Don't ask me why

[reserve]

I keep being drawn to these moldy oldies. Perhaps I'm regressing toward childhood. Anyway here's the next effort







Not too bad for as ancient as it is, should build up fairly quick. I recall doing the troop version of this when it was state of the art back in what, the seventies?

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Great choice and in my humble opinion still a great kit too!

[deafpanzer]

WHY NOT! Always wanted to get that kit... I have Tamiya Opel Blitz kit in stash. Have fun... you have my attention as usual.

[Mence]

In my book, n oldie but a goody, I'm following...

[spud]

oh i remember i had one of these many moons ago but never got it built

[Deleted]

Seventies ? Well then it diffenitely wasnt my childhood ;D. Tamiya was the top dog back then . I thought they were pricey even back then but there wasnt a lot of other choices around . DML , Trumpeter. photo etch parts , internet ? Decades away , for me anyway . Maybe thats part of the the attraction for these older kits ..........simpler times .

Anyway Mark this one will be another good looking build of yours i'm sure ! ;D

[sfcmikej]

Mark

Holy Cow! That is from the days of my first modeling incarnation.

Mike

[wbill76]

Nothing wrong with working on the older kits! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one Mark!

[M1Carbine]

Mark - may be a moldy oldie but still a well fitting Tamiya kit.

Bob

[reserve]

Thanks for the interest, guys

I adore the way these Tammy kits fly together but have lost a wing on this one, no polycaps in the box. Normally I'd just get out the plastic and make some but these are more like a cylinder on a disc than a cylinder. It may come to that anyway but I'll see what Tamiya USA has to say this morning.

Got this far with it



It's a bit rough in spots with mold lines and misaligned mold half closure but is cleaning up fine with a bit of extra effort. The "Door knocker" AT gun is particularly affected by this.

I call this gun the door knocker in memory of my buddy Karl, an Eastern front veteran now dead these twenty years. He'd generally not say much about his experiences until he got outside of enough malt scotch which was not very often. His tales from those days were horrifying and heartbreaking, can't blame him for not wanting to recall them. On the door knocker subject, he said that if one so foolish enough to shoot at a T-34 or KV with one of these it would only serve to annoy the Russians inside, who would demonstrate their annoyance by blowing the door knocker and foolish crew off the face of the earth. Guess there's something to that evolution in action stuff after all.

Regards,
Mark

[bbd468]

Mark, i dont blame ya at all for doin' the oldies....especially Tamiya. They still have alot of potential for mods. and there just fun! I built the Old 79' Tamiya Greif...was fun as heck bringin' the old dog up to par. Lookin' forward to your build.

Gary

[redleg12]

Mark - It all depends on your age and view. My older kits are from the early to mid 60s....the old Revell, Monogram and others. They make this kit look high teck....

Age does not matter, a good modeler can make any kit look good. If you enjoy it that is all that counts!!

Rounds Complete!!

[wbill76]

Made some good progress Mark! The passage of time hasn't been kind to the veterans and so much first-hand information/experiences are lost when they pass away. It's good that you have some memories to hang onto!

[reserve]

Thanks guys

Tonka-I like your take on the modeling/assembly idea

Gary-If nothing else the old kits provide a break from deciphering Dragon instruction sheets

Redleg-Done a few of the Revell and Monogram kits myself, none of them have survived the household move mill tho. It was quite a shock to me the first time I opened up a Dragon kitbox

Bill-Karl was the only Landser/Panzer crewman I ever knew personally. After being blown up in a transport he managed to get into armor and ended up a gunner on a Panzer IV H. Badly wounded when the vehicle was knocked out, post hospital release he was sent to France once again as a PzIV gunner and ended up being captured by the Americans shortly after the invasion. He often said this saved his life. Hellish tough old guy, I still miss him.

Well enough woolgathering...In the interest of expedience I decided to make polycap replacements and installed them. We'll find out how well I did if all the wheels touch the ground when it's done.

Basecoat






Thanks for lookin

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Thanks for sharing that experience of Karl .
Must of been a tough ole guy !

[bullardino]

Nice one, Mark

[wbill76]

Nice fix on the caps Mark, fingers crossed for your wheels to sit nice and level!

[WigWag Workshop]

Looking Great! I wish I could get my hands on these "old" kits. I really like the "truck" aspect armor building.

-Steven

[Mence]

Looking good Mark!

[Deleted]

still looks a great kit after all these years, I have always thought the shape was quite cool

[fightnjoe]

an oldie but turning into a goodie.

nice work sir.



joe

[Leon]

My first kit was a tamyia tiger .got lost when i moved out on my own.still miss the early kits
btw looking good so far keep up the fine work

[reserve]

Thanks, all

Carl-He was all of that, and quite direct as well...not afraid to call a spade a spade as the old saying goes.

Luigi, Mence-Thanks guys, I'm a-tryin

Bill-Thanks, and crossed fingers must have worked, all tires on the ground

Steve, Texas-I got this kit thru ScaleHobbyist, last I knew they still had a bunch of them

Snipersmudge-They are kind of singular in appearence, aren't they? Slanted hoods like that are great for driving, one can almost see the front bumper while in the seat

Joe-Thank you sir

Leon-Firecrackers and a .22 Long rifle got the great majority of my early efforts, time and attrition got the rest. Being as I was about eight years old when I started the first round of the hobby they did not turn out very well so not much lost. Thanks for the kind assesment

So some more fiddlin has produced this (it's dryfit)







Might have to fade it some more, will decide when next I look at it. I've always been bemused at how Tammy molds such a nice kit and puts out such dogs of figures, altho I guess that is no longer strictly true. Here's where they'll probably end up




Rather gappy and lots of heavy mold lines to scrape but I can work with them. Thanks to the Germans for those big helmets that covered so much.

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Mark , about Karl , I'd rather listen to someone like him than this p.c. bunch we have around now . Calling a spade a spade was common expression and well practiced when i grew up .

Your build looks a heck of a lot better than i would of given it credit foe concidering the era it was molded .Looking really good now and some paint and weathering along with those figs are going to make more of a improvement .

[wing_nut]

Don't have to ask why, we know why ;D

Nice work there. I got that in 1/48. This may push me to actually build it.

[wbill76]

This one has flown together Mark, very nice!

[bbd468]

Mark, i gotta say...im liking the heck outa this kit. Just looks cool and different...and a qwik build as well!

Gary

[Deleted]

great work the figures will really bring the truck to life

[reserve]

Thanks gents

Carl-I hear you loud and clear the current trends are discouraging aren't they?

Wingy-So ya got me figured out don't tell anyone

Texas-Oh hell I may not have done you a favor with that. As long as I'm guilty there is also Sprue Brothers who gets stuff to you faster than anyone I've ever dealt with, and Internet Hobbies who seems to have just about everything ever made for this hobby

Bill-Hard to keep this one from flying, there's not much to it really. I have not noticed any build posts from you lately, everything OK?

Gary-They are different, largely what attracted me to do another one after 20 years or so. As said, it's not a complicated kit

Pete-Inasmuch as I dislike doing figures I've always felt them to be necessary. I'm whining again aren't I. Got some insignia decals on the way for this which will save me much pain, never have been good at painting 1/35th broad eagles and the like


After some more puttering about assembly is 99% along with decals, pin wash, and flatcoat









It really is pinwashed, I swear it is...hard to get contrast on Panzer Grey. Perhaps a wee bit more drybrush...and dust to follow of course. I missed Carl's seat SBS on this one but will have to try it on the next softskin.

Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

Those chairs look so cozy that I want to sit on 'em and lay back all day! Looking great so far! Looking forward to your next update... dirt & dust?