Mark Deliduka

Finally, after such a long time, I'm able to post some finished armor! This takes my final count of finished armor models up to 659 completed armor models. I'll start with some of my WWII-era models, mostly German with one Russian beast included. Revell of Germany 1/72 scale 17cm Morser artillery piece: Ancient Airfix 1/76 scale Panzer IV tank: Modern Dragon 1/72 scale Panzer IV F(2) tanks: Another Dragon 1/72 scale StuH 42 assault gun: S-model 1/72 scale Russian T-35 tank: Trumpeter 1/72 scale M1 Panther II Mine Clearing Vehicle: Revell of Germany 1/72 scale T-90 in Indian Army markings: Revell of Germany 1/72 scale T-90 in Russian Army markings: Whew! That is all the armor I completed in the last week and a half. Only 41 more armor models to go until 700! I also completed a few aircraft, feel free to check them out as well. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Finally, after far too long, I was able to get some aircraft finished! Here they are in no particular order. First off is Monogram's 1/72 scale F-8 Bearcat for the Monogram Mafia Group Build on another Forum: This was finished with Tamiya Navy Blue in a spray can and finished with the kit decals. Another Monogram Mafia build; this one is the Monogram 1/72 scale F4-B4 biplane built OOB and finished with Model Master paints: And finally, my first ever Eduard kit: The L-39 done up in Iraqi AF markings: It was an interesting build to say the least, I'm still trying to determine whether it was a fun experience or not. I am very pleased with the final model though. That's all I have for now. I also completed a few armor models; feel free to check them out on the Armor Forums. Meanwhile, comments are welcome here, thanks for looking in.

This is my latest update showing everything I was able to get done this past week and a half. I'll start with my aircraft. After finding my missing parts, I got all the major assemblies and the wheels done on the little F4 Biplane. The engine in this pic is still just dry fit in place since I still needed to paint the cowl: Next, I applied the decals to the upper wing and then sealed them: After that was dry, I glued the upper wing to the model. Again, the engine is just dry fit until the cowl can be painted: And here is the cowl all painted up and set aside to dry: Later on, when it was dry,l I glued it on and touched up the model. You can see it in the Aircraft Forum along with my other two finished aircraft. Speaking of my other finished aircraft, here is the third one I got finished with during this past week. This is after I applied the decals to it and just before I added the landing gear and underwing stores to finish it off: I also managed to get a little further on my Iranian F-4 Phantom. I masked off and painted the nose cone, as well as the metallic tail surfaces: Here it is after the masks were removed: I was going to try to put the decals on this, but after looking at all the stencils; I decided to put that away until later. Now on to my armor. I was working on just two more armor models hoping to get them finished by this time. I succeeded. You can see both of these in the Armor Forum, but for now, here's a few pics of them final work I did on these. First off, I stripped off the paint from the upper hull of the Dicker Max. Now to try again on this: For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this model has been so freakin' hard to paint! Moving on to something more amenable, I painted the M-1 Panther II and even tried some color modulation on this: Later on, I added the mine plow and several of the last detail parts to it: After taking that pic, I noticed the two dimples still on the upper glacis plate and I knew I had to fill and sand them down. Out came the Mr. Surfacer 500 and after some sanding and polishing, this was the result: You'll note that I also added the tracks by this time too. Later on, I repainted the front of the model with the dark green basecoat; and then decided to modulate the color with a different green this time. After it was dry, I gave it decals and a dark brown wash: Then wash was still a bit wet at the time I took this pic. Once this was dry, I dullcoated this and weathered it, thus finishing it up. Again, feel free to check it out with my other finished armor in the Armor Forums. The other tank I finished up was my Russian T-35 Monstrosity. First off, they give no provision for being able to turn the turrets; they have to be glued in place. I didn't like that so I devised a way to make all my turrets turn. First of all, I thinned the plastic around the turret rings, then I glued plastic card discs to the bottom of the turrets, thus trapping them in place. Here you can see all the little discs holding my turrets to the main hull: Some of the discs in front were getting caught between the upper and lower hulls, so I had to notch out the lower hull to make sure they could turn freely: The rear discs didn't need this as the upper hull had enough play in it to allow freedom of movement. Now all my turrets turn, as you can see in these next two pics: Here it is after I'd finished adding all the last detail parts, the skirts and any touch ups to it. Later I added some aftermarket decals I had since this didn't come with any. All those slab-sided skirts and multiple turrets just begged for some kind of markings so I just threw a few on that I thought looked good. I know they ain't accurate, but this does look a lot better with all those decals on it. After the decals, I washed it with the same brown wash I used on the Panther; dullcoated it and then weathered it to finish it off. You can see it on the Armor Forum with all my other finished armor. Okay, now on to my Call to Arms selections. This first one is chosen because Ian likes Star Wars. This is the Finemolds kit and boy is it a fine mold! This model simply falls together far more easily than any model I've built to date! I started with the cockpit, simple as it is: I followed up by building the main fuselage: Later, I built the stand so I can hold this on it as I build it up: After I got this far, I put it aside and started the second Call to Arms model that I chose because I have been wanting to start it. This is the Polar Lights Sleepy Hollow kit based on the Johnny Depp movie; which I haven't seen yet. Here you can see where I built up the Horseman himself. It is quite obvious I'm going to have some serious seams to fill. Getting them filled and sanded without losing any detail is going to be rough! After building him up, I started on his horse. This thing was in eight pieces. I finally got them all together, but again, some serious seam issues will need to be dealt with. Still, this does look rather impressive: It is just dry-fit to the base so far. This is an example of one of the toughest seam issues I'll have to deal with: Now, this model comes with three options for the right hand. The left hand will be holding Johnny Depp's severed head (Although he looks more like Nicholas Cage!) while the right hand has the option of holding an Axe, a Sword, or a Jack-o'-Lantern. This sprue shows the Axe, the Sword, the empty right hand in the top left corner and Johnny's severed head: So, which choice do you guys prefer? Personally I am torn between the sword and the axe. I'd only want to do the Jack-o'-Lantern if there was a way to make it flame and that ain't possible. Just for fun, here he is mounted on his horse so far: Well, that about covers my latest progress from this past week and a half. I hope you all enjoyed it! Feel free to check out the 11 or so models I finished up during this same time. Thanks for looking in, comments are always welcome.

