I finally have some progress worth posting. I'm pretty happy with the fuel lines and wiring. It took a little time but really adds alot to the kit. A few more days should be ready for painting. Quick question were the Tirans in the 80s painted Israeli sand gray? Just want to be sure.

I also had a Verlinden converson for the base T55 kit and it does not match up to the Tamiya parts. Someone got it wrong. Most of the Tamiya parts are better then the resin. I may use some of the photo etch though.

Tom

Hi guys

Proud to say : DONE!













Please feel free to provide some feedback on this one.

How can I upload pictures for the gallery?

Ole

James:I love how you're handling that paint scheme

Cam: Thanks mate, but you do know that it is a Tiran 6 that I am building If you think it's a Tiran 5, oh buddy then I have done something wrong
A very nice T62 you have there, good clean build

Bob: we still have have plenty of time , although I think we are going need an extension. Myself included.

Andrew : Wow, now you're really going for it . That
is going to look killer

Thomas : looking very fine, that is also a good clean build. As to your question here is a colour chart that may help, but please do not just go by the actual colour shown:
http://idfmodelling.free.fr/article01.html

Ole : well done there, a fabulous build you have shown us . I really like the exhaust cover you have made, it looks so . There is one thing I would try to change, the fuel spills look a bit heavy like oil, try and thin them out a bit. But that is only my 2 cents

Now to the Gallery thing, I have never tried to talk anyone through this before, so here is how I load pictures:

1. Shrink your picture using an image changing website, I use this place doesn't cost anything and the pics are downloaded straight from and to your pc, after an hour they erased from the site:
http://www.resizeyourimage.com/

2. Shrink the image to ca. 389 in width and 292 in height,
after you have shrunk it and downloaded to your pc, you must take the image from "downloads" and place it a normal file.
There is a limit to the size of your picture, but I am not sure what it is any more.

3. Go to the Gallery page:
https://gallery.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/28824

4. Click the "choose image" image button and add the pictures.

5. hit the upload button at the bottom of the page, this should then go through to the next step.

6. now you can add some info about your build, if you wish to.

7. click the "submit" button and that is it.

I have just done a test run and and added a StuG to the gallery .

If anyone knows an easier method then please let us know.






Paul

Lets see if I still remember how to post photos, its been a while. Here is my entry for this campaign.


Bob

Thomas - it's my first modern Russian tank and I agree, the fuel piping is a pain to do but it sure improves the look of the tank.

Paul - that's what happens when you don't pay attention to what you are looking at.

Ole - Love your paint job, nice subdued weathering but you know it's there. I especially like the multiple rust colours on the exhaust shield. I agree with Paul that the fuel stains seem a little prominent. Nice job on the DShkm, I'll take one in russian green!

Made some sandbags out of Tamiya epoxy putty and tied them on with beading wire, now to the wash bay and the paint shop

Well, after lots of trial fittings and fiddling around with their positioning I came to the painful conclusion that the side skirts from the Verlinden conversion, designed for Tamiya’s T55, don’t fit a Trumpeter T54, even after it’s undergone a ‘cut ‘n’ shut’ operation. So, out with the knife, files and plastic card and here’s the results so far…



I decided to make them one-piece items just so that they would be easier to handle, and once they’re fitted and painted it should be possible to make them appear to be made up of separate panels. I’ve also discovered my first major cock-up, the cut-out for the exhaust should straddle to two rearmost panels but, because I didn’t bother to check properly, the exhaust has ended up too far forward and so said cut-out appears in the penultimate panel only. The alternative would have been to shuffle everything forward a few millimetres but then the end panels, covering the sprockets and idlers would have been wrong so I have decided that this is the lesser of two evils… I think!

The only other alternative would have been to miss these two panels off altogether but as I particularly wanted to try and make a representation of the example in the museum at Saumur (which has a full set) that wasn’t really an option...

Damn! Damn! Damn! I thought this hobby was meant to relax and help de-stress one?

That said I'm still enjoying this, my first campaign enormously, especially as it seems to be producing so many fantastic T54s, 55s and 62s. In my opinion these were some of the nicest looking tanks the Soviets ever produced.

So how can it not be fun?

Jon, after reading your post I will just do without skirts, I do not like them anyway. Your efforts look like they will produce what you had intended though.

Bob

@ Ole, awesome Enigma mate, only two things I picked up on are, maybe overdone with the rust powder on the exhaust cover, it just looks a bit heavy to me but still looks great with the excellent chipping/rusting underneath. But the big thing is black stains around the rear fender fuel tank caps, its way heavy and looks very overdone in my opinion (Looks like old used oil just dribbled over it). Otherwise the whole vehicle looks excellent.

@ Paul, thanks for the vote of confidence mate.

@Bob, Enjoy the kit, its not bad if you're not rivet counting (ie it builds OK but accuracy is "off")

@Cam, I like the sandbags over the fuel tanks, they look good.

@Jon great work on the skirts must of taken some patience.

Andrew: I dont count rivets dont have the time nor the patience. Building is more of a therapy for me, besides I was not there to be able to tell the difference.

Bob

Hi guys

Thank for the feedback on my Enigma. I am happy that you like it and I agree that the oil stains are too heavy.

Any suggestions as to reduce the black oli spils? They are painted with vallejo.

