Italeri LMV Lince

Just the one photo to show where it's at as I've decided to do it as a build review for Model Military Int'l.
All I have to say is it fits VERY nicely, most of this was done in a day. I'll be adding some extra bits to the interior as the front seats need some TLC and the middle rear seat needs a base to it, other than that it's been a pleasure to build unlike the Revell Boxer;

The body is sitting a bit too far forward as it's only on the chassis temporarily.

Just out of interest here's my 'studio' (the loft and it's cold at this time of year) :o)

Winter projects

The bench is clear and tidy so I feel the need to clutter it up again and I'm looking at doing these three over the winter;

The LAV will be pretty much over a longer term as it's got one or two goodies with it;

It's a bit of an international kit this one as the Voyager etch set came from Switzerland, the Voyager IED jammer came all the way from Hong Kong and a metal barrel is on its way from Poland, the Blast set of wheels and Black Dog update set came with the kit (I traded it for a Dragon Jagdtiger).
Of course all these plans will probably change but I sort of got bitten by the 'speed-building' bug as I recently put together a Revell GTK Boxer ambulance as a build review for Model Military Int'l magazine and for the first time since I was a kid I managed to nail a kit together in five days (I did'nt paint it though). It's not pretty as I really did throw it together but it's proved to myself that I do'nt have to take two months just to open the box and glue a couple of parts together.
Out of interest here's that Revell Boxer;

If you want to see more it's scheduled to appear in issue 119 of Model Military Int'l magazine (probably February 2016) so you can read all about it then.

Trumpeter E-25; Done!

Here it is, the E-25 done. Like it or loathe it as it's a 'paper panzer what-if 1946 blah blah blah' but I'm quite pleased with and also it's been nice to actually finish something :o)

Hopefully this will make it into Model Military Int'l magazine in the new year sometime

Masterbox zombie figures

I was'nt really happy with the biker chick so I decided to replace the head with a Hornet one of a bald female, the only trouble is the Hornet head looks a bit too masculine and unfortunately there is'nt much choice in 1/35 of female heads.
After the original head was removed I needed something to cover the shoulders so I made a hood from Milliput and to be honest I'm quite pleased with the result;

I've hollowed out the cheeks a bit but I'll see what more I can do to make the head less manly :o)

Masterbox Zombie figures

I'm still at a crossroads with the hobby especially after the latest disaster with the Airfix C-47 and I'm very wary of starting another build until I get back my ability and/or confidence to airbrush models. I'm still capable (I think) of using a brush to paint with so I've come back to this set of Masterbox figures just for sh*ts and giggles.
The motorbike and male zombie figure are ready for priming, the female bike rider was ready but I've got an idea to change the kit supplied head for a Hornet item;

The female figure needed a fair bit of work as the coat tails supplied in the kit just did'nt fit properly especially around the bike seat so I made new ones from Magic Sculp putty. The hands and arms needed some chopping and changing to fit the handle bars and point the gun.
I've adapted the bike to be more civilian-like and it will be painted in pretty colours rather than green (providing I don't bugger it up).
Anyway the biggest model show in the UK is just around the corner and no doubt I'll see something shiny and new but this is an ongoing project with no time frame or urgency to finish so there will be random posts in between the tanks and aircraft...that's if I start any

Airfix C-47; Scratch another model and file under B (for bin)

I give up! The model has been niggling me since I started but after giving it a coat of matt varnish it has showed up just how rough the finish is, plus for some unexplained reason the areas that I used Johnsons Kleer for the decals are really prominent and something that has NEVER happened to me before;

So that's that! I don't intend to do anymore to the model other than use it as a test subject so sorry fans if you were looking forward to seeing it finished.
The other problem is that I am now reluctant to start another aircraft model due to the issues I'm having with finishing them.

Airfix C-47; Decals going on but.....

One of the problems with white decals is that they can be transparent and if I had remembered this I would have made a mask for the national insignia and painted the areas beforehand. Because I had forgot this happened;

You can clearly see the black of the invasion stripes showing through so the two options open to me were to make a mask and spray the white areas or put decals over the top (I chose the latter). The original decals came from an Xtradecal set printed by Hannants so I put the kit decals over the top and at the time of writing they appear to have bedded down well. There were quite a lot of little stencils on the Airfix decal sheet but I've only used those for the upper surfaces.
When I get the matt varnish on I can start weathering the model but I'll try to avoid too much 'post-shading' otherwise I'll just get a slagging for it :o)