Today I have a rather large update showing all the work I did from my birthday on Monday until now.
So, everyone climb aboard the tram and we'll get on our way. Just remember to keep hands and feet inside the tram at all times.
Let's start with my aircraft in the hangar. I'm still slowly working on my A-400; this time I have the nose all puttied up:
While I was doing that, somehow one of my main landing gear wheels broke off..... again! This particular wheel had already come off three previous times and this time I was nowhere near it so I have no idea how or why it broke again! Instead of trying to cement it back in place like I did before, I tore out the mounting arm that it is supposed to stick to first. I then clamped it into place and filled the joint with CA glue and kicker:
That thing is now back on the main strut it's supposed to sit on and should hopefully stay this time!
Okay, next is the work I did on my An-124. That's the An-124; everyone keeps calling it the -225 which I have NOT gotten yet!
First off, thanks to a friend and fellow AMPS member, I finally managed to get the fuselage of this monster painted clean and smooth enough. So, I took all the tape off the bottom of the plane, except for the tape still protecting the main landing gear bays:
That was a lot of tape!
Next, I taped off and painted the aluminum leading edge on the vertical stabilizer:
After that, I painted the nose and tail with the "steel grey" (Humbrol) called for in the paint call out sheet. Here's the nose, the tail has the same color:
After that, I removed the tape from the vertical stabilizer. Now this bird's fuselage is ready for another clearcoat to tie everything together and then I can decal it:
Next I turned my attention to the wings. to start with, I tried an experiment on the exhaust cones of the engines. First came the dark metallic color, then I drybrushed a light aluminum color over that, followed by another drybrush of copper over it. This is the result:
I like it.
Then I masked and painted the leading edges of the wings and tail and painted the aluminum on those:
After awhile, I removed all the tape after finishing the other two exhaust cones on the other wing. Now these wings and tails are ready for decals after another clearcoat:
That's as far as I got with this An-124.
Time for something different...
I shot a white coat on the Space 1999 Mk.IX Hawk. Next I'll have to mask off certain places to shoot the orange on it. It doesn't look like it since this was molded in white, but it is sprayed:
Moving on to the vehicle assembly line, we have a lot going on here.
I shot a clear coat on the 1/35th scale Patton I'm doing. Decals will be next before I add the wheels and tracks:
Moving on to my smaller stuff; this is the Russian anti-tank vehicle that I'm building for the "Goodbye 2020" Group Build here. I basically had to add an interior to this. This is what it looks like:
Later I built the launching arm assembly for the three missiles in firing position. You can see that sitting behind the vehicle here:
Gotta do some painting before I can move on this further.
This next one is my campaign model for the Micro Modeler Month campaign that I'm doing on the Alliance.
I started by assembling the lower hull as it was in three pieces:
I then built the turret, only doing the basics while leaving off delicate parts until later:
Next was adding the additional parts to the upper hull. There weren't too many:
This is all three sub-assemblies dry-fit roughly together. Yes, the lower hull is under there:
Finally, I assembled the running gear and tracks and added additional parts and sub-assemblies to the turret. This tank is now ready for paint. Here it is all mocked up:
Moving on from here, I painted the interior of the D-9 dozer cab so I can close it up and move on. It is a bit crude in there, but once this cab is closed and the windows on it; you won't be able to tell:
As for the windows, I had painted them a clear green before to represent the bulletproof glass on them. This time, I painted the frames the same tan color as the rest of the model:
Next I started a second Type B bus; this time it was the one in military service known as "Ole Bill". All the assembly was basically the same; the one exception was that "Ole Bill" had boards covering the lower cabin windows for protection of the troops inside. So, I waited until I had it built to the same level as the previous bus before shooting pics:
Here you can see the difference between the two in this shot of them sitting side by side:
Afterward, I decided it was time to get all the photo etch out of the way on all these models that need it. I started with the baskets on the rear of the M-109A6 turret. All the side pieces needed photo etch before assembly:
Later I built them and installed them on the turret but I didn't get pics of that. Next update I'll show them.
More photo etch fun happened with the British FV-432. This vehicle has a rather large basket that sits on top. Takom gave me a rather ingenious little jig in the kit that simplified assembly of it tremendously. It looks like a giant tub (at least giant from the perspective of 1/72 scale!) that you prop the pieces up on. Then you add glue where they touch on the ends:
The glue was still wet when I took that pic. After it dried, I added the photo etch screen to the base grid piece that this sits on and then glued this assembly on top of it. And there you have a basket:
Again, the glue was till wet in that pic. That was amazingly simple and fun!
Moving on, I added the remaining photo etch parts to the model itself; starting with the headlight screens and lift rings in front:
On the back I added the photo etch mud flaps:
Next it was time to add the photo etch to the Chieftains, starting with the Mk.5. I started on the hull, adding the engine deck screens and other parts:
Those parts on the front fenders were very difficult to add. I then added all the photo etch to the baskets on the turret:
I did the same thing with the Mk.10, first doing the hull followed by the turret baskets:
Here it is all mocked up:
...and then the Mk. 11 was completed the same way:
Afterward while the photo etch was drying, I completed the track runs for all three tanks. Here they are still on the track jigs:
Now all three of these are ready for paint now, then I can complete the track installations and go from there:
Because of all this progress, I had a great birthday!
That completes the tour for this week. Please disembark in an orderly fashion. Extra birthday cake and ice cream will be served in the snack bar.
Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.
Nice work Duke.