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Post by wbill76 on Apr 4, 2015 15:27:53 GMT -5
Thanks Jeremy! Andy, that will probably not happen but I do promise to at least have some progress in the meantime, how's that for a bargain? Don't tell me you're going to be working on your B-24 remotely...
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 4, 2015 16:35:17 GMT -5
After letting the base set up overnight, here's where things stood. It did lighten up just a bit but there's still the red-brown tone to deal with, so I loaded up the airbrush with some thinned Testors MM enamel Afrika Dunkelgrau and re-masked the wood base. Getting closer to the end result I'm after. I'll let that dry/set and then dose it with some MIG Gulf War Sand pigments. The photos show it a little darker than it really is but now that the red-brown tint is gone, I can work on getting the lighter tan/buff look over this easier than I could with the previous colors. I'm also pretty happy to see the tire tracks and footprints are holding and coming out nicely as a visible effect/element. Making progress!
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Post by Leon on Apr 4, 2015 17:02:25 GMT -5
Really coming along nicely Bill!
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bbrowniii
Full Member
Member since: March 2012
If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate.
Posts: 1,239
Mar 25, 2012 22:08:04 GMT -5
Mar 25, 2012 22:08:04 GMT -5
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Post by bbrowniii on Apr 4, 2015 17:43:50 GMT -5
Bill
This has become quite the project! I'm loving it! Can't wait to see what is next!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 4, 2015 18:42:18 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! Boyd, definitely has taken on a life of its own of sorts! Thanks for staying tuned.
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 5, 2015 16:39:12 GMT -5
Did some more work on the base today and think I've pretty much got it where I want it to be. I airbrushed some MIG Gulf War Sand pigment over the whole base using ordinary tap water with a tiny amount of liquid dish-washing soap added to it to break its surface tension and allow the pigment to spray. The trick here is to spray in light passes, let the water evaporate to view the result, then spray again. I made 3-4 passes in total depending on the areas that needed it as some required more help than others to get the tone shift on. Since the water also acts as a carrier to 'fix' the pigments, I let it sit for a couple of hours to make sure everything was final before removing the masking on the wood base. There were a couple of small spots that needed some touch up with the stain, so those were taken care of and now the base is ready for its occupants. It's been a fun exercise getting this one to come together and overall I'm pretty happy that the combination of materials and techniques worked out without any major incidents. Now it's back to finishing the 222 that will sit on it.
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Post by Tobi on Apr 5, 2015 22:40:22 GMT -5
Without fenders and turret the 222 looks like a giant sand-buggy!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 6, 2015 11:04:26 GMT -5
Without fenders and turret the 222 looks like a giant sand-buggy! Thanks Tobi! I think you're right. Time to start bulking up that exterior!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 6, 2015 17:31:01 GMT -5
As promised, attention returned to completing the 222 and getting it fully assembled. First order of business was to go to Step 10 and work on the turret and armament. I cleaned up the top and bottom halves of the turret but kept them separate for now as the 2 attachment points for the gun mount are split with the front one on the turret bottom and the rear one on the turret top. I want to be sure everything's going to play nice in that department first before committing to joining them and painting it. I also deliberately left off the commander's seat and the PE radio frame box. HB doesn't provide a radio, only the mount frame, so I'll have to see if I have something in the spares bin that might do to fill that empty spot. I did attach the antenna base but clipped off the top portion and drilled it out with a #76 finger drill to take a Lion Marc brass 2m antenna later on. Turret top got the side and rear vision flaps to round things out. One nice thing about the HB kit is it does provide you with three different choices for the 2.0cm gun...you can do a KwK 30, a KwK 38, or a Flak 38. I decided to go with a KwK 38 but replaced the barrel with an Armorscale turned brass and aluminum barrel as the plastic barrels have hollow muzzle ends but solid necks and flash suppressors. The kit barrel on the KwK 38 (I didn't bother checking the others) also scaled out a bit too long, so the replacement barrel is both more detailed and an accurate length. I had to be extremely careful with drilling out the base of the gun as the Armorscale barrel's mount pin is fairly large. I also opted for a JB Models brass MG34 barrel to improve the detail on the coaxial MG since it has a separate perforated cooling jacket sleeve that is better than the kit's molded dimples. Careful removal of the kit barrel's sight and a touch of CA transferred that key detail over as well. Next up will be working on the pedestal mount itself in Steps 11 and 12.
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Post by TRM on Apr 6, 2015 17:55:50 GMT -5
Some outstanding base work Bill!! Nice to see the defenses getting their fair shake on the bench!!
