Chris Greathouse Good luck with the fix.

Robert Hall Just think of it as your first step into weathering, remember ! it's a war vehicle.

Rui S I agree With Robert...

Tom Yes with this model it's not really an issue... and the next step is weathering. I have a few AK Interactive washes I'm going to play with, as well as Tamiya's weathering powders. If you look at my paint stash you can see what I have: Cohort

I have to say that while I really enjoy looking at other peoples' extremely weathered models I'm not one for rust buckets and mud monsters myself. I'm hoping to have a slightly worn and dusty jeep with a bit of mud... hoping that is... most likely this will all go south very quickly

Also looking forward to painting the driver. Don't know what I'm doing there either but I'm thinking it'll be fun.

Chris Greathouse I painted my first fig with the arcade. It was kind of exciting, but I didn't know what I was doing. For him to go from sprue color to painted was a fun process. I hope you have fun too!

Tom Did an initial "panel wash" to bring out details. Need to find a better Q-tip. I have the Tamiya ones but they are too compact.... need to find something in between...

Also tried out AK Interactive's dirt deposit wash on the under carriage... hmmmm, I've got a long way to go in order to get any good at this.... still it's interesting and fun trying.... this might just end up a muddy mess all the same. Oh well.

Nathan Dempsey That dirt and dust deposit stuff looks interesting. I may have to pick up a bottle.

James C Were you able to resolve the residue issue from the hood?

Arne Greve The Drill behind the Link looks interesting. But the size of the drills starts with minimum 0,7mm. In modelers reality is 0,3mm more a common size.

Chris Greathouse Aw snap. Thought that'd be small enough for you/the hobby... Good price though... The search continues

Hans Robben Buy one of these, drills are also available individually. has a 4mm shank:
Hand Drill (DSPIAE Craft Tools AT-HD, No)

Tom I have this one: https://amazon.com/gp/product/B07FJ6VD2P/

which has a great selection of tiny bits. Just need to find a battery powered version. Or a better chuck for the Tamiya.

Chris Greathouse I have that same one. Nice set for $12.

Martin Oostrom I have this one Modellbauer- und Gravierset ..MOT 50/E (Proxxon 28515, No)
Similar to a dremel, with drill bits from 0.3 upwards. Is great for thinning pieces as well, just beware of the high (adjustable) rpm's

Thomas Tuerler Martin, if you attach it to the adjustable NG2/E or NG5/E transformer, you can reduce the RPM to Polystyrol compatible numbers without losing too much power. Big fun for little money!

Urban Gardini I've got this one and it's perfect! https://super-hobby.se/products/GRINDER-DRILL.html

Laurent HELLER-forever great

mark brinkley Work of art

Tom Thank you all. You are very kind. The model does have a lot of details and interesting surfaces so it does end up looking well. It was a challenging but satisfying build.

Robert Hall Plus Tamiya is a pretty high quality kit so it builds well, and look great completed ! Looks Great Tom !

Tom I agree, Robert. Definitely the best fitting kit I've built so far... okay I've only done 5 but I was still really surprised how well everything lined up. The Revell MG TC was the opposite.

M M Looks so good!

Allan Gage This is great..crisply modeled. I've had some issues with tamiya white decals as well. Sometimes i just couldn't get near them with setting solvent have had to rely on hairdryer. I want to try this kit , those helmet boxes are trick.

Tom Thanks guys.

Allan, the helmets and box are cool. However putting the decals on the helmets was crazy hard. Can't believe I didn't take a picture of them before glueing them into the box... oh well.

James C That's a great result Tom.

Laurent HELLER-forever top !

Neuling Very beautiful!

Tom Thank you guys. Glad you like it. It was a challenging (for me) but satisfying build.

Robert Hall WOW ! Fantastic ! Another fine piece of artwork ! BRAVO !

Chris Greathouse How do you just pick up a hobby and be this good already?? It's always amazed me. This Subaru is really well made, I like the contrasting colors, I know they're decals but it's still cool... Did you swim your decals in Micro Set to help? Great job as always.

Tom Thanks, Chris and Robert. I have to say it looks better in the pictures than in real life.

I did use lots of Micro Set and Micro Sol. It was a bit of a love/hate relationship. For the Set solution the decals would move too easily while trying to remove the excess, so that was maddening. Then adding the Sol solution would cause some of the nicely laid down decals to wrinkle, and there where decals that the solution didn't seem to have any effect in terms of conforming the decal to the contours. I'm really impressed with your Blue Shark decal work. When I saw that decal sheet I got an immediate decal PTSD flashback.

Chris Greathouse The Sol will cause the decals to wrinkle as the decal softens/stretches then it will tighten up and sink into crevices as it drys. I baby the Sol process with a Q-tip to help flatten and get rid of wrinkles as it drys.

Robert Hall Ditto, Roll a Q-Tip and it works wonders.

Tom The build quality of this kit is really good.

