Bronco Marder II

[GazzaS]

15 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

 

I have the same mentality as you Gaz, will I knock that part off before spraying….?.?.?…also the blutack anti carpet munching device is always being used….looking good……

 

11 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

That’s my mentality too! Looks very good Gary! And thanks for the tipp with the Blue Tack!

 

 

6 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Nice progress and nice to see the Marder back on the bench

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

 

6 minutes ago, DocRob said:

Good to see you back on the Marder Gaz. After the maybe disaster with the 109, it should be good for some breathing room. There seem lots of tiny parts involved and being open topped, there will be lots of detailing, but going through it will pay in the end.
I like the Blue Tack idea and use sometimes adhesive tape for the same reason, which works even better with PE-sheets, where tiny pieces also have the tendency to go airborne while cutting.

Cheers Rob

 

1 minute ago, mark31 said:

nice work you show here and a lot off small parts

Sometimes i think there is a competion between model makers how can make the smalest parts in plastic.

 

Keep it up

 

Mark

Thank you for the kind words, everyone! 

Coping with smaller parts is something I want to do before I lose the ability.  And these open-topped vehicles seem so much more interesting than a regular enclosed tank.  Plus...   it's like a new country for me.  New shapes...   and Bronco plastic is a lot thinner than Tamiya.  So though I may curse and swear the entire time...  I feel like I'm doing something fun and challenging.

[GazzaS]

Hola Amigos y' constructores de maquetas!

Not a lot of time for modelling on work nights...  So, a little experimental enamel stains and enamel sponge chipping using Tamiya enamel paints on the ammo box and gun support.

I haven't used enamels for the before.  But I'm quite happy how it turned out and how quick it was to do.

I imagine gun oils and perhaps even ersatz coffee would have been spilled into many a fighting compartment.

Anyway...  if you have any ideas to add...   lemme know.

I'm sure a more efficient modeller would save a step like this for a time when the gun, shields, and other interior stuff was done.  But I think one has to do things when the brain is in a fervor to do the deed.  Waiting until later isn't any fun.

 

Happy modelling!

 

[Peterpools]

Enamel weathering does look good and seems to offer a whole new set of tools for the weathering tool box.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Martinnfb]

I really like the subtle chipping effects .

 

[Kaireckstadt]

That looks great Gary! Used this method of weathering for planes with raised panellines. Works very well! 

[GazzaS]

17 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Enamel weathering does look good and seems to offer a whole new set of tools for the weathering tool box.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

Thank you!  After doing this kind of stuff mostly with oils or acrylics in the past, I gotta say it may become a preferred technique.  I had hitherto been thinking of not getting any more enamels after these were gone/dried up.  But I think I will keep the basic colors on hand for this kind of stuff.

13 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

I really like the subtle chipping effects .

 

Thank you, Sir.  My motto:  too little is better than too much.

9 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

That looks great Gary! Used this method of weathering for planes with raised panellines. Works very well! 

Thank you, Kai.  I will have to try it on planes, too.

[GazzaS]

Hello lads,

     Though football and lawn mowing dominated the day, I found some time for photo etch fun.  OK...   not really fun.  But still the kind of suffering we modellers willingly suffer.  Worked with some tiny parts and only lost one.   Here are some pics:

Built a couple more ammo boxes...

that

And...   I know that these tiny parts give no idea of how large this kit is.  So, I dry fitted the running gear and put it next to a younger relative...  for your comparative pleasure:

Happy modelling!

[Bomber_County]

Very nice Gaz, the eyes do take a hammering with PE………you guys got your arses whipped by those All Blacks……

[GazzaS]

Thanks Phil.  Yeah... All Blacks...  nothing new there.

[DocRob]

What's the big thing about preseason football. I'm a die hard football fan too, but pre season bores me. It's only competitive training. Can't wait for September.
But who care, when it leads to such a nice detail work in the end. The Marder is not a huge tank and with you reproducing wingnuts, I expect and unearthly level of detail. Gear and tracks look also good, with a perfect sag.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

That’s really great detail work Gary. 
And this will improve much the look of the finished model.

The comparison foto is really very good. Clearly shows how small the Marder tank is!

And like Rob said: awesome tracks! 

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Nice work on the PE parts ... a true test of a steady hand and a good pairs of eyes.

Being on my side of the pond, not sure if you are talking about preseason NFL Football of soccer. I did watch last night the NY Jets beat the NY Giants and I'm a Giant fan all the way. 🏉

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[DocRob]

11 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Being on my side of the pond, not sure if you are talking about preseason NFL Football of soccer. I did watch last night the NY Jets beat the NY Giants and I'm a Giant fan all the way. 🏉

NFL for sure Peter. Doesn't happen too often, the Jets beat anybody, it must be preseason. We will have some difficult weekends in autumn, me being a Cowboys fan .

