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RickC5

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Everything posted by RickC5

  1. I agree with Mark. Here in Grand Junction we have ONE real hobby shop and no others in a 250 mile radius. If we drive to Denver (the 250 miles), there is really only ONE good hobby shop (Colpar Hobbies in Aurora) to bother visiting. If we drive to Las Vegas (over 500 miles), there seems to be only ONE hobby shop worth visiting (a Hobby Town on Sahara). We don't bother with Salt Lake City as the traffic there is totally terrible (worse than LV or Denver) and we have no good reason(s) to drive there (like family, friends, etc.). Now there are actually some other shops in both Denver & LV, but most of them carry almost nothing for the armor modeler. Of course, all charge full list price for their kits & accessories too. So, I find myself also turning to the web for my kits and supplies. I sell lots of stuff on eBay, including kits, and use my PayPal account as my "modeling play money" which is just fine with the wife as she uses PayPal as her "play money" too. I can find some amazing deals on kits on eBay, and most of my purchases are sold/auctioned by US sellers. Once in a great while I buy something from an Asian seller, but not often. The point I am trying to make is that while I try to do as much business as possible with my local guy, I find that if I want to 1) get a newly released kit, or 2) get a bargain now & then, I pretty much am forced to use the web/eBay, or sit on my thumb. I'd rather use the web. It's simple, easy, doesn't burn gas, and I usually get stuff in a few days, which is MUCH faster than waiting for the LHS to order it. Plus, I can't tell you how many times I have heard in a LHS: "I don't carry that brand." or "I don't have a supplier for that <whatever>." or "I just ran out of those and it will be 4-6-8 (pick one) weeks before I get any more." Local hobby shops here in Colorado and in Las Vegas have been closing left & right for many years, mostly due to 2 factors: 1) substantially less business, and 2) substantially higher overhead/rents. When we first moved to the Denver area 25 years ago, it would take me most of a day to drive from one shop to another to see what was new and who had what. It was great fun, but now--not so much. I think we have to accept the fact that buying the toys that make us happy has taken a major shift away from the traditional mom & pop stores and pretty much forced us to find what we want on the web. It's simply a fact of life that requires us to plan our purchases of paint & glue ahead of time rather than wait until we run out. On the plus side, sometimes we can save a boatload of money too! That's my story & I'm sticking to it! Rick
  2. RickC5

    Sd. Kfz. 234/1

    Fascinating! Three different models with three different variations of spare tire mounting and three different variations of tool, jack & jerry can mountings. I like it!!!
  3. Yikes! Lots of unhappy campers out there. I would agree with the comment about Tankrats' prices being high, as that's what I saw at the Nats in Phoenix, but I still bought some decal sheets from him as no one else had any. A sign of the times? I hope not.
  4. Ha! Yeah, that must be it. A bit too much sake or not enough. Either that or the mold has worn out already--doubtful? I have several queued up before I start the M4A3E8, but it's tempting to jump the queue. Actually, after I had already committed to buy one from our one-and-only hobby shop, I "discovered" my unfinished Dragon kit of the same tank--grrrrr. Oh well, it will be nice to compare the two kits, plus I REALLY want to see how Tasca does their "workable" track.
  5. I picked up a new Tasca M4A3E8 Sherman kit at my local shop today (finally!). When I got home, I quickly cut the tape (no clear plastic film) and peeked inside. I was surprised to see several parts with flash on them, which was totally unexpected! I have a couple of other Tasca kits, lots of newer Dragon and Tamiya kits too, and none of them have any flash. Granted, we're not talking a lot, but any at all was a shock with today's apparently flash-free technology. Strange.... Anyone else happen to notice this? Just curious.....
  6. Yeah, I agree--without the tractor, it's only 1/2 a kit. If Dragon's going to start producing WWII Brit stuff, they need to give us the whole enchilada, not just a bite or two.
  7. Agree with Robin on what would likely be done given Mark's scenario. Changing wheels (rims) between non-similar vehicles would be literally impossible in the field, IMHO, if the bolt hole pattern and offset were not a perfect match. In addition, the diameter of the M3 wheels/tires appears to be much larger than the BEEP's, which would likely result in clearance/steering problems. Most likely the BEEP would be towed/placed in the "back forty" until the correct spare wheels could be found. Just like today's trucks/cars, if the bolt pattern wasn't a perfect match, all the components from the axle/spindle outward would have to be replaced with parts that had the correct bolt pattern, and most likely this STILL wouldn't work, as there would almost ALWAYS be something that didn't fit the way it should. This scenario would be a mechanic's worst nightmare!
  8. And here's the specific piece we were looking for (about 1/3 way down): http://jeepdraw.com/PART_COLOURS.htm So if you're building a Ford, paint the engine GREY. If a Willys, paint it OD. Wow! You can find out what color EVERY part left the factory originally painted. GREAT JOB finding that site Mark! It will be a great reference to Jeep modelers (& restorers too).
