SS-23 primed!

OK so I lied about not showing anymore pics until it's finished but this is quite an important step onto the Path of Greatness and ultimate respect from my model making peers :o)

It's had a good blast with primer which has showed up a couple of gaps here and there but it's only to be expected and actually better than I first thought. I virtually used a whole rattle can of Halfords Plastic Primer too :o)

Individual track links...

The ONLY problem with indy links is the clean-up and that it feels never ending. The pile on the right in the picture is approximately 3 to 4 hours work and those on the left are still to be done, fortunately the two pin marks on the inside face of each link are raised and easy to remove;

Although rubber band tracks seem to have come back into fashion (and f**k knows why) to me they are harder to clean up flash-wise and difficult to get a proper 'track-sag' with on WW2 German and Soviet tanks so I will take injection-moulded styrene indy tracks over vinyl ones every time :o)
(By the way in case you're wondering it's a Trumpeter E-25 'Paper Panzer' that I'm in the process of rescuing from the Shelf-of-Doom)

SS-23- The Official photograph :o)

Just a teaser today as the next pics you see will be of the finished model. After the photo session the model is off for a wash and a scrub (and probably pinging photo-etch bits off left, right and centre), left to dry for a couple of days then into the paint shop. How's that for confidence? :o)

Hopefully you will be able to read all about the model in a future issue of Model Military Int'l, that's why I can only really post a few pics.

SS-23...Construction complete!

I've bloody well done it! It's only a record shot but I just HAD to share this one as this thing has been on the bench since May 2014. I never thought I would get this far as it has been a 'challenging' build to say the least and many times I've just wanted to put it back in the box and forget about it. Lots of setbacks with this one and even today when I knew I was about to wrap it up I managed to drop the missile on a tiled floor while transporting my portable work surface from one room to another and broke off the guidance vanes, the lower half of the missile body and the tip of the nose cone.
Anyway it gave me a chance to rework the vanes and how they attach to the arse end of the missile so it worked out well in the end plus thanks to my Mrs who found the tip of the missile some yards away from 'ground zero'.
The model needs a REALLY good clean to remove nearly 12 months worth of kak, resin dust and greasy paw prints and a few gaps filling but the main thing is it's finally built. YAY for me! :o)

The 12 inch (or 305cm) ruler gives an indication of just how big the model is.

SS-23- New windows going in

I DID IT! YAY! The new ones look a hell of a lot better than the original so I may extend my plan to the side windows. Now I just need to get all that resin dust and crap out of the cab...ooops! I'd better not use the Dyson as that would suck the interior out through the windows :o)

SS-23-The windows are coming out.

The windows in this kit have been bugging me ever since I glued them in as the clear styrene that Miniman supplied is thinner than paper, honestly it would have been better to use cellophane instead. It's been going around in my head about what to do and today I made the decision to make new ones from thicker Evergreen clear styrene. Also I put a frame around them using 1mm wide styrene strip to help with the location, the frames will be painted black before installation too.
I suppose I should have done it earlier in the build as I'm now in danger of pinging bits off to feed The Carpet Monster (tm) however the build has been a pain in the arse all the way so why stop now? :o)
Anyway an example of the front windscreens;

This is what they look like before the window fitters were called in. I did coat them in Johnsons Kleer but they still look crap. I'll see how the front windows work out first before doing the side windows.
Nothing ventured eh?

SS-23....well that was'nt supposed to happen!

Sh*t! I was removing the tissue paper from inside the cab this morning when I found the steering wheel and seat had come loose, stupid superglue. Talk about one step forward and two steps back...the steering wheel is'nt a problem but the seat will be fun to fix back into place and the only time in my life when I could do with a gynaecologist :o)

Oh well....