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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/08/2021 in all areas

  1. I got this kit on a raffle in a scale model show a few years ago, and after a quick inspection, I put it in a box and forget about it. The mold is only 64 years old! the quality is ugly by modern standards. Although the level of details is decent, you will find huge fitting issues, ejector marks everywhere so I recommend studying very well the parts before assembly if you are up to the challenge. Been saying that, I wanted to make something special from this kit, also different from everything else. I looked for similar tug boats in the tropic zone, like Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic for inspiration. I also named it after someone very special in my life. Building the Kit After inspecting the plastic sprues, decals, and references, I started sanding almost everything, lots of sanding and a lot of putty for the hull and the boat frame. Pinholes were removed or sealed with putty, except a round of them in the railing side of the boat. I solve the problem using a plastic sheet to cover them. The kit brought some simulate ropes for the sides of the boat, something often used in the 40s and 50s, so I needed a modern solution using rubber tires, but on that scale is a tricky one. My solution came in a weekend play with my kids using a product that is available almost everywhere called “WATER BALLOONS – BUNCH OF BALLOONS RAPID REFILL”. the balloons came with a rubber ring that after cutting simulate perfectly a rubber tire!. For the windows, I use a clear plastic film from a Pasta box glued using the clear glue from Testor. After that, a lot of test fitting is required to make sure the boat hull and tower house fit perfectly in place before starting painting. The painting was done in stages, first the hull using Tamiya Red Hull as a primer, and later adding some orange and red to get the correct mix. The upper area of the hull was painted in white and sky blue. The Boathouse was also painted in white with all floors in gray. I weathered the blue paint of the hull using my airbrush with Tamiya flat white thinned and the red hull was retouched with a mist of light green to simulate algae accumulation. I decided to give a unique touch, and painted the boat’s bridge with a flag from my country (Puerto Rico) and named the ship by my wife’s name. I used different types of cord rope for the details on the lifeboat, rubber tires, and the poles. The final touch was to use a Silver dot from Sticko to simulate the searchlight on top of the bridge’s roof.
    1 point
  2. The M561 Gama Goat was seven years in development until production of the vehicle began in 1968. Its unique name was derived from the creator of its articulated joint, Roger Gamaunt, and its mountain goat-like climbing ability. It was unlike most other military off-road vehicles in that power could go to all 6 wheels of the vehicle, and its aforementioned articulated joint allowed 80˚ pitch and 60˚ roll ranges of the carrier module at the rear. Its excellent rough-terrain mobility was tempered somewhat by problems with tricky handling and maintenance, as well as it being rather noisy, but the Gama Goat continued in service until it was effectively replaced by the HMMWV in the late 1980s. On this occasion, a Tamiya jewel fell into my hands, something different from the usual thing that we hope to see as tanks or cars, the 6×6 M561 Gamma Goat vehicle. It is an uncommon vehicle but easy mount and can be achieved in a weekend. The version that interests me to mount is one already in civil hands that I saw on the internet in a shade of pale yellow. I decided on a base with a semi-vertical section made of paper and plasticine. The construction of the model only took a few hours, which advanced the painting work, achieved on this occasion using Mission Models paints for the base yellow color. The wheels and rims were painted in Tamiya colors and the effects of gasoline, soil, and mud were achieved with Mig Jimenez AMMO products. Replace the headlights of the model, with the product of Sticko, Silver round Dots, which gives a bright touch to the lights and create a more striking effect than those brought by the model. To achieve the pose in the base, I prepared the base with the wet plasticine which covered with clear food wrapping and presses the wheels of the model to ensure its position in the base after drying. After drying, the base was covered with white glue and very fine sand to create the texture. Then the base was painted with Tamiya paint and some bushes were placed as a final touch. The model is placed on the base in the pre-printed footprints in previous steps fixing it with super glue. The whole process took a weekend only and it was a very fun kit to work with.
    1 point
  3. These are wargamming kits, but are very nicely detailed, especially given their size, and just fall together. They are darn fun to build. The only things I added to these were the fuel lines to the outside tanks and the antennae and pennants. The quarter is there for size perspective.
    1 point
  4. One step at a time. Today I finished up, cleaned up, and then painted the guns.
    1 point
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