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DeafStuG
Full Member
Member since: May 2013
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Posts: 1,283
May 9, 2013 18:50:50 GMT -5
May 9, 2013 18:50:50 GMT -5
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Post by DeafStuG on Apr 6, 2015 18:01:48 GMT -5
Great improve looks better now - diorama base. Nice add on barrels detail.
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Post by Leon on Apr 6, 2015 19:15:49 GMT -5
Base and barrel look really good Bill!
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Post by Deano on Apr 6, 2015 19:48:05 GMT -5
Excellent work on the base Bill , those barrels look great ...I especially like the mg barrel ...cool upgrade !
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 6, 2015 19:53:44 GMT -5
Thanks Todd, Jeremy, and Leon! Deano, got to love the look of brass and aluminum vs. styrene! I've had the JB barrel laying around in the stash for ages as I had bought it by mistake a long time back but its number finally came up for this project.
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Post by wing_nut on Apr 7, 2015 14:48:06 GMT -5
The base looks great. Like the way you fractured that one rock.
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 7, 2015 15:02:34 GMT -5
The base looks great. Like the way you fractured that one rock. Thanks Marc! Wish I could claim credit for that, it was actually a by-product of the warping that fractured it! The rock chip I was using was long and thin (that's why it flaked off the much larger rock in my backyard wall in the first place) and all I did was place a couple of the smaller flakes that further chipped off it when the warping happened with some CA gel to get it to all stay together. Got to love nature for producing natural-looking results!
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Post by wing_nut on Apr 7, 2015 15:09:19 GMT -5
Lol. Yeah it's nice when nature is on our side.
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Post by dupes on Apr 7, 2015 21:06:09 GMT -5
Still plugging away, eh?
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 8, 2015 13:01:12 GMT -5
Still plugging away, eh? Doing my best to keep this one moving Dupes!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 8, 2015 19:12:38 GMT -5
Step 11 is a major step in the assembly process as it brings the gun pedestal mount together in a series of sub-assembly steps that are very tricky and delicate and also impact several other areas on the build. The total parts count (not counting the seats) is 26 and some of them have very little tolerance for error in terms of getting it all together properly. It doesn't help that the mount tabs for some of the parts aren't a perfect match for their respective location points, so lots of careful dry-fitting and attention is needed to get it all together in the end. I had to make a small modification to the recoil tray's elevation gear teeth in terms of sanding them down slightly so they would line up and mesh at the right height with the bottom gear wheel. Unlike the suggested order in the instruction sheet, I waited until after I had the whole mount together before adding the two seat support posts as those have to sit just right as well to avoid interference with any interior details. It's also important to note that the elevation piston arm, part D33, has to sit at a slight angle and attaches to the bottom of the hooded portion of D44 and not the top as the instruction diagrams indicate. Assembled any other way and it will not clear the hump in the floor of the fighting compartment. Last but not least, the gun mount is not designed to be movable so take special care in selecting the gun elevation angle as that will also influence whether you can position the grenade screens in the open or closed position! See what I mean about this being a tricky/critical step? The assembly of the mount took about 3 hours and I let it set up nice and solid before testing the fit of the 2.0cm main gun. The mount points at the front of the recoil tray weren't quite wide enough to take the gun so some careful sanding with a needle file there as well as on the side points of the gun got it reduced to the point where it would fit as a tight friction fit. The gun will be painted separately and installed later and the small splinter shield added as well, but I needed to be sure it would go in with a minimum of pain as it can only be added after the mount has been joined with the turret. I also did a test fit with the turret and the hull to make sure everything was going to play nice with each other. I'll need to open up the barrel opening in the turret just a little bit as there's a slight amount of interference with the replacement barrel. I can't be sure that's something I didn't introduce with the barrel swap-out but some very careful sanding should do the trick in that area to eliminate the very small issue it represents. Next up will be adding the rest of the mount (another 8 parts) called for in Step 12 that includes the mount parts for the MG34 and the gunner's sight. Then it will be time to sling some more paint!