Yeah, I just completed the Monogram Mafia Group Build! That was fun!

Thanks Chris! You're doing a great job. Keep it going man, I for one appreciate it and want you to know it.

I like it! I hope you have better luck on your Alclad coat than I've been having. I stall haven't been able to get a smooth Gloss Black base for my Alclad.

This is good. I'm not sure I'd want all my work in a single WIP shared by others. I would tend to overwhelm a Thread like that when I do have time to post progress on my models; especially after a week of marathon building, or after the two Hobby Days I attend. A whole Forums where I can put my whole Thread in is nice; that's why I based "Maddog Manufacturing" in the Photos/On the Workbench Forums. I hate having to split my Aircraft and Armor into separate WIP Threads like I have to do on another board; it gets even worse if I start working on a ship or automobile or anything else not Aircraft or Armor. That is why I have an ongoing thread showing all my work over the course of the year. I certainly don't mind posting my finished models in their respective Forums. Granted, I'm the exception to the rule here as I build a lot of models over a short period of time consisting of different genres and subjects, so I'm not sure how much my opinion really weighs on this matter. That being said, whatever allows me to keep my "Maddog Manufacturing" Thread going as one long WIP thread gets my vote.

Welcome Mike! I'm looking forward to seeing your work.

Thanks Gil! I'll start experimenting with paint mixes, distance and pressure. Maybe I'll find the sweet spot. Thanks Jim, that looks awesome; but if the surface isn't smooth enough, or the imperfections aren't properly taken care of (one issue I'm having) then even Krylon Matte Aluminum won't hide them. I will be picking some up though to give it a try. I have several large aircraft I wanted to do in NMF so a can of this, if it works for me; would be invaluable. Thanks again for the suggestions guys! I do appreciate the help.