  9. British Racing Green? Maybe that Jeep's engine was rebuilt by the brits and stored away for 50-60 years? As Ken mentioned, yet another engine color in a restored Jeep doesn't help us figure out the color they left the factory in during the war. That's a really nice restoration though. They even painted the exhaust manifold with high-heat black, which is a bit over-the-top IMHO!!! I think I would stick with OD as the basic engine color.
  10. Mark, HA, ha, ha! Hey, I know & totally agree! My Dad was one of those butt-kickers, in the 75th division, from the Battle of the Bulge to the war's end in Europe. He managed to make it through without any physical damage, but the mental damage was another story. My mother said many times that he came back a totally different person than he was before combat. I also believe that having only one color for EVERYTHING sure made ordering easy ("Just give me one in OD, bub.") However, it makes modeling a bit of a challenge, as I find myself constantly trying to mix yet another shade of OD that MIGHT have been found in real life. Uniforms are a bit more challenging and fun, as we started the war with primarily beige/brown combat uniforms and web gear and ended the war in dark OD. BTW- Although the Sherman was a pretty mediocre tank when compared to Panthers & Tigers, and tended to catch fire when hit with anything bigger than a pea-shooter (hence the nickname "Ronson" [a cigarette lighter for those who aren't old enough to know]), it was good that we had thousands of them we could throw at the Germans. Eventually they ran out of ammo or made the mistake of letting a Sherman get behind them, and then it was payback time.
  11. When I opened Chris' link, I found a photo of a post-war Jeep with a red engine. I'm not sure if that is what Chris wanted us to see, as it more-or-less doesn't pertain to the thread. I was also pondering whether the engine color could be manufacturer specific, like OD for Willys, grey for Ford or vice-versa. Sure seems like someone out there ought to know the answer. Were I building a Jeep where I was going to display it with the hood up, I might just paint the engine grey just to add some color. Maybe that's why WWII German stuff intrigues me so much--there's such a variety of colors and shades of colors involved. IMHO, U.S. WWII stuff is pretty bland in comparison.
  12. After lots of searching, I could find NO color WWII photos of a Jeep engine. Lots of color photos that show the block to be OD, but those appear to all be restorations, just like you found. I found ONE photo that shows the basic engine as a medium grey (http://www.1943mb.com/c-73-G503_WWII_Jeep_...vil_Engine.aspx) but again, this looks like a restored Jeep. If no experts post their opinions, I would be inclined to go with an OD engine and several gloss or semi-gloss black bits, like air cleaner, horn, etc.
  13. I had both the Tamiya kit & the older Dragon/DML kit in my stash. After comparing the two kits, I decided to build the Tamiya and sell the Dragon on eBay. Why? 'Cuz the Tamiya had one-piece tracks, and MUCH better detailing in my opinion. The Tamiya kit turned out fine, but I glued the "moveable" suspension in place as it was simply a pain.
  14. Thanks guys! Looks like I'll stick to basic body color for the jacks, with some dirt, etc. to show a bit a of wear. I did some more searching and found ONE unsubstantiated reference to the "C" type tow hooks all being painted a light grey too. No back-up data, but just someone helping out a newby with painting a Tiger. Made me wonder what's up with that, & if the jacks may have been grey too? Mine are body color at the moment. There are enough reference photos of U.S. vehicles simply being re-sprayed over anything & everything on the vehicle in the field, that one could easily conclude that the Germans may have done the same thing in the field when applying additional/new camo. I also found a couple of color photos of the Samur (French Museum) Panther with the jack painted body color + camo. It must have been left on when the tank was resprayed at the museum. It's amazing how many photos exist of Panthers from the front, but very few photos of the rear. Most of the color photos out there are of existing display tanks where all the external bits have been stripped off. I'll continue to keep my eyes open & if I ever get any concrete data on the jacks OR the "C" hooks, I'll post it.
  15. Now this is going to really date me, but in the 1970s I managed to squirrel away some layout tape in various widths. This is a very flexible, thin, black tape that was used in the layout (hand-done) of PC boards waaay before there were CAD systems to do the work. The stuff I have is still flexible, but I use it sparingly, as I doubt it is available any more. BTW- My vote is for the Tasca jerry cans. They are the BEST by far!
  16. This question relates to those large suspension jacks issued with, and mounted/clamped on most WWII German armor, especially the late war stuff, like Panthers & Tigers... Does anyone really know what color those jacks were originally painted??? Most of the color photos I have seen are of restorations, where the jacks are painted black. However, if you look at real WWII (b&w) photos, the jacks simply CANNOT be black, as they are very light colored. They look like they could be body color--yellow--but without the camo pattern(s) painted on them. In my (past) ignorance, I simply painted them a steel color, but I'm pretty sure that's not correct. So help me out here. Even a link to some additional photos would be fine. I just don't want to continue to paint them an incorrect color. All help greatly appreciated!!!
