Comet-ed

[Allen Dewire]

I must be a glutton for punishment though as there's a little something arriving tomorrow with another set of tracks

I must be a mind reader as this was what I thought you were going to add to the mix Andy...And I was right!!! That is looking good and when you're done, even better. Can I ask what you sprayed on the figs for the primer? It looks great and doesn't take away from the detail. With figs, I need all the help I can get Buddy...and TIA...

Prost
Allen

 

[JR]

All looking good Andy. Keep it up .

 

[Andy T]

All looking good Andy. Keep it up .

Thanks John.

I must be a mind reader as this was what I thought you were going to add to the mix Andy...And I was right!!! That is looking good and when you're done, even better. Can I ask what you sprayed on the figs for the primer? It looks great and doesn't take away from the detail. With figs, I need all the help I can get Buddy...and TIA...

Prost
Allen

Great minds think alike Allen

The figures are still in the funky 70's bare plastic because they need more filling and sanding yet. When ready they'll get the same primer as the rest, Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 black.

 

[Lee Drennen]

Nice updates on the primer Andy.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Lee.

 

[The Smythe Meister]

I fancied a little win to keep motivated so the UC was built up and painted. It's still in sub assemblies so that I can paint the interior, and the figures need more filling and clean up after adjusting their poses, but it's a step forward.

It looks a bit wierd in gloss varnish but once it's weathered & matted down it should be good enough for an addition to the scene

View attachment 481519

View attachment 481520View attachment 481521View attachment 481522

That's looking very nice,got one myself somewhere, having seen this I may well dig it out
Good stuff Andy,I look forward to the next update, although you might not get time to do one with all of the plastic you've got going on at the moment!!

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Andy. I knew this was going to be quite a drawn out build by my standards so I'm trying to break it into chunks.

It's a nice little kit really and depending what version you've got there'll be some figures spare

Here's the one I did around 4 years ago

 

[Andy T]

I saw this on a reference picture and thought it would make a nice addition






And here she is sat on her tracks. There's much more weathering to come but I've made a start.

 

[yak face]

Just catching up with everything andy , great work on the comets but jeez that's a lot of wheels!! The universal carrier is looking superb too ( that's about as many wheels as i could handle on a tank ! ) cheers tony

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Tony.

Yes, it might be time for a wingy thing once I've finished this. Something with a few less wheels. One of those Antonov cargo planes maybe?

 

[JR]

Heavons above Andy you'll never be the same if you go over to the wingy side
Just had a read through of the answers to that build , very true in what was said .

This latest one looks absolutely brilliant.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks John

It's over 2 years since I finished my last plane, Zvezda's SU-57, so I'm about due another one

 

[Andy T]

Not much to show for today really. There are so many different elements I'm doing bits & pieces, here & there, backwards & forwards.

I did make a rough start on the base though now that I have the vehicle sizes. It's going to be quite big so I've used cheap polystyrene for the bulk of it.

Currently sat under some weight. They look like bricks but you just know that if AK or GSW saw them they'd be putting them in a fancy packet, naming them "diorama construction accessories" and charging a fortune




Also tried something new (to me) for the tools. AK Warm Grey undercoat with a layer of burnt sienna oil paint. Looks OK when you're not super zoomed in, and an effect I can work on.



The biggest job today was trying to make some tow cables. I bought some nice looking twisted wire (sized to the moulded-on Tamiya ones), used part of the original eyelet, and bound it with thin copper wire. Not perfect but better than I was expecting.



Next problem is that one of the ends pinged off from my tweezers and is currently orbiting Mars so I need to cobble something together. As mentioned elsewhere stainless wire isn't exactly user friendly but some annealing with my gas Zippo has sorted that. Plan is to loop the cable around a suitable former and bind it in place with copper wire.

Should look something like. Nothing that a bit of mud won't hide anyway!

 

[JR]

Extremely neat work Andy, the wired ends on the cables are ace.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks John, I'm trying to stay organised so I don't get swamped by it all.

At least there's always something to be getting on with, not like a single model where I'm often sat waiting for stuff to dry (or putting it in the dehydrator to speed it up lol)

 

[Jim R]

Your dio plan is good, not too big and full of interest. Universal carrier has come out well. The little extras make it something special.

 

[Jim R]

Forgot to mention the tow cables. They really look the part. I hope the wire bends OK .

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Jim, I've made the base as small as possible to reduce dead space. So much so that the tanks will overhang slightly, though not their tracks. I've seen some like that and they look okay so hopefully this will too.

Schoolboy error in attaching the plastic eye before annealing the cable, but with a bit of care I think it's sorted.

Base has had a slurry of pva, grout & sand added to seal it up and provide a good grip for further layers.

 

[Andy T]

I'm still playing around with the composition but an idea hit me, so after handing over £1.72 to some random stranger on the internet our little 3D filament printer produced this:





The print wasn't too great as it was meant for a resin device but it gave me a foundation for a bit of added work with plasticard and spare PE.

This guy also stepped forward. If it all works out this will be his 3rd appearance in one of my scenes. He's becoming quite the star





I've yet to rotate his forearms to suit the oars but I'm still scratching my head on that one. Where it joins the sleeve would be easiest but might look unnatural. At the wrist might not look great either so will sleep on that one.

 

[Andy T]

Made a start on some of the figures today. There'll be more to come but didn't want to overface myself with too many at once.

Over the black primer they were sprayed with AK British Uniform. They then had a darkened version airbrushed from directly below, then a coat of AK British Uniform Light from above to start off the highlights & shadows.

There's plenty of detail painting left but I'm glad to have the faces out of the way. Eyes were done using a method I saw a while ago whilst down the YouTube rabbit hole and I'm really happy with them. Not figure painting quality but good enough for a diorama and better than previous googly eyed attempts.