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Just read your other build thread post and thank goodness you an NFL Footbal diehard fan!

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[harv]

........harv

[GazzaS]

18 hours ago, DocRob said:

What's the big thing about preseason football. I'm a die hard football fan too, but pre season bores me. It's only competitive training. Can't wait for September.
But who care, when it leads to such a nice detail work in the end. The Marder is not a huge tank and with you reproducing wingnuts, I expect and unearthly level of detail. Gear and tracks look also good, with a perfect sag.

Cheers Rob

Thank you, Rob.  I'm usually not into pre-season football.  My team is different from the ownership down.  Our previous owner didn't care if we won or lost.  And when Martha Firestone Ford passed the team to her daughter, we finally got an owner interested in more than the money the team brings in.  So, we have new coaches and staff and there is a lot to look forward-to. 

17 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

That’s really great detail work Gary. 
And this will improve much the look of the finished model.

The comparison foto is really very good. Clearly shows how small the Marder tank is!

And like Rob said: awesome tracks! 

Thank you, Kai.  I fear a lot of details will be unseen once I add crew.  But still, it is useful exercise to add them.

16 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Nice work on the PE parts ... a true test of a steady hand and a good pairs of eyes.

Being on my side of the pond, not sure if you are talking about preseason NFL Football of soccer. I did watch last night the NY Jets beat the NY Giants and I'm a Giant fan all the way. 🏉

Keep 'em comin

Peter

Thank you, Peter.  My super-duper X4.82 readers came in handy yesterday.  As a Detroit Lions fan...  I am familiar with suffering.

14 hours ago, harv said:

........harv

Thank you, Harv.  This meme...  makes me want to send some Fixodent your way...lol

[Martinnfb]

You make it look way too easy Gary. Great show! 

[GazzaS]

3 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

You make it look way too easy Gary. Great show! 

Thank you Martin.

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Thank you, Rob.  I'm usually not into pre-season football.  My team is different from the ownership down.  Our previous owner didn't care if we won or lost.  And when Martha Firestone Ford passed the team to her daughter, we finally got an owner interested in more than the money the team brings in.  So, we have new coaches and staff and there is a lot to look forward-to. 

That's the favorite time of my oldest buddy too and he suffered a lot over the decades. He is still fond of the Wayne Fontes era, where they also had this very special RB, whom I account for the best and most elegant player to ever play his position and that's me speaking as a Cowboys fan of the Emmit Smith era. 

Let's have a great NFL season.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

It's hard to believe that it's been more than a month since my last update.  Anyway...  here we go!

Today I started by putting metal back supports on the chairs.  A friend told me that he broke the plastic supports repeatedly as he was assembling the model.

The two seats will sit on the small rails over the red arrows.  Also note the 3-shell ammo storage boxes on each side of the fighting compartment.  There are PE latches at the end and PE triangles one each case,  Not sure what they are for...   but there they are.

 

I started adding tools.  Some have PE latches.

And then there were more wingnuts holding on the jack.

And finally the group pic with everything done so far.

So far, nobody has produced any interior photos of this machine.  So I wonder how close this kit is to the real article.  Anyway...getting closer to paint.

 

Happy modelling!

[Bomber_County]

Looking really clean build Gaz, when I did the Marder III H I couldn’t find any either, which camo are you going to do? How did you find Bronco? It’s one manufacturer that I haven’t built…..

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Some amazing progress and dealing with all that PE is nerve racking for sure but you have it well under control. The assemblies all look like you're mighty close to the paint shop and that's always been my favorite part of any build.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

16 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking really clean build Gaz, when I did the Marder III H I couldn’t find any either, which camo are you going to do? How did you find Bronco? It’s one manufacturer that I haven’t built…..

I'll probably go for the box camo I showed on page 1.

Even though the pic shows a hard edge camo, the photo with all of the guys in the same positions, shows a very soft camo with much less color density.

I've heard about Bronco kits for some time.  And knew they had a propensity to be parts-heavy and over-engineered.   But I'd never heard any other complaint against them. 

They are the only ones to make this AFV and the PZ III with 5 road wheels.   So it was really deciding which ones I wanted when the daughter gave me a gift card for one of the larger model kit sellers in Australia.   I've never seen any for resale.   ...  not that I have looked too hard.

They do make a lot of the British cruiser tanks from the early war years like the A9.  I may get to those eventually as I've already done Matilda and Valentine by other kit makers.

 

[Kaireckstadt]

Great progress Gary! PE is always much work but the result speaks for itself.

You’re now close to the paintshop and the camo you choose is very attractive.

[GazzaS]

16 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Some amazing progress and dealing with all that PE is nerve racking for sure but you have it well under control. The assemblies all look like you're mighty close to the paint shop and that's always been my favorite part of any build.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

There are still some very large pieces of photo etch to deal with, Peter.  The close off the back end of the fighting compartment.  I'm not really looking forward to them.