Next - M10 Duckbill - Update 1

And the choice is... 

Not sure why this one is next, but I have had my eye on it for a while. This is one of three M10 kits I got from John O'Reilly, one before he passed and the other two after.

They are Academy's examples - M10 Gun Motor Carriage, British Achillies, and M10 Duckbill. I will build a second one at some time, but not the Achillies, the gun is just too funny looking :) Yes, it is a better gun, but I am building models, not looking for superior firepower.

I had cut out some parts, did some clean up, read the instructions about 20 times, and left it there for a bit. So formally putting the Jagdpanthers to bed, I needed to move on and took this one back out of the box and carried forward this weekend.

I had all the suspension parts cleaned up but I HATE Sherman suspension build. I usually leave it til last. There are not as many parts to the Academy kits as there are with Dragon, but still...

So far it is all "out of the box" building. I have no aftermarket stuff for this kit but I have to make a few scratch mods. The weld seams where the front glacis and where the rear plate meet the hull is horrible, so I cut that off, and scribed a line where the glued-on plates met. I will put some styrene rod in there with some liquid glue and will make my own weld seams.

Progress this weekend - much of the interior and the outer hull basics are done. Spent some time painting and weathering the interior.

More weathering to come..

That's all for now...

Stay tuned.

What next.. Choices, Choices..

I was hemming and hawing on a lot when the Jagdpanthers were winding down on what would come next.

There is a 72 scale Hasegawa F-4E Thunderbirds that I want to do in early 80's Europe-1 camoflague. I want to make one to look like the one that buzzed me in southern West Germany on REFORGER 81. They are big, they are noisy, they smoke like a son of a bitch, but they look positively malevolent, terrifying, and beautiful.  I have the squadron markings, just need the stencils (might have that from eBay) and the low res USAF roundels (anyone got some hanging around that they don't need?)

I have a Dragon M4A3 Sherman completed, I used to have it painted but had a tragedy testing out mud spatters. I dipped it back to plastic and it now sits with primer on it, ready for new paint. I got some Bison decals with Creighton Abrams Thunderbolt VI. I may do that – soon.

I have another Dragon M4A3 that I converted to an M4A3E2 Jumbo with some Tank Workshop resin parts. I had that painted and put Sommerfield matting on, but it wasn't conducive to weathering. I took the matting off, but had to sand down the sides, it needs to be painted again. I have the new Tasca Jumbo, but that is not assembled.

I looked long and hard at my Bronco M-24 Chaffee as well, but decided that I am going to do a few more kits and learn some more stuff, before I tackle that one.

I gave my Dragon Panther a hard look too, but I think I am Panzer-ed out for now.

So.. choices, choices… I made my choice..

* * * * * * *   RANDOM    * * * * * * *

A pic of my workshop.
A space for building and a space for painting.
Display space, work-in-progress space, book space, stash..

Tamiya Jagdpanther G - New coat of paint - Update 5 - Let's call it done.

The final iteration of Tamiya Jagdpather G -New Paint.

I added some pigment dust, but you  can hardly see it, added some oily grease to the back deck, added some mud spatters to the lower schurzen and wheels, along with the front and back. And finished off with some streaks. The guys at the club liked it, and suggested a few other things. I may come back to it as I learn more techniques for those little things that could make a big difference, but for the moment I am finished and pleased. I need to move on to something new.

And you can see what in a moment.

Some final shots.....