brunnels

I haven't built a plastic model kit in 25 years, so this build log will start off as a bit slow as I will be doing some research on new techniques and tools used in plastic scale modelling, and also doing some research on the M3A1. My grandfather served in the US Army during the Second World War with the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop who were attached to the 6th Armored division. When I was youngster in the 90's, he would often pick me up and take me to museums which really kick started my life long interest in military history. He never talked much about his time in the war, so I never really new much about his time in the service other than he served as a radio operator in a light armored vehicle, but I never knew what kind of vehicle that was. Recently we were cleaning my late grandmothers house out and we came across some photos from the War, one of the photos was a very small photo of him next to an M3A1. I decided instantly that I was going to have to build a scale model of the M3A1. Photo of my grandfather I did a little research and the consensus online seemed to be that the Tamiya kit was hard to beat. I also ordered a Vallejo US Army paint kit as I don't have many paints for this era. I also have on order a Photo Etch detail set made by Passion Models, and a book on the M3A1 to use as a reference. I will probably look for either a US Armor decal or stencil kit, as the Tamiya kit has mainly Soviet decals with a few US Army Italian campaign decals which might work with a little cutting. Also not sure if I should purchase an airbrush, I don't use one on my ship modelling, but I remember back in my scale model plane days that it was a great tool to have.

I watched the new 4K release of Master and Commander last night, now these images..... The wait for release is getting tough to bear lol.

I love seeing stuff like this, thank you for sharing.

Howdy all, recently I have been thinking a 3d Resin printer would be a fun hobby and tool that would benefit ship model building. I have some experience in 3d printing about 10 years ago I had a Crealty 3d Printer, but it was a more traditional 3d printer with the spools of material. I eventually gave it up do to time and that printer had several issues that I could never quite work out. I know printers have come a long way since then, and the Resin printers have really impressed me. I do have a few newbie questions regarding the Resin printers. I will mainly be printing smallish stuff to compliment our models (blocks, cannons, decorations, small figures) stuff like that. 1. Can I get a decent hobby setup for under $500? 2. Do the resin printers give off any toxic fumes? I have a 4 month old daughter, so this is a big concern of mine. 3. If I can't keep the printer indoors, I will put it on my workbench in the garage. In Oklahoma temperatures can easily reach greater than 100F/38c in summers with plenty of humidity, and below freezing in the winters. Would the printer have any issues being used in my garage in these temperatures?

I really like the method that @tedrobinson2000 used with modeling clay. It looks much better at scale than any result I was able to achieve using cloth, and they are pretty easy to make.

Fantastic job, what blue are you using? I really like the shade of it.

I was scratching my head on those as well, I ended up tying them around the bitt in front of the main mast.

Fantastic build, one day I can hopefully do half as good on that kit.

Is a long narrow hull like this easier or harder to plank in your experience so far?

I'm currently building the Vanguard Speedy kit and its a great kit, instructions are very good and the materials are fantastic. I have the Syren kit in my stash, the instructions look really good and I could probably learn a lot by just reading through them, but I was somewhat let down by the quality of materials in the kit.

I am very impressed with your wood color painting, that is a skill I still have yet to grasp.

I'm going to have to remember this technique, sounds much easier than using the nails.

Looks great, I wish I had done the same with my Beagle, I'm not a fan of that top layer of super thin planking that Occre likes to use in their kits.

I had to add a little filler to mine.

I can see how that would be a pain to work with, especially the cutaway side, but your end result looks very nice.