Soviet armor finished at last

[reserve]

Thanks, Gary

No, the test has not changed much in all probability. For pre-trip I needed to know the whole vehicle altho for the sake of brevity during the test in Montana you only get assigned two things. Everyone gets cab interior, and I drew drivers side of tractor which includes fluids, cooling systems, hoses, compressors, stuff that's leaking, tires, brake shoes and drums, driveline, coupling device, yak yak could write a book about it. I had a good test guy which helped alot.

Then came the air brake check, including tractor then trailer tug tests, rolling test, dead engine air loss test, then service and e-brake low air pressure warning alarm and valve test (also with engine off).

Backing was next, consisting of straight, offset, and alley dock tests which was followed by the road portion. Here I did a running commentary of what I was doing such as mirror check, service tank pressure 120 lbs, speed limit here's 35, yes I see the dumbass at the intersection who's stopped with half his car in our lane, and such. I may have passed partly on entertainment value, I noticed at times the inspector was trying hard not to laugh. Seems strange how the parked part of the whole deal took considerably more time than the rolling part.

You may want to give it another shot, if you concentrate on what you know and don't get jazzed it's sort of like reciting the Gettysburg Address in school. I did not do too well at that I recall but I did get that A class how do ya like me now, teach, haw, haw.

Regards,
Mark

[reserve]

Thanks, Andy, Pete

Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

Looks like this one will present some more challenges...but don't blame you for taking short-cuts where it makes sense! Have full confidence you'll whip it into shape though Mark, nice fix on those road wheels.

[reserve]

You could not be more correct, Bill, this one's making me work for it. In spite of this, however, I'm still having a good time with it for some masochistic reason.

So, the great boiling water test occurred this afternoon

Before



After



Succsess! 60 seconds in the water and it came out like cooked spaghetti with no melting or blurring of features. There's not alot of working time tho, cools off pretty fast. Cool, no Skif tracks needed. Formed them to the running gear in the same manner



And at last the whole mess has begun to resemble its final form.



Should not be too long before base coat. A side note, when boiling your resin you may want to have the exhaust fan running on the stove as I noticed a nasty chemical odor pretty quickly once the parts were dropped in. Don't know what it was, but it sure did not smell like a cheese omlette and I can't see that it would do anyone much good.

Regards,
Mark

[bullardino]

Great job, Mark

Looks like you sorted it to perfection

[M1Carbine]

Mark - stunning my friend, you are a regular Russian armory......LOL

Bob

[TRM]

Looking reall sweet Mark!! Nice bid on forming the tracks...glad it worked out so well!! Yeah, plastic has a tendency of giving off some fumes when heated. These fumes can be ultra sensitive to some and not to others. These should not be too bad as you are not burning them and making smoke....burning plastic, with smoke, can cause a wide variety of chemical reactions in the lungs! Wise to keep the fan on anyway!!

[eastrock]

update looks great, Mark

[406 Silverado]

Looks good Mark. Sometimes all the work is well worth it, like here, other times I would just move on. That is one busy turret.

[wbill76]

Nice work on straightening out those tracks Mark and I'm sure you're very happy about not having to rely on the Skif tracks too!

[reserve]

Thanks, gents

Lugi-Maybe not perfection but close enough to hide the lack of it.

Bob-Well, had to try something different, WW II German stuff was starting to get old.

T-Yessir, better living thru chemistry is something I subscribe to only part of the time

ER-Thanks brother

Rob-By now I have enough time, $, and effort into this that I HAVE to finish it. The turret is something else, I wonder if they really went into combat with such a configuration.

Nemo-For sure, I'm goofy enough without help from brain damaging compounds. This is still the T-80, by the way but don't feel bad I'm beginning to loose track myself.

Bill-Sometimes I can accidently do something right, law of averages no doubt. Yes, my delight about no Skif tracks knows no bounds as they are about twice as thick as they should be.

Bet you all know what's next, yes you guessed it bare and base coat.





Been a long time since I painted resin, forgot a few things but remember them now. Not my favorite medium. This is two thin coats, gonna need a third slightly thicker coat later. There are places that the paint did not get to altho they are not visible in the photo so a bit of brush time is also in order. All for now will be back when there's something to report.

Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

Nice to see paint getting sprayed on this one Mark!

[eastrock]

Must be the fumes that make Nemo lost his tracks!!! lol

cool the painting stage is now in progress

[reserve]

Thanks, guys

Nemo, all I can say is that probably just makes you more like my own self, can't speak for anyone else here. The good news: It's not fatal.

