Maddog Manufacturing 2015 Production Line

[Mark Deliduka]

This week, due to a heavy schedule; I could only work on my models on Friday and Saturday for half of each day, so this is going to be a short update. Almost all this progress was done on Hobby Day Friday and Saturday; the rest was done during the hour or so I had today.

I'll start with my Aircraft.



This first one..... *sigh* It just does not want to be finished. I sealed the underside with three coats of clear before masking and the paint still peeled off. On top of that, the horizontal stabilizer broke again:



One step forward; two steps backward with that one....


On to something better. On my Madge, I managed to get the interior done. I added the instrument panel decal and dry-brushed the rest of the instrumentation inside the compartments. None of this will be seen once it's closed up but it sure looks great here:





I also did the center compartment of this interior:



After all that was done, I decided to test-fit this inside one side of the fuselage. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it snapped right into place:



I've already painted the interior of the fuselage halves so this beastie is almost ready to close up. All I need to do is add the windows to the sides of the fuselage halves and put in some last little detail parts. That being said, I went ahead and assembled the empennage assembly:



This thing lined up so perfectly; I was really pleased at how easy Trumpeter has made this so far!

I also got decals on my Huey, but apparently didn't get pics of it. Oh well, next update...


Now for my armor.



I started out applying decals to those models that were ready for them. First off was the Diamond T truck:





Next I applied the decals to the T-54B tank as well:



That was quick and easy, so I painted the tracks and added them to the lower hull:



This beastie will be finished and weathered very soon; provided I get the time.

Also, someone asked if my Tiger Models Abrams SEP TUSK had photo-etch. Yes it does; it is added to the bottom of the stowage racks. Here's a shot of it already installed:



The brass color sure blends with the bare color of this model.

Moving along, I decided to get further along on my Russian Armored trains. I had wanted to get started on the photo-etch for them, but was too short of time. So I pulled out the little BT-7 tank and added the last pieces:



Since there were only a few photo-etch parts for this tank, I added them to it to finish this little tank:





Now I've seen a few different pictures of how they stack the tracks on the fender when they remove them. I need to research a little more to determine how I want to add the tracks to the tops of the fenders on this model after I paint it. Meanwhile, I also finished the last of the long flatcars I had still to do. I finally found all the parts so now this last one is done except for the bumpers and photo-etch:



Just for fun, here's how these two will look on the train:



My final project I was able to make progress on was my two SCUDS. I moved on and assembled the driver's cab in the front. I left off the sides of each cab so I could paint the interior and add the windows later:



Here's how the cabs look all together:



Of course, I made two for both of these SCUDS:



Next I moved on and assembled the sections behind the driver's cabs:



Now for the fun part; putting everything together to see how these look so far. I had added some final parts and sanded the rear boxes that had been filled before and now here is where these stand:





I had wanted to get the launcher cradles started, but ran out of time. Oh well, this gives me something to do the next time I have time for the bench.

That's all I got done so far; not bad for only a day and a half's work. I do hope I can get a few of these done soon.

Meanwhile, thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

[ghodges]

You get more done in a half a day than many get done in half the year!

 

GIL

[Mark Deliduka]

Thanks Gil! I appreciate that. I'm trying hard to get some of these done, but time is fleeting and in short supply these days. Hopefully next week things slow down a little allowing me to finish some of these and move on.

[Mark Deliduka]

Well, I have a few hours to go before I have to leave for Midnight Mass, so here's the latest progress I got done today. It ain't much, just small steps here and there to try and get a few things closer to the finish line. Most of this was done with the airbrush, with a little extra work on the side.

First off, I shot a clear gloss onto the C-46 so that I could start decaling it soon:



Next, while I had the airbrush out, I shot some dullcoat on my Huey Hog to seal in the decals:



Now I can move on with that one.

While I was at it, I decided to test the Italian red that I'd gotten with the decals for the Stearman. It was the closest match I'd found yet. It's the left-most blotch of color:



So, I took a leap of faith and shot the engine cowl Italian Red:



Now that I had a red cowl, I shot another coat of cream over the whole aircraft to cover places I's sanded a little to smooth things out. The top wing is only sitting on the four inside struts:







Now I'll be adding a gloss coat to this for the decals and assembling the engine to install in the front of this plane.

After this, a friend called and while I was chatting with him, I spent the time sanding the bottom of the Space Shuttle smooth:



I was hoping to get the interior installed on this so I could add the clam shell doors and then the wings, but I ran out of time.

