Ron Bell

Belay my first response. I double checked and the National category is actually "Open Topped AFVs and AFVs with interiors - 1/48 and larger (kit provided or scratch-built, all eras, including assault guns and self-propelled guns). That means a Sherman with the hatches/panels open and with any kit or after market interior visible would be in this category. However, if the example Sherman had the turret hatches open and there was no interior provided with the kit, it could be in the Closed Top Vehicle category. But, as Mark said, we have some latitude. If a modeler does a Sherman that has a gun breech provided but not much else, but has the hatch open and a figure in the opening so you can't really see the interior, we would probably let it be entered in Closed Top to give the modeler a break. However, remember that local and regional contests may not use National categories or definitions. The main thing to do is consult whatever contest your entering's rules beforehand and if they are not clear, ask when you register your model. If there is any doubt, it wouldn't even be a bad idea to note on your entry form that this is the category the registrar placed your model so the judges don't just think you made a mistake but rather this is where you intend your model to be.

I believe the definition is that an open topped vehicle is one that is designed to fight with it's top open. i.e. Marder, M-10, M-36, etc. A Sherman is designed to fight closed, so it is not an open topped vehicle. Now, at the National Contest Level, the category is actually "Open Topped Vehicles or vehicles with other than kit supplied interior." That means if you super-detailed your Sherman interior with a bunch of scratch building, PE and/or resin, it would go in this category.

As to the eye deal, one word....Optivisor. I cannot model without mine and it works a treat. Available in several strengths lighted and not.

I only use acrylics for brush painting details. People have "tips" and "secrets" about how to airbrush them, but I can't be bothered. I make it a rule to NEVER mask them with anything. Even as the last top coat, they will peel off with the masking leaving a jagged edge. I know, you can ameliorate that by scribing the tape line before removing it, but can we make this whole process MORE involved? However, if you must use them, make sure the plastic is squeaky clean first. Then primer with a flat NON-Acrylic primer that will "grab" the plastic. Then spray the acrylic. It will grab the dull finish of the primer better. Not great, but better. Then, if you must mask, use the lowest tack masking you can get a hold of. Then, before you pull it up, score lightly along the tape line before you pull up the tape. This breaks the bond with the tape itself. You mention that Polyscale was the only one with the IDF colors. Personally, I'd rather go with an "almost match" from a non-acylic than use acrylics, but that's just me.

Go to any home improvement center and look in the spray paint section. There is almost always one brand that has a "chrome" paint. Follow the directions and put it on lightly and evenly and it will make a convincing chrome. However, it is VERY soft and never really hardens. Let it sit for sereral days , if not a week, before handling it and never put any real pressure on it and you cannot mask over it. Like almost all paint, it works best when the surface has been prepared well and primered. It will not, however, exactly match other chrome in the kit. You may find it best to remove all chrome and paint it all so it matches. Also in this way, you can remove mold seams, etc.

Emhar does a Mk IV male and female, a Mk IV Tadpole and a Whippet all 1/72 and 1/35. They do an A7V in 1/72. Tauro models does an A7V in 1/35. Airfix does a sort of Mk I in 1/72 (it's sort of a Mk I with some Mk II traits as well.). RPM does all those model T's in 1/72 as well as the FT-17s. They also do a 1/35 FT-17, which you can see over in the armor topics on this Forum. I think someone has got a Rolls Royce armored car, but I can't recall the maker. If you go resin, some English companies, such as Milicast and Matador, have a much wider variety.

You say you were stuck with the M-113 decals. Were they bad or did you just not like the marking? I think they look great. A colorful, unique scheme.

Just posting to keep this topic amongst the top ones to generate interest. Let's see some other's "stuff". This is my Hasagawa Humber armored car. Added a basic interior and detailed the outside.

I'm working my way through all the old Monogram military kits and this is my latest. They were good kits for their day. Separately molded tools, nice detail. Of course, there were compromises, such as the M-3 suspension held over from their Grant and Lee, but it's a early hulled Sherman so it's fine. The fussiest part was the rocket tubes. It's in six pieces, two on the top and then two each for the bottom two sections. It's a top/bottom joint that results in poor seams/gaps at the ends of each tube, all 60 of them, and remember each has two ends for a total of 120 to work on. The figures are kind of comic-book like in their overly exaggerated features, but I try to use what comes with the kit just for old times sake. Obviously, I'm not a figure painting guy, I just want them to look ok next to the vehicle. Next up is their M-48 Patton. Anyhoo, here's some nostalgia for ya.

