CarolsHusband

I've never built one but I've only ever heard good things. Also.... Got these two for my Burpday from the not-so-useless stepkids. The Chev is made by a company called ICM based in the Ukraine The High Speed Tractor is by Hobby Boss from China. No modelling ATM, back is on the mend but the one thing I can't do is sit for very long. Or get up after. Hey-ho.

Bit of 'Broke Back Modelling' going on, can't do much else ATM. Started on the washed out winter camo for the 88.... Also started getting my head round the next one. It's big, got lotsa bits & I'm using additional photo etched parts plus a trailer full of stuff & a scratch-built diorama. /better than the pub.

@The Bronze As promised. I should probably get on with it.

Nope, you can switch between the two. When building the bogies you sandwich a little steel nut between some parts & then there's screw that goes through the legs. The outriggers are hinged so you have all the choices. I'll post a pic when I'm back home.

pics Haven't done much glue sniffing lately, finished the 88 mm, just the weathering to do now but apart from that, nuffin. /pics Needs a diorama so I guess that's next.

Yep, that ain't gonna happen. Couldn't get excited about it, partly because the way it's massive chrome trims were moulded was going to make it a twat of a job as far as decay was concerned and also because 59 is about my least favourite year for Caddys. 58's & 60's are both cool, 59's are just silly. IMHO, obvs. So.... 1/35 calls once more. Flak 36 88 mm anti-tank gun. Asked for it when I was 12, finally building it now. It's all in the planning. /pic

Ooh, 1/24.... Forgot abut this one, found in a box of cassette tapes at my Dads the other day. Pretty cool & rare kit, may give it a bit of a refresh for old times sake. Anyway, hopefully going to get started on the Caddy tonight.

Right, all done. Turned into a struggle again at the end and it nearly went in the bin. I now see why I got so frustrated with the tracks years ago. You can buy separate link track sets for most of these tanks but they're sometimes more than the price of the kit. Anyway, enough whinging Pom.

Nice. Miniart do some cool unusual stuff. I s'pose i could do a mini update while I'm here. Melted wheels fixed, repaired one with plastic & then reshaped it. The other I decided to "remove" the outer wheel completely, so cut it all off bar the centre and then drilled it (with a hot pin)to look like a hub. Towards the end of the war quite a lot German vehicles were running out of spares. Reinstalled all the wheels Gonna finish it today, ran out of superglue to put the tracks on. Be good to get it done as I'd like to start to start on the Cadillac.

Mini update as no time spare time for models this week, though it's s'posed to be gales & stair rods tomorrow so might get a bash at it. Did the sides of the hull, not mega happy but hoping they'll perk up a bit once all the kit is stowed and weathered. A few wheels got melted by a mystery solvent, rat piss or aliens over the decades, they're deformed & a bit soft. Gonna trim off the yuck & build it up with filler. /wondering whether I should have just bought a new kit, but it's all practice.

Probably don't. Build them when you're 70, I'll tell my grandchildren to look in.

Send me your kits then, Peter pan.

/Pics. Also, surely once the lighthouse keepers got sacked they had more time for bottle stuffing. (not sexually).

Can't be that much difference in size.....

Hey Alex, you've had long enough to find it. /pics. Kind of got two truck builds in my head, a 70's Kenworth W900 as a prezzie for a mate and the Holy Grail, a needle nose Peterbilt & tanker conversion a la "Duel". Proper PITA job but could be fun.

You are a sarcastic twat KY. Give it a go, you might be older than you think, Old man. Joking aside, it is a bit geeky but when you get started it is worthwhile. Even if it's just 30 mins here and there. All you gotta do is close the box lid when you've had enough. I only started because I found my 70's Tamiya catalogues clearing out my crap from my Dads place. Got inspired, got stuck in, glad I did. / living the dream. // TOTP

Thanks @locost_bryan, any ability I have is just practice and looking at that internet. It's a fun, cheap, pastime though.

No update update. Hopefully going to finish the Bergepanther this week, so brought this back in the latest van load. Been sat for probably 35 years, still in good nick and yup, gonna rust the poor thing to an early grave. Nicely detailed kit with lots of parts, should be fun. /pic Also, c'mon fellahs, is it really just gonna be me on here ?