Small update, complete basecoat and drybrushing done





Now onto sealing and pinwash. I may try a black filter on the rubber parts of the skirts just for laughs, might make an interesting contrast. If it turns out well then I'll have to go back and do this to the 72 and 90 for continuity. Me and my big ideas.

Regards,
Mark

[bullardino]

Very nice to see the beast with some paint on

Looks like it'll turn out a wondeful tank

[eastrock]

I agree with Luigi after all the troubles it turn out great

[wbill76]

Nice paint work Mark! Drybrushing has given it some depth as well, almost done with this one. You've discovered the downside to your assembly line approach...as you get further into the roster of builds you're discovering new things to do to the current build that you didn't do to the earlier ones!

[Deleted]

Been catching up on your work today. Hats off to you, the kit and resin has given you a real challenge but you've produced a real beauty here buddy!
Very nice

[deafpanzer]

It got paint on!!! I don't see anything wrong so you did great. Forgot to ask how many points the deer was.

[ogrejohn]

Very nice looking paint job Mark!

[wing_nut]

Can't argue with what's been said... or your results.

[reserve]

Thank you for the generous comments, all.

Andy, one was a small fork horn and the other a doe. Experience has taught me let the monsters with trees on their heads to keep on walking as this kind, when on the dinner plate, has a flavor best described as rank along with the additional benifit of being tough as belt rubber. That's why I'll shoot two to four smaller ones a year, eat well, and save display space for my tanks instead of critter heads.

An additional complication has popped up, began pin washing yesterday and base paint began to come off in patches. This reminded me that enamel paint does not take a very good bite on resin. It also showed me that MM acryllic clear gloss is not the best medium, guess I'll have to get some Future, something I should have done a long time ago. So, this one's stalled for the duration until adequate curing time (24 hours with Future?) has passed. Good excuse to start the '64, no?


Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

Mark,

Future's the way to go since it's an acrylic medium and very tough once cured. It is cheap and lasts forever...I still have the original bottle I bought back in 2006 and it's still about 1/2 full! ;D I always allow 24 hours for it to cure as a precaution even though it's touch-dry after about 15 minutes to avoid any issues. Sounds like the perfect excuse to work on the 64 to me...can't let good benchtime go to waste!

[reserve]

Ha! Went to the grocer's and found out they do not carry Future. I did find this, however



I am also an EPA hero



I figure it's acryllic and meant to be walked on, probably comes out of the same witches cauldron, just put in a different bottle. The goo is on a test subject now, if it passes the straight thinner test it goes on the T-80 cause it just don't look right without a pin wash.

Not wishing to be idle, the 64 was started



And I got this far with it



Lovely kit, no flash, almost invisible mold lines, fit to die for. Trumpy also has the sense to give you enough space for your shears on the PE frets



so no annoying dimples or bent the wrong way parts. A winner of a kit overall, and a great one to finish this project with.

Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

PE sheet looks pretty good and decent! Surprised your store doesn't sell Future. I have to remind myself you are in Wyoming. My friend told me closest Walmart is almost two hours drive away. LOL

If for some reason you are not pleased with one you have now, just give me a holler I'd be more than happy to buy and ship it over as we can work something out. One bottle of Future will last for years...

[eastrock]

this is I'm see Mark regarding the alternative for the future.

[wbill76]

Nice start on the '64 Mark! Hopefully your EPA-friendly choice will do the trick! FWIW, Future is sold now under the name Pledge Premium Floor Finish with Future Shine...I guess they needed to make it more complicated to prevent modelers from finding it and using it for our nefarious non-floor waxing purposes. ;D

[reserve]

Andy-Thanks much for the offer, very goodhearted of you. The EPA hero floor polish works quite well, the acid test was straight thinner and vigorous scrubbing with a toothbrush. This did not make a dent in the new goo so it's a keeper. Distances out here are kind of a pain but it's a small price to pay for not having to put up with crowds which I cordially detest.

ER-As noted, it works!

Bill-Good gawd, no wonder I could not find Future. Perhaps this is why the local Albertsons does not stock the stuff, takes too long to write on the order form.

Nemo-Thanks, and the 64 is assuredly a worthy wishlist item. I seem to recall profession of an affection from you about Trumpeter, sort of. I liked 'em when working on their T-62, began to have some doubt with their T-54, but am dedicated on board with this latest kit. I think I love Trumpy also.

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Interesting Mark , good to know something else besides Future will work . If you never have used it before you can thin it with a blue glass cleaner , something like Windex .

[craigcole20b.]

Nice work I'll be watching this one for sure just getting into Russian and PLA armor have you done the T-90 yet?