Paint update II/Completed build.

Hello everyone,

My apologizes, again, for not keep house here. Since the last posting I've added some "rust" texture to the M103A1. The goal was to show it at that "in limbo" stage were the military can't decided what its going to do with it. Either mothball it, put it on a range to be a "Range queen", or some either fate that awaits it.

Now, admittedly I think I was a little over zealous with the "rust" areas on the tank. However, in looking at it afterwards I believe just the right amount was applied. Some have said it was too much and needed to be re-done.

Well, I sorry, its a tank and tanks are like little kids, no matter how much preventive maintenance the crew does, especially when out in the field or in combat conditions, you're always going to have some dirt, aging and rusting somewhere. This is true especially with the underside, fenders, and rear engine deck. A "motor pool queen" this tank is not.

So here's the photos, you be the judge. Too much or just right.

I've dulled the "rust" areas somewhat since these photo were taken.
Sadly I forgot that I put those photo on my laptop. Those finished photos and the completed build history can be seen at Armorama.com.

O.K., so that is all folks. This build has been an interesting one to say the least. The input from the "rivet counters" over at Armorama.com has been entertaining during the build.

A little rant here before I close this out if I may.
How some people can be so "anal", it has to be "accurate", it must be "perfect" baffles the mind. Your paying $65.00+ (or more) for a kit that is "imperfect" in your minds eye and yet your willing to spend 2 to 3 times more time and money then you would just building the kit out of the box. Think about it, cutting up the turret, the hull, removing, adding, by the time you get done, you've only used maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of the what came in this kit if you are doing it "correct" and "accurate." So what do you do? Spent more money then what the kit was worth in the first place. This blows my mind.

Now, I understand and respect those that take the time and get into a kit. But there's a point when O.C.D. takes over and runs the build. I get that.
Yet, there are other builders who are pushing themselves to improve and challenge their skill set.

I'm guilty of  going O.C.D. on select kits when I know its not going to triple the cost of the kit the make it "correct" or I'm reviewing a P.E. set to see if it fits into a specific kit. Those are the only times I'll put the "perfectionist" hat on.

I guess the thing that gets me is that "My way, or the highway" builder. These are the ones that are so inflexible about the facts when called out in a public forum they either start crap to make themselves look good or disappear completely because you got them and they don't want to hear it because of their closed mindedness.
Nothing is perfect in this world, and if it is perfect in your world, then you are in denial about something.

The whole point of this blog was to point out the obvious, so that the regular everyday Joe builder can make these simple adjustments to the kit.

Thanks for tuning in everyone. Once again, I'd like to thank Dragon Models, Mr. Jim Starkweather, and Mr. Darren Baker at Armorama.com for this opportunity the do this build blog. I hope I got it right since this was my first build blog.

Until the next build................

See ya in the funnies............................

 

Paint update

Hello gang,

My apologizes for not posting soon, had a few "Life interruptus" moments since I last posted.

Anyways, here's were the paint stands.

I had to break down and buy a rattle can of  Model Master Olive drab to complete the hull.
It was taking too much time and I wasn't getting the coverage I wanted on the underside, running gear areas.

So here's some shots of that progress.

I had no challenges with the turret paint, coverage was good, but I still had to spray everything.

Now, I think I mentioned earlier that I live in a apartment complex and air brushing wasn't really a good idea because of the compressor noise and such. So, having said that, I was at a bit of a loss on how I was going to use a rattle can to complete the task. Hmmmm, how about I make a booth! But what do I have?

Well, here's what I came up with...................

Not bad if I do say so.......Redneck paint booth coming to a store near you.

Wow! Not bad! The paint booth was an old cat lounger frame and I used butcher string on the top so I could hang the parts to paint. A cardboard box was used for the backing. Quick and simple. 

Now, I let that dry, inside, for 12 hours/overnight and started weathering/texture of the kit today.

I used an "old school" way of texturing the Aux. Gen. exhaust pipes. (See photos below.)

White glue or liquid cement and baking soda/powder. 

This process you can find in Sheperd Paine's book, "Modeling Tanks and Military Vehicles." Chapter 3, Weathering. 

Here's how it was done if you don't have the book as I mentioned in the above.

1. Brush on a small amount of white glue to area. Make sure you have little to no excess showing.

2. With same brush, lightly dip the brush into some baking soda or baking powder. Use a "junk" brush for this whole process.

3. Apply powder or soda to tow cables, exhaust, anything that in the real world would be exposed to the weather and would rust over time. 