@yoeddynz, you should start building it, your shed's big enough. That set-up in your video is pretty cool, 203 views now. Shigeyuki Mizuno is indeed a fellah and as you say, and a seriously skilled one. I was thinking about the whole super realism thing having looked at some stuff on the model forum and I reckon we get more demanding as we get older. As a kid you're happy to let your imagination fill in the gaps in your talent (or blank out the shag pile sticking through your train set rails). I think there's a ceiling to the realism, after that it's down to clever photography. I'm not a train person but was certainly impressed with Rod Stewarts layout.

Just me then ? Oh well, I should probably give up the modelling bit & just stick to sniffing the glue and thinners. It's nice. Got an hour in tonight, sunny weather & lots to do is not exactly helping. / pics Going back up-country again in a couple of days so will bring the 1/24 Caddy back & have a bash at that.

I've got a 59 Caddy coupe that I never started. I'm already looking at pics of abandoned ones to see where they crumble. /watch this space...

Thanks fullahs, you're too kind. @a.craw4d Not really a massive technique, I just had a look at what seemed really effective in youtube vids & on various sites, and just tried to copy them. The worn look (or chipping as it's known) is basically to show areas of paint that have been chipped off to the primer or even the metal. The metal will then rust if it's exposed to the elements. If you look at old lathes, presses etc in factories you'll get the idea. Some people seem to do it by actually layering the paint with a "chipping compound" and then physically removing the top layer with various methods. I've just gone for a bit of paint on top aiming for the same effect. Chose a colour that's what you think the primer would be, but that also contrasts with the top coat and the gently go at it with a small brush. Little by little build it up, thinking about what areas would get the most abuse. Edges of panels, damage, foot & hand holds. Fucking great holes from 88 mm shells. If you look at the dozer blade, the top coat is chipped the most, then the primer is exposed but the leading edge is bare metal. Real diggers look like this. The rust is showing under the primer but is worn off in the heavy use areas. The rust and rust streaking is just that, places that would be exposed or vertical surfaces where rusty water would run down. Practice, practice and take it steady... My top tips would be watch a load of youtube. "night shift" is a very skilled and informative bloke. Also get a pack of rust effect acrylics. Vallejo do a set which has many shades and is nice to use. Google "Shigeyuki Mizuno", that man knows rust. His bombed tank factory is amazing. The biggest lol of it all is that there's so much politics about over use of any technique. Armour, and indeed most metal from the 30' & 40's takes ages to rust. It certainly wouldn't be full of rust holes during the war. There's tanks on beaches in France that have got two tides a day since 1944 that aren't that rusty. Chipping looks great but too much just looks like a cartoon. It's all good though, and it should all be done to make the builder happy. There's no reason not to use it on cars though, and it'd probably look more realistic as you could have big rust holes. I'm looking forward to doing a rusty Hako at some point. Anyway, lecture over, thanks for your appreciation.

Thread dredge, thanks to @a.craw4d. Ok, so not 1/24, though I did build some & have a couple unmade somewhere. Models is models though 1/35 WW2 stuff was my thing. I had a break from the glue fumes for 30+ years but have got back into it recently. Pics of a few out of the loft... This is chopped down from the longer wheelbase version. Scratchbuilt fuel tank and tyre rack. You can buy the SWB one nowadays. Burned out Opel Anyway, times have moved on and skills displayed on that internet inspired me to get back into it. First bash was this Flak Half-track. Rushed it a bit and didn't really have my eye/hand in but it is what it is. Some bits I'm very pleased with, others not so much. Current build is the last kit I started before I lost interest in about 1990. It's a Bergepanther ARV. I gave up when the rear track idlers kept breaking off so back in the box it went. I'm now using it to practice my weathering & rust, hopefully it will be a bit more subtle than the half-track. I may even end up finishing it. As it was... Repainted it later dark yellow and am now slowly working through ageing it and trying to make it look like metal. So that's enough stupid big post from me, I'll add pics as it goes along. Hopefully I won't be alone on here. Sat on my own, cementing bits of plastic together, waiting for the world to laugh and point, wishing I was a tank commander. Vroom, vroom.

Brave. Good luck with it & tell those fullahs how to pronounce Hakosuka ffs.

Nice. I do like a MK2. Had a couple meself, one was a twink but the other was a pre-crossflow GT. I prefer them to the crossflow for no rational reason I can think of.