geedubelyer

Hi petrov27, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like it. Both the Tau and Eldar have some superb war machines. The Eldar titan is even taller than this Imperial Knight and the Tau power suits rock. It would be great to see some of your models here if you ever get the chance. Thanks for having a look. I hope you enjoyed this short interlude. Any thoughts, comments, criticism or ideas are welcomed for my next build so now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Cheers. *Edit. a couple of fun additional images after a playaround with photo editing software.... Cheers.

Thanks Harv, glad you like it. It's been alot of fun. The kit provides about six different visor options and although this one as n't my first choice it does allow more of the eye mounted sensors to be seen. I replaced the kit plastic with homemade lenses from alu tubing and irridescent confetti. This gives a neat glow when it catches the light. The heavy stubber on the left shoulder had the blast tube drilled out and a short length of micro tubing inserted to represent the barrel. Once again the sensor was replaced by a disc of blue acetate from packaging and irridescent confetti. The weapon on the left arm is the wonderfully named "Thunderstrike gauntlet". This is a large mechanised hand that is used to pulverise the enemy. It is beautifully rendered with superb detail to every knuckle and joint. Once again I weathered it heavily as I'm sure even the toughest paint would scrape off if it was plunged through the heart of an opposing titan or tank. There should be a small armour panel on the left upper arm but it was sacrificed to the carpet Gods so that the Knight might live. I could have tried to scratch -build a replacement but chose instead to add a couple of bent metal mounting brackets where once it might have been.... All of the parts fitted beautifully and required very little in the way of seam clean up. This is top quality plastic. There a number of areas on this build that I'm not sure about. Each was an attempt to add a bit of visual interest but I'm not convinced as to how successful they've been. One my next kit I think I'll keep all of the toes the same colour. I tried to add some hazard stripes on the exhaust shields and raised rings around the arm mounts but they ar eperhaps a bit half hearted. The red of the head guard armour might have been more homogenous in blue with perhaps a patch of red on the visor instead. The white of the rocket pod was an attempt to suggest a bolt-on component. Perhaps that would have looked better in blue also? Well, we live and learn. I hope the next one will be different. Look below for a final walkaround of the entire model to see if you agree with my thoughts.

Hi folks, Here is something a little different. Every now and then I get a yen to build a model from Forgeworld or Games Workshop as a change of pace. I'm no gamer and purely enjoy the look of these miniatures. The artists in their studios create little masterpieces which really catch the eye. Forgeworld have a number of titan models on their books which I like the look of but they are quite expensive and being solid resin, not always a perfect fit. A little while ago Games Workshop (now Warhammer) released an injection molded plastic titan called an Imperial Knight. The kit is still pricey but about half what one of the Forgeworld kits would be. I took the plunge and picked up one of the recent releases which adds different decals and new weapons to the mix. I was immeadiately impressed by the quality of the sprues. The attachment gates are large but each part is very precisely molded. Some larger scale companies could learn from these guys it seems. The instruction booklet is good with easy to follow instructions and colour diagrams throughout. There are no colour callouts or decal placements as that is left entirely to the builder. One of the joys of this genre of modelling is the freedom it gives to the builder and something I like a great deal. I treated myself to the Codex which is a sort of reference work and gives suggestions for factions, typical colour schemes and decal placement but you can choose to adhere to or ignore as much as you wish. After watching a couple of YouTube build videos to get a feel for the miniature I chose a path to begin. Construction starts with the feet and legs. These are not articulated and give each model the same stance. It is possible to pose them differently but that would require quite a bit of modification. Perhaps on the next one? Many builds, whether in the Codex or on-line show the skeleton and underbody of the walker in metal of some kind. I chose to paint the parts in a more "armour like" style where everything gets a coat of the same colour or cammo. This allowed me to employ a number of weathering techniques, something that building aircraft only permits in moderation. After the Chaos black primer (something GW modellers have been doing for years btw) I sprayed a coat of Alclad II stainless steel before adding odd patches of rust coloured enamel, salt and a hairspray layer. This would allow me to chip and scrape the blu paint to reveal the underlying colours. The rams were covered in kitchen foil and pastel dust was used to give a dusty feel to the feet. I wanted to give this model a heavily used feel of a war weary battle veteran. This meant adding quite alot of weathering. All great fun! The kit provides thick slatted vents for the top of the engine bay but I removed them and added etched mesh to give more of a "tanky"/armour feel. Decals were used for almost all of the markings and symbols, the only exceptions to that are the maltese cross type markings on the white portions of the shoulder and knee armour. I replaced all of the handles and handrail with tube and wire as the plastic kit parts are quite chunky. The "Avenger" gattling cannon was chipped heavily and weathered except for the ammo boxes which I left clean as I imagined they would be changed regularly. With ammo boxes like that I'm guessing the Knight pilot would have all of two seconds worth of munitions before needing to replenish his gun. I also added a shell ejection chute on the left side of the gun otherwise his waste shells would be spilling into his right foot mechanism! Always thinking you see.....

Great to see what your plans are for the old kit petrov27. Good luck with your project. Cheers.

