here´s my mediocre Frankenstein with some color:
Green:



Inside the Freak:



see you later


Paul

Hey Paul, thanks man! Dude your Franken55 is awesome! Ill definately build one some day.

I have applied the Flat coat and next will be oil fading.



More tomorrow.

Gary

@ Gary, just loving the look of this more & more falling for the Jedi mind tricks more & more!!

Looking very stunning sir, it an A bomb for sure as it blows me away, struggling for words & what else to say!!

@ Paul that freak of nature is so got'a get, not a better monster as a special project!! Did you end up deciding if you will do the AA build on the lower hellcat hull?

Thanks for the inspiration guys!!

Cheers Mike

@Gary: Thanks. I see you´ve just put the icing on the cake, that can´t get any better can it .
Oh yeh, before you start your T55/M18 please let me get mine finished othwise you shall put me to total shame .

@Mike: Cheers mate. As to the AA build, well I don´t know . Theres only one known picture of the thing and that was taken at a low angle . Which would mean a lot of guess work on how to fix the maxon turret in place. I might just wait for "What if 4" a stick an over dimentioned laser turret on it.

Paul

Hi there,
now for some color, or camo
After a lightend base color came anthracite, sand yellow, and german red brown.









Tomorrow I shall get some gloss on there and then I shall
add the 11 Euro (ca. 15$USD) decal.

Paul

Paul, glad you got it painted. I thought it looked so stupid without paint; I hate that companies bother with 'base color styrene'. Now that it all looks the same it really looks feasible.

Paul looking mighty awesome sir!! For something that was cobbled together in a mad lab....Bosnia not yours lol, it actually looks kind cool.
Love the camo scheme

Paul---- your camo application kicks ass!!! Very well done.


Best wishes, Ian

I second that statement!!! That camo is SHAWEEET!!! Nice Paul!

Gary

Paul,
Between you and Gary, the bar has been set pretty high. I really thought the Hellcat turret was going to look too small but it really came off looking great and well proportioned. Nice job.

Paul and Gary both your builds are looking outstanding great work as usual
I have made some progress on my NVA T-34 but the PE straps for the external fuel tanks are kicking my butt
If I can wrestle my computer back from my daughter tomorrow I will try to post some progress shots

As promised my progress shots this is what it looked like this morning


Road wheels are dry fit and I have since added more PE parts as well

Hey Sal, thats a superb build my man!!! Very nice.

I have finished the oil fading and ive applied a filter. I also Airbrushed some dust on the lower hull sides and rear and applied some steaks with AK products before glueing into place tracks and wheels. Next will be some minor chipping in proper areas, detailing tools, wood handles, painting periscopes, visionports etc.





More soon!

Gary

Gary -----Your ASU-85 badassness(?) continues. What a great looking vehicle.


Sal----- T-34 the looks great so far. Love the profile of those -34/85's.


On a good note, as well, my T-34 replacement parts arrived in a whopping two days, free of charge from Dragon. I was actually missing two other sprues, which were sent as well. Thanks Dragon and great customer service. Should be ready to go this week and not even off schedule.


Happy New Years!!!!

Ian

Paul, Sal, Gary: You dudes rock! I bow to your badasses performances Paul, that camo is hard core. Gary, you are plain anoying with talent. Sal this is a sweet mean machine, I like the extra love you are giving the build, it really gonna give it some spice!

Phil.

Hi Guys, well I didn´t get anything done yesterday = .
First off thanks for all the great criticism , it´s
well appreciated.

Mike: a special thankyou to you for the new name of my modelling bench / room = "Badmans Madlab" I shall make a collection of these comments, yours is the second I now have. The first came from John jkb sprint with "Pauls plastic voodoo" , lets see what else comes around

Sal, sweet build of that T34/85 mate, I bet getting those engine grills off of the sprue and into situ was good fun.
Can´t wait to see some paint on there.
Wow, I just realised I´m actually ahead of you in this campaign

Well here´s wher the camo scheme came from (for discussion purposes only):


and here´s the gloss with the 11€ decal:


I´ll try and get some washes on tomorrow and then the matt coat.
Keep `em coming lads
Paul

Paul, I like that you didn't follow your reference picture at all! Right fender was bent in and you ripped the left fender down the middle. Just thought that was kind of funny.

The eleven quid decal looks great. Actually looks painted on.

Gary, Sal, looking great. Plus you've got a very nice 'Spit in the background Gary....