The Workbench
My RSS Feeds
Blur Modeler
Intermediate Modeling: Week 1
posted Friday, 21 April 2006
Sifu Bernard Cher over at the M Workshop has an intermediate AFV modeling course. Usually he'd rather his students build a couple models on their own after taking the beginning course, but I'll be leaving Singapore in a couple months so he let me sign up.
I'm not a big fan of WWII tanks -- I prefer modern armor -- but Sifu had me buy Dragon's "Battle of the Bulge" King Tiger because he has a bunch of techniques and effects to teach me that wouldn't be appropriate on a modern tank. This is the first Dragon kit I've built and I'm really impressed. I'll build more in the future (like the M1A2 or the M270 MLRS, maybe).
The King Tiger goes together well and doesn't need much clean up, but there are some prominent sink marks on the lower hull near the drive sprocket that need to be filled. I'm trying to avoid using putty ever again because I always make a mess, so I tried Mr. Surfacer. It's not messy, but you have to wait for it to set and it shrinks, requiring multiple applications before you can sand it smooth. For the other side, I used the super glue and baking powder method: I filled the holes with super glue, and then brushed them with baking powder. It set immediately and it sanded down smooth. I'm sold on the method.
And BTW, you know what the worst thing about tank models is: Too many wheels that need to be cleaned up and assembled. What a chore. It seemed like forever before I finished up the lower hull -- and I hadn't even touched the individual link tracks yet!
Dragon provides some braided metal wire for the tow cables. I miscalculated the length and cut them too short. Blur. I also threaded them through the separate hull clasps before the glue dried and the next time I looked, the clasps had shifted due to pressure from the "springy" cables. I won't do that again.
I also had some problems attaching the (very cool) photo etched vent screens. There are four tiny pins at each corner of the vents that provide the sole attachment points for the screens. Every time I looked at the model, they fell off, so I finally just flooded the area with super glue and laid 'em down. So far, so good.
I like the turned aluminum barrel, but the extra weight makes the gun droop. I guess I'll just glue it at a jaunty angle. Oh, and Dragon, if you're going to provide microscopic parts, make sure you give us a couple extra. I lost a teeny tiny hook and now there's a tiny empty speck on the back of the engine deck that mocks me every time I look at it. I'll try to fashion a new one from bubble gum and an old Christmas ornament before my next lesson.
Ah yes, the lesson. Sifu had me stipple the armor to give it a rolled steel look. He had me use industrial turpentine (it immediately melts the plastic) on an old plastic liquid cement brush to stipple the front and side armor it until it looked uniformly lumpy. Then I sanded it down a bit with fine sand paper. It looks good. I mentioned that I'd seen others use Mr. Surfacer for the same effect, and Sifu said, Also can.
Oh, and he scolded me for using soldering wire that was too thick for the electrical lead to the light on the front hull. He made me tear it off and gave me a length of thin copper wire to redo it. No comment on sawing some of the side armor plates off, and I didn't ask
Then Sifu showed me how to stretch sprue. I've never had much luck with that, but here's how he does it. Use a Tamiya sprue -- light it on fire until it droops -- blow out the flame -- wait a few seconds -- stretch. I'll try it at some point (outside) and let you know how it goes.
Sifu made some thin pieces of stretched sprue, cut them into short pieces and glued them next to some of the more prominent lift hooks. Then he showed me how to make welds: Cover the sprue with more liquid glue to soften it, and then score it with the back of a hobby knife. It looks pretty good. He also had me scrape the sides of the armor plate where it would have been cut with a welding torch, and then apply some liquid glue to soften the cuts. That also looks good.
Speaking of looking good, one of my classmates from the beginner class brought his Panzer IV in while I was there. It looked so good, I was totally jealous. I blame my crappy, gritty airbrushing for the poor paint job on my Marder 1A2. I won't do that again.
Anyhow, the texturing out of the way, Sifu showed me how to assemble the individual link tracks. I laid out some tape to stick the links on, and then assembled a run of five, using plenty of liquid cement to stick 'em together. Then I repeated that in three other places on my workspace. After they'd set a bit, I stuck all four runs together and draped them over the drive sprocket and glued the bottom run to the wheels. I made some more runs and attached them bit by bit until the track ran most of the way down the length of the hull, then I made another long run that looked about the right size and attached it to the top run and draped it over the return roller. Then I added pieces link-by-link until the bottom runs met up. After gluing the wheels to the tracks, I was finished. Elapsed time: About an hour and a half.
