Moving right along

Well,

this whole 'what if' thing is really getting my attention lately. Truth be told, it's such a refreshing way of modeling. The lack of strict rules and restrictions is really nice, I'm free to be totally artistic for the most part and ignore the reality of it all. I'm not 'hating' on reality bit it is nice to escape it once in a while.

This doesn't mean that my love for creating accurate representations of half tracks from old photos is dead and done with but I am really enjoying my current vacation. Here's a few shots of what's going on, from the booth and the bench.


Hope you enjoy.

Pardon the silence

...if you will.

I know it has been quiet here, as I find things besides this blog distracting me. The end of winter and the subsequent warming up of the days have allowed me to get stuff done outside.

I have been modeling, just not here on the blog. I have been assembling a bunch of kits for a project in the works and then as of April 1st, the Scale Model Addict second annual 'Big Spring Contest' kicked off. Recently at the last show I attended I picked an odd kit (for me) and paired it up with something unexpected, yet logically possible, to create a 'what if' model which isn't something I do too often. I just liked the lines of the half track, which will allow great painting effects and the cargo was something I had kicking around in the stash. I threw in a modified Alpine figure by changing the hand molded to the thigh and adding another Alpine hand and weapon to the carved out sleeve, a Hornet head just to alter the figures look ever so slightly more.


I don't have any good pictures for that I apologize, only right on the bench as I began to finally see what I was imagining. The kits are in loose, sub-assemblies just posed for the pictures, just to get the idea, I am just completely swamp with stuff and promise to get back here the next time I come up for air.

Until then my friends, I'll give you a glimpse...



'Finders Keepers'

Hobby Boss M4 HST

Well I've been quiet here lately but very busy at the bench. I have been having an absolute blast building kit after kit but thought I should dedicate some time behind the airbrush.

Since the kit mentioned above was built for the most part, 'Out Of Box' I decided this would be my first project to get warmed up on with the airbrushing and shake out the cobwebs. I've made it fairly lite in color as I usually do because as mentioned before, weathering always tends to darken it up quite a bit in the end.

I'm fairly certain there are a few problems accuracy wise with the kit, I believe the drive sprockets are wrong as well as the seats inside the cab but I'm just going to have some fun painting and weathering and leave the fixes for the next one I build. I did however shorten the kits 'rubber band' tracks by one link as they were a bit loose and added some small brass chain to the door which I have positioned open. I will be adding some stowage and scratch building a canvas tarp for that area later.

Enjoy

My last post in 2010

Well it has been a very good year for me, modeling wise. At the beginning of the year I had this gut feeling and even considered 2010 to be 'the year of the model' for me. Looking back, I completed no less than twelve builds this year. Considering that some even had landscaped bases and figures, this for me was a fairly large number. Although not all of them were posted here, most can be found by scrolling back a few pages even if not in their completed state. Perhaps I will find some time in the new year to do a 'year in review' type of update.


Christmas came and went and I have been enjoying my down time by building LEGOS with my little man. He received some really great kits this year and they have been keeping him occupied during his school vacation. We received a ton of snow which kept me busy plowing for a day or so and the wood stove has been working overtime.


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and here's hope for a happy new year to each and every one of you who've followed me along the way. I plan on continuing my modeling streak during 2011 and may even try to one up myself with some larger projects. I have some great ideas and even something of size in the works but more on that in due time.

*

Just so this isn't a completely text filled post I will attach some pictures of what little modeling I have done during this last month. I am not a big fan of the one and only half track crew figure set on the market, so I cobbled together figures and parts from the spares box that I have acquired over the years for my XX Corps M2A1 vignette. In the next few pictures they are placed in the vehicle in their primer black state, I still have some final trimming and sanding to do but this should give some idea of what I am aiming for. I've also added some more personal gear and need to do some final painting of the added straps and other bits so you may see some odd spots, shiny from glue or unpainted. Not to worry as when it is all said and done, you wont see a thing.















Lastly, before we ring in the new year here's a small glimpse at what has found it's way to my bench, Hobby Boss's HST. OK, it hasn't actually spent much time at the bench at all, this has been a TV tray model I have been tinkering with while sitting with the family as they all play with their new Christmas presents.

