king derelict

I cycled the Katy trail several times during my St. Louis years. Your scenery is very evocative and brings back happy memories. alan

It’s amazing how many parts they can cram into a 1/72 tank. Looks like an interesting project and you should have a lot of fun with it. I do like 1/72 armor except possibly the tracks. alan

And at risk of derailing my own build log I thought I’d share a few images of this figure seeing as it’s been lurking in the background of the photos for a while. It’s a generic resin print from Etsy bought on a whim. This is Athena and her wise owl. The print was a bit disappointing with a lot of blurred details but I wanted to try blonde hair so I thought I would give it a go anyway. The face has no features other than the nose so I struggled with eyes and mouth. I think the face is overly long but criticizing the gods might be impertinent. So this is the result. I might try another reprinted figure but I feel safer with the metal offerings. The blonde hair isn’t too bad for a first attempt but the owl is my favorite bit of the piece. Thanks for looking in Alan

I finished tidying up the last details and epoxied the dog to the base and then added the drum. It’s suddenly starting to look quite nice. I painted the base with diluted white glue and shook Woodland Scenics grass on. After it dried I dumped the surplus and added a couple of tufts of vegetation. Ive left a bit of room in case the MiG tropical vegetation shows up in the near future. I’m quite pleased with the results. The Art Girona sculptor is not the one associated with the figures Ive painted so far. I don’t think he’s as good but it’s still a very nice piece. As always thanks for looking in, for the likes and encouraging comments. Alan

Thanks very much Andrew. I just realized that there are white buttons on his sleeves. Completely overlooked them whoops. Alan

Thank you very much OC. Another enjoyable small project. Alan

Very nice Andrew. The panel line shading pays off all the hard work of doing it. alan

I’ve continued to tidy up the drum although it feels like an endless loop of narrowing the white line and overdoing it and then trying to get the blue or red back and overdoing that. I probably should have explored masking but it’s a fiddle area to work on so I don’t think I would get the tape to lie flat and then have bleed through. I added the drumsticks and discolored the skin. I think the figure is done, I added the straps for the drum, blue with a red border which was difficult to get neat. The buttons on his gaiters are tidier and I added the silver buckles. Time to work on the base and put it all together. I ordered some MiG Ammo tropical vegetation (at an extortionate price) with a view to getting a bit of a Florida look going. Thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments. alan

Thanks very much. Yes it’s amazing how they pop up in the right light even after filing them down before priming and checking after priming. alan

Mixed fortunes with the paint brush. Some progress and some backward movement. I tidied up the drum, just need to add the white line at the base. I filed the seam and the reshaped the head in front of the right ear. Painted up I think it looks better. I’m not sure if he needs a satin coat, looks a bit dull to me but maybe he needs a brushing. i started building up the details on the drummer. The face needs a little more work around the eyes but generally seems to be going in the right direction. His black hat is actually dark grey to reflect a bit of field life. The blue coat had a lighter blue wash added and looks a bit better. But look what the camera picked up. A nasty seam down his coat and right leg. It’s only visible when you get the light right but there it is. So I will file it off and reprimer and paint again. There is another seam on the back of his coat too. I also need to work out a way to get the buttons on his gaiters consistent and neat. Otherwise not too much more to do. It’s amazing how fast you suddenly find the end coming. Thanks for looking in and the likes. alan

Great work on the seascape Mike. The sea is hard to model and this is a great example. alan

Thanks Jav, Vespid seems to make a nice AFV kit. I will confess, I hadn’t heard of the Comet until I saw the kit online. Although it saw some action at the end of the war, it wasn’t a classic WW2 tank and for some reason it wasnt used in Korea I think we had the last of the Churchills and the Centurion. Not sure why Comets didn’t go, as I understand it, they were a tank that solved most of the Churchills problems. Alan

With the Comet finished it is now time to get this one moving. I’ve been getting a bit vexed with the nail brushes. I’m probably too heavy handed with them but they are now beginning to lose their point and stray bristles escape from the rest and paint goes somewhere where it’s not wanted. I invested in these and they are a delight so far, this one can handle small details and it also holds a reasonable amount of paint. Ive been building up the basic glazes on the drummer. The blue seems to have a bit of a gloss to it and in spite of the primer shading it’s a bit too uniform. I am planning to try to simulate fading, considering he is supposed to be at Pensacola. That might take care of the problems. basics of the face have been painted in. I’m trying for a young look so no stubble or mustache. The paler skin might go against the whole Pensacola thing but he is wearing a hat. The mouth will be tidied up as part of the general cleanup. And the dog had some work done. This is new ground for me so I’m not really sure about the best way to simulate the fur. I can also see a seam that needs attention. There is something in front of his right ear that doesn’t look right too. May do a bit of filing.Paws will be next. There is something basic paints are on the drummer and now the white tensioning straps need touching up. The painting guide shows the Royal Arms painted on the drummer and now but that is completely beyond my skill. Thanks for looking in. it’s fun to be back painting these little fellows Alan

Thanks Ken. I think it possible to over weather tanks, especially in 1/72. alan

Thank you very much OC. It’s a nice kit to build. Alan

The turrets are great. She’s really looking superb now. I can’t believe it’s card. alan

Thank you very much Andrew. It’s great to see the Gannet moving forward. That’s a terrific subject. Alan

Thank you very much EG Your detailed advice on track painting was extremely helpful. I learnt a lot. Manganese Steel sounds horrible to machine but I’m assuming that the sprocket wheels must be made of something similar otherwise the tracks would quickly wear the teeth off them. alan

Thank you very much Phil. Vespid have an interesting range of subjects so another one is tempting. alan

Thank you Chris. generally it was very enjoyable alan

Thank you very much Patrick. The photos were lifesavers at some points in the build. They were super helpful. Instructions don’t seem to be Vespids strong point. alan

Coming on really nicely. The ladder is a very nice touch. alan

Far too many distractions but Ive been getting bits done here and there. last two bits of PE were a puzzle. The instructions show P4 as mounted on the turret but not where. The helpful photos provided by Patrick once again came in very handy and confirmed that there is nothing similar on the real machine. Again P9 is supposed to be situated in front of the driver’s hatch but the photos show nothing there so these pieces have been omitted. That done the tank was ready for paint touch up and a gloss coat ready for the decals. The decals came off the backing paper nicely and laid down smoothly. spade was added and the towing cable. The kit supplies a length of braided wire for this but no indication of placement or length. Once again those photos …… Many thanks again @Baker The wire looked under scale and too springy to use easily so I substituted a piece of rigging cord painted light grey (galvanized I assume) and added the kit supplied eyes to each end. This was added to the front deck and suddenly it was obvious what some of the PE bits were for. ive used some diluted buff acrylic paint to simulate a light coat of road dust. I can’t imagine that peacetime tanks were encouraged to be scruffy. I enjoyed building this kit and actually found it to be easier but still well detailed compared to the Flyhawk kits. I’m very tempted to try another Vespid kit but I’m trying to hold to a moratorium on buying anything else until the pile is reduced. Many thanks for looking in, for the likes and very helpful support. Over to the little drummer boy now I think. alan

Looks stunning. The color is beautiful. Congratulations alan

Super work. Congratulations alan