Thanks Gil! One is sprayed over bare plastic that I polished first. (Meteor). The other was shot with a thin coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000 (F-86) which was subsequently polished as well. I misted on the black, but the second coat to gloss it up started with the imperfections. So I buffed it again to smooth it out and tried again. Third attempt still came up with all those imperfections. Maybe my room is too dusty; I have no idea what to do about that! Man, if this is what it takes for a decent bare metal finish, I think I'll give up trying to do it. I'll never be able to place with one of these. I have an RB-50 someone gave me for a present and I've been practicing on these little things to hopefully learn how to do it well enough to make the RB-50 look decent enough. THAT ain't gonna happen now!

Thanks for the compliments guys! Gil, I'm using Testor's Model Master Gloss Black Enamel, thinned with Testor's Airbrush Thinner to about the consistency of milk (approximately 65-35 ratio paint-to-thinner and sprayed at 20-23 psi from a double-action airbrush.

Well, I've managed to put in some good time in the Hobby Room this past week and was able to move along quite well. This week, I'm closer to finishing a few more models; hopefully I'll be able to do that by the end of the week. Okay, on to the Armor that I made progress on. Starting with my German WWII vehicles, I got the tracks on the little Airfix Panzer IV and completed the detail painting on this one. Now all that's left is the weathering: Here is a comparison shot showing my Airfix Panzer IV next to my Dragon Panzer IV: Next up is my StuG. This one has been weathered and detailed out; the only thing missing is the tracks. That's because one of the tracks went missing so this is as far as I can go on this until that other track appears: Moving on, here is my Russian T-90 all completed, decaled, and detail painted. All that's left here is the weathering: This is my Indian T-90 all decaled and final parts added. After this pic got taken, I painted up the machine gun and other details, so this one just needs to be weathered as well: Now on to a couple of near-shelf queens that I'd been holding off on while I completed the others. This first one is a Trumpeter M-1 Panther mine clearing vehicle. It was a very fast assembly, and before I realized I hadn't taken any pics of this yet; I had shot the green basecoat on it: This one has the option of making it with the mine rollers or the mine plow. I'll make this one with the mine plow since I already have an Army M-1 Abrams with the mine rollers. Since I was shooting green on this Panther, I also pulled out my T-35 Landship to shoot some green on it too: That's as far as I got on my armor so far. Okay, now on to my aircraft... I'll start out with Gloss Coat Attempt No. 3... Gloster Meteor: F-86 Sabre: This time I airbrushed on the Gloss Black to see if I could get a smoother coat. You can still see that despite my best efforts, I still managed to coat this with another orange peel flecked with dust and small bubbles. I cannot catch a break! That's it, I decided to work on something more simple. I pulled out the Bearcat and started on the landing gear and underwing stores: Here they are attached to the model. All I have to do now is fix that stupid engine inside the cowl and re-attach the propeller: After I do that, this bird will be done. Moving on to something else that is much easier, I shot the yellow on my L-39 where it's indicated in the instructions: Later on I checked it out to see how it looks: Not bad. I still need to paint the nose black so the front tape is staying on for now. Since I was spraying yellow, I also shot the top wing to my F4-B4 biplane. Once it's dry I'll be able to clearcoat it, apply the decals and mount this on the struts: While that was drying, I tested the three different blues I'd bought to try and match the decal. It appears the True Blue is the closest color match: The True Blue will be the one I use to paint the engine cowl. Now on to the others. I spent a good amount of time masking and painting the camouflage patterns on my F-111 and F-4 Phantom. Here is the Aardvark after the second mask had gone on: I then shot the third color (tan) over this bird and set it aside to dry: While that was drying, I masked off and painted the F-4 Phantom. Here is the second mask and the green color: ...followed by the final mask and dark brown color: Later on when they were dry, I removed the Silly Putty masking to see how well these two came out. Here's the Aardvark: ...and here's the Phantom: Here are the two of them clearcoated so that the camo pattern is protected from any further damage while I paint the details on these two aircraft: I will also be applying the decals to these soon too. Well, that brings me to the end of my account of my productive week this week. I was hoping to be a bit further along on some of these, but I'm happy with the progress I've made. I hope you all enjoyed the show. Thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

Several Group Builds can be tailored to specific Theaters of Operation: Pacific, N Africa etc. The Fabulous Fifties would encompass many genres, as well as the Swingin' Sixties, etc. Any prototypes or first production models of anything. That's all I got so far. Maybe even a Memorial Group Build dedicated to someone who passed away recently too.