My only complaints are that there are:
1) A lot of seams on the sprue pieces (but not the body or the large pieces),
2) The sprue connections are really really thick and lots and lots of them to boot, so a lot of tedious cleaning up of edges...
3) Some annoying pin-marks
4) The undercarriage is one simple molded piece so is going to be a pain to paint cleanly.

The chrome pieces are of a very high quality. I still went ahead and de-chrome them (which was very hard indeed) as I prefer the Alclad chrome.

I do wish they did some better or more interesting texturing for the seat but I guess for the skill level of the product I can't complain.

Anyway I really like this kit. All the pieces fit perfectly. The quality of all the pieces is solid. However, it's going to take me a long time to complete as I want to create a vintage (and slightly weathered) look but I'm not sure how to do that yet... so if you do follow along be prepared for very slow progress...

Chris Greathouse no slow.... go go go! Your alclad pieces look very good.

Tom I have a question for experienced military builders. This is my first military vehicle build and I'm trying to figure out how best to paint/assemble the model.

I've seen a lot of videos where the builders assemble most of the model and then paint.... however, while my main goal with this build is to learn weathering techniques I also want to focus on detailing as much as I can so any advice (or links) on how best to assemble and paint military vehicles would be much appreciated.

For example, in picture #2 of the album I'm trying to figure out the best way to paint/assemble the chassis floor...

(I'm sure there's no right or wrong answer here but I'm interested in what experienced builders think)

Tom This mate's album is very helpful: Bren Gun Carrier (Completed) | Album by Noob (1:35)

This way I can see what parts are visible and what parts aren't.

Xerxes Hi Tom. This is my way of building and painting my models. I try to build as much as possible without painting. Quite easy without interior parts. But i paint all parts i cannot access in a proper way after finishing the model in advance. This might bei the case wirh your floor. Be careful to mask your finished paint job before painting the rest of the Kit.

Tom Sound advice, Xerxes. I guess my question is really to do with how much (color) detailing there is in military machines. I think that is what I'm getting stuck on. I should find some reference books/pictures to work from.

I did find this video of a real Bren Gun Carrier: Youtube Video

Looks like most everything is the same color so that does simplify things a great deal.

Tom On hold while I wait for the Eduard PE set: Universal Carrier Mk.II (Eduard 35364, 1:35)

ArcticFox Pz Division I'm not an expert but you can follow most of the process of building and painting technique I use here on youtube... I will give you the link for my first video but there is 5 videos for the Universal. Youtube Video

Olivier Hello Tom,
In my case I really enjoy painting all the small pieces first. And of course all interior bulkheads or floors. Building and glueing comes later.
I use brushes, no air brush. So touching up the hull or undercarriage is easy.

Chris Greathouse What do you use on the end of your toothpicks? I use bamboo skewers and toothpicks with BSI super-Gold but it's like the wood and glue have 0 reaction unless I physically hold the stick until the glue starts to cure 5+ mins for each piece...

Robert Hall [img1]

This is what I use

Tom I use blue-tac in certain cases but I have no problem with using CA too. Just keep in mind that CA needs moisture to activate so maybe moisten the tip or breathe on it?

When using CA I drill a little hole in the plastic for the tip of the toothpick to fit into. (I assume you are doing the same.) And I use thin or medium glue.

I certain cases, like the seats, I actually super glue them on to a piece of cut sprue. That one is harder to get right as there is not much moisture to activate the glue... but I prefer it to using blue-tac as it feels much more secure in the hand.

I just ordered some of those sticks with the crocodile clips and so I'm going to see if they are useful in certain cases.

Chris Greathouse I use CA, bamboo skewers, popsicle sticks with doubleback tape or blob of sticky-tac, crocodile clip sticks, and good 'ol pressure fits... I have quite a few ways.... and as far a drilling holes, I do not. I usually put a drop of CA on the plastic and put the flat end of the skewer in it, I just try to make sure the glue spot will be hidden at the end, thanks for the moisture tip... I did not know that (now that I'm done sticking all my pieces ) crocodile clip sticks, yes, they help alot with tiny pieces, I put a picture of my latest stick prep in my current project '37 Ford Convertible with Trailer | Project by chrisagreat (1:24)

Tom Ah, if you are not drilling a hole then make sure to use the smallest amount of glue possible, otherwise I think it is going to take a long time to cure. However, I find with drilling a small hole that the toothpick nearly stays put without any glue but then the glue seals the deal. Having said all that I'm only on my second model so maybe I've just been lucky so far.

Chris Greathouse What do you use to drill the small holes? In general, everytime I look at a tiny drill-bit they break, I swear.

Tom I have this: https://amazon.com/gp/produc..ge_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's okay but might try to get a battery powered one.

Chris Greathouse I do have a manual drill like that but it's somewhere deep in my supply box because it pissed me off... I've heard good things about the Tamiya handy Drill: https://amazon.com/Tamiya-El..-Plastic-74041/dp/B01LX208SY

Tom Ha, just bought the Tamiya drill. I'll let know if I like it.