Started off with the AMT California Peterbilt and mated it with the AMT Big Rig Semi Trailer. Both kits had a fair amount of casting flash but not a big deal. Goal in mind was to make a beat up tired setup.
After initially assembling the chassis, noted it was warped. Had to massage it to straighten. Other minor issues were the instructions aren’t the most clear as far as the rear axles/brake chamber locations. Also there are no hood hinges which is a little disappointing. So not a super fan of the kit, but I think it turned out well.
Into the trailer……this kit just sucks. Lots of fitment issues and seam filling needed. The tires are rock hard and I couldn’t get the rear door/hinges to co-operate. I ended up gluing the doors closed. Instructions are only marginally better than the truck.
Anyway, I used Tamiya acrylics for all the colors and ACE house brand MATTE clear. Just so happens the clear reacted with the Tamiya and actually improved my beat up, faded look. This was my first real attempt at weathering and other than the rear of the trailer, I think it turned out well. This is headed to the NOVA show, so we’ll see how it does.
Hey gents. Here is the start of the 1/10 scale Naval officer bust. The box art had the figure wearing Navy blues but I prefer the khaki uniform. The cover (hat for you landlubbers) is done and the khaki shirt is pretty much done. I mixed some AK lacquers to get the khaki color then added a darker and lighter shade of the mix for the folds. The black tie is AV vallejo black-grey with a wash of flat black. The cover’s band around it had the same application color but AV vallejo shiny black was used for the bill area Off to the face and the leather jacket!
I finally had some time to work on my 2024 “Build the same kit” project for another club I belong to. 2024 is any “Civilian Vehicle”. Hopefully this will be one I will actually complete.
My subject is a 1/24 Mercedes CLK GTR. A 1998 FIA GT 1 Sports car. This particular version is know by it’s Sponsor “Original Teile” , a blue car that features a “wrap” that exposed the rear engine. I had spent a long time gathering the parts and references to build this car. My original intent was to use the “Clear” body version from Tamiya, but the rarity of this issue was to much to resist selling it, so after finding a an open kit at a show in 2023, I also sold my sealed kit and got to work.
Picture of the Kit, the almost useless Photo-etch set, Scale Motorsport decals, and Bare Metal Foil that I am using on this build.
This kit has a ton of decals. Almost the entire body, chassis, interior, and part of the engine was Carbon fiber. I’m guessing 3-4 sheets of Scale Motorsports 1024 Carbon Fiber decal sheets will be needed. One of the packages from them has a pattern printed on the back of the sheet to allow proper fitment and placement of the decals. Carbon Fiber has a grain like wood. So one tries his best to make it match. It’s also very thick as it has a very slight texture to it. So it’s not a project to try if your “decal game” isn’t your strength.
After Priming and painting the body, I worked on the engine. Tamyia kits do follow the typical American Car kit assembly pattern: engine, interior, chassis, & Body. I finished the engine over the weekend. At least as much as I can until it is installed into the chassis. The block was pained Tamiya Flat Aluminum. The Transmission was Gunze Sango Burnt Iron, and the crash structure Gloss black. The Heads and rear part of the exhaust were painted Bare Metal from Model Car Garage. The exhaust headers are Alclad Pale Burnt Metal. Some of the more exotic colors you see are from Tamiya LP line of colors: Titanium Gold, Titanium Sliver, Gun Metal, Burnt Iron, and Gloss Aluminum to name a few. As you can see, there is a bunch of Carbon Fiber. The Air Box, crash structure , Heads, and rear wing supports all required decals. The Outside of the crash structure had a heat reflecting finish, so I replicated it using Aluminum Bare Metal Foil.
The Photo-etch set has a lot of parts, most not needed and over engineered. I did find some useful, however. For the engine, I used the transmission cooler and a pair of brackets . The set provides parts to re-build the rear wishbones and some of the support structure. Lots of micro sized rivets and tubing to put together that didn’t add one thing to the kit, and wasn’t any better than the kit provided parts.
I will provide updates as I complete sections. Interior is up next, but first I need to finish my 2023 “Build the same kit”- German Jet Aircraft from WWII.
