Hi guys!
This will be a new field to me in several ways. I usually build WW2 aircraft in 1/48 but started last year to build armor more regular as you can see here and have just finished a MAN 5 to gl for the Logistic Campaign which will be added to that thread soon. Normally I don't do build blogs but with this build I want to. Next new field is, that I build modern German Army (Bundeswehr) or NATO stuff, if I build armor. So this build makes things different in many ways.

Last year I bought the new K9FIN "Moukari" self-propelled howitzer of the Finnish Army. So it's modern but not NATO, well, not officially .... I will build it more or less as it was seen on the National Flag Day Parade in Helsinki in June 2017. Maybe I add some Modellbau Schatton antennas and of course some finnish flags to it. But the rest will be out of box. And I hope some guys of you will accompany me on my way through the build.

First I want to show the kits parts. Here the attractive box art and the contents ....

.... sprue A with parts for the turret ....

.... 2 x sprue C with parts for the wheels ....

.... sprue D with parts for the hull ....

.... sprue B with the turret and the upper and lower hull with sprue E. Haven't figured out what parts are on that one ....

.... a thread to be used as a towing cable (might replace that one), poly cabs for the wheels, vinyl tracks and a small decal sheet ....

.... the instruction plan consists of 2 parts and the painting intruction is in b/w but I have made some notes already as you can see ....

.... on the side of the box there are some useful colour profiles ....


This is the first time that I try splinter camo on a tank. Have done it several times on a plane with no problems. Hope it's the same here ....

For the main painting I will use Vallejo paints and have decided for 71251 NATO Black, 71017 Russian Green and 71095 Pale Green. I hope these paints come close to the real thing. I won't do much weathering on it (if any). First because this vehicle is brandnew and took part in a parade and also because I'm not a fan of weathering. If you find my way of building unorthodox, please remember that I come from Aeroscale and am not yet so familiar with armor.

I have another build on my workbench (a Bf 109 for the Foreign Fighters Campaign on Aeroscale) but I hope to start the build this weekend.

If you have comments or suggestions I would love to hear them.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Tuned in and wwatching. This is a very interesting subject for me.

This is pretty much a good kit.Right now I am building the Republic of Korea Marine version as used during the bombardment of Yeonpyeong.Just one tip,pick up one of the great aftermarket barrels.

Hataka makes a modern Finnish set. Don't know about their red line (air brush) stuff, but I've just started using the blue line (regular brush) WW2 British . Me like. http://hataka-hobby.com/products/modern-finnish-army-afv-paint-set/

I like Finnish stuff. The balancing act between East & West that they've pulled off over the almost last 80 years would be book worthy ! I'll be riding along on this one Torsten. Have fun and please post many pictures !

Hi!
Be careful with Hataka colours. I read some quite negative comments on these products which I must admit are 2-3 years old. No idea if they improved the colours lately. I have not tried them myself but quite a few people warned that that these are quite difficult to use or useless with airbrush.

Andreas

I recently used their Polish modern army set with my airbrush and was really happy with it. It needed very few thinning and gave a nice satin finish (no pun intended).
Concerning the kit it is quite good. The worst part is the turret stowage basket which is a it on the thick side. The tracks need some attention as well.

Enjoy your build.
Olivier

Hi Oliver,
good to hear, I was looking at their Danish Army set and was unsure about using this brand.

Thanks, Andreas

Wow! Thanks for all your feedback, guys! Didn't expect that. And I have done nothing yet .... I'm glad to have you all on board!

Nikos, I hope you enjoy the build as much as I will!

Jason, though I intend to use the kits part I might also go for an aftermarket gun. Do you know an online shop, best in Germany or the EU? I have heared of that incident at the inner korean border. I hope the K9 in Europe never have to shoot in anger! Some NATO forces also use them (Estonia, Norway, Poland)

Timothy, I know that Hataka has that set out but I have heared so many pros and cons that I will not use them. With Vallejo I have a brand which works perfect with my airbrush (german made Triplex), so I'll use them on this build, too. And they have a big range of colours.

ivanhoe6, I love Finland and have great respect for their army. Been there a few times and have spend New Years Eve 2 times in Helsinki (also for their 100th anniversary 2017/18 of course). It's a great country and I'll spend my summer holidays in their far north again this year. Oh, and I'll try my best to post as many WIP photos as possible! I'm pretty sure that I'll enjoy this build. At least it looks very tasty ....

Andreas, thanks for your advice. I have heared about the problems with Hataka paints and will step back from them. Though Magnus Fridsell, a swedish modeller on Aeroscale, has used these paints on several of his builds and he is very satisfied with them. I guess, it's just what you prefer. I'll stick to Vallejo, have made good results with them on my aircrafts.

Olivier, thanks also to you. I had again a look at the baskets. The parts do look a bit thick but I can live with that. The bigger problem is probably to paint them with the splinter camo. I think I'll paint them seperatly from the turret and glue them to it afterwards. Indeed the tracks look a bit warped (not as warped as on my SPz Marder kit) but I hope they will be fine when they are on the model.

Again, thanks for all your support, I hope I can show you the first pics in the next days!

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Torsten
If you have time you can have a look at my site where you'll find my article about the K9. I give some details about the build. I read it again after this post as I didn't exactly remember the issue with the tracks. They are too long and I cut them by one link. I then used a staple to connect the both ends. CA glue didn't work with the material used by Academy.

