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Post by Beekster on Jan 27, 2019 12:18:37 GMT -6
I'll troll around for guys in my area; I've lost touch with many since I haven't been attending shows the last few years in any regular fashion, and if you've read my "Re-introduction" thread you know about my more recent family difficulties. But I'll direct anyone I run across to come here; one aircraft fellow (and former boss) comes to mind.
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Post by JCON on Jan 27, 2019 13:28:24 GMT -6
Excellent!!!
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Post by Dukemaddog on Jan 27, 2019 16:19:20 GMT -6
Stunning work Beekster! Keep it coming!
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Post by Beekster on Aug 8, 2019 10:40:36 GMT -6
This project has also been a bit troublesome of late. I tried Archer Surface Details rivet decals for the rivets on the white styrene angle iron stiffeners, but they just wouldn't work. The decals wouldn't bend into the angle as I needed them to, and they also tended to break into small pieces and wad up. So, I'm back to doing this the old-school hard way: Shaving rivets from an obsolete Academy Lee, and placing them individually. What you see is about an hour and a half of work this morning, and that side is only about half done.   Obviously there's a lot more of this to do. Yes, it is as tedious as it looks. No, my spacing isn't perfect and my pattern isn't exactly accurate. But it will look the part when suspension, tracks, and mud are in place. Since I've heard rumors of an actual Ram II coming out in styrene, I consider this another project to appease the modeling gods and ensure the appearance of that long-awaited Ram kit. Canadian armor enthusiasts can thank me when it finally shows up.... |
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Post by JCON on Aug 8, 2019 11:07:37 GMT -6
Something to do while watching a ball game or the races...  |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Aug 8, 2019 11:08:34 GMT -6
OMG!!
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Post by RLFoster on Aug 8, 2019 12:38:41 GMT -6
Looks fantastic!  I've been there, done that in terms of hyper detailing something, so I know just how you're feeling. |
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Post by BUCKY on Aug 9, 2019 21:42:51 GMT -6
All those rivets would drive me batty! I think they look great, beekster! Carry on, dude!
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Post by ogrejohn on Aug 10, 2019 10:03:37 GMT -6
Wow!
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rustybaer
ROLLING ON
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Post by rustybaer on Aug 11, 2019 20:13:18 GMT -6
Talk about being a rivet counter....  |
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MARCO
ROLLING ON
BRAZILIANAIRE
The man from the south
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Post by MARCO on Aug 13, 2019 4:56:41 GMT -6
Great work so far! Looks fantastic!
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Post by Beekster on Aug 20, 2019 9:13:57 GMT -6
All the rivets are now done; that was fun... The suspension is built up and on the sides, and now I'm facing a bit of a departure from my usual practice. Since this model will be portrayed in the February 1945 time frame in The Netherlands, it must be seriously caked in mud. That application needs to happen next, along with construction and installation of the tracks. The second photo illustrates why. There's precious little room between the sprocket and the fender, and the fender probably would not survive the usual fiddling with threading the tracks on at the end of assembly.   I've also tweaked the shape of the flame gunner's bulge after staring some more at reference photos, and enlarged the flat area on top and adjusted the curvature at the back (against the hatch location) to put a Sherman periscope mount from the spares box. That was another modification made by 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade Workshops and the Sherbrooke Fusilier regiment. Also debating the future of that filler cap; it isn't quite right and I might rummage around to find something to replace it with. It ought to be a little larger, and flatter on top. All this has been happening while the first wash coat is drying on the Sherman ARV Mk. I; more on that later... |
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Post by JCON on Aug 20, 2019 9:40:24 GMT -6
Coming along nicely!!! |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Aug 21, 2019 12:20:43 GMT -6
All those rivets would drive me batty! I think they look great, beekster! Carry on, dude!  |
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Post by Beekster on Aug 22, 2019 12:08:33 GMT -6
While washes dry on the Sherman ARV, more has been happening with the Badger. The antenna bases are on, and your eyes to not deceive you: The aerials won't be vertical. The antenna bases were attached where it was convenient, not where it was flat and level. The fill port on the turret plate has been replaced with an ancient Dragon M4A4 radiator cap (probably from an M50 kit) with material added to make it taller. I haven't added a locking rod yet, but I will. The two images I have show no hinge and no locking rod, but I surmise that they were taken at the mock-up stage during the conversion work. Down below, the acrylic texture gel with a bunch of static grass mixed in has been troweled onto the lower hull, suspension, and wheels. Some of it will get peeled off the wheels & sprockets after it has dried, where the running of the track wouldn't allow clumps to stick to the rolling surfaces.     After the wheel clean-up I'll build and install the tracks, and give those some of the acrylic gel treatment as well in the recesses where mud would accumulate. I'll be using Panda T-49 three-bar cleat tracks, one of the types manufactured in Canada for Rams, Sextons, and Grizzlys. |
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Post by JCON on Aug 22, 2019 12:27:39 GMT -6
Coming together!!! |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Aug 22, 2019 13:18:05 GMT -6
Wow! Awesome work Beekster. 
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Post by Beekster on Sept 20, 2019 16:21:04 GMT -6
Not much progress on this project lately, or any other for that matter. We're in the middle of a master bath renovation, so the wife and I are operating out of the cramped guest bathroom for about a month (we're two weeks in). This deprives me of my usual countertop for sanding work. Yeah, there's a utility sink and counter downstairs in the laundry room...but that's occupied with 1:1 scale paint supplies since I'm painting the walls for this project, working around the contractors. So, all I've done is this:   The special-purpose Rams (Kangaroos, Wallabys, Badgers, and Gun Tractors) typically had spare road wheels stowed on the aft sponsons. The instructions also call for four "pipes" adjacent to them. I can't tell from photos if the "pipes" are there to keep the wheels from falling off, but usually such spares are stowed on a rod welded to the hull, with the wheel lifted over it through the hub. Usually they're secured with a washer and bolt, and that's what I did here. The other "pipes" would suffice, but I thought a more secure mount would be better. And perhaps the "pipes" are meant to hold poles for a tarp or camo net? Just in case, I drilled mine out in the center. All of them but the wheel mounts have weld beads from epoxy putty, as do the rectangular lift stubs at the back which will get shackles eventually. The hatch lids for the cupola are proving very vexing indeed. One had a bubble in the resin at each outside end, which naturally led to the corners breaking off. It is proving difficult to restore the shapes properly. I've had to resort to strip stock built up on the bottom, filling out the corners with superglue and much file work...which even now with the plastic support wants to break. Having limited access to my usual sanding station is making the process of fixing it more difficult. Perhaps I should set that aside and just start building the tracks, which is mindless, tedious, and predictable... |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Sept 20, 2019 17:15:28 GMT -6
I always enjoy seeing your expertise in action. Your accuracy amazes me. I hope you get some time to work on this one.
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Post by RLFoster on Sept 21, 2019 3:12:44 GMT -6
Another excellent update. High quality work all around!  |
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