That's a great choice Don. It certainly caught my eye when you posted the profiles but they all look good. Sorry to read about the wing bulge issue. How thick is the plastic? (probably not very knowing Tamiya's reputation for fidelity). Any chance of sanding them flat? Hope you get around the problem so that you can continue with your chosen scheme. (If it were me I think I'd take the coward's way out and just press on with the bulges in place. I mean, who's gonna know, right?) Cheers.

And we're off.... I can never get over seeing how crisp these Tamiya parts are. Deep happy joy joy. I may have to try to track one of these Kagero books down. The profiles look so good. Looking forward to more when you get to it Iain, good job. *Edit:typo

Yep, know exactly what you mean Ollie. We'll keep our collective eyes out for when you do get started. Cheers.

Neat job on the camera windows Iain. Does the Alleycat conversion provide the cameras or do you need to scratch build them? Cheers. (BTW, very nice blue Spit Andy.)

Your pilot looks great. I'm guessing he left his gloves on the ground for this hop?

Cool. I'll follow along. I've a big soft spot for the TigerMoth. Cheers.

Beautiful paintwork Mal. Great job.

The more the merrier Norbert, please keep them coming. I look forward to every release and although I may not use them personally I'm sure someone will. Are the two Russian guys twins? I wonder if the civvie trucker could just be painted in cammo? Lovely stuff as usual sir. Cheers.

Hi NavyMech06, good to hear that your modelling is improving and that you're enjoying things. You don't mention whether you are weathering actual metal as in foil or a painted surface like AlcladII etc. I'm going to go with painted finish as that is what the majority of us go with but if it is actual metal foil you may be able to use alternatives. One way of giving the finish more of a used look is with oil paints. If you apply a thin wash of oil paint on top of your BMF when it dries it will dull the surface finish somewhat. Using a neutral shade like Payne's grey works well on silvers but for a more grimy appearance go with a brown shade like raw umber or burnt sienna. Try putting tiny spots of neat oil paint randomly onto the surface of the model where you want the weathering to appear. Then, use a wide paint brush moistened with thinner to drag the oil paint in the direction of the airflow to create light streaking. The idea behind this is to remove pretty much all of the paint. All you should be left with is a slight sheen and perhaps a few light streaks of colour reaching back from panel lines or rivets. Try to keep the effect subtle. This is not exhaust streaking or some such. This would be a base for further weathering down the line. Once this has cured you may wish to seal the finish with a clear coat. I'd probably go for more of a satin than a gloss but you could even go with a matt finish to make the metal seem really dull. There are other techniques too so it pays to experiment. Have a play on an old model paint mule before using this on your P-38 but I think you'll enjoy it. HTH Cheers. Edit 13th Jan, 2016. I also had a thought that you might be able to use Mr.MetalColor for your weathered metal finish. I used this paint on the exhaust section of an Su-27 a while ago and it worked pretty well. I applied the Mr.MetalColor but left it unbuffed. This gave the area a naturally weathered look. HTH

The 1:1 scale pieces will look great on the shelf next to the aircraft. Super idea. Looking forward to seeing your seamless version next.

As long as you enjoy it Barry it is n't a chore. It looks as though you have overcome another hurdle in this marathon. Good job

i have to agree with MARU5137, that is a superb looking IP. Great job berneckir

Hey, progress is progress right? Thanks for taking the time to post the seat and profile images Don, very informative. I've just bought one of these off E-Bay and I'm waiting for it to arrive so I've been searching for a suitable subject. There are a number of cool looking airframes in the Kagero list so I may have to track a copy of the book down. Much appreciated and I look forward to even more progress before long. Cheers.

Hi Robin, A belated Happy New year to you. Thanks for keeping us all informed. I look forward to seeing Kev's review of this little gem and to further information on the price and release date. By coincidence the first time I ever flew was in an Auster. A short hop in a pleasure flight bird over the seaside town of Skegness. My abiding memory is of the pilot reaching up and lowering the flaps on approach using what looked like a car handbrake lever. Golden!

Hi Rich, If you'd like to explore an alternative to Alclad II lacquers I can recommend Mr.Color metallisers. They are designed to be applied and then buffed up and do give a good representation of clean metal when that technique is employed. However, if you paint your fan blades with the metalliser and leave it largely un-buffed it will replicate the look you want very effectively. They dry to a matt sheen but it does look alot like tarnished metal. A bit of experimentation should give you the desired result. It is possible to mix the shades too so virtually any shade of grey metal should be possible including using the gold/brass or copper for a bit of tint. HTH Good luck Cheers.

Hi max. Your painted pilot is the tops and looks superb all buttoned up in the cockpit. Nice job sir. This will be a belter of a project, keep it up. Cheers.

Nice choice of scheme Iain. Looking forward to seeing this project underway. Cheers.

Hello SciFi58, how are you getting on with your PCM Spitfire? My cousin built their Mk IX and found it to be quite a challenge but then it was his first multi-media short run kit. I hope you're getting to grips with your project. Cheers.

Hi Brent, did you have any luck figuring out the photo uploading? It would be interesting to see you knock this old kit into shape. Cheers.

Hi Ray, this would look great next to the gunsight that Monty Python is building elsewhere in this group build. Have you had a chance to get any further with it? Cheers.

Wow Barry, what a battle but it looks like you have overcome this particular adversity in style. Keep up the great work. Cheers.