Academy 1/35 K9 Thunder

[monica]

very interesting, and a great build so far how did i miss this one,

do like all the detail on it great for chipping and weathering ,

look forward to next update

[Guest]

OKAY .. Part the third for this one ... picking up from where we left off, this is what I have right now -

Just before that, I put on the very long rods along the length of the hull sides. I don't know what these rods are for but I believe they are gun cleaning rods

after that, I turned my attention to the gun travel lock.

First, I inspected the lock it self and I found ejector pin marks so I filled them up with Perfect Plastic Putty-

Follow that up with the hinge base which goes on the front of the hull. I also put on the front mud flaps-

The lock can be swivel up and down -

and it can be open and closed -

I am grateful toward academy for designing the kit like this. I hate to have to make decision on whether to keep it glued up or down.

I had to put on this little piece which looks like a signal light or something on the top of the hull -

After that, I moved on to the commander's cupola and hatch. Upon inspection, the sight on the cupola is all flat and I didn't like the idea of it so decided to improve on it. I glued some plastic on the edges of the sight to show that '' border '' features around glass.

and checking the references, I modified the inner details of the hatch as according to the real thing -

The 4 grab handles are just simple brass wire glued on. It's not perfect but it is presentable.. ( I think )

The commander cupola and another crew member hatch goes on -

You can also see some kind of small guard wall that's sticking out near the back of the turret.

The gunner sight goes on after this. The kit doesn't include any clear part but the ballistic covering was well made. Having no desire to paint the glass effect, I decided to put on the cover.

You can also see that little sight or detector thingy that has been treated with perfect plastic putty. That part has one big sink hole so I had to fill it up.

After that, I put on 4 of the big hook on the four corners of the turret ...

and that's it for this update ....

Until the next one ....

[Guest]

With more small parts than I would have imagined or expected...

[Guest]

With more small parts than I would have imagined or expected...

Indeed Steve ... I didn't expect that much as well for an old kit ... what can I say.. I love it ..

[Guest]

Right... and update is long over due on this gal .... let's do this ...

with everything glued on, it's time to start painting this gal..

I had to put on the base colour, which is dark green but having no other brand apart from revell Aqua, I thinned that with Ultimate Modelling Product fantastic thinner and spray it like so -

Revell Aqua is just like Vallejo, dry too fast inside the nozzle ( for me that is ) and somewhat a pain to put on but UMP thinner just made it go on as smooth as a baby's bottom... Really surprised and happy with the results.

After that, I followed up with MR. Hobby Aqueous Wood Brown -

I decided to use Nato Black instead of Black. I love Nato Black. It has a very nice muted,flat greyish black tone and just lovely.

Followed that up with Tamiya Wodden Deck Tan . I wanted to put on just flat Tan and bought Flat Tan ( labelled as Tan Earth on the bottle ) but that colour looks very much like a friend Salmon pink so I just opted for the Wooden Deck Tan. I wanted to use Deck Tan but my Deck Tan ran out.

Followed that up with decals and pin wash -

With all the pin wash, it toned down the bright colour combinations and looking like this for now -

Now, come to weathering this gal up. I decided to go for a very wet situation. I saw some videos of these gals doing exercise in a very rainy weather so I thought '' hey, rain .. wet vehicle.. wet mud..'' so I went ahead and start preparing for adding wet mud.

First, I decided to mix a lighter, dried shade of mud with pigment, thinner and plaster.

Left them dry for half a day and started working on the wed mud layers.

This time, I put in only a small bit of plaster, more pigments and thinned Vallejo Gloss Acrylic Resin heavy gel and mix them all into a slightly thinned paste and put it on top of the previous layer of mud.

It's not all dried yet so I can't tell how wet/glossy it is so I'm gonna let it dry and see if I need to put more.

I did sprinkle some dry pigment and fix them with pigment fixer for added texture.

After that, I turned my attention on the track. This is the first time I have ever got so lazy painting track so all I did was bombard them with pigment, washses and arcylic resin to show the similar effect as the running gears.

Well that's it for now... IT's slowly coming along and I'm enjoying every bit of it.

Coming up next will be the crew and the wet effects on the top ( which I am dreading ) .. Should I buy some Wet effect fluid from AK or Ammo ? or should I just use Acrylic resin/ Gloss varnish ?? I don't know.... any input?

Until the next update.

[Guest]

Nice camo work there Gary - try adding some retarder or flow enhancer to stop any clogging or tip drying. It worked for me with Vallejo paints so there's no reason why it wouldn't work with Revell Aquacolour.

I'd try brush painting some gloss or satin varnish to show wet upper surfaces.

Cheers

Patrick

[Guest]

very realistic mud effect!

Looks great so far!!

[Guest]

Ace build to date Gary looks well cool, i must say with your skill level you did not hinge the rear door.

Its easy to do & looks well cool when done.

This dose not detract from this grate build.

[ATTACH]83430.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]83431.IPB[/ATTACH]


Hope you dont mind the pic's.

John

[Guest]

This is looking splendid, Gary. You've done a great job with the weathering and those tracks.