reserve
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Post by reserve on Oct 25, 2021 19:03:14 GMT -6
Nice extras sir
Regards, Mark
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Post by RLFoster on Oct 26, 2021 2:17:18 GMT -6
Appreciate it, Mark!
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Post by RLFoster on Oct 26, 2021 15:32:47 GMT -6
A quick little mid-week update. I've made some good progress over the past 4 days. First I wanted to address another flaw in the kit. The engine air intake covers are completely open to the unfinished interior as seen here: So, I spent one day cutting some screen from an old frying pan splatter screen (great for scale mesh) and filling the gaps. The inside of this cover wasn't quite perfect, but it will have to do: Next, as mentioned, the way the front wheel and suspension is designed, there really is no alternative to gluing everything in place before painting and weathering: Once the wheels were attached and about half-way dry, I attached the suspension arms and then made sure everything lined up and was square before gluing them in place: With the front wheels fixed in place, I now used them as the starting point to establish the height of all the road wheels on a piece of glass. Once I was happy that none of the wheels would be floating above the rest, I glued each of their attachment arms in place: And finally today, with everything else dry, I spent the day cleaning up all the track links and then shaped the run of tracks on one side: These are simply taped together in two sections which can be removed - along with all the wheels, idler, and drive sprocket - prior to painting and weathering. I'll put together the other side tomorrow. Until next time...
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Post by JCON on Oct 26, 2021 22:15:32 GMT -6
Nice job my friend!!!
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Oct 28, 2021 8:20:10 GMT -6
Great progress Robert.
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Post by JED on Oct 29, 2021 10:32:39 GMT -6
Great job Rob, the welds make a huge difference
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Post by RLFoster on Oct 29, 2021 14:03:49 GMT -6
Thanks for looking in, Joe, Bruce, and Jed. And just like that, after exactly 2 weeks, construction on this build is done...exactly as I had hoped. In these last two days, here's what I've accomplished: First, while the wheels and tracks were temporarily in place, I took the opportunity to attach the side fenders to both sides and the front fender to the left side. As seen in dozens of online photos, the right front fender will be depicted as being ripped (or taken) off: On the turret, I added an antenna and the anti-aircraft MG. The MG ammo canister in the kit was absolutely unusable and so I had to dig through spare parts and make a suitable substitute: At the front, the two tow hooks were attached easily. For the lights, I'll be depicting the left light as shot out (or the bulb is missing). The right light is gone except for the mounting bracket...again, as though it were removed - one way or another: The left fender has what I think are two supplemental fuel tanks - at least I think so. The kit has these on both sides, but I decided to change things up for some variety. Also on this side I elected to leave off the horn which was completely unusable as molded: Finally, the exhaust pipes at the rear required minimal clean-up. Again the shovels that were supposed to go on the rear plate were laughable and therefore omitted. On this side fender, I attached the two tool boxes which were also supposed to go on the rear plate. And lastly, you can just make out the filled locating holes (both sides) where the kit provided jacks were supposed to be attached...you guessed it, they were NOT salvagable: So that completes the construction and I will now move onto painting, but not until at least Monday. My sister and brother-in-law are both visiting for the weekend and we're planning to do a lot of socializing over the weekend. Until next time...
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Post by Steve Ski on Oct 29, 2021 15:12:12 GMT -6
Love that detail!
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Oct 29, 2021 15:26:35 GMT -6
Yes, already way better than mine already!
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Post by JED on Oct 30, 2021 7:28:39 GMT -6
Looking much better
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Post by JCON on Oct 31, 2021 11:05:07 GMT -6
Way to go Robert, hope the visit is going well!!!
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Post by RLFoster on Nov 1, 2021 4:42:10 GMT -6
Thank you, Steve, Bruce, Jed, and Joe.
As expected there was no work on the model over the weekend. However, I might just get the primer on everything before I need to run my errands today. Hard to believe it's already November!!!
Joe - The visit was outstanding and the folks got on the road at 0400 this morning. Since there's two of them, they're planning to "one shot" the drive back to Michigan in about 15.5 hours.
Thanks again...
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Post by ARMORGUY on Nov 1, 2021 10:06:58 GMT -6
This one is more than ready to be painted, what a lovely build Robert.
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Post by RLFoster on Nov 1, 2021 12:39:10 GMT -6
Thanks, AG!
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Post by Dukemaddog on Nov 1, 2021 13:02:27 GMT -6
Wow, I just caught up with this and it's almost done! What incredible quality on this work as well! Way to go Robert! It feels good to get something done fast doesn't it?
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Post by RLFoster on Nov 1, 2021 15:34:39 GMT -6
It sure does, Mark! Thanks for the look-in.
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Post by Dwight A. Ta-ala on Nov 1, 2021 17:50:37 GMT -6
These Russian tanks looks simple but requires such work to build. And the work your putting into it really shows.
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rustybaer
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Post by rustybaer on Nov 5, 2021 9:21:39 GMT -6
I'm getting a kick out of how many kit parts are junk.... I had a similar experience with the Eastern Express KV-85 a while ago, and all I needed and used was the turret. Good job here.
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Post by RLFoster on Nov 6, 2021 8:36:00 GMT -6
Another few days and more progress... After finally getting a coat of my typical black primer, I mixed up a custom blend to approximate an Russian early war 4B0 Green. I laid this down on all the parts except the tracks and left everything to dry for 24+ hours: The time actually stretched a little longer because yesterday turned into a "run errands" and "do domestic chores" type of day. This morning, I looked at all the green on the model and decided that even though the kit decals were not usable, the build needed some markings to add some visual variety. Digging through my decal stash, I found an excellent sheet of Russian numbers from an old build and added a couple of these to each side of the turret: The decals have nestled down into the cast texture very nicely and will look nearly hand painted once all the weathering is done. The only other thing I'll do today and coat the entire model with acrylic clear in preparation for all the oil and enamel steps that are next on the agenda. I'll let that cure for another 24+ hours before continuing. Until next time...
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Nov 6, 2021 11:23:59 GMT -6
I'm enjoying this, Robert. Thanks.
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