Model Expo 2013 II

Other posts

Part 1, part 3, part 4

A flying circus

Brum brum brummmm!

The collections

Model Expo 2013 I

Pics

I've taken a good bunch of photos at Model Expo 2013. There's absolutely no time to post them all today so I'll share them in a few posts. Because the photocount was a nice one, I'll start with the dioramas.

Other posts

Part 2, part 3, part 4

Dioramas

Bringing home the toys

Of course I had to get something for myself again. This time I found a Panther in my hands. This was the only major vehicle missing from the big kitties - as I built the Jagdpanther earlier and I've never  been into the weird versions. No one knows, though, when I get to start this one ;)

Markings

The last couple of short evenings I've painted markings to the Achilles. I was inspired by (if I didn't remember to mention it the last time) from a Bison Decals sheet, among other places. The example unit was said to be from the 32 Battery, 7th Anti Tank Regiment. Naturally extrapolating from that the turret got a marking saying C2 and the thing in the rear got a number 96 to company a twig. From another source that I already forgot, gave me the idea to paint the British roundel on the deck.

Oh my no, it's not done yet. At least the engine hatches need some black wash and who knows what else I need to remember...

Random stuff to be carried around

Jerry cans

I wasted some time painting the random fuel containers and boxes. Instead of using the same green as for the tank I decided to go with Tamiya's XF-70 (Dark Green 2 (IJN)) just to get some variety. Now I just need to come up with a good, even remotely sense-making place for them. While I was painting these I also attacked the odd things in the racks. The change isn't a huge one but it's noticeable and I feel it makes the tank a bit less boring.

Nationality

Of course this vehicle has to belong somewhere and as +Sam Lockton suggested ages ago, during the earlier stages of the project, I could make it a New Zealand unit. "Sure, why not?" I thought, it's going to be a green beast in any case. The biggest difference would most likely be the unit markings and national insignia, if any.
 It feels like that what I need to do is a bit of freehanding based on what I saw on some photos and Bison

Decals sets. At least I don't need to go and paint tiny Kiwi-birds anywhere, which is always nice. Then again, I have been painting tiny Jade Falcons in models and miniatures before so of course I'd done this one as well. My biggest issue will most likely be the RAF's "shoot here" ringlets on the rear deck...

Almost there again

The steps done two evenings ago and yesterday afternoon: fixed the tools, did the tracks and filled those weird racks on the sides. Quick and easy? For a change, yes, even though knowing my history something else could've been expected...

Tools

The tools that got installed on the rear plate got a simple, basic treatment. I painted the wooden handles with Vallejo's Charred Brown, the metallic surfaces with Vallejo's Oily Steel. Any parts that looked like they were a part of the tank (holders and such) got the same Vallejo's Panzer Olive Green as the rest of the tank. After all that had dried I applied a wash of Citadel's Devlan Mud. To finish all this with a huge surprise I glued all the pieces to their places.

Odd things

Those racks on the sides got a set of random-looking whatevers in them. Again I wanted to avoid excess symmetry and loaded the left side rack with much more pieces than the other one. I don't really know what they're supposed to be but I guess they're mostly an extra protection against shaped charges and grenades, in addition to the slightly sloped armor.

Tracks

Both rubberband tracks got an ugly mix of diluted brown (the same aforementioned Charred Brown) and orange-ish (Vallejo's Bloody Red & Bad Moon Yellow) mix with a heavy hand on both sides of the tracks. Then I left them hanging and drying overnight. Next morning I drybrushed them heavily with Tamiya's Flat Aluminium so all the wearable parts would look like it.
While looking at the end result I was thinking that my coctail could've been a lot more orange, after all.

Almost ready

I worked the connected tracks to the pretty tight space they had and glued the idler wheel in its place. The same goes for both sides, obviously. I guess this project will be finished soon, even though it has taken a ridiculous amount of time. Luckily I haven't been in a rush.

The model looks a lot better with the turret on. At this point I can still fix some cockups and then all I have left is the barrel of the machine gun (I forgot it again), insignia and such and then some dirtification.

Something quick and simple

Returning from a vacation is always a heavy project. While working on all the mundane things I haven't had the time or interest in sitting down for a good while to mix up a good rusty slush or to ponder on the essence of the tank's tools. So today I quickly built the lego set I bought earlier today

The box

Apparently we're already on the third run of these Lego Star Wars miniplanet kits. There were a bunch of them, many totally uninteresting like the rebel scum's vehicles (though I was definitely interested in the Tantive IV (or I misinterpreted the picture) for a moment), but TIE Bomber is something I couldn't walk past. After a short argument with myself I said that "I think I need this one" and just got it.

Contents

This photo is horrible, I admit it. There's the ball depicting an asteroid field, the leaflet and two bagfuls of pieces. I guess you can't expect huge amounts of parts from a miniscale set. There were more than I had excpected, to be honest.

Assemblage

Everyone and their grandmother knows the T/B  so I shall not waste time in explaining it to you. The two-tube hull is nicely recognizeable and the neat TIE series window is also a clear identificator. I do approve of this.

At this point it was already done, just the wings were missing. While taking these pics I hadn't realized that the targeting sensor pod was on the wrong side in the instructions (below the cockpit unit) and I didn't think and flip it on the proper side. What kind of unexpert clowns do they hire to design these things... Details are important!

Because of the scale the wings ended up being completely black, as if there were no frames around the solar collector panels. Anyway, I think it's a really neat model for its size.

Ready

That's it, the pilot with his/her ship. All in all this was a fun and short tinkering project to improve an afternoon. This doesn't mean that I inteded to keep working on these things more than this. Not at least unless I encounter something interesting enough...