4. Gently brush off area with clean brush to remove excess powder or soda before glue completely dries. 

5. Let dry. 10 to 30 minutes. The longer the better.

6. Semi dry brush on "rust" color, then dry brush "gun metal" color. Repeat this step if needed.

You might want to practice on any spare parts that you might have lying around, just to get the feel for it first.

Anyways, I still have the tracks to do. The rattle can run out before I could nail them. 

And so continues the paint. I hope this has been somewhat informative for everyone that has popped in so far.

Until next post............See ya in the funnies....................................

Got Paint?

Well, I've got some paint on the M103 now. 

Needs second coat on the turret and I've applied the first coat to the hull. 

For those of you that are curious on what brushes I'm using, well, their Horse hair and I'm using a number 4 and number 6 broad head brushes to paint with. 

Well, why are you hand brushing this beast? First, I live in a 2 bedroom apartment and using an airbrush is not an option. 

Now I know their are compressors out there that are made to run quietly, but I really don't have the cash right now to get one. Besides, I have more control and I can see were I've missed better than an airbrush. 

Well, what about brush lines? 

What about them? Brush lines add a personal touch to the kit, it says, "Hey, I did this!" And if done right other people won't be able to tell if you airbrushed the kit or not. 

Well, you be the judge. Here's some photo's.

And here's some of the hull.

Now, total paint time so far, about 2.5 hours. Hull: 2 hours with about another 1 hour to finish. Turret: Roughly 30 mins. for first coat, 30/45 mins. needed more for second coat. 

So total time for paint, after second coats, will be about 6-8 hours. This does not include drying time. 

My apologizes for not posting sooner everyone, I've had to move into a different room. 

Anyways, that all for now. 

See ya in the funnies...................................

Well, guess I'm not completely done.

Hello again.

It would seem I'm not completely finished with the build.
It needs some paint! LOL.

Anyways, I'll be doing the paint here in the next few days. I've got to take inventory of my paint stash and hope I've got enough.

Oh, by the way everyone, I don't use an airbrush when I paint these kit. I still hand paint every kit.

I'll post some of these works later.

Till then.

See ya in the funnies......................

Last Blog entry of the M103 build.

Hello again,

Well, this is last blog post for the M103 build.

Here's the updates:
First, Lets talk PE's. Step 5, section "G", rear deck.  All PE's are marked MA. Note MA8/MA4 and MA5/MA7 on the instruction sheet. These are very small and will be lost to the carpet monster if great care is not taken.

Please note also there are x2 MA5/MA7 that need to be installed.

Somehow I missed this. Builder error on that one.

I also placed the one I did install in the wrong place. Again, builder error. (See photo below.)

Note the placement of MA5/MA7 needs to be higher.
















Now we move on to the M2HB install. Part J17 is the M2HB .50 Cal. Machine gun. Note in the photo below the blue areas in the "after thought" window box. These are for the M2 when it is placed on a tripod mount and are not needed. When removing the pintle mount on the front of J17, take care in removing, there is a notch in the PE cradle that fits there and removing too much will make the M2 sit funny on the cradle.

In this photo below we see the M2HB sitting in the cradle. Ummm, whats wrong with this photo? The receiver cover isn't sitting correctly. A simple shave with take care of that.

Shaved the receiver down, fit fine now. (See below.)

Note for you M2HB guys, the charge handle is molded into the receiver cover, Part J23. So if this upsets the balance of nature in your world, replace it with an aftermarket M2HB. Challenge solved.

Anyways, all major construction is done. PE's are on. Guess this is were we part ways. But first, the final photo's.

I'd like to thank Jim Starkweather and Darren Baker at Armorama.com for giving me this chance to build this kit. While I've been doing the Blog here, I've been also posting this build at www.armorama.com.

Thanks for tuning in. Questions and comment can be posted here or at Armorama.com

See ya in the funnies.............................

Getting close to being finished

Hello again everyone,

Thanks for tuning in. Well, we're just about ready to finish the M103 build.

I've done some work on it lately, but not as much as I would of liked too. I've finished up some of the detail work on the hull, put the turret and gun barrel in place and other little stuff went on as well.

I had to re-glue some items back on caused by builder error also. What do you have to re-glue? Well, the turret side grab holds and the rear turret storage holds as well. Next time, those go on last.

Anyways, no major fails or issues to report this time around. I hope to have summary comments and thoughts about this kit and build for the final entry.

Here's some progress photo's:
Top and lower turret parts before mating.

Top and lower turret after mating.

Turret completed.

The next to last photo here I put in to show the rear turret clearance between the exhaust and back of the turret. It was hard to see in the blog photo's when this first came up.

Well, that does it for this week, I might have more progress later on this week.

Until next time..............see ya in the funnies....................................