Kim is the gremlin that lives in my keyboard and changes the 'J' to a 'K' when I want to type "Jim".

Looking sharp! Can't wait to see more!

Let us know hot that compressor works. I bought one for garage use (not arrived yet), and am curious how it'll work with an air brush. Kim, this works extremely well with my airbrush. I have three hooked up to it currently and they are all working great. That big knob in front helps to regulate the air very well so you can get some excellent precision with your brush. The only drawback I have is that it is quite loud and sometimes when it starts up again suddenly; it makes me jump. Otherwise, it has been the best investment I've made yet.

Thanks Chris! Also, thanks for reminding me of that little WWI destroyer. Actually, all it needs is decals and maybe a clear/dull coat afterwards. I need to get that done. Stay tuned! Thanks Jim! I've always loved 1/72 scale armor. Feel free to show mine to your youngest. Has he seen the pics of my entire collection showing all 545 Models (at the time)? He'd probably be thrilled! :army7: Stay tuned, more to come.

Thanks Chris! Yeah, I had noticed them starting to silver as I was taking the pics. Since these pics have been taken, I've scored the decals and applied considerable Solvaset to them to snuggle them down and eliminate the silvering. I just got lazy about shooting an after pic; they are looking quite good right now. Thanks again for the compliments and the FYI, I appreciate both!

Well, since I've overwhelmed everyone into shocked silence, I'll continue with the awe.... For this week's updates, I think I'll start on the ground and take off from there. I'll start with all the German armor which all got decals and dark brown wash: I didn't have any decals to add to this gun, so here it is with the brown wash: Next, I added decals to the two T-90's which had also been washed: Finally, a touch-up wash and some detail painting followed by a dullcoat: I did the same for the other German vehicles and the two T-90's but didn't get the pics taken for some reason. I then added the tracks to the StuH-42 and the Panzer IV. Now all that is left is to add all the detail parts as well as the wheel hubs which have all been painted and washed. These two and the Morser 17 just need to be weathered and they are finished. The two T-90's just need one or two detail parts, their machine guns mounted and weathering done and they'll be finished. The Airfix Panzer IV just needs it's tracks, some details painted and weathering and it's done. I lost one of the two tracks for the StuG IV late, so I'll add the wheel hubs and some detail parts to this before setting it aside until the second track appears. It'll probably be a few years with the way my luck is going. Okay, that shows the first hour and a half of my day yesterday.... :D Okay, now on to my aircraft... The first thing I was to apply liquid decal film to the two sheets of decals on my Navy aircraft: The next day, I got the decals applied to my two Navy aircraft: That fuselage band was real hard to get lined up! Wow! You can see how badly they silvered; and they even started curling up on the Bearcat as you can see in the pics. I hit both of these with a good dose of Solvaset to hold them down and things look a lot better now. Next I masked off the F-111 and the F-4 Phantom with my Silly Putty: Afterwards, as the Solvaset was drying on the other two, I shot a coat of Medium Green on these two aircraft: Next I need to add more masking and then shoot the final coat on these two and then I can clearcoat and decal them. I can't wait! And finally, another coat of Gloss Black on the F-86. Closer, but still no cigar: Well, that's about all I have for now. Maybe next week I can report a few of these as finished. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Good tip, thanks Chris. I hadn't thought of that possibility with acrylics.

Chris, that is another outstanding masterpiece! I bow in the presence of greatness!

I am always impressed with your skill with these vac-formed kits. You make it look so much like building an injection molded kit. Your seams are flawless. I can't wait to see more.

I like it. I'll have to look into the feasibility of using this on some of my 1/72 scale models.

Tremendous job! Outstanding detail, but then when you live in these, I guess it's easy to remember what everything looks like. I do envy you your skill at getting everything to look so lifelike and realistic.

Welcome Art! I look forward to seeing pics of your models.