I know I said I was going to wait with this one until I'd finished painting a few others but since my dedicated paint area isn't done yet - and I was just going to "check the sprues" yesterday, I somehow accidentally started to snip a few things off and before you knew it I was sitting there going at the lower hull!
I only did some of the lower hull assembly before I put it down and built the engine instead. I've been looking forward to build the engine, and the interior, for a very long time and I don't mind having this model as something I take my time with and build a few things as and when I feel like it...
I'm really keen on painting the engine to see how the new mig (Ammo of mig) paints look and feel so after I built the engine i primed it with my new One Shot black primer from mig. For some reason it didn't play well with my airbrush and it clogged up several times. Although my Ultra is a cheaper airbrush it's still a Harder & Steenbeck so it shouldn't have a problem with the mig primer, but that's just my opinion. I'll add a bit of thinner next time to see if that helps although it says on the bottle it doesn't need it.
The kit has fantastic details and the over-all quality is superb, but I think Tamiya has a better plastic/polymer compound, purely based on how it feels to handle, cut and sand. It becomes more soft when applying cement than Tamiya plastic I think?
Sprue Q had a distinctive part-line and even some minor flashing. This I didn't expect. Easy to fix though.
I took some pictures as I put the first pieces in place but then I continued. I shall paint the engine tomorrow. I just have to decide what colours to use? The paint scheme by Mig Jimenez looks fantastic but whilst doing some research I've seen other colours on the Maybach HL230P30, although most of them were in Panthers and only one was in a King Tiger - and there's no guarantee those were the original colours. Often the whole engine was painted in cremeweiss and not dark gray. Some were also painted dark green. Such are life's little dilemmas
The King Tiger I'm building is the Tiger Aufs.B, 1./s.H.Pz.Abt.505, no 101. Here's the paint scheme.
I had planned to load it with brass shell casings but since it's a late 1945 model, most, if not all?, were made of steel. I might go for artistic freedom here though and just choose what looks best...?
I've bought Friulmodel ATL-16 tracks for it as well since I'm keen on trying those out, but I might assemble the plastic tracks just to see the difference? I've only assembled Tamiya and Italeri tracks yet and the Takom ones might look realistic as they are? I do prefer "working" tracks though since they allow for more flexibility imho.
Anyhow, here are some pictures of the first steps on what will probably be a lengthy build that will require constant painting in order to keep up with the interior and it's parts.
I was happy that my lower hull wasn't bent as some others have been, but my upper hull is clearly bent out of shape. This should be easy to fix though.
I don't like the text/serial number on the floor of the hull, but it'll be covered so I might let it slide for now... I should've taken care of it before adding parts... sigh.
The interior of the lower hull was easy to assemble. Just take one step at a time and be patient and let the cement dry a bit before gluing on the next part.
Here's the engine after assembly. It took almost two hours to build, but I like the result so far! It's going to be fun to paint it tomorrow
Whilst painting the engine with primer I also put primer on two other tanks so I've got a lot to paint the coming week! I hope the issue with the airbrush was something temporary, otherwise I have to find out what the problem is? I suspect thinner is the solution though.
After the engine is painted I'm going to focus on getting the paint area setup so it's easier to work with the models, but there's quite a bit to do so I'm going to try to talk the kids into helping me tomorrow! I'll think of a suitable bribe that could simplify the negotiation.
I only did some of the lower hull assembly before I put it down and built the engine instead. I've been looking forward to build the engine, and the interior, for a very long time and I don't mind having this model as something I take my time with and build a few things as and when I feel like it...
I'm really keen on painting the engine to see how the new mig (Ammo of mig) paints look and feel so after I built the engine i primed it with my new One Shot black primer from mig. For some reason it didn't play well with my airbrush and it clogged up several times. Although my Ultra is a cheaper airbrush it's still a Harder & Steenbeck so it shouldn't have a problem with the mig primer, but that's just my opinion. I'll add a bit of thinner next time to see if that helps although it says on the bottle it doesn't need it.
The kit has fantastic details and the over-all quality is superb, but I think Tamiya has a better plastic/polymer compound, purely based on how it feels to handle, cut and sand. It becomes more soft when applying cement than Tamiya plastic I think?
Sprue Q had a distinctive part-line and even some minor flashing. This I didn't expect. Easy to fix though.
I took some pictures as I put the first pieces in place but then I continued. I shall paint the engine tomorrow. I just have to decide what colours to use? The paint scheme by Mig Jimenez looks fantastic but whilst doing some research I've seen other colours on the Maybach HL230P30, although most of them were in Panthers and only one was in a King Tiger - and there's no guarantee those were the original colours. Often the whole engine was painted in cremeweiss and not dark gray. Some were also painted dark green. Such are life's little dilemmas
The King Tiger I'm building is the Tiger Aufs.B, 1./s.H.Pz.Abt.505, no 101. Here's the paint scheme.
I had planned to load it with brass shell casings but since it's a late 1945 model, most, if not all?, were made of steel. I might go for artistic freedom here though and just choose what looks best...?
I've bought Friulmodel ATL-16 tracks for it as well since I'm keen on trying those out, but I might assemble the plastic tracks just to see the difference? I've only assembled Tamiya and Italeri tracks yet and the Takom ones might look realistic as they are? I do prefer "working" tracks though since they allow for more flexibility imho.
Anyhow, here are some pictures of the first steps on what will probably be a lengthy build that will require constant painting in order to keep up with the interior and it's parts.
I was happy that my lower hull wasn't bent as some others have been, but my upper hull is clearly bent out of shape. This should be easy to fix though.
I don't like the text/serial number on the floor of the hull, but it'll be covered so I might let it slide for now... I should've taken care of it before adding parts... sigh.
The interior of the lower hull was easy to assemble. Just take one step at a time and be patient and let the cement dry a bit before gluing on the next part.
Here's the engine after assembly. It took almost two hours to build, but I like the result so far! It's going to be fun to paint it tomorrow
Whilst painting the engine with primer I also put primer on two other tanks so I've got a lot to paint the coming week! I hope the issue with the airbrush was something temporary, otherwise I have to find out what the problem is? I suspect thinner is the solution though.
After the engine is painted I'm going to focus on getting the paint area setup so it's easier to work with the models, but there's quite a bit to do so I'm going to try to talk the kids into helping me tomorrow! I'll think of a suitable bribe that could simplify the negotiation.
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