SPA Modeler

Man... you are going to town with the armor builds! I like the grey on the Sturm... very business-like. I noticed the carrier around the decals... they may be candidates for a stronger decal solution like Solvaset?

That’s actually what I used, John. I ordered some of that stuff after the debacle with the AT-ST’s decals. We’ll see what happens after gently sanding them, and sealing them again, and after the oils are applied. I’ve had good luck with the carrier on Tamiya decals “vanishing” under clear and oils, so we’ll see.

speedgraflex wrote:Beautiful!

Thank you Bruce and thank you for laying that Milliput Fix Method on me!

I now prefer Milliput.

I’m not entirely sure if perhaps it was me with the Tamiya White putty and the Mr. Hobby putty, or what. But I found that stuff unwieldy to work with, and when both of those putties dry I have noticed they tend to shrink. Maybe I just wasn’t using them properly?

Milliput is different. It behaves more like a clay, which I like because it appeals to the part of me that likes to sculpt things. So right there- I can relate to the material better. The Tamiya and Mr. Hobby putty are like toothpaste, and Milliput is like clay. I like clay.

What’s more, you can wipe away excess Milliput with a wet paper towel. That’s marvelous. And it sands well.

I’m a Milliput man from now on.

Most putties tend to shrink up a bit. I’ve just used Squadron Green and White putties for the past 30 years. And actually I rarely use either anymore, preferring gel CA. I’ll have to give Miliput a try. Sounds like it would be great for Zimmerit.

It's good to have an assortment of putties at your disposal. Milliput is certainly useful but it doesn't work very well for shallow depressions like panel lines or recessed hatches. That's where liquid fillers like Mr Surfacer or Mr Dissolved Putty work well. And then there is CA glue as well. I like to have em all at my disposal.

Got the exhaust on the StuG painted. I’m avoiding orange:



I also got the head and tail lamp covered assembled and installed on the Firefly:





That wasn’t without its share of difficulties. No concept of “Positive Fit” with these. Frankly, I would have preferred plastic, even though the thickness “wouldn’t be scale.” But “so it goes”. I got the job done. Hopefully the old airbrush doesn’t blow those off during painting.

Sensational work on both these tanks Kenny! I also love the tank commander. He does look a bit worried in that pic; I'm guessing he's caught sight of the Firefly you're working on...