Greetings and Happy Easter to all. Do have a peaceful and enjoyable Easter with your family and friends. My dogwood trees are not ready to bloom at Easter this year as they normally do, but when they do arrive it will be nice as the flowers of the tree are pretty and have that very appropriate Cross pattern in the petals.
Chad and I took a trip to Frontline on Saturday and had a good visit with Christian and his team at the store. They had coffee and – of course – donuts waiting for us. We gladly took advantage of that. The highlight for me was getting the Meng 1/48 F-14B Bombcat, which Christian had ordered from his distributor for me. Chad got a bunch of small stuff (it’s Chad remember!) for under $30. Christian gave some deep discounts for the both of us. Afterwards, we both munched on street tacos at the nearby Mexican restaurant and visited a gaming store about a block away. All in all it was a good trip to Staunton on a rather nice day.
Good news all. We have crossed the $2000 barrier for our chapter account balance. It took us just about 1 year to do so but we made that goal I had set out. Thanks to Ross, Chad and Scot ahead of time on giving a primer on decal placement and setting for this month’s talk. FYI to all, our honorary member John will be officially handing over one of his superb fire engines to a fire hall in Pennsylvania and graciously offered to do so on behalf of the Shenandoah Valley Modelers chapter. John and I will work on doing a write up of the event for an upcoming issue of the IPMS magazine.
In closing, having a great Easter. Put the sprue down and spend time with those close to you today.
Hey gents. Here is a start of a bust of Captain Dick Winters of Easy Company. I am doing this on reverse, in that I will paint his jacket last and doing the relief work first (straps and stuff). I dabbed a light layer of Ammo non-slip on the helmet to give it that rough steel texture. Will let it dry a full day before priming it and eventually painting it. The pistol holster and the more green looking straps were AK lacquer airbrushed color but the off-green and browns are AV Vallejo acrylics brush painted. The jacket will be AV Vallejo as well and brushed on.
Here is the Shelby GT500 all finished. The little details of this kit were nearly its undoing. The grille/bumper assembly fit is atrocious, the exterior mirrors are cartoonishly ill proportioned. The interior tub was molded with the alignment pins crooked making the interior sit funny relative to the body. All overcome with patience and profanity. Lol
Okay gents. The bike is done and I have moved on to the chick assassin. As you can see from the photo of her she has to undergo some major surgery to move her arms/legs to the required positioning. The miracle of Magic Sculp comes into play to put this girl back together.
All you truck modelers with sensitive stomachs may want to avert your eyes for this one. This is a vintage AMT Peterbilt conventional built by my father when I was a wee lad. He conveyed it to me recently as part of a group of old decrepit built up kits. This one has been restored/ modified in the low rider style and turned into a tri-axle. The parts for the conversion came from an unsalvageable Autocar tractor. The front bumper, exhaust stacks, and bogey wheels are all scratch built. The paint is original, brought back to life by elbow grease and carnuba wax.
I used to be a member of NOVA IPMS before Chris snatched me away, but I still get emails from the group from time to time. Occasionally there’s some good stuff in them and this one in particular I thought would be worth sharing.
This summer there are two cool things happening just a few hours away:
Personally, I REALLY want to see the Tricolori team. I’ve seen the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds, and the Red Arrows, and every one of them has been a blast. The battleship tour isn’t as big of a deal to me but it would still be pretty enjoyable I suspect and I’d absolutely be down to tag along with someone else.
These events seem like they could make for fun club trips if anyone would be interested in going to either event. And I suspect there are more events like this that might be of interest as well. I typically see at least one air show a year and I know my wife would be more than happy to sit at home and let someone else babysit me for a day or two…
So if anyone sees some cool events coming up, perhaps we can make a list and find a way to get some more club time in between meetings.
Beachcon is an annual competition hosted by the Grand Strand Scale Modelers in Myrtle Beach, SC. This year’s event took place on the 23rd and while it appears that only Randy was able to participate from our club, he still represented us quite well by bringing home 5 awards, including a Best Of trophy! Let’s all be sure to congratulate him at the next meeting.
Below are some photos of other models that were entered in the contest. Looks like it was a pretty fun event.
Shenandoah Valley Modelers 