Well this is my first entry into the AMOM contest!

It's Dragons Nashorn Premium built OOB with the exception of the brass ammo from Tamiya and some shrubbery. I was able to have the gun elevate and traverse with careful application of glue. The gun "turret" is held in place from underneath thru an access panel cut into the belly plate. Enjoy!











cheers

103 looks and no replies......let me be the first.
Good job all round.

Few points though
1. Weathering......needs some more alround. Looks like a fresh veh straight from the washpoint and,

2. The branches on the sides look kinda ...well....fake.

Other than that like I said good job

Cheers

It is a good, clean, build.
But I'll hafta agree with Dan. The exterior looks too clean and new. If the inside looked similar the effect might work. But your flooring looks well used. And is VERY well done, might I add. And the track looks slightly used and weathered, but it does not match the clean running gear. Or visa-versa.

The branches are lychen? They look almost real, but are lacking something. Maybe they need some weathering too?

I hope you don't think we are nit-picking. All these things are easy to fix. It is as if you have one step left. Give it some thought and perhaps a go. If not--be happy and proud of your build. Don't build for others, but just to please yourself.

Any shots of the 'turret' mechanism and door?

Keith

Rick,
Loving these open fighting compartment vehicles like I do, this is a very impressive build and finish, you can see that lots of hours have gone into its creation.
Whether you decide to makee it dirty or not is a personal choice, but if you dont mind me making the suggestion that one way to transform its look would be to take off the lichen and obtain some seafoam, which looks just like miniature brances. Then darken its colour and either add it neat or add and weather some flock or dried herbs, add to your vehicle and you will see the transformation instantly. Seafoam by the box can be expensive but some railyay shops sell it in smaller quantities, or scrounge some from a friend. Even leftover bits are really useful for general cam or debris.

Super build.

John

hi there,

nice clean build. Was the kit easy to work with?

Cheers!

Hi Rick,

Good luck in the competition, some stiff competition around.

Nice looking kit.

Cheers

Al

Hey fellas, tx for the reviews.

Dan,
Tx for the comments. The look that I was after was the "just before action" of a well maintained vehicle. I agree about the shrubbery, I will rectify this when i find suitable replacements. (although they were cut down with a herring) :-)

Keith,
Tx for the comments. As for the vehicle cleanliness and shrubbery issue see above :-) .

This is what I did for the "turret". Cut out the access panel from the belly plate and made a retainer that glues into the pivot point from underneath.



This lets the gun have freedom of movement.

John,
TX for the comments. I have never heard of seafoam, but I will investigate further and see if I can get it locally.

Dan,
Tx, No it was not easy to work with! These Dragon kits have alot of very small platic parts, were talking 2-3 milimeters in size! Not to mention the PE with individual bolt heads and wingnuts. With a steady hand and the patience of a saint it is entirely doable. (still working on the patience thing!) I have about 20 days with approx. 2 hours per day invested so far.

Alan,
TX for the reply. Yes the competition this month is very stiff, as with all the other AMOM's.

For all that commented on this build I thank you again for your critiques and will use them constructively in the future!

cheers

Rick,

Docdios did a great article on making trees from Seafoam and you can see the material in his article if yyou follow this link.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/692

Hope this helps you.

John

Nice Job Rick - not an easy kit. Not to beat a dead horse, but I think better no veggataion than lichen. JMHO.

Rick,
So you used the actual vehicle access panel to place and hide your turret retainer. Brilliant!

Keith

lovely job on the build sauceman i have this kit and really enjoyed the sbs gotta agree with the others about the shrubbery it takes away from a great build, gl in the contest

Hi Rick.
Weathering in armor modelling is not just about making the model dirty, but done right, it also adds depth and highlights details. I believe how clean, or how dirty a model should be, is the modellers own preference.

IMO, this model is ready for weathering, or even the basic wash and dry brush to highlight the details. Nice build, paint work is good, nice camo and the fighting area is already weathered. The addition of the wire on the sides for camo is a really nice touch, but the lichen doesn´t work.

The above points are my opinions only, Rick. Hopefully you dont see them as nit-picking, but are meant constructively. If you even consider any of these points, theres no reason why you couldn´t withdraw your entry, add to whats already here, and re-enter before the 15th again?

I take all comments and critiques seriously and constructively. How will I learn if I don't know? :-) :-) I realy appreciate it when people take the time to look and offer suggestions. About re-submitting before the 15th, I'm afraid I won't have the time as the wife is coming home today for xmas leave from Afghanistan. I don't think modelling will be high up on the agenda .

cheers