SUCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ready for paint


here is my first attempt at a diorama I used MiniArt did not know it was vac-form till it came in the mail

Perseverance has it rewards

Looks great Ronnie.

Nice crisp build. Yes the Vac formed dio's from Miniart get a lot of people first time round.

Nice work Ronnie, glad to see you got the photos posted!

Great work, I like this dio

Good idea with dio, Ronnie.

Ok so I put the diorama together and it as ready for primer.

I eally need to start proof reading my posts better.

REALLY...... see what I mean

Ronnie what happened? all your photos are gone.

Could someone tell me if my photos came back up. I deleted them from imgur not thinking about it and that is why they probably did not show on here. The photos show on my computer and I re-uploaded them to imgur. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Nope, can't see them.

The picture in this post is not available.
You can repair it by:
1.Pressing edit on the post,
2.Deleting the old link to the image and
3.Pasting on the place of the old link a new link to the image.

Sadly Takom dropped the ball on this one. The wheel does not portrude a little where the rubber meets the wheel.

Yes, unfortunately...
My solution to this problem was:
I glued the "rubber" rim on the inner side of the outside wheel.
Then glued the other "rubber" rim as per TAKOM's instruction (on the outer side of the inner wheel).
Glued both wheels together.
Marked both spots on each wheel where the track touches the wheel.
Filed with a knife file bit of the "rubber" on each spot so the track guide horns can be accomodated between the outer and inner wheels.

Thus I have a protruding wheel-at least on the outside.
My omission- I forgot to sand flat the protector profile before glueing the "rubber" to the wheel...

Well mine's going to have to stay as is as they are already glued together. Oh well I guess the rivet counters will love it.

OK so painting started.

Very nice!

Looking good Ronnie.

Suggestions for the lack of protruding lip:

1) Using a circle template cutter and thin sheet styrene, cut out a disc the diameter size of the steel wheel and the lip that should protrude, then cut from that the inner circle that represents the steel wheel diameter in the kit. That way you will have a thin circle to glue over the rubber part and the steel wheel. Kind of like what I did here:


2) Using the cutter and thick painter's masking tape, cut a hole in the tape the diameter size of the steel wheel and the lip that should protrude. Place that on the wheel, then brush on some brushable primer around the rubber tyre up to the steel part. Several light coats will build up a lip on the rim. If you apply a bit more than needed, you can then sand back to a smooth finish the right depth.

Thank you very much for the advice but I think I'm just going to go ahead and finish the kit I am going to refer to rule number one and that is to have fun but maybe on another kid in the future I will definitely try that thanks for all the input

OK been on a role got 99% of the paint down now half to wrap up the skirts and get them attached.

Great progress Ronnie, it's always a great feeling to get the paint on!

Very Nice Ronnie. Great airbrush control, nice soft edge with no overspray.

well fixed the track issue


First undercoat is down, gonna try the Black and White technique


Hmmm, paint cracked at the back, need to refill that

on another note, what is the colour for the inside of the turret and the gun, i cant find any references

Now for the next issue, the rubber tyres. Thanks Takom for the silly sprue joints to clean up, 16*4 to clean up

Looks very nice I do not know for sure but all of my research shows that most armor vehicles will have hatch undersides and exposed interior spaces painted the color of the primarary exterior color base. And usually the tooling and extra track sections too including rubber track pads. Just note the isse I found with road wheels.

OK vacation over back to work tomorrow. I will be slowing down on the progrees now but now ready fo varnish, decals and weathering.