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afvfan
Senior Member
Member since: December 2012
Bob
Posts: 1,772
Dec 10, 2012 17:32:38 GMT -5
Dec 10, 2012 17:32:38 GMT -5
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Post by afvfan on Apr 8, 2015 19:43:29 GMT -5
Nice work on the mount, Bill. I know that must have been a real PitA to get together, but it looks great!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 8, 2015 19:47:31 GMT -5
Nice work on the mount, Bill. I know that must have been a real PitA to get together, but it looks great! Thanks Bob! Definitely not for the faint-hearted for sure...lots of patience and waiting for glue to set just enough to hold stuff together but still provide a little bit of flexibility to ensure the fit was correct. You know, that crucial balance between stuff completely falling apart and being too rigid to move any more...especially since some of the contact points like those on the recoil tray supports weren't exactly large and sturdy for weight bearing!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 9, 2015 16:21:30 GMT -5
Made more progress on the gun mount with the additional parts called for in Step 12. This is where things start to get a little complicated as all the parts have to line up exactly in relation to the turret slot openings for the MG34 and the gunner's sight as well as the recoil guard and the rear turret mount point. I dealt with the MG34 side of things first and added the mount support first with the spent ammo chute first, then added the gun mount itself after to ensure I had a solid platform. Test dry-fits with the 2.0cm gun and MG34 showed everything fit properly together and lined up as needed with the turret openings. On the other side we have the gunner's sight and this is a four part affair that involves a little tricky dance to get the mount in the proper place. The sight tube is molded solid on both ends, so I drilled out both with a small drill bit to add some detail before installing it. The instructions would have you add the small s-shaped support, D51, to the sight barrel first and then try to install that to the gun mount but there aren't any location aids for it on the barrel, so I placed it on the gun mount first and then adjusted it as needed once I'd installed the full sight with the front part of its mount. The last parts I added were the recoil backstop and it's matching clamp-like attachment point to the turret frame. This is a very important and fragile part as it, along with the notched angled support at the front of the mount, is the only thing that attaches the whole mount to the turret. These are small points that have to keep everything lined up correctly and the weight of the gun barrels was making it very hard to get them to do that with test fits so the barrels came off and I did it using just the mount and turret. I also went ahead and glued the two halves of the turret together at this point to make life easier for this exercise. As you can see below, there's very little leeway or tolerance for all of this to work properly including the pedestal occupying the right spot relative to the interior floor. After some very patient back and forth, I got it all lined up the way it should be and will let it all firm up. The mount has not been permanently attached to the turret as there's a lot of paint work and detail painting that needs to happen before I can do that. It is possible to maneuver the mount in and out of the turret but only just, so it's a delicate balancing act from here on out until I get them both together.
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Post by dierk on Apr 10, 2015 10:55:06 GMT -5
Splendiferous! Really liking this a LOT Thumbs Up!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 10, 2015 11:02:00 GMT -5
Splendiferous! Really liking this a LOT Thumbs Up! Thanks Dierk! Have to hand it to Hobby Boss in terms of the level of detail they provided for this vehicle.
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BJ---Rest In Peace
Full Member
Oct '24 Showcased Model Awarded
Member since: July 2014
Posts: 378
Jul 24, 2014 12:31:35 GMT -5
Jul 24, 2014 12:31:35 GMT -5
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Post by BJ---Rest In Peace on Apr 10, 2015 11:39:38 GMT -5
Man that looks AWESOME, You're making me want to really pull out my Tristar kit and start building it also to fo with the Bridge layer. Those barrels are amazing machine work also. I am going to have to try and make some of those myself.
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 10, 2015 12:38:15 GMT -5
Man that looks AWESOME, You're making me want to really pull out my Tristar kit and start building it also to fo with the Bridge layer. Those barrels are amazing machine work also. I am going to have to try and make some of those myself. Thanks Billie Jean! The aftermarket guys really did a nice job on the barrels, can't argue with you there! They are a definite improvement over the kit-supplied offering no question about it. Your Tristar combo with the bridgelayer would be a neat pair I'm sure!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 10, 2015 19:31:17 GMT -5
More progress in the turret department. First order of business involved test fitting the PE mesh screen for the compartment roof as this is essential to support the rear of the turret and complete the turret ring. This will get airbrushed and installed in a following step since it needs to be painted on both sides, always a tricky thing with PE parts. I also checked the barrel placement one more time to make sure everything is continuing to play nice in the alignment arena. The kit includes two different styles of PE mesh screens for the turret top. One style includes cut-outs for the curved elevation mechanism at the rear of the gun mount while the other is all one-piece on both sides. All my photo references of vehicles in N. Africa show the one-piece type so I opted for that style for consistency sake. The grip rails that mount on the sides were left off for now and will be added after the screens have been airbrushed to avoid the potential of paint collecting and potentially clogging those screen areas. I haven't yet decided if I want to pose the screens open or closed for my little vignette purposes, will make that call after I get them painted and see how the details look with them open vs. closed. Just about ready to sling some more paint on the turret and mount areas!
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Post by dupes on Apr 10, 2015 19:33:47 GMT -5
Oooooh, now she's getting there! Paint! Paint! Paint!
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Post by wbill76 on Apr 10, 2015 20:01:19 GMT -5
Oooooh, now she's getting there! Paint! Paint! Paint! Don't hyperventilate too much Dupes...will only be a partial paint...story of my life with this build! Worse than an aircraft project...
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