D9 Doobi from Balaton

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October 24, 2021
Came across this one at a modelling fair. Despite the price I had to go for it.
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October 24, 2021
Now, this is what I got
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October 24, 2021
Big chunks of resin, beautifully casted and with a rather simple and logical breakdown.
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October 24, 2021
Detail is very crisp with hardly any casting imperfections.
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October 24, 2021
To clean the parts was rather easy
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October 24, 2021
The interior is fantasy and has almost nothing to do with the real thing. As almost nothing of it will be seen either, this is not a big deal for me.
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October 24, 2021
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October 24, 2021
Oh, the tracks. I am anxious so see how that will work out...
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October 24, 2021
A fret of PE, an acetate sheet for the windows and a colored one to tint them are also included.
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October 24, 2021
Now you have the Takom D9 in styrene - but only in conjuction with a 1070. Price is even higher and availability problematic. So, if you do not detest resin, this kit is still up to the task, as I will show you...
11
November 10, 2021
starting with the interior.
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November 10, 2021
Painting and a bit of weathering
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November 10, 2021
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November 10, 2021
Resin tracks. That sounds like trouble. But not so with this kit.
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November 10, 2021
Breakdown is logical, casting perfect, cleaning easy, assembly straightforward.
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November 10, 2021
Looks good, doesn´t it?
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November 14, 2021
I did not like the thin transparent foil for the glas parts Balaton Models provided with the kit. Glued inside they would look too recessed. Glued outside looked ridiculous. My solution: chopping up a CD-cover and sanding the bullet-proof glas pieces into shape.
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November 14, 2021
some done and inserted
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November 14, 2021
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November 14, 2021
The drivers compartment with some PE parts and DIY handles
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November 14, 2021
Now I have to remove them all again, tint them green and color the rims in black to simulate the seals.
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December 15, 2021
some more detailling done.
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December 15, 2021
a few PE parts from the kit and some DIY stuff
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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December 15, 2021
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November 16, 2022
Almost a year later this is back on my bench. All windows are tinted with transparent green. The seals are imitated by a black rim around the glass and the frames. A very last one and I am good to finally put some color on that one.
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November 16, 2022
Test fit of the drivers compartment reveals a perfect fit.
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November 16, 2022
Hydraulics of the rear hook have been further detailed.
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November 16, 2022
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November 16, 2022
Depicting wear with the hairspray-technique lead to mixed results. No catastrophy as more paint layers will follow.
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November 18, 2022
All bits and pieces added to the drivers compartment.
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November 18, 2022
Last pics in all its multimedia glory.
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November 18, 2022
Finally ready for paint.
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November 18, 2022
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November 21, 2022
One arm of one of the supports for the actuators broke of and wasn't seen again. So I had to scatch a replacement.
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November 21, 2022
Looks good enough for me.
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November 21, 2022
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November 21, 2022
...the chassis is ready for primer too.
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November 21, 2022
With that done, some bits and pieces that fell of during handling reattached and the rest of the hydraulic hoses connected and routed,...
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November 22, 2022
And off we go with paints. Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1500 black with 40% Levelling Thinner is the foundation.
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November 22, 2022
Base rust tone mixed 1:1 from Tamiya XF10 and 69. Protected by Gloss varnish.
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November 22, 2022
Various rust tone with water diluted Life Color paints, then decanted Hairspray.
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November 22, 2022
My mix for Caterpillar-Yellow: XF3:X26:H313 16:2:1.
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November 22, 2022
As the Israelis add the armored cabin later I suppose that cabin never saw Caterpillar-paint. So I didn't paint it. It will receive Israeli Sand Grey only at a later stage.
Now onto chipping.
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November 22, 2022
The result after chipping
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November 22, 2022
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November 22, 2022
Unfortunately the paint did not stand the vigorous handing in places. Grrr.
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November 29, 2022
The stripped area half way repainted (and the back of the blade)
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December 5, 2022
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December 5, 2022
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January 12, 2023
Finally some progress again. After another layer of hairspray israeli sand grey was applied. I used the mix I found at idf-modelling.com with Tamiya XF20, 27, 49 and 57 in equal amounts. Lower parts received a mix with more XF27, highlighting was done with more XF20 in the mix.
