Another Luchs update

I had a whole one hour at the bench this afternoon so I glued a few etchy bits on;

Removing the moulded on tool clamps resulted in a couple of breakages probably due to my clumsiness, I was able to glue the axe together but I had to replace the engine crank handle with fuse wire and styrene rod. What was I saying about keeping things simple? I just can't help myself :o)

Luchs update

One thing I noticed about this kit is the lack of a tow cable. On the rear engine deck Tasca have provided the five clamps for one but not the cable so after a rummaging through the spares box and coming up with nothing I made my own using fine nylon thread and some 1mm dia. styrene rod drilled out for the thread to go through.
I estimated a length of 150mm for the cable and if anything it was a little too long but it's staying put. The clamps all face inward but I will carefully twist a couple around to avoid a uniform look.

One thing I am trying to avoid is getting too bogged down in research and super detailing as it can kill a little project like this stone dead but (there is ALWAYS a but) I do have some good references available such as Achtung Panzer No.6 and Panzers at Saumur No.1 and it seems a shame not to use them.

Tasca Luchs

Yeah I know I know I've started something else. The SS-23 is proving frustrating and is slow going so I pulled this kit out of the stash just for the hell of it. So far it's been GREAT to put together but then again it is a Tasca kit so enough said :o)
Progress so far;

 This shot below is looking into the model as I put a thick-ish length of styrene under the glacis plate as support at the front.

 When adding the side vision ports be aware that the slot is nearer the bottom. I almost buggered that one up as although there's not much in it there IS a difference.

So far it's been a quick build and VERY enjoyable. I will be returning to the SS-23 AND the T-90 but this is how I roll :o)

SS-23 teaser pic number 3 (I think)

I bet you thought I'd forgotten all about this one did'nt you?

After a LOT of fettling and sanding the basic hull is all together so it's onto the wheels and suspension when I've finished filling some HUGE gaps. I don't know whether it's my fault or the fact it's just one-of-those-things with resin kits but anyway I've got this far :o)

Of course by the time I've built this model Trumpeter would have released theirs....in fact there will probably LOADS built before I'm done with this. I can't wait to get an injection-moulded kit on the bench next lol

British Napoleonic Hussar

Just as a break from the Russian stuff and fancying a bit of figure painting I got this out of the box tonight;

I got as far as the gold braid which was painted with oil and of course it takes a while to dry so I left it in a box and forgot about it for six months or so. The gold had been darkened with burnt umber so tonight I used gold paint straight out of the tube to try and create some highlights, I don't know whether it has worked but it's been a nice couple of hours painting at least :o)
Hopefully I can make a start on the breeches and gloves soon and this will be interesting as both items are white so I shall be experimenting with using various greys for the basecoat then using pure white for the highlights.

Meng T-90; The weathering starts here

Here we go with everyones favourite part of modeling, the weathering (well it's my favourite bit anyway).
Initially I've applied a pin wash of Mig Productions Dark Brown wash into all the recesses and streaked some down the vertical surfaces, after which when it's dry the model will get a couple of coats of matt varnish then I can start on applying chipping, mud, dust etc.

I like the dark wash as it does make the detail stand out more.

Meng T-90 update

Just a small one and this is the effort to match the camouflage colours with Vallejo to paint the headlight cables that I forgot to attach before the model was sprayed;

Not too bad and hopefully when the weathering starts the cables will blend in better. For the record I used Vallejo Iraqi Sand (819) mixed with white (951) and Russian Green (894) mixed with black (950). Due to the fast drying time I can proceed with the first weathering stage namely Mig Productions Dark Wash.