Enjoy your build.
Olivier

KOOL SUBJECT!!This thread/post is why I come to Armorama. To see how others approach/build. Academy's newer releases are quite good and I'm looking forward to seeing you build this kit. Please post often no matter how small an update is.

Olivier, that's exactly what I did yesterday evening. Your K9 is a beauty! If my Moukari becomes half as good as you got yours. I'll be satisfied. I wanted to write you a PM if it's okay for you that I copied your report and the photos as a reference for my build .... The photos show some interesting details which may help me to avoid mistakes. That's a pity that the tracks are 1 link too long but it's a good advice to use staples in the end. I'll see when I get there, which probably will be very late in the build. Where did you put the joints then? On the upper or the lower track? Oh, and I like your Leopard 2 builds!

Btw, do you happen to be at the expo in F-67450 Mundolsheim on the 22./23. June this year? It's the expo of CMS Strasbourg and I'll be there as an exhibitor both days. I would be pleased to meet you. My Moukari should be finished by then, hopefully ....

Eric, great to have you on board, too! Enjoy the trip! I'll try to post as often as I can and while I wait now for the paint to dry on my Bf 109 I think, I can start tonight with the "Sledgehammer". That's what "Moukari" means in english.

Torsten

Nothing much to show yet. Just to let you guys know that I've started the build yesterday. This is how far you get when step 1 and 2 of the instruction are finished, leaving the track supporting wheels aside until later. Don't know, if it's the correct word in english, in german these wheels are called "Stützrollen".



Studying the instruction and looking at Olivier's build I noticed a few parts which I can't glue to my build before painting like the headlights. Have to paint them seperatly and glue them to the Moukari afterwards, otherwise I'll get problems with masking the splinter camo. That will be fun ....

Have a nice Sunday!
Torsten

"support rollers"
Dany

Thanks, Dan!
I was close ....

Torsten

Thank you for the comment on my K9.
I put the staple just under the sponson but a good place to hide it would be around the idler wheel where the mudguard can conceal it.

I won't be at Mundolsheim. It is quite far from where I live. I visited this show when I was in Haguenau a couple of years ago. It's a nice one.

Olivier

Just a small update of my K9. Have accomplished step 3 of the instruction here ....


.... will leave step 4 out for a while. That is glueing all the wheels to the lower hull ....

As you can see, I've marked quite a few parts in the instruction which I cannot glue to the kit now. They would be in the way for the splinter camo ....

.... this is step 5, the rear side of the lower hull. There are still a few parts missing which I will paint seperatly and glue to the hull later ....

.... the rear side is now glued to the lower hull. I have used 2 rubber bands over night to keep the part in the correct position. The fitting is very good ....


.... and finally some test fitting with the upper hull. Fitting here is again very good ....


Next step will be glueing parts to the upper hull and connect both hull parts. After that I think I can start to throw some paint on my Moukari.

I'll be away for the weekend, so no progress in the next days. But I'll keep you updated with my next steps, so stay tuned!

Enjoy this sunny spring weekend!
Torsten

Coming Along Nicely

Good planning ahead so that you can achieve the splinter pattern more effectively.

Thanks for your comment, Eric!

Yes, I have many looks at the photos I have of the Moukari where the splinter lines go and so I can decide which parts to add now to the kit and which later. I should have also left the towing eyes on the front aside. Well, I believe it will become a masking orgy anyway ....

Torsten

Not much progress on the Moukari in the last days. At the moment I am concentrating on my new "Blue Squadron" Bf 109 for the Foreign Fighters Campaign on Aeroscale.

But I have done some work on the upper hull, leaving some parts aside again because of the painting later. So this is just a small update ....


I've come a bit further meanwhile and have glued both hull parts together today but have taken no photos of that step yet. I'll keep you updated.

Andreas, your photos are invaluable worthy for me! Thanks a lot!

Have a nice week!
Torsten

Nice Work...Keep it up!!

Thanks Eric, I will do my best. Your Merkava is also coming along nicely, btw.

Here are 2 shots of how far I am at the moment with my K9. Hull parts are glued together, the front mud skirts are only adjusted with a few drops of White Glue for the painting. If I later have problems getting on the tracks I can easily take the skirts off again ....


I think I can soon start to throw some paint on the hull. In the meantime I'll get the wheels also ready for painting.

Torsten

Good job so far. Painting the splinter camo will be the true fun step

Thanks Olivier! Painting yes, but masking ....?

Anyway, a small update today. Paint - finally! Even if it's just primer. So my K9 is prepared for its first UN mission ....



.... this morning White turned into Finnish .... errr .... Russian Green ....




.... though I used only 20 % thinner I needed a few layers of coating to get the paint opaque. This Green is quite transparent. And I believe Pale Green will be about the same.

Now I'll let the paint dry thoroughly and in the next days I will mask the underside of the hull, afterwards Pale Green will be the first paint on the upperside. I'll let you know, so stay tuned ....

Torsten

After I have finished the Bf 109 for the Foreign Fighters Campaign on Aeroscale I can show you a little update of my K9. To do this ....


....you need a lot of this ....

.... masking took me 3 evenings this week but I guess in the end there are still some paint corrections to be made. Next step will be painting Pale Green (Vallejo 71095) all over the upper hull. Oh, and I have started with the turret, but there's nothing worth to show yet.

Have a happy Easter!
Torsten