Now onto chipping again.
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January 12, 2023
First result after chipping and a motivational dry fit.
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January 12, 2023
I mistakenly used a non permanent marker to color the seals of the windows. This resulted in a mess when I chipped the cabin with water and windex. Luckily it didn't ruin everything. Only little hairspray chipping at the cabin. The details will be painted.
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January 12, 2023
Some areas turned out well, others less so. I am not happy with the drive train yet. Doesn't look harmonious. I'll have to redo some parts/areas.
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January 12, 2023
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January 12, 2023
The overall impression is not too bad, but a lot of detail work still lays ahead. Stick with me. I appreciate some company on the way. 🙂
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January 17, 2023
Getting through the paint layers with water/Windex and a stiff brush alone did not do the trick at all places. So I used 2000 and 3000 grit sandpaper to go after the look I wanted.
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January 17, 2023
Happy how the blade turned out.
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January 17, 2023
Drive wheels are ok, the idlers less so. Hope the oils will improve the look.
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January 17, 2023
Same here. Oils will have to fix the shortcomings of the techniques applied so far.
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January 17, 2023
Pretty happy with the main body though. J
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January 17, 2023
That's the look I was after
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January 17, 2023
During handling about a dozen details broke of and will have to be reattached.
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January 25, 2023
for a little vignette I need some reinforced concrete slabs. That is the mould I build with chicken wire for the steel reinforcements wrapped around the knobs of the Lego bricks.
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January 25, 2023
to fashion some reinforced concrete pillars I build that mould with wooden pegs at the ends. Through predrilled holes of the pegs the wire was guided through the mould.
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January 25, 2023
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January 25, 2023
The result after filling the moulds with plaster of paris. Still has to dry completely before I can break it up.
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April 5, 2023
A rough sketch of a little vignette I plan for the D9. I will probably go either for the photographer or the dogs. Haven't made up my mind yet.
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April 5, 2023
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April 8, 2023
Finished color fading with enamel wash and oils - mainly sand colored ones, only the engine covers received brown-gray.
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April 8, 2023
A dozen lights or so were mounted. The kit provides them in opaque resin which I did not like. So I cut squares from a CD-cover, painted them silver first, them camouflage and drilled into some of them little holes from the underside to simulate light bulbs (the ones where I didn't do that were already mounted before I got the idea).
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April 8, 2023
Looks like I will be able to attach the tracks without too much slack or too big a gap. For that I had to ignore the instructions and skip two links per side.
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April 8, 2023
A few more details added. Some are intentionally left off so far as I will probably break them off anyway while handling this beast.
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April 8, 2023
Mounting the blade will be tricky. I sweat to come to that point.
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April 8, 2023
Starts looking like a Doobi.
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
Doesn't look as if anything major has been done, but everything test fitted only is now glued in place. This was as tricky and fumbly as expected.
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April 8, 2023
The ripper with all the added hoses and fittings
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April 8, 2023
The main actuators have been left in Caterpillar-yellow to create some visual interest
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
Two handles and two mirrors have to be attached and the code number painted. Apart from that, I call this one done. Now let's give him a decent vignette.
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 8, 2023
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April 10, 2023
Some progress on the base. A cardboard frame was build and varnished and a little street corner created.
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April 10, 2023
Continued with the base. I was too slow so the plaster of Paris set before I applied the rubble.
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April 10, 2023
I had to switch then to Elmer's glue - thick for the big pieces and sprayed on diluted for the smaller stuff. Let's see how much stays in place once everything is dry and I turn the base upside down.
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April 10, 2023
A bit of debris was added. A broken photo etched plastic crate, broken window frames, a metal beam and quite a few wires to represent corrugated metal.
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April 10, 2023
Befor all of this a little street corner was created. As you see: you hardly see anything anymore.
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April 10, 2023
Time to add the last bits and pieces to the Doobi and then to blend it into the base with some pigments.
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April 10, 2023
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April 12, 2023
I lost the antenna mount. So I had to build it.
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April 12, 2023
The antenna itself comes from EMP3D.
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April 12, 2023
Here it is installed - together with some last fragile details and some detail paint.
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April 12, 2023
Final touch ups.
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April 14, 2023
Ready!
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April 17, 2023
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Comments