This Revell kit is very nice. Crisply molded with lots of detail. I added some PE stuff from Aber, including the tracks. Yes, PE tracks. Had to make four folds and push each guide horn through a center hole in the each track link. I was cross eyed after that. The square board looking thing in front of the turret hatches were carried on OP tanks and were for the Observers to put their charts on. The kit is now hard to find. I need two more to cannibalize to make a Challenger. Airfix is coming out with one in new tooling, supposedly, but the CAD art on their web site looks suspiciously like the Revell kit, and Airfix has been buying other companies "stuff" lately. We'll have to wait and see.

This is a pretty simple conversion. The Verlinden conversion contains the turret, a new front plate, some hull modification parts, resin tracks, new drive sprockets and a PE fret. It makes for an impressive vehicle. However, in real life it was grossly overweight for the chassis.

This is the RPM 1/35 scale kit of this French WW I tank. The kit itself is delicately molded with a basic interior and four piece sort of vinylish tracks. The fits is ok, but a bit fiddly in the hull as the molding is thin and the joints don't leave much for adhesive or adjustment. I added a PE interior and rear skid set and used RPMs own after market tracks. These were beastly. Each track had four parts, all small and all needing cleaning up. Even with the jig I built to keep them straight, I still wound up with some kinks and bends. If you overlook these, they do look better than the kit tracks.

I think Dave's got the answer. The bubbles come from the paper, not the decal. If you put the decal in the water upside down so the paper was up, I thing you'd see where the bubbles are coming from more clearly.

I'll check mine. Who knew?

Something that bugs me about the current crop of cameras is that unless you take the plunge for something pretty pricey, you can't get a remote shutter release. That means man-handling your camera to take the picture, which means movement, which means blurring, especially with extreme close-ups. I've got a tri-pod I can use, but the camera still moves if you have to put your hand on it to push the shutter. Of course, it doesn't help that the shutter is now the size of a pin head and my fingers are now the size of sausages!

It's Airfix''s Pzkfw IV f1/2 in 1/76 scale. The history of 1/76 goes back to early post war days when Airfix was just getting going. Model railroading was already a well established thriving hobby and the preferred scale in the UK was/is 00. I'm not a train guy, but I believe 1/76 is 00 scale. Many of Airfix's original kits were of railroad equipment and/or buildings, so they were in the preferred scale of 00. HO is 1/87 and is the preferred scale in the US and is also used in Europe. So, telling people that their kits were HO scale was a marketing ploy, although not a very accurate one. The tracks are after market ones from CMK and are "rubber bands". They are 1/72, but when cut down for length, fit fine and look SOOOO much better than the kit supplied ones. I suspect they are made long as the dimensions of the various companies 1/72 Pzkfw IV variants can vary quite a bit.

Thought I'd share this with you. There are few kits of the early Pzkfw IVs, so I decided to make one. I like to build "nostaglia" models, so I chose the Airfix Mk IV as a starting point. Actually, it's kind of a nice kit. The tan colored plastic signifies parts saved from a failed first attempt. Anyhooo, here's some in progress pictures.... And the finished product...

Just an idea. In future, when making those holes in round decals, try punching the inner hole first. It's easier to center for the second, larger, hole and you are working with a much larger piece of decal than just the little "dot" so its easier to handle. Lookin' good, however.

Robin, If that is the Airfix Sheridan, you get high marks as its a pretty old/primitive kit. Nice job. To all the others, they are all nice. Good to see the "small stuff". Keep 'em comin'. We may rate our own topic on the directory some day.

Let's hear it from some of the small scale modelers out there. The big stuff is nice, but the small ones just look so cool. I'll start. Here's a Dragon Sherman I did a few years back.

Ah, go for it! I did. It may not be as good as later releases, but it's probably more fun to build.

Yes, but I'll leave the details to the experts as to what form of 401-34-yhA67B-2 it is in the current simplified tax system.

What a great looking a/c and a great looking model. I LOVE those 50's jets!

Blizcon '11 is in the history books now. The warm, sunny weather, so unusual for central Ohio in Feb, brought modelers out in large numbers. The venders' area was full to the brim and there were 636 models on the tables. Judging was done in record time and went very smoothly with lots of volunteers for a change. I know one modeler has already posted photos on this forum and we took many many as well and will put them on our web site. Thanks to all who helped out. came to look and/or buy and congratulations to the winners.

A nice little technique. I've been doing that as well, but I just chalked it up to getting around my lack of skills. Its interesting to see that others have been doing what you have to do things like this. As to the judging, I've been wondering for years why judges weren't looking at the inside of seams to see glue smears/putty/etc. With those penlights with the flexible necks, you could probably snake it inside a fuselage or wheel well and then a mini-cam could send the pictures to your smart phone. Yeah. That's it! Let's start judging the INSIDE of models as well! That will be when I stop judging and you can look for me in the bar. Well, I'm there as it is actually.......Never mind.