LSP_K2 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yup, you're right, Kevin. It can add a lot, but I've almost come to the conclusion that it's really worth it for armor because so much of it can be seen, as opposed to cockpits where a lot of it goes unappreciated. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. John Oh yes, tool clamps, ammo boxes, etc, will all be very visible, and do tend to lend a certain degree of authenticity to the project. John F Smith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Got lots of work done this past week....... This model seems neverending; the more I do, the more I seem to have left to do. So, I just keep at it and I'm sure it will reach a critical mass at some point and "boom", we'll be ready to prime. Most of the stuff has been added to the turret at this point, ammo boxes, grab bars, reinforcing plates, mounts, lights, rocket launchers, etc. Still to go are the machine guns and the rear basket. The machine guns are in progress and are, in fact, quite difficult. The drawings in the instructions are very poor for the plastic parts and so it's a bit of trial and error getting them together. They will be left off until after the painting and weathering are complete. Here's the turret as it is today: ...... and a rear view: The rear baskets have been an enormous amount of work involving reducing the racks themselves to almost nothing while adding a lot of PE in place of what is plastic in the kit. I really like how they are turning out. I haven't yet added the tarps which cover them or the straps which hold the tarps down. In addition, I've included the basket in this photo. The railings on the upper and lower part of the basket were incredibly delicate and had sprue attachment points all over them.... Took a while to get them looking good enough to mount. PE would have been easier and the obvious choice, but there was none for these parts in the Eduard sets (surprisingly). Some of you might notice that the floor of the basket is mounted upside down in this photo. The reinforcing ribs should be on the bottom of the assembly, not the inside of the basket!! I noticed it shortly after I was done with the photography and have since corrected the problem. Thank goodness it was PE and I was able to debond and clean it. If I had used the kit plastic part, I would have been out of luck. Finally, the upper and lower hulls are now glued together with minimal gaps. Notice the grill installed now and the baffle plates behind it (very faint). They were a major source of trouble. Many of them "popped" loose during the gluing and clamping process for the hulls and I ended up removing all of them with debonder, cleaning the old CA off them, gluing them back into the opening, and filing the edges so that the grill would fit properly over the opening. Not a trivial task...... Still to come on the hull are mounting the rear baskets, the rear photo etch skirts, front skirts, and side skirts and their suspension (to be built from PE). I keep telling my friends that I hope to have this project in primer in "a week", but I've quit planning on that. I'm just taking it one day at a time, trying the keep the quality high, and letting the project take it's course. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying the build. John Bill Cross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Excellent work, John! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Thank you Bill I keep pushing along and it's getting there. John Bill Cross 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 The PE is a bit of a pain, but the end result is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 John Fantastic progress, as the PE work and details bring the Mekava to a whole new level. Just take your time and enjoy the kit, as schedules are so hard to keep and serve no purpose at all.. When you're ready for primer, we'll be right here waiting. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Thanks, Peter. Yup, I'm enjoying it a lot. For my first piece of armor: talk about jumping in to the deep end of the pool! Every model teaches us something new and this one is a great teacher. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Thank you, Maru I very much appreciate you stopping by for a look. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 I wasn't sure it would ever happen, but it's finally ready for primer.......most of it. I had originally intended to use the Live Resin parts for the two small machine guns, but it turned out that the kit MGs were a lot more detailed. However, they are very fiddly assemblies. Lots of tiny plastic parts without very many good positive location points for gluing. So I really had to take my time and be patient with them, gluing a couple of parts at a time and then letting the assembly set completely before adding anything else. Even so, I'm not completely sure about all of the parts placement because the instructions were exceptionally poor in this area....I wound up relying almost as much on the Eduard diagrams as those on the kit instruction sheet. But, I'm pretty pleased with the result; they look appropriately "busy" and menacing. (Please excuse the focus and glare on some of the photos) The rear baskets as they are portrayed in the kit don't do the real thing justice. Eduard's PE really make them come to life, but it turns them into small kits in themselves. I'm expecting that paint and weathering will make this part of the tank really "pop". Here's a photo of the completed assemblies alone, and then in place on the hull. Note that the second photo also shows the rear PE skirts in place. That completes the hull assembly with the exception of the PE side skirts and associated suspension which I will begin work on today. The turret lacked only the addition of the basket and a few minor PE parts to finish it off. I'm going to add the whip antenna after the painting is complete. I'd sure welcome suggestions from you armor folks about what material to use for the antenna. Here's front and back shots of the turret assembly. Note that I haven't added ball and chain skirt or the glass yet; the glass will come after painting. I just received a bottle of Alclad Armored Glass paint and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it looks. I'll have some close ups on that after I paint the clear parts. So, that's it for now. Still to come are the ball and chain skirt, the side skirts and suspension, and the tracks. I've decided to definitely use the the Friulmodel track set; it seems to be the only correct decision given all the effort I've put into the other parts of this build. The ball and chain set are from Legend and consist of a length of wire, a length of chain, and a length of lamp pull chain (some assembly required! ). And, of course, the side skirts and suspension will be constructed using the Eduard set. Much more to come...... Thanks for stopping by. John Bill Cross and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Looks fantastic John!!!! All the PE really make things pop, even before paint. I'm going to add the whip antenna after the painting is complete. I'd sure welcome suggestions from you armor folks about what material to use for the antenna. I have had good luck with two different methods for such things myself................. 1 - Stretch sprue. I have used this to good effect, but found it really difficult to get accurate and identical antennas if needing two. 2 - Fishing line. This seems to be my preferred method for antenna. Its not always 100% accurate, as it does not represent a whip antenna in the straight configuration, and/or any antenna that is thicker at its base............but it does get you the scale look and best of all, its just about 100% unbreakable, resisting all but an concerted effort to specifically bend or break it. Edited June 1, 2015 by Out2gtcha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Got lots of work done this past week....... This model seems neverending; the more I do, the more I seem to have left to do. John I can relate. Looking real impressive, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Lots of eye candy on this one. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Cross Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 "I'm going to add the whip antenna after the painting is complete. I'd sure welcome suggestions from you armor folks about what material to use for the antenna." Guitar string. Sprue just isn't strong enough IMO. Orange Hobby also makes a very nice set of NATO-style antennas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Yow, that's a lot of detail on a tank! Looks great, can't wait to see it painted up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Smith Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Thanks, Brian Yup, it's really come together now. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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