60 24 October 2021, 09:09

Spanjaard
good call on those windows. they certainly look great being thicker 🙂

7 December 2021, 11:12

Łukasz Gliński
Interesting one

8 December 2021, 13:29

Tom B.
Neat work on cutting those bulletproof windows 👍 Definetly tagging along with this one!

8 December 2021, 13:44

Marius
Very impressive Michael! Will there be a diorama?

8 December 2021, 18:00

Michael Kohl
Hi mates! Thanks for your interest. A dio is envisioned but first I have to proceed with the dozer a bit more.

15 December 2021, 23:20

Zsolt Czegle
Great subject! I'll take a seat.

21 November 2022, 20:25

MS K
It's too tiny. You can see that? I can't... 😉

22 November 2022, 08:37

Michael Kohl
Well, some details are tiny indeed. Welcome Zsolt and MS K to my build.

22 November 2022, 11:48

David Taylor
Brill.Used to work on the real thing so side arms on the outside were nearly all back to bare metal as were the idlers.

22 November 2022, 17:28

Michael Kohl
Thanx David for the compliment and the hint.

25 November 2022, 09:47

miloss
Very nice and detailed build, great job!!

26 November 2022, 12:06

Christian Lehmann
Sehr schön!

29 November 2022, 05:39

Michael Kohl
Miloss, Christian and Vytautas, thanks for your stopping by and commenting so nicely and the likes.

7 January 2023, 17:38

Michael Kohl
Thanks folks for all your likes. Much appreciated.

12 January 2023, 10:59

Finn
Fantastic detailing

13 January 2023, 10:33

Erik Torp
This is world class! May I ask how you achieved the metallic look on the dozer blade?

13 January 2023, 11:34

Dietmar Bogatzki
A Masterclass build 👍

13 January 2023, 11:44

Michael Kohl
Thanks mates for your very encouraging feedback.
@Erik: this is rather simple and straightforward: Alclad Gloss Black Primer, then sanded with 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit to a very smooth finish. Then Alclad Airframe Aluminum which sprays very very fine. Be aware that it is very aggressive too. So apply only very thin coats as thicker ones can dissove the primer again (as I learned the hard way).

13 January 2023, 13:45

Erik Torp
Thanks Michael for explaining the process. I thought it was something like that, good to get it confirmed. 👍🏻

13 January 2023, 15:47

Guy Rump
Very nice build. 👍

13 January 2023, 16:24

Michael Kohl
Thanks Guy and the mates for their likes.

16 January 2023, 11:26

Dean Harpster
Thanks very much for sharing your progress, I'm learning a lot from this! What adhesive do you prefer for joining the resin parts?

7 April 2023, 04:23

Shar Dipree
Very nice. 👍

7 April 2023, 07:07

David Taylor
Looking really good.

7 April 2023, 09:56

Tom B.
Great layout for the vignette! Those cracked-concrete elements shall make some really interesting base for painting... Looking forward to the result 👍

8 April 2023, 11:46

Michael Kohl
Thanks mates for sneeking in and leaving a like or a comment. 🙂
@ Dean: for resin parts I use superglue as a standard. Nothing fancy, just a brand name from the DIY-shop. I prefer the very small tubes with only 3ml content. Of the bigger ones I have to throw away too much. For small parts I sometimes use Elmer glue as I have more time to adjust it. Hope that helps.

8 April 2023, 19:50

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work.

10 April 2023, 14:51

Michael Kohl
Thank you, Villiers.

11 April 2023, 07:03

Alec K
Not sure how I missed this so far! Another beauty, well done Michael.

11 April 2023, 11:09

Michael Kohl
Thanks Alec and Alberto for the nice feedback and the like.

12 April 2023, 13:08

Michael Kohl
The D9 is ready. I started it in the fall of 2013. After almost 10 years I can hardly believe I actually finished it.
It saw considerable shelf time, but this was not the kits fault. Balaton Models did a very good job on this one and bottomline it was a joy to build. Detailling and achieving the desired paint effects were the matters that got me bogged down again and again.
I figure will accompany the vignette which is otherwiseready too. As soon as it is done, some more pics will follow.
A swell weekend to all of you.

14 April 2023, 17:45

Michael Kohl
Final pics are added.

22 April 2023, 22:02

Neuling
Excellent work: lay out, detailing, paint work and weathering. Looks like a 1/35 build.

23 April 2023, 08:21

Michael Kohl
Thanks a lot Neuling. In the end I am really happy how it turned out. With the figure I followed the suggestions of my girlfriend and I think it gives a nice touch to it.

25 April 2023, 06:57

Project info

D9 Doobi from Balaton

135 images

1:72

Completed

1:72 D9R Armoured Dozer (Balaton Modell BM7235)

1:72 Table and chairs (Brengun BRL72013)

1:72 Civilians, Set 3 (FC Model Trend 72407)

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