My tank transporter fetish is way out of hand...

[Beekster]

May 23, 2019 14:29:30 GMT -6 JED said:

Amazing work,cammo and distressing looks spot on

Thanks!  The camo took a lot of time and both airbrushes.  I used the Paasche VL for area coverage of the base green and the yellow splotches, then used my Olympos HP100 SB to tighten up the edges and spray the black.  I got finger cramps from holding the trigger just so in order to get the flow and spray pattern I wanted.  The Olympos is a great tool, but it gets tedious when there is as much surface area to deal with as there is on this model.  The same will apply to any other such tank transporter that wears a multi-color paint job.

[JCON]

It was worth the effort!

[Steve Ski]

Looks pretty bueno from here!

[Dukemaddog]

Sensational job on that paint work. I also love the rust patterns. I'm thinking if you also did a light drybrush of steel or metallic grey over the rust to signify more recent use. That might help enhance this too.

Congrats on moving so far ahead on a Shelf Queen.

[JED]

If you you can put up with more finger cramps the rest will of the cammo will be well worth it

[Beekster]

May 24, 2019 10:33:59 GMT -6 Dukemaddog said:

Sensational job on that paint work. I also love the rust patterns. I'm thinking if you also did a light drybrush of steel or metallic grey over the rust to signify more recent use. That might help enhance this too.

Congrats on moving so far ahead on a Shelf Queen.

Yeah, Duke, that or burnishing with an artist's silver pencil to get some metallic sheen on there.  Either way that has to be done after I seal the rest of the paint in with Dullcote, otherwise the sheen will disappear.  After the flat clearcoat and bare-steel burnishing it will get watercolor washes for accumulated dirt.  For a project that's been in the works for nine years it's actually shaping up pretty well.  I'm pleasantly surprised.

[BUCKY]

It all looks fantastic from here! I like the way the track marks look.

[Beekster]

The trailer now has a first shot of Dullcote on it. It will get another spot-treatment in places since the green rubbed off in a couple of places and I didn't catch it earlier. Oh well. But other than that, it is ready for watercolor washes and other weathering once the lacquer is fully cured, which will take a couple of weeks. The cab is sitting with Glossote drying, and will get decals when that is cured. The tractor frame just got a shot of Dullcote, so it will be ready for final assembly and weathering in a couple of weeks. Once it is dry enough to handle I'll shoot some pictures of it. But for now, here is the trailer, finally on it's wheels:







The empty circular sockets at the back are for MV lenses, yellow and red. They will go on when the lacquer coats are cured.

[JCON]

Looks really good!!!

[BUCKY]

I really like this one, Beekster!

[ogrejohn]

That sure is looking nice! 

[Beekster]

More mock-ups just for fun. The big Mack is dry enough to handle with care while the lacquers continue to cure. I mocked it up with the wheels to see how it's shaping up...not too bad!





And just for kicks and giggles, here's a shot with the even bigger M911 in the background:




Now, the Chilean truck is by no means the longest variant of the DM series that was possible to build; the IDF tractors with sleeper cabs were about as long as the M911. What strikes me is how much beefier and brutish the Oshkosh is. Even that weird cab, which really isn't all that large, seems to tower over the Mack...and remember, that Mack cab is actually closer to 1/32 scale. Monsters both, that's for sure.

[JCON]

Very cool!!!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Very nice cammo work.

[JED]

Little and large,looks great

[BUCKY]

Brilliant modeling, here!!

[Dukemaddog]

Wow, how cool is that? Man, I wish I could get all these in 1/72 scale!

[Beekster]

The M911 can be had in resin or 3D printed form, I believe, and the M1070 is available in plastic and it has been built (right nicely, too!) on this site. As for a Mack, nothing doing. Shapeways has some stuff in 1/87 HO scale for the railroad boys. In theory, the CAD file could be scaled differently and printed in 1/72 but it would probably be expensive.

More pictures soon. Decals (all four of 'em!) are on the cab and sealed in with flat clearcoat, which is curing right now.

[Beekster]

Wow. This thing might actually get finished after nine years. Behold the cab, now with decals on, glass installed, light lenses in place, and the instrument panel fitted. There's a steering column now that needs paint, and you probably can't see the missing window crank that didn't survive the process of shoehorning the windshield into place. I'll make a new one; it's just a punched disc and rod stock anyway. When that's done and painted, the cab floor can go in for good and this will be ready for final assembly...including adding the little chrome lump that is supposed to be the Mack bulldog on the radiator. Yeah, this thing is pretty darn crude compared to a real truck kit, but I'm pretty satisfied with the degree to which a silk purse has been fashioned from a snap-fit sow's ear of a kit.

[JCON]

Looking fine to me!!!