  17. I believe that the hood actually is hinged so that you can flop it back to rest on the top of the windshield when opened, like your third link shows. That allows really good access to the engine. I'm not even sure there was a support rod. For sure there were no springs. I'm thinking that the owners of restored jeeps use props to avoid scratching their paint. Stranger things have happened! LOL!
  18. Hey Mark, Thanks for the links. The Build Blog was a bit tedious to read, but all three contained many good ideas that I will likely incorporate into my build--whenever I proceed with that. At this time, the kit has been relegated to the storage shelf for the forseeable future. Too many other "90% finished" kits sitting around that I really need to complete before I start something new. I really mean too many, as in 20+ easily! So now I need to look at my steel-wheeled Tamiya Panther to see if I got a full set of spare road wheels in that kit as one of the links mentioned. If so, I'll likely use them over the Italeri parts. UPDATE--45 minutes later: YES! The Tamiya kit contains a FULL set of spare roadwheels. That will save a few bucks for sure!
  19. ICM has a 1/35 kit of an "early" Bergepanther, and Italeri has a kit of what seems to be a "late" Bergepanther (297 vehicles produced in WWII). I have seen a few photo references of the late (Italeri) version, but have yet to come across any photos of the early version. Does anyone have any idea how many "early" versions were produced? Where were they deployed? Russia? No spade or winch, so what were they used for? Simply towing disabled vehicles, or as a prime mover of some sort? Any known photo references of an "early" version? For those who built the Italeri kit, what major modifications (aside from adding PE) did you feel needed to be made to the kit? It seems several builders have used Tamiya or Dragon road wheels & tracks. Using different tracks is totally understandable, as the Italeri tracks are pretty much useless junk, but why the need for new roadwheels? I have a set of old Modelkasten tracks to use, but really don't want to buy a Dragon or Tamiya Panther just for roadwheels if I don't have to. Any additional data, references or ideas about modeling a Bergepanther are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
  20. Just curious... It's been more than 10 days. Did you receive the PE parts yet? If so, did/will they correct the problem with the kit's hull?
  21. Mark, Did you happen to notice in the toadman photos of the IIC that the .50 cal MG is mounted backwards in the cradle?
  22. NICE find Ron! Some pretty good photos of the (incomplete) direct-fire sights and gunner's controls, all on the starboard side. Also some good photos of the .30 cal co-axial MG on the port side. I also noticed the indirect-fire sight was deleted. These ought to help Mark quite a bit.
  23. Ok, so I'm waving the white flag on this one. I exhausted all my printed & internet resources today & pretty much all I found was the same photos of the IDF Achilles you found. Too bad you can't get someone to crawl up on that puppy & snap some photos. Since the Achilles uses the Brit 17 pdr rather than the US 3 inch main gun, somehow I doubt the Brits fitted it with the same scope(s) as the M10 or the M36, but they could have. They were quite proud of that 17 pdr (justifiably so), and I'll bet they also had some usable sights for it, just like the Firefly. Only an assumption 'cuz there's sure not much data available. Let us all know if you ever find a useful photo, or some other reference to the Achilles sight system. Good luck with that!
  24. My Academy kit of the M10 does have a rudimentary M70G sight included, which I installed. However, the M70G is basically a tube, like a rifle scope and is totally different from the M76D, so unless an M76D is available from an aftermarket source, you'll likely have to scratchbuild one. Looks like you could easily cobble one together from scrap plastic bits & attach it to the starboard side of the breech in such a manner that it would look pretty realistic and accurate.
  25. Squadron/Signal "Walk Around U.S. Tank Destroyers" page 30, shows the M10 gun breech & gunner's position/sight. Gunner sat on the port side, and the M70G telescopic sight (for direct fire) is to the port side of the breech. There's an additional "panoramic artillery sight" (for indirect fire) on the starboard side of the breech, attached to the side of the turret. The top of the panoramic sight protrudes a few inches above the top of the turret, and is not attached to the gun mantlet. On the M36, pages 48 & 50, the gunner's & loader's positions are reversed, with BOTH sights located on the starboard side of the breech for use by the gunner (more logical, IMHO). Only a guess, but perhaps the IDF chose to use the M36 type of sight set-up, which would allow the .30 MG to fit on the port side of the breech. BTW, the M36 used a M76D telescopic sight, which looks significantly different than the M70G in the M10. Also, the artillery sight in both the M10 & M36 appears to be mounted for use by a spotter/commander rather than by the gunner, although the M36 gunner may be able to use both--difficult to say for sure from the photos.
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