Mutt Washes & Filters

I have now added a pin wash and a couple of dusty filters to the model. However I'm not that keen on the dusty look for this model so will tone it down slightly. I need to add some more pin washes and filter anyway and a little bit more chipping.

The stowage is now complete and here I also made up some coke cans and a couple of smoke grenades for a splash of colour. All the stowage was from the spares box.

Marine Mutt

After a gloss coat the decals are now in place and all the small details are painted so next it's time for some subtle wear and chipping followed by some washes and filters.

Finding a figure to go with the mutt has been quite a challenge. There is just nothing out there if you want to model an late 70's to 80's modern US figure. I find this quite extraordinary especially when you consider the amount of cold war US armour that is available.  However after an extensive search and with advise from my cold war guru Brian Stoddart I have come up with a Bravo 6 figure.

With some suitable modifications he should work out nicely. I actually have a resin head with a marine forage cap so hopefully that will match up with the figure.  

MERDC Mutt

Here's the mutt resplendent in it's MERDC summer verdant paint work. I used Gunze Sangyo H309 & H58 for the forest green and light green then hand painted the sand using Vallejo 70821 and the black using 70950.Very pleased with the colours they look just right. I have also started picking out the details with vallejo colours too.

Tiny TOW Tweaks

Some more small improvements now and I started with adding some straps using lead foil on the front wing and added a new strap and better fuel can cap to the jerry can. The antenna mount came from the spares box too. The fording exhaust was next for a bit of surgery as the kit item really bears no resemblance to the real thing.

After digging around in the spares I came up with a suitable bit of etch for the screening. The moulded kit detail was removed and a piece of plastic rod added in it's place. The etch was rolled to the right diameter and attached to the model via a couple of brackets. The exhaust looks way better than the original part.

Here's how the original looks,

TOW Tastic!

Work on the Mutt is progressing very nicely and today I spent a very enjoyable few hours filling ejector pin marks and adding lots of little details to the model. The front headlights where hollowed out and a pair of lenses sorted out from the spares box to add later. Other details where added using plastic and brass rod. It's great sometimes just to add details or improve a kit using your own ingenuity instead of relying on etch sets and resin correction items. Not that these don't have a place on my bench as they most definitely do I just like the fact I'm modelling "old skool" on this one.

 

Tamiya M151A2 With TOW

Next on the bench is tamiya's evergreen M151A2 with TOW launcher. I picked this up cheap recently and thought it would be fun to re visit the kit as I built one a very long time ago! Even though this is a very old kit it's actually rather nice with crisp details and the usual tamiya ease of assembly. Any additions will be purely from the spares box or from plastic card and brass. No after market stuff for this one just a fun simple build.

Avon Show 11th August

Sunday saw myself and my mate Brian head off to the IPMS Avon show to display our wares under the guise of "Stonehenge Modellers" This is not a new model club as such but an idea we have both had of just a display group. No meetings or theme nights etc. and most importantly no club politics. Our aim is to just display at shows and actually engage with the visitors and fellow modellers as well as have fun and enjoy the atmosphere of shows.

As you may be aware this year Avon have moved to a new venue as the old one was getting rather cramped. The new venue at Thornbury leisure centre is much bigger incorporating two linked halls. The space was very well laid out with plenty of room between display rows and both halls had excellent lighting. This year the show also featured the local war gaming annual show which is a very novel idea. I must say it seemed to work well with a good mix of visitors and traders too.

I had a great day and chatted to loads of people so much so in fact that myself and Brian had to have a quick dash round every now and then just to see everything! Oh and I did manage to increase the stash slightly!

Lastly some pictures from the competition area,

Banzai Baby! JGSDF Type 90 Complete

Well here is the finished diorama all finished and I must say it's one of my favourites. Typical tamiya quality from this golden oldie of a kit with a few little extras chucked in really does make this a very attractive and interesting model.The figures really do work well with the tank and the small simple scene sets it all off nicely.

I'm very pleased indeed with it and am looking forwards to displaying it at IPMS Avon's show this Sunday. If you're there you can see it on the Stonehenge Modellers table.