Jack12477

In anticipation of possibly doing a diorama I did pick up two cliff rock face rubber molds by Woodland Scenics. Incredible detail in these molds. 

10 hours ago, Haliburton said:

Time for a diorama?

It's under consideration!  Big issue is where to display it. The ship models already take up all the display space. I have maybe 30 completed armor vehicles stored in plastic containers because I ran out of space. 

Stopped by the Hobby Lobby store today; the model kit area had a sign "All boxed kits 40% off". So I browsed the shelves, mostly cars, way down on the lowest shelf were 5 Tamiya Walker Bulldog kits. Sale price after discount was $13.19.  😲 Picked up another kit, was very tempted to buy 2 but resisted the temptation. So Walker #1 will have a companion tank. 🤔 

Happy Birthday Craig  from a real old fossil

21 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

looks like the Small Shop has a UK distributor

Yep , that's the tool, 2nd one in from left is The Bug, one on left is the Mini. Prices, even in British pounds, is close to what they cost in US. ($36 vs £37, close enough)

30 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

Did the Small Shop come up with original layout?

Yes they did.  

They announced awhile back that they intended to retire the end of 2023 and were not selling the business or their patents. Shame because they had a reasonable low price for a quality product and delivery in US was very quick. Can't speak for Canada or UK delivery. 

Update : I just checked Their site , it appears they might be reincarnated soon. See banner at top of their web page. Bookmark it if you want. 

That looks almost identical to the Hold and Fold tool produced by The Small Shop. The owners retired end of 2023 and closed up shop but some may be available on FleaBay. They also sold an 8×10 inch black plexiglass sheet.  I used them a lot when I build my 1:350 plastic ships with add-on PE.

The Bug (smallest of the set) 

The mid sized 5.5 inch

19 minutes ago, CDW said:

Very sharp figure. I like the fact it does not fit a well-beaten path of many figures associated with conventional war themes. Master Box are a sort of treasure for unusual figures. 

I wonder how hard it would be to build a bridge diorama similar to the one on the box art.

Thanks ! 

I have 2 more figures in that same series but in 1:35 scale. I was wondering about the bridge diorama also. 

Great job Tom!  Sorry I have to miss this years New London, but real life interferes. 

I'm in!

I really like the color scheme. Nice painting! 

First coat of Vallejo Dark Green, airbrushed on.

⁸

Now to find where I stashed my Badger fine needles/tips from my previous years of modeling armor so I can do some shading, etc. I just hope I can remember how I used to do it  😉🤔🤫. Some parts will be hand painted and/or dry brushed. Still have the 3 figures that were included to do. 

55 minutes ago, ESF said:

Not quite there yet Nic but I imagine it’s not far off.  In the meantime he’s thoroughly enjoyed visits to the USS Slater, the Constitution, the Erie Canal locks in Waterford, and striper fishing in small boats off Cape Cod, where a 16 foot great white swam under the boat!  A trip to Mystic is on his radar.  We’re having a ton of nautical fun while the skiff waits patiently in the shadows.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

A trip to Mystic should include a side trip to Battleship Cove museum in Fall River Massachusetts 

 @wefalck thanks for explanation. Interestingly there is a landmark hotel in Times Square called The Knickerbocker built by Jacob Astor in 1901. BTW I agree with you about the inappropriate "active-wear" track/gym suits worn today, especially the ones that are so tight you can read the date on the nickel in their hip pocket. 

10 hours ago, king derelict said:

That looks very nice and neat Jack. Some lovely detail there. This is a new AFV to me so its great to learn about it.

Alan

This is a 50 year old kit a cording to date engraved on sprues.  The detail is very sharp, and no flash to clean up. 

1 hour ago, CDW said:

Did you do your primer from a rattle can or from your airbrush? It laid down super smooth. Nice job, Jack.

Tamiya rattle can.  Yes, it dries to a semi smooth (gloss) finish.

When this bridge was built, container ships were not as big or as heavy as the current container ships. The designers built it for the size of container ships of that day. This ship was well over 900 ft long. 

I too have driven over this bridge many time to visit family near Annapolis.  The locals avoid this bridge during periods of high winds; they get really scary vicious on the bridge. 

 Love the Lord Fauntleroy pants on the guy in group photo seated on far right. Seems a little too old to be wearing that style pant. 🤔 umm trousers? 

Assembly complete.  Applied a coat of Tamiya Fine Scale grey primer.

3 hours ago, Egilman said:

Not a big seller for Tamiya, that's why it costs so little,

Actually Hobby Lobby was having a clearance sale, looked like they were rearranging merchandise aisle and were getting rid of some kits. According to the engravings on the sprues this kit was produced in 1973. 

I wouldn't know  @CDW , was never a big fan of Cadillac cars! But then in my youth my buddies always told me a Cadillac drove like a tank. 😉😊😇

But I can say this is by far the simplest tank kit I've built. There are no interior details to mess with, everything is exterior. And true to Tamiya standards, no flash, no ill fitting part, superb detail in the exterior castings. A great kit for a beginner modeler. Other than painting it olive drab green when I finish assembling, I haven’t decide on how much, if any, weathering I want to do. It does have 3 figures which will be a challenge to paint. 

Of the 3 or 4 armor kits in my stash I decided to start with the latest acquisition,  the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog which I picked up in Hobby Lobby for a ridiculously low price of $13.  This is a remarkably simple kit to assemble. Painting it will be fun. It come with decals for 3 variants, 1 WWII US and 2 Japanese Defense Forces. I'm going to do the US markings.

The obligatory box art and contents

And the beginning assembly progress.

The Chairwoman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that the Armour division is running low on tanks and other armor vehicles, so I guess I need to restart the armor production lines. Stay tuned.

Thanks Alan, Ken.   The faces are still a major challenge, I'm starting to get the hang of it painting/shading the clothing. I have two more of these figure kits but they're 1:35, not 1:24.

Thanks Denis, Phil !