My homework is to generally clean up the King Tiger, add the other run of tracks, and prime it for the next lesson in which I will learn how to properly apply camouflage.
I'm not a big fan of WWII tanks -- I prefer modern armor -- but Sifu had me buy Dragon's "Battle of the Bulge" King Tiger because he has a bunch of techniques and effects to teach me that wouldn't be appropriate on a modern tank. This is the first Dragon kit I've built and I'm really impressed. I'll build more in the future (like the M1A2 or the M270 MLRS, maybe).
The King Tiger goes together well and doesn't need much clean up, but there are some prominent sink marks on the lower hull near the drive sprocket that need to be filled. I'm trying to avoid using putty ever again because I always make a mess, so I tried Mr. Surfacer. It's not messy, but you have to wait for it to set and it shrinks, requiring multiple applications before you can sand it smooth. For the other side, I used the super glue and baking powder method: I filled the holes with super glue, and then brushed them with baking powder. It set immediately and it sanded down smooth. I'm sold on the method.
And BTW, you know what the worst thing about tank models is: Too many wheels that need to be cleaned up and assembled. What a chore. It seemed like forever before I finished up the lower hull -- and I hadn't even touched the individual link tracks yet!
Dragon provides some braided metal wire for the tow cables. I miscalculated the length and cut them too short. Blur. I also threaded them through the separate hull clasps before the glue dried and the next time I looked, the clasps had shifted due to pressure from the "springy" cables. I won't do that again.
I also had some problems attaching the (very cool) photo etched vent screens. There are four tiny pins at each corner of the vents that provide the sole attachment points for the screens. Every time I looked at the model, they fell off, so I finally just flooded the area with super glue and laid 'em down. So far, so good.
I like the turned aluminum barrel, but the extra weight makes the gun droop. I guess I'll just glue it at a jaunty angle. Oh, and Dragon, if you're going to provide microscopic parts, make sure you give us a couple extra. I lost a teeny tiny hook and now there's a tiny empty speck on the back of the engine deck that mocks me every time I look at it. I'll try to fashion a new one from bubble gum and an old Christmas ornament before my next lesson.
Ah yes, the lesson. Sifu had me stipple the armor to give it a rolled steel look. He had me use industrial turpentine (it immediately melts the plastic) on an old plastic liquid cement brush to stipple the front and side armor it until it looked uniformly lumpy. Then I sanded it down a bit with fine sand paper. It looks good. I mentioned that I'd seen others use Mr. Surfacer for the same effect, and Sifu said, Also can.
Oh, and he scolded me for using soldering wire that was too thick for the electrical lead to the light on the front hull. He made me tear it off and gave me a length of thin copper wire to redo it. No comment on sawing some of the side armor plates off, and I didn't ask
Then Sifu showed me how to stretch sprue. I've never had much luck with that, but here's how he does it. Use a Tamiya sprue -- light it on fire until it droops -- blow out the flame -- wait a few seconds -- stretch. I'll try it at some point (outside) and let you know how it goes.
Sifu made some thin pieces of stretched sprue, cut them into short pieces and glued them next to some of the more prominent lift hooks. Then he showed me how to make welds: Cover the sprue with more liquid glue to soften it, and then score it with the back of a hobby knife. It looks pretty good. He also had me scrape the sides of the armor plate where it would have been cut with a welding torch, and then apply some liquid glue to soften the cuts. That also looks good.
Speaking of looking good, one of my classmates from the beginner class brought his Panzer IV in while I was there. It looked so good, I was totally jealous. I blame my crappy, gritty airbrushing for the poor paint job on my Marder 1A2. I won't do that again.
Anyhow, the texturing out of the way, Sifu showed me how to assemble the individual link tracks. I laid out some tape to stick the links on, and then assembled a run of five, using plenty of liquid cement to stick 'em together. Then I repeated that in three other places on my workspace. After they'd set a bit, I stuck all four runs together and draped them over the drive sprocket and glued the bottom run to the wheels. I made some more runs and attached them bit by bit until the track ran most of the way down the length of the hull, then I made another long run that looked about the right size and attached it to the top run and draped it over the return roller. Then I added pieces link-by-link until the bottom runs met up. After gluing the wheels to the tracks, I was finished. Elapsed time: About an hour and a half.
My homework is to generally clean up the King Tiger, add the other run of tracks, and prime it for the next lesson in which I will learn how to properly apply camouflage.
comments