That's all I got done on my aircraft, now for the armor progress...


First off, I wasn't happy with the holes in the back of the T-54. I didn't want to fill them, wait for them to dry, then sand them smooth; possibly eliminating a lot of detail back there. So I came up with another idea that is slightly inaccurate, but was far easier and faster to do.

First thing, I cut a piece of styrene strip about the width of the back area and glued it on over the holes:



Here you can see the holes I'm covering:



Then I trimmed this plastic down to size:



After that, I added the upper hull; snapping it into place without glue and proceeded to sand it smooth:



The second band of white above is simply the light reflecting off the still-glossy surface of the rear upper hull.

Here is the new addition already painted. The paint is still a little wet here:




Like I said, a bit inaccurate, but much faster and easier.

While I had the green out, I figured I'd paint a couple more models. One was the little tank for the train. Here it is shot with green, and a little preliminary weathering as well:





The other model was one of the SCUDs that I jumped the gun on. I figured, lets see what it's like to get one of these painted, so I shot a coat of green one one of them:



Not bad so far. I still need to build the missile cradle on both of these first though.

Okay, while I was shooting dullcoat around on the Huey, I also shot the T-54. This one is also weathered a bit with some dusting of brown:





Right after that, I also shot a dullcoat and dusting on the Diamond T cargo truck:





You can see here I also removed the window masking. I also had to replace both the headlights with new ones since one broke off, rolled down my leg and disappeared! So I removed the other one and added two others from a different kit.

Now the T-54 just needs the roof machine gun and it'll be finished; while the Diamond T still needs rear view mirrors, spare tires, and a couple more detail parts before it's done. Maybe a day or two after Christmas, well see.


Well that's all I was able to get done this Christmas Eve morning before my wife came home. Now I'm off to Midnight Mass. Thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

[Mark Deliduka]

Now for a continuation of what's on my bench. This is a very small update for a lot of work done. First off, I finished three models so I haven't got any pics of them to show here. All I have for now are four pics showing the work I got done on three models.

To start out, I finally did what I wanted to do Christmas Eve before I ran out of time. I added the interior, clamshell doors and wings to the Space Shuttle. In these pics, the tail is only dry-fit on; I have a lot of filling and sanding to do on the engine covers first before I can permanently add the tail:



And yes, the clamshell doors do close:



Man, she's a big 'un.

Next, I assembled the missile cradles for the two SCUDs and got them installed in the models:



I then built the SCUD missiles themselves and decided to test fit them to the cradles:





Now that is all the progress I got on unfinished models. As for the rest of what I did:

->I also finished up a Huey Hog by adding the rotors, doors, weapons pylons and tail surfaces while removing the window masking.

->I also finished the Diamond T Cargo truck by adding the spare tires, rear view mirrors, and other assorted detail parts. I then completed the weathering on this truck which doesn't show too well in the pics.

-> Finally, I also finished the T-54B tank by adding the machine gun to the turret and finishing off the weathering of this tank as well.

To see those, you'll have to go to their respective Forums to see the completed pics.

Tomorrow and the next day look to be very busy, so I will probably not see much bench time. Maybe in a few days I'll have time to get more done. Meanwhile, feel free to check out my finished models and thanks for looking in. Comments are always welcome.

[Mark Deliduka]

Well, as this is the last day of 2015; I'm closing out this Thread for the year and will be starting a 2016 Thread in a day or so from now with a summary of what didn't get finished this year. Then I'll show what I was able to get done in that time as well.

 

I want to thank all those who looked in and posted; your comments keep me motivated to build more. I also want to thank those who looked in and were too overwhelmed to post. LOL! :smiley8: Your attention helped as well, allowing me to be a bit more productive and finish a few more models than I expected to this year. It has been a good year for me despite losing four months on the bench.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and may you all have a productive one model-wise as well.

 

I'll see you all on the flip side.

[VonL]

Overwhelmed, yes. Inspired, too.

 

Rock on, Hero Modeling Kollektiv of the Soviet Union!

[Mark Deliduka]

Overwhelmed, yes. Inspired, too.

 

Rock on, Hero Modeling Kollektiv of the Soviet Union!

 

 

LOL! Thanks Comrade! LOL! With all these models of Soviet vehicles being worked on, I guess I do qualify for that title!

 

Stay tuned for my new "Maddog Manufacturing 2016" Thread coming to a Forums near you in the next few days!