scratch building

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:25 pm

Troy

Some very impressive work!!
The paint job on the Chrchills is brilliant and the new guns are just amazing!

Beste GrÃ¼ÃŸe aus dem von untypischen Wetter heimgesuchten Hannover,
Ben

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:29 am

Wayne was wondering:
I`d like to try to open many of my tanks and apc hatches how can I do this and keep the same dimensions? What do I use to replace the hatches and have them in the open positon? I would like to place some crewmen inside the turrets or hull of the vehilces. If the figures are to big what do you guys use for crewmen?

Sorry the pic isn't the best, but the command tank in this Sherman unit has an open hatch, and is manning a .50cal MG.

I have some SU-152s on my workbench now that I am painting up, and I have decided to do the command tanks with CO's unbuttoned.

To "open" the hatch, I have a small thumb-drill. I know several folks have Dremels, but I have looked at them and found them too pricey for my purposes. I bought an off-brand super-small power drill, but I've never even tried it. Rather, I stick with my tried-and-true manual drill.

I bought it at Radio Shack (an electronics gadget shop for those outside of US shopping zones), and it cost me about $4.00. It is about the size of a pen, and comes with 8 or 10 very fine drill bits in a few different sized. Cheap, very controllable, and handy. The advice of putting a pin-hole in first as a guide is very valid. Just twisting it between thumb and forefinger is all it takes to drill the soft metal of GHQ tanks. I wouldn't want to try it on steel plate, though.

For hatches, I just use the plastic that comes on the GHQ packs. I have who knows how many of them lying about ... I use them as paint-mixing palettes. I use the best/smallest scissors I can find at any one moment (with a wife and 4 kids, scissors seem to come and go at an alarming rate), and snip off a long thin rectangle of plastic. Then snip off a small square from this strip. Then snip off the corners. Then go around again, and again, snipping off whatever corners I find. After two or three round-abouts of snipping, it is pretty round. I can snip off one end if I want a flat hinge-face (as on the SU-152s). Super glue holds it in place just fine, and it can be painted-up with the rest of the tank. If I need any details on the upper surface (handles or periscopes) I suppose I could use the flash trimmed off of the sprues of small parts. But my eyesight isn't really up to that level of detail, so a flat-topped hatch works well enough for me.

For my figures, this time I'll be using US artillery crew. Empty handed, with arms in some interesting poses. I have "squeezed" their heads in my flat-headed tweazers to reduce the helmet's overhang, and will cut them off just above the waist to fit them mid-chest high in the open hatches. I am painting their overalls and helmets up in Polly-S "grimy black", dry-brushing with medium gray, and putting some details on their padded helmets with "night black".

I'll try to get some pictures up when they're done.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:48 am

...what the hell have I done???
Sorry folks didn't want to post my message several times. I received an error message and thought that it didn't work to submit my posting - obviously it did...

Crazy weather is followed by insanity...

Best greetings,
Ben

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:12 am

I just finished painting a set of modern TOW HMMWV's and did one with an extra individual infantry commander (the one pointing, with binoculars up to his eyes) "standing upright in the gunners position. I also cut him off just above the waist. Looks pretty good, didn't bother with hatch for this one. I'm going to try the same thing with one of my LAV-25's soon.

Provided that I can get my camera to take a worthwhile photo, I'll post soon.

FOW1918 · Post by **FOW1918** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:13 am

Has anyone scratch built any of the LW 21st panzer French tank SP guns?
I am consdering it. Some of the UE carriers with guns mounted on them. Some R35 mods, etc. Maybe a Char B SP.

Chris

ferret701 · Post by **ferret701** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:36 pm

Anybody try to make any Italian VCC-1s? Looks like a combination of a standard M113 and the AIFV chassis. I am working on converting some recently-ordered YPR-765s, but am not so far having a great deal of success.

Pat Callahan
www.microarmormayhem.com

plumfire · Post by **plumfire** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:10 pm

I was thinking about this the other day and was wondering if anyone here has done this. I took apart a retractible ball point pen and stretched out the tiny spring inside a little bit. All I need to do now is base it and I have an instant roll of barbed wire. Any thoughts or ideas on this??

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:01 am

pmaidhof wrote:I just finished painting a set of modern TOW HMMWV's and did one with an extra individual infantry commander (the one pointing, with binoculars up to his eyes) "standing upright in the gunners position. I also cut him off just above the waist. Looks pretty good, didn't bother with hatch for this one. I'm going to try the same thing with one of my LAV-25's soon.

Provided that I can get my camera to take a worthwhile photo, I'll post soon.

Here are two views of the TOW Leader,

and one T-64,

and one BMP-3, actually part of a company defensive position.

Finally, elements of an LAR Company moving forward...

And the result after tangling with an OpFor recon company and poor "cohesion" rolls using the Micro Armour - The Game: Modern rules.

I hope that they are worthy of this thread...

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:20 am

After numerous tries and SQL errors, here is the TOW Leader I spoke of a few posts ago.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a200/ ... Leader.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a200/ ... rwatch.jpg

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:58 pm

as promised...two views of the TOW Leader.

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:59 am

I want to apologise to you all for the 10 virtually identical photo's. As you may see from the date stamps, I was determined to post these photos despite the SQL errors I was receiving on my end.

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:45 am

Ah, Pete, I see you too have been visited by the squirrel.

(SQL error. Bigger than a bug. No venom, but still quite a pest.)

I've been nipped a few times in recent days too.

pmaidhof · Post by **pmaidhof** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:51 am

Not to be lost in the repetative TOW Leader shots is a T-64, of which I am proud of, and some BMP-3's.

Damn Squirrels!

jtompk99 · Post by **jtompk99** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:20 pm

bump ... took me too long to find for such a popular thread.

pushbike · Post by **pushbike** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:37 am

Hello Everyone

Heres my latest project from my desktop.
Char B to Flammpanzer B2.
I have four this to paint up with one std Char as a Pz.Kpfw.B2 command.
These saw service at Arnhem and the Russian front.

The Gunners visor and fuel tank are greenstuff, extra bits plastic rod and card.

i'll post again when they are painted.

scratch building

Re: opening of cupola hatches

Making barbed wire rolls?