the doog
"I ain't old; just heavily weathered!"
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2013
- Messages
- 56
Hi all,
I have just finished an old kit--the Italeri M110A2. Wow, did I learn a thing or two about taking for granted what we have available today in terms of "models". Building one of these 80's-era kits can really make you realize what a "Golden Era" we live in for modeling! The details on old kits like these leave a LOT to be desired!
Ever since I went to the American Armored Foundation's incredible museum up in Danville, Va, I've wanted to do one of these.
I spruced this one up with an Eduard PE kit, and some Perfect Scale Modelbau tracks in resin. I also used TL Modelbau decals on this, as the kit ones are lousy looking.
http://www.tl-modellbau.de/TL-Decals-1-35/Int-Streitkraefte/US-Army-Bumper-Codes-1-35.html
I'll give you some details of the details I added. I was really rather irritated by the spade assembly as far as the PE went. Eduard has some fanciful arrangement of pieces that bear little resemblance to the real thing. I assembled half of it, soldering some small pieces, and then really studied the reference photos and said "Huh?!" Sigh......so I de-glued it, and re-worked it in plastic. I made the two little cradles out of 20 tiny pieces of plastic each and then made two little blocks on each side of the final PE "stop". I added a "chain" made from 20 small pieces of rod cut to exact length and then stuck to masking tape ala' indy tracks method, and glued them, waited for them to set, and then curved them as I saw on reference pics. I also added two better-looking round adjusting wheels from the spares box, and then made some spare tracks mounts out of styrene. Hopefully you can see the details here:
Also, because the seat broke off on me three times, I decided to add brass "legs" to it. I drilled into the hull and sanded down the "tubing" around the seat and mated the brass rods with a drilled-out piece of plastic rod. I built up the area where it entered the hull with plastic, and built new brackets to attach the seat
Here it is before paint:
With base paint and camo..
And here's the finished pics. Weathering consisted of these steps after I had applied the decals and painted all details.
1. Oil wash of 502 Abt "Buff" oil. Stippled with a wet brush to diffuse on flat panels
2. A light wash of Adam Wilder's pigment-based solution (Dry Russian Earth + Dark European Terrain) in mineral spirits. This was mostly removed, leaving traces and areas of "dust"..
3. Sealed with Wilder Pigment Fixer (MM)
4. AIrbrushed AK's "Rainmarks for NATO Vehicles". The technique to use is to spray one side of the vehicle, then use a thinner-wetted brush (NOT soaked in thinner) to pull the color down in streaks. Pretty nice stuff.
5. Added various pinwashes of contrasting colors--grays and browns--from Adam Wilder's "Gunpowder" line.
6. Lightly sealed with acrylic flat.
7. Used WIlder's "Mud Effects" to spatter the hull and tracks after masking the top hull.
8. Added some oil and fuel effects and graphite powder for highlights.
The rear spade was finished by first masking a straight line about 2/5th from the bottom of the blade. This was then sprayed with Tamiya Chrome Silver. I then painted rust and dirt stains with oil paints, and next added pigment washes in the creases. Lastly, acrylic resin was used to mix up a "Dirt" mixture of pigments and real dirt, which as then carefully applied.
I hope you enjoyed my work on this old warrior! Any comments or critiques are always welcomed and appreciated!
I have just finished an old kit--the Italeri M110A2. Wow, did I learn a thing or two about taking for granted what we have available today in terms of "models". Building one of these 80's-era kits can really make you realize what a "Golden Era" we live in for modeling! The details on old kits like these leave a LOT to be desired!
Ever since I went to the American Armored Foundation's incredible museum up in Danville, Va, I've wanted to do one of these.
I spruced this one up with an Eduard PE kit, and some Perfect Scale Modelbau tracks in resin. I also used TL Modelbau decals on this, as the kit ones are lousy looking.
http://www.tl-modellbau.de/TL-Decals-1-35/Int-Streitkraefte/US-Army-Bumper-Codes-1-35.html
I'll give you some details of the details I added. I was really rather irritated by the spade assembly as far as the PE went. Eduard has some fanciful arrangement of pieces that bear little resemblance to the real thing. I assembled half of it, soldering some small pieces, and then really studied the reference photos and said "Huh?!" Sigh......so I de-glued it, and re-worked it in plastic. I made the two little cradles out of 20 tiny pieces of plastic each and then made two little blocks on each side of the final PE "stop". I added a "chain" made from 20 small pieces of rod cut to exact length and then stuck to masking tape ala' indy tracks method, and glued them, waited for them to set, and then curved them as I saw on reference pics. I also added two better-looking round adjusting wheels from the spares box, and then made some spare tracks mounts out of styrene. Hopefully you can see the details here:
Also, because the seat broke off on me three times, I decided to add brass "legs" to it. I drilled into the hull and sanded down the "tubing" around the seat and mated the brass rods with a drilled-out piece of plastic rod. I built up the area where it entered the hull with plastic, and built new brackets to attach the seat
Here it is before paint:
With base paint and camo..
And here's the finished pics. Weathering consisted of these steps after I had applied the decals and painted all details.
1. Oil wash of 502 Abt "Buff" oil. Stippled with a wet brush to diffuse on flat panels
2. A light wash of Adam Wilder's pigment-based solution (Dry Russian Earth + Dark European Terrain) in mineral spirits. This was mostly removed, leaving traces and areas of "dust"..
3. Sealed with Wilder Pigment Fixer (MM)
4. AIrbrushed AK's "Rainmarks for NATO Vehicles". The technique to use is to spray one side of the vehicle, then use a thinner-wetted brush (NOT soaked in thinner) to pull the color down in streaks. Pretty nice stuff.
5. Added various pinwashes of contrasting colors--grays and browns--from Adam Wilder's "Gunpowder" line.
6. Lightly sealed with acrylic flat.
7. Used WIlder's "Mud Effects" to spatter the hull and tracks after masking the top hull.
8. Added some oil and fuel effects and graphite powder for highlights.
The rear spade was finished by first masking a straight line about 2/5th from the bottom of the blade. This was then sprayed with Tamiya Chrome Silver. I then painted rust and dirt stains with oil paints, and next added pigment washes in the creases. Lastly, acrylic resin was used to mix up a "Dirt" mixture of pigments and real dirt, which as then carefully applied.
I hope you enjoyed my work on this old warrior! Any comments or critiques are always welcomed and appreciated!
