DocRob

Very nice, all around congratulations. There are so many details to make the eye wander. The dog is great, as well as the bicycle, not easy to build with lots of etched parts. Cheers Rob

Very nice, the extra detailing payed off. You went the easier way to open up all cowlings. To built the TA-152 buttoned up is not a lot of fun, tell me how I know... Cheers Rob

Great result, love the modulation and the careful enhanced panel lines, you nailed it. Cheers Rob

There are some excellent build logs from our member Sandbagger Mike, where he describes everything in detail. I recommend to look into, they are really resourceful and he does the logs in PDF format on his site, free to access. The idea of using brass to substitute fragile plastic struts was in my ex-engineer mind for a long time, but seeing how Mikes utilizes the method so well, made it easy to follow the pass. I varied slightly with the diameter, as I used 1,5 mm diameter tube for the wheel struts with an inserted 0,8mm rod. I was really astonished that the wood/vice method worked so good. I thought, I would have to take more tests, maybe with hard plastic pieces and a pre profiled gap, but that seems to be unecessary. If soldering works to my liking, I WIP the build and document what I have done. Cheers Rob

I start the evaluation phase for my Fokker E.V build. The kit has flimsy wheel struts and even weaker wing struts, which have to hold the big parasol wing. Therefore I will substitute the plastic struts with brass. It doesn't look like much, but this step was important to me, because I wanted the brass struts to be flattened. To do so I used a brass rod inside the tube and flattened the tube in a wise, between two pieces of wood and got a perfect elyptic shape. Then I filed the angled end. The rod will later be cut to length and will be glued into drilled holes in the kit. Next up is soldering the wing struts, if this works I will do a WIP on the Fokker Cheers Rob

Nice, the colour of grass enriches the whole palette and make the black look even more interesting. Cheers Rob

All around, a very nice result. The interior looks great as does the exterior. Like others said, the figures enhance the liveliness a lot, chapeau. Cheers Rob

Great pic. For weathering it always helps to study photos of the real thing. Not necessarily the same object, but what happens to materials / surfaces, which are exposed to sunlight, physical stress, like abrasion, bending, denting, chemical reactions, corrosion, ... It helps to know something about the materials your subject is made of in reality. The Tankette would have been produced from rolled steel mainly, with some casted parts added. As the steel is happily corroding unprotected, there would have been primer and a coat of colour on it at least. When chipping, you can use the base colour lightened up for scratches very superficial. Deeper scratches / chips will show the primer or even the bare or corroded metal, depending on how old the scratch marks are. Imagine, how the use will cause chipping, around the hatches and moving parts or areas were the users would walk on. You can vary the chips, because older scratches tend to soften a little, where new ones are sharp contured. It's always best to study photos showing the different stages of chipping and weathering in real and plan ahead, how you will do it on your model. Knowledge about materials and using the imagination helps a lot. Cheers Rob

Looking good in the green livery. I'm not sure, which green shade I will use for mine, but it will be a testbed for modulation. If you are not satisfied with the look of your rubber wheels, there's always the possibility to weather them heavily, giving them a dusty or muddy look and weathering armor is pure fun. I started mine too a while ago, but left the bogeys unassembled for better painting the rubber on the wheels. Greetings from my Chinese tanker, on my Tankette, it's time for preparing the paintjob. Cheers Rob

Like Ernie said, I rarely use real black on models. For tank wheels, I use Tamiyas Nato black as a base, but always airbrushed. Brushpainting is another Achilles Heel to me, I get uneven results like you. For airplane wheels, which often have a larger surface, I use my trusted Lifecolour Black set, which consisted of six differently shaded near blacks. This one shows the multi coloured attempt on my 1/48 Mig-31 Here it is Nato Black sprayed on T-90 wheels without modulation, but with later to follow weathering (the track is only primed here) This one has Nato Black sprayed on the rubber rims and got some denting, because of heavy use and tear, while on other road wheels the rubber burnt away.

A great result all around, the blackness is modulated nicely with the oils and make the plane look interesting. I don't like the weathering on the wheels though, too mud caked for my liking, with no mud residues on the struts and mudguard. A little dust on the wheels could maybe blend the mud effect a bit better . Cheers Rob

Interesting, I spent some thoughts on the bomb racks lately, as my Aviattic pimped 1/48 Gotha G.V is on it's way, which has added resin bombs, but no racks at all. I was browsing the manual of my AEG G.IV, which seems to have a similar rack. I will dig deeper, when the kit arrives. Are you aware of the HGW etched racks for the AEG? Search (hgwmodels.cz) Cheers Rob

I will, if I get the problem areas like strut soldering solved. The jig is in the Pheon decal set on the right. you get pre printed self adhesive paper, which you have to stick onto cardboard, cut the contours and put everything together as a jig for the wheel struts and the wing attachment. Cheers Rob

The Fokker E.V / D.VIII could be my next project. The plastic is from Mikro Mir and looks a bit coarse at first sight with flash, some minor defects and some sink marks. I test fitted the fuselage and there will be some filler needed. Before I dig deeper into the build, I will evaluate some critical areas of the build, mainly the wing and wheel struts, which look flimsy. I will try to make my own from soldered flattened brass tube. I will most likely chose the scheme No. 4, low on the right side and if the kit turns out to be fun, I will build a second one in yellow and black diamond livery Which of the engines I use , the Lukgraph 'Le Rhone' or the CSM 'Oberursel will depend on the fit under the Aviattic cowling. The other one will be used in my Camel or Fokker Dr.1 build. A little comparison between the Aviattic cowling (left) and the kit one. Cheers Rob

Thank you Winnie, I had lots of fun building it. It was my first full resin kit, and I would do some things different (better) next time, but in the end, I like the result. A Niva is far from perfect and that's how I finished it . Cheers Rob

That's brilliant, I'm speechless. The way you painted the figure, you added a lot of character. The details and hair/fur effects look very realistic. Interesting to see, that you opted for metallic shine for the helmet, instead of NNM (Non Metallic Metal) painting technique. Cheers Rob

It is, it's not that small as it looks with the Lada on it, scale wise, but it has maybe 10.000 inhabitants. There is no mayor crime here and in the moment we have no Covid as well. A great place to be in these strange times. Bingo Sherlock, that's where I live, I will give your compliments to my woodworking friend . Cheers Rob

A friend of mine, who is more gifted than me concerning woodworks, has supplied me with two bases in the shape of the island, I'm living on. Not sure which I will use (slight tendency to the darker one), but after the decision, the Lada gets it's mirrors and is done. Cheers Rob

Your Mossie looks great, love the details like the engine and bomb bay. As much as I'd like to start mine, it has to wait, but seeing your fine result raises the urge. Cheers Rob

The undercarriage looks great, but, given the completely ripped nacelle, would the landing gear not have to be totally wrecked or at least bended a lot? Cheers Rob

This thing is well prepared for a Saturday shopping spree in an average Siberian town. The downside of a vehicle which is more unstoppable than others is, if you got stuck somewhere, there is nobody able to pull you out . Cheers Rob

Thanks Carl, a unique car in our streamlined times at least, that's why my wife wanted to own one. Now she will get the small one for Christmas. Cheers Rob

The Lada is done so far, except for the mirrors, which I don't risk to add now. I did a lot of touch ups and added details like license plates and wipers. Now it's time for some work on the base. Cheers Rob

I was sure about the existence of men with a height of 500m. That is what the US Navy fears most, the Manzilla Cheers Rob

Cool looking blackbird Gaz, love the oil dot modulation in the direction of the airstream, with still recognizable differences in panels. Cheers Rob