Truth be told, this isn't quite up to par with what you may or may not be familiar with when it comes to modern kits. There are some big ejection pin marks and a few slight fit problems but at the same time, it is a kit full of detail and promise and of a great subject matter as well. I absolutely cannot wait to paint this thing, as it gives me a lot of scope to go wild, with the over the top shading and weathering effects that will probably get some peoples blood boiling. I'm a sucker for those slightly exaggerated painting and weathering effects that bring the model from the toy like phase into a realm of 'realism'.









So happy new year and happy modeling to all of you, may you find more time to cut and glue in the coming year so that you can fully enjoy this wonderful hobby that we all partake in whether you build strictly out of the box, or spend the year correcting the kits rivets. Here's hoping for less of the negative complaining in the forums and more of the posting of pictures of all of these long awaited and recently released kits being built and as always, 'build how you like and like how you build.'

With warm regards,

Ken

Some pigment progress and a 'tip'

I recently started working with the pigments on this build and it's one of my favorite parts to a build for two reasons. One, it means I'm coming close to the end of long journey and two because it is where I feel the build begins to take on that scale 'realness' to it. For this build I have used Vallejo pigments exclusively.

I'm not quite close to being done, as you can still see some shiny new stuff near the dingy filthy stuff but I thought I'd put these out there. You never know what you might have missed until others get a look and give you feedback...

which leads me to the 'tip'.

Thanks to a posted comment below I have been informed that I forgot to paint the tip of the shovel. Can you imagine that? Thank you poster of said comment, you have saved me from some major deductions next year if I enter this in a show. You sir, (or madam) and your eye for detail are much appreciated. Please do stick around and keep me informed of any more hamfisted goofs on my part.

Seriously, I owe you one.

Very slight progress...

and a little 'gardening' as well*.


*pun intended/see below



I have added some more oils to the rest of the build, dry fit the wheels, tracks and gun and gave it all a light dullcoat to cut down on the shine and add some tooth for the pigments, which will be my next step.

These aren't a whole lot different than the last photos I posted but it looks much better all 'assembled' like this, rather than a partial hulk that the last two photos shown. The camera is having some maintenance right now after a small fall, so I can't take pictures of the 234/2 I am finishing up for a customer, I hope it comes back before I have to ship this one off as I'm pretty happy with its outcome. Anyway, on to the Marine GMC pictures.













As far as my 'gardening', I was given a Monroe Perdu 'Normandy Well' kit for a group build on the Modelers Alliance and I have started on a small base with three GI's taking cover, although the figures do not appear in these pictures, you can see the beginning of the groundwork really starting to take shape here.

You can see more of the whole progress, as well as a bunch of other great builds by others using this well, on the group build forum at ModelersAlliance











As always, feel free to tell me what you like, don't like or wonder about. Of course, clicking on the pictures makes 'em bigga'!

Sometimes, life steps in

...and you find yourself at the mercy of it's twists and turns regardless of your ideas, ambitions, or plans. It's often at these times when I realize just how much I have to be thankful for, just how much I have going for me and just how much I take for granted. Since my last update here, Laurel has lost both of her grandmothers. Needless to say, things here on the home front have been very hectic and draining, both literally and emotionally.



Only now, as things slowly begin to return to a somewhat 'normalcy' have I found a little bit of my modeling mojo. Today was a busy day for mother and son, what with his friends birthday party and a few errands they had to run, so I found myself sitting at the bench staying warm and dry as it showered on and off outside. After an hour of tossing the football around with my little guy when they returned home this afternoon, we stopped for dinner after which he headed off for a bath and a movie on the couch while I went back to my work in progress.

I don't have much to show for all of this, as my main focus is a project for something which will be shown sometime in the future but I did take out the Marine half track and work on that a bit. Nothing too extravagant, but the camo is applied and I began working with the oil paints. I hope to have a little bit more to show in a couple weeks, perhaps something a little closer to end result, or at least a more of a complete picture but I just thought this small advance warranted a couple pictures.