Have a nice modeling weekend

Ole

Bob that is one mean kit there, I hope your previous therapy sessions carry you through this one

Cam the sandbags look real cool, and there is also no overkill with the way you have tied them down

Jon never mind the (bollo...) cock-up, it is still a cool piece of scratch building

Ole I'm afraid I can't offer you any advice on vallejo paints. I only use Humbrol, Model Master, Revell or Tamiya.

Here are my markings for this beast. They are hand painted and believe me they look tidier than the real thing:







Thanks go to Frenchy (Henri-Pierre) for the link to the pictures with Tiran 6 markings. I'm sure he will have nothing against me passing the link on to anyone else who needs it:

http://www.idf-modelling.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=90

That's all for today, the paint needs to dry. I hope I can get
a dusty wash on tomorrow made with Tamiya paints or ground pastells







Paul

Great job Paul !!

I've been working on the wheels, but some hard painful tooth crisis and a trip to the dentist , well simply took me focus from the workbench to stopping the pain.
That's all I want at the moment, I would trade some kits for some "free-pain-days " ... I know sad words from a Campaign Admin..

Ole sorry I've never used Vallejo paints so I don't know how they respond to thinning down after they have dried. Another possibility is masking off the area and then a "VERY" light misted recoat to the effect of pre-shading.

HTH

Ole: my experiance with Valejo is that they are very delicate and a cotton swab with some denatured alcohol may lessen the spills enough to do some touchup.

Bob

Paul: that looks to good to be plastic, nice paint and extras.

This is after an hour of flash removal, but it was fun to cut some plastic again.



Bob

Thanks John, I know what you mean about the tooth thing, at the end of January I lost two fillings in a week and had the yearly cleaning session on the following Monday .

Here's my first dusty wash, it's an extremely diluted version of Tamiya XF 49 and 55.
Diluted with a water alcohol mix, be careful with the alcohol as too much will even start to remove enamel paints .



Tomorrow will get a coat of Testors dullcote after which another layer of dust wash will be applied.

Happy Saturday all



Paul


Edit:
Cheers Bob. Nice progress there, looks like your therapy is working well.

thanks Paul !
just want to manage the pain...

been staring at mt T-62, it can't build on it's own, damn.
I need one hand to hold the ice packs against my jaw... just looking at your builds guys.
Terrific work so far !

Hi Guys

Wow has there been some amazing progress I can't read or type fast enough!!!

Ole love the enigma, agree with past comments about the petrol stains

Paul looking amzing as ususal sir!! Can't wait for more!!

Cam love those sandbags!! Would love to know how you sized & made them, I know there are putty, did you make a texture on them??

James looking fantastic as expected!!

John hope the teeth get better soon!!

Cheers Mike

Thanks Mike ! Me too .. so far a painfull weekend.

Paul: would you mind giving a tutorial on your dust, it looks really good and I would rather not work with turpentine in the space that I live.


bob

Hello Mike: I wanted 3 sandbags on the top of each fuel tank so measured one and came out with a dimension of 15mm X 10mm each. I then mixed up a couple of inches of epoxy putty and rolled it into a sausage about 5-6mm in diameter. I cut the sausage into 15mm long chunks and flattened them a bit on a piece of glass with some talc on it. I used a straight edge to keep the rectangular shape as I worked on an even thickness. when the shape was right I flattened one end to depict the seam on the end that was filled and inscribed a seam around the bag. I used an old piece of tea towel to try and give them a fabric pattern. It will be interesting to see how they look when they are painted and see if I have managed to texture one with my finger prints.

Wow gents, this thread has really hotted up over the last couple of weeks!

Some amazing work and great progress, too much to congratulate individually so just take it from me you're all doing a sterling job.

Thanks for all the kind comments on my own work, really appreciate the support. Am away for a few days but will be posting some updates on my return.

Cheers,

James

John thanks mate, now get those choppers seen to so you get back to the bench

Mike thanks also, I'm looking forward to seeing more of your up-armoured T55

Cam if you have touched your sandbags in 2-3 different ways then they should still look ok

James thanks to you also, and don't forget the exhaust holes on the barrel

Bob I can understand you not wanting to use turps in closed environment, even in a well air cellar it stinks.
Here you have my dusting method:

1.To get the wash to dry faster I usually warm the vehicle up with a hair dryer, but be careful.

2.The mix is roughly 20% isopropyl alcohol with 80% tap water.
you can the alc at the chemists quiet cheaply - 250ml for 2,50€.

3.The paint mix for my Tiran was about 2ml of XF49 and 4-5ml XF55. You will just have to test it out to see which requirements you need. If it looks like this when wet then it's fine for me:

in the jar:



test on kitchen towel



this is when it's dry:



4.To apply it I use a soft flat brush, be careful of "pooling" as this can leave tide marks. Also try avoid causing bubbles, these also leave tide marks.

5.Apply as many times as you need, you can layer on layer but let it thoroughly dry (12 hours), or you could add a matt coat
in between. If you do then use a solvent based version.

Remember to be careful with the alcohol, as I've said too much will make a viscous mixture which will remove even solvent based paints. Practice on an old kit first and possibly one with lots of nooks and crannies so you can get used to not making bubbles and pooling.

Here is my second and final layer of dust, well for now anyway





I hope this helps.



Paul

So... I stopped being lazy ass for some time, did some work on my T-34 and started with T-62. Not much so far, But yeah, I have some cool new couple of wheels

So many nice tanks peeking their heads, er turrets out.

Mine is officially done the building stage and sitting to let the glue on the last couple parts dry then it's off to the wash bay and with any luck I'll throw some paint at it this coming week.

Thanks for all the inspiration gents!