SPA Modeler

speedgraflex wrote:Your detail shots look great, Kent! I was wondering about the Headless Horseman’s right arm—down to his hand resting on the edge of the opening—will that have a feeling of him leaning with his weight on the rim to keep his balance? One thing that is tough with figures is the adjustments to their pose—I can see why you were making the choice between two types of figures.

Your work is inspiring! Nice to see these session updates! Cheers.

I have sanded a bit off his legs and he sits a tad lower, putting that right hand firmly on the gun ring.

Thanks for looking.

Hmmm.....some nasty sticky out work on the top of the mantlet. The instructions are pretty free wheel, but I suspect the fact that the piece on top of the mantlet is piece 10 or so and the fronts are in the 20’s would indicate some sort of sequence. I think the top should go on first and the edges over the top should be covered by the frontal pieces. We live and learn...



I’ll see if I can sand that back a bit, downwards from the top so I don’t lift the sticker totally!

Regards,

Hm, how about trimming the edges above the decals first? A sharp hobby blade to reduce the overhang sections? Are those pieces of styrene?

I have sanded the edges of the Zimmerit and it looks a bit better. I am not going to be pedantic as it was a paste that had a tendency to flake off due to damage etc:





I remember now what I disliked about armour....bloody wheels! Anyway a handy place to dry paint and the inner most and middle wheels attached and aligned:







Also a start on the exhausts with a coat of GSI burnt metal base coat:



Regards,

Some really nice work going on here,great detailing.Wasnt impressed with the zimm decals initially,but they look great with the paint on,they really seem to pop,looking forward to more.

Agreed- the paint certainly improves them. So my take away is that the order of application is important as well..

Thanks guys,

As a first effort and learning curve experience, I am happy with them and certainly post paint they look better.

Regards,

So, on to the exhausting task of installing the exhaust (sorry it had to be said early). As previously noted, Gunze burnt iron basecoat followed by Tamiya Weathering Pastels of dark rust and orange rust. Then a new trick for an old dog, AKI pigments:





Installation commences with the exhausts sitting parallel to the rear plate as required:





Then piece by piece to complete assembly:













The exhausts will be protected with tape during the ongoing painting process. There are a couple of blemishes inside the outer shrouds which can barely be seen and I am hoping the soot will disguse them more.

Thanks for checking in and regards,