Braille Scale Chally II

[Stikpusher]

So today’s update was step 2, adding detail parts to the turret top and front. Test fitting, needle file swipes, fit and glue... lots of little things that I thankfully did not lose...

[speedgraflex]

You go, buddy! This looks great and your idea to chip away at this in short intervals is impressive!

[Stikpusher]

Thanks Bruce. As my schedule is at the moment, I can’t get more than 20 to 30 minutes at the bench. This is fun to build.

[speedgraflex]

The fun you are having shows, Carlos. Excited to see more progress. I did check out the instructions on Scalemates—this seems quite a well-made kit—and your analogy to early Seventies Tamiya feels spot on. Good show! Cheers!

[Stuart]

Thanks Bruce. As my schedule is at the moment, I can’t get more than 20 to 30 minutes at the bench. This is fun to build.

That's about the norm for me anyway - Great looking progress so far Stik and you stay safe with everything that's going on!

[Stikpusher]

Thank you Stuart. And yes, I’m perfectly safe with our work situation. My only hazards are the oddball (for me) hours, and commuting in rush hour traffic each way because of the hours..

[Stikpusher]

This afternoon, I finished up the turret. The fit of the turret floor to the top was not the best, and of course there was a major mold seam line on the main gun tube needing clean up... plus a few holes to be drilled for the CIP panels... this was a bit longer of a bench session.





Step 3 complete... next session, the upper hull.

[speedgraflex]

[Duke Maddog]

Carlos, I'm glad that you are at least safe. Sucks about all the extra work, but hey, that's great for the modeling budget! Everything is looking fantastic.

Bruce, as one who has built at least three quarters of the Dragon Braille Scale lineup, I can attest that these kits (especially the earlier ones) are the topmost level in quality along with companies like Modelcollect. They were continuously compared to Tamiya back in the day; in fact speculation was that this was what Tamiya Braille Scale kits would have looked like if Tamiya had done them.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Stikpusher]

Thanks Mark and Bruce. I’m glad to hear that you guys are enjoying this project as much as I am.

Today was a bit more progress. First up, Step 4, the upper hull detail parts. That went quick. The biggest speed bump was cleaning up the mold seam lines on rounded bits. They are more prominent than on any flat surfaces...



Then I deviated from the instructions. In the advice of someone who has built this kit, I added the front plate and idler wheels so that I could add the tracks. The instructions have you add the tracks as one of the last steps. No thanks Dragon...



And tracks on! The DS plastic stretched a bit at the glue joint...





I then started construction of the dozer blade, but ran out of time before work...