I've just done our pumpkin for tonight, just a simple scary face this year but fun nonetheless.
On the modelling front I've done nothing over the last week. Instead I've caught up on domestic chores and book reading as well as planning my next builds and sorting the all important display space out. Yet more models have ended up in the loft to make room. I really must do something about all those finished models soon!
The model has now had some very light streaking followed by matt varnish and final assembly bar fixing the wheels in place. The kit comes with very good lenses for the lights & I also added cables to the front ones. All that's left to do now is add a little bit of pigments to finish it off then sort a base and figure out.
Weathering time now and the model has had a couple of light tone filters followed by a darker pin wash. Already this has really popped all those rivets & details. It's also toned down and dulled the satin varnish quite considerably which is something I was hoping for.
I'll add a little bit more in the morning before some subtle streaking which should finish up this round of weathering.
After quite a bit of masking work I have now sprayed the sides using tamiya NATO black & flat white for the panels. I went for NATO black as I felt it was less intense than straight black and this has contrasted nicely with the grey green. After a blast of satin varnish & an overnight drying the decals have also gone on today.
I decided to add them now as I was worried they would not go down very well especially over the armoured grill at the front. However they performed brilliantly, they have almost no carrier film and are quite sturdy. Daco medium setting solution worked a treat sucking the decals down over all those rivets and the slats on the grill. I will need to touch up in a few places later with black but I'm delighted with how the model looks.
With the engine & interior fitted it was time to close up the model. Here I took my time and made sure all the parts were lined up correctly before committing to glue. Once in place I then sprayed the main colour using tamiya XF-73 with a few drops of XF-24. I then added flat white to this and sprayed some light fading.
Again some satin varnish went on next which helps seal the paint and more importantly makes masking easier. The sides of the model now need to be sprayed black with white sections for the crosses.
Romping along with this one and I've now primed and done the detail painting on the engine & interior. I used a black and a white primer then sealed the interior & engine with satin varnish before painting the details and adding some wear. Next will be a dash of pigments then I can close this all up.
The model is progressing very nicely and now I can put it on it's wheels looks really cool. I'm building up as much as I can before painting the engine bay and interior as well as filling a few ejector pin marks on the inside faces of the superstructure & hatches. Nothing so far has caught me out and the detail on the parts is excellent as is the fit.
I also found some images on the web of a similar vintage engine so used this to add plug leads. A few more wires and fuel lines will be added as well.
Never one to hang about I cracked the box on this bad boy yesterday for the WW1 group build over on Modellers' Haven Online forum. Like their previous Lanchester kit this is beautifully presented in a sturdy box with an excellent instruction booklet which includes a very good description of the vehicle as well as some useful plan drawings.
Unlike the Lanchester this comes with an engine and interior so I'm going to build it with these features visible. The molds are very well made and the parts have excellent detail. The engine is very nicely done and as it's in two parts painting should be easy. I plan on adding some spark plug leads but have no idea where they would terminate, a bit of research is needed here.
As you can see on the chassis I've added some filler on the outer portions but this is actually not necessary because there are armoured plates that cover up these areas. I should have studied the instructions more before building! A few rivets need to be replaced on the front section which were removed during cleanup too.
Well, as usual this was the finale to Stonehenge Modellers' show year and the now very familiar jump across the Channel on Friday early in the morning with a pretty easy drive up to Affligem to set up then off to Aalst to our hotel and a few well earned beers.
Saturday morning saw us at the show bright and early but not as bright and early as others because the car park was full. No issues there as plenty of parking could be found along the adjacent roads. We then had a bit of time before the doors opened to have a good look around and chat to some of the IPMS Belgium guys. As ever the show was busy with plenty of interest in our display and some interesting conversations with visitors.
Paul Badman from Modellers' Haven Online forum again made the very long journey from Germany to the show with some models for the competition so became an Honorary Member for the weekend. Of course beers went down at 10am sharp as we decided to go completely continental for the weekend!
This year we again awarded a special prize for the Best Post War Vehicle in the competitions, again a hard task as there were so many superb models this year again. However we finally chose a superb scratch built example of an M44 Self Propelled Howitzer. The workmanship was absolutely stunning and as a bonus it was built as a Belgian Army vehicle too.
Sunday seemed even busier than Saturday and it was great to meet up again with Marc Mercier and discuss his tank in the form of the Leopard I built for the show. It was also great to say hello to other followers of the Blog, sorry I can't name you all it was a bit of a blur at times! Here are my pictures from the show.
Paul gained a silver award for his superb WW2 typhoon and also received a special award for the best aircraft model with D-day markings presented by IPMS Nederland.
I also came away with an award! Very unexpected as I don't enter competitions but I won the best Chibi (egg plane/ toon model) at the show with my Sherman Firefly! This was presented by Retrokit and judged from all the egg plane & toon subjects throughout the show. I even received a 25 euro voucher which was really great.
Stash additions now and a decent amount of new stuff went swiftly under our stand tables throughout the weekend, some of which will be started very soon!
So as ever a really brilliant show expertly run by Erwin and the crew from IPMS Belgium who work really hard to make everyone welcome. Topped by great company, great beer and great food the whole trip was a massive success and extremely inspirational and the perfect way to end our show year.
