Amazing diorama: Truck Fabrication Shop
Check out this 1/35 Truck Fabrication shop diorama. This is a great build! Great photography too... really makes you pause and wonder if this is real or not! (Image is owned by Armorama user Stickframe)
Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles
I was digging through some old materials I had and came across the Web site of the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles in Lexington, Nebraska. I was on a road trip with my buddy, Joey a few years back and happened upon this museum. We stopped in for a few hours, and it wasn't *nearly* enough time. This museum was a fantastic collection of fully restored vehicles. They also have a much more liberal policy on getting close to the vehicles. If you ever find yourself passing through (or even slightly close to) Lexington, Nebraska, make sure to stop in. It's worth the detour! UPDATE: Found a gallery of a few photos I snapped when I visited back in 2009. Check them out!
Learning to paint German Oak Leaf camo
I've been working on a Waffen SS Steyr 1500 Radio Car conversion for quite a while. I'm getting close to the end and started working on the figures. I'm not a great figure painter, but I really wanted to use some figures who happen to be wearing the Waffen SS reversible smocks. These smocks are patterned with the Oak Leaf camo pattern. (For more information, check this page out) Since I have only painted a couple figures, so of course the natural next step is to attempt a pattern that is super hard to do.... yeah. Not sure what I was thinking, but here we go. I thought I'd share a few thoughts about how my progress went. I googled high and low to find tutorials, and I found some good stuff. But not easily. The best tutorial I found: Painting Oak Leaf How to Paint Realistic Waffen SS Camouflage Uniforms German SS [...]
Painting German Oak Leaf Camo
I've been struggling to figure out the process of painting the German WWII Oak Leaf camo pattern on some figures. If you are too, check out this great tutorial. (Note: The image above isn't mine... it's from the author of the tutorial. Impressive, eh??)
Hotel workbench
A few months back, my wife and I returned home from a great out of the country vacation to discover water sitting on our hardwood floors. Never a good things. And if you've been through this, you know that fixing such damage is never easy. In fact, our one story, all hardwood floored house had to get a complete floor replacement. You can't patch it! My family moved out last week, our stuff packed up in pods on the driveway so that the floors can be replaced. Oh, and we decided to get the house repainted and a few small renovation projects done at the same time. After all, we were moved out so what's the harm in a few extra days? Packing up my workbench was an opportunity to rethink my workbench layout. When we move back in, I'll be considering everything I put back on the workbench and shelving [...]
Build log: M8 Greyhound research
Given that the M8 detail project is utilizing so many pricey add-ons, I'm really wanting to get my research right the first time. Here's a few of the links I've discovered as I've dug around the Web. Build logs from other modeler's projects http://ampscv.org/greyhound1.html (Great storytelling and detailed info on activities) Great build log on Armorama... with the pictures now located on Facebook Another great build log on Armorama Build log for a winterized model Nice video (amongst a collection of other videos from this same user) on some of the interior detailing Build/Paint tutorial from Shane Smyth Books Verlinden Military Vehicles Vol. II Vehicle Information http://www.warwheels.net/m8greyhoundINDEX.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyZxO6KAsVU (this is the one I got to ride in!) Walkarounds http://svsm.org/gallery/M8_Greyhound http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/m8.htm http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/cesar_ferreira/m8_greyhound/ http://www.cybermodeler.com/armor/m8/m8_walk.shtml https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lix8iOjIam4 Armorama walkaround Engine Details Amorama thread Historical Photos WW2DB Jake's photos http://buildworld.wpengine.com/m8-greyhound-walkaround-photos/
Build Log: M8 Build begins
The build begins! This project was prompted by a trip to the Armed Forces Military Museum in Largo, Florida. My wife and I stopped by on the way out of town from visiting family this past Thanksgiving. For $50, you could take a ride in an M8 Greyhound. Man oh man, that was fun. Well worth the money! I had never really been that excited about the M8 as a modeling subject, but after talking to our driver about the vehicle, I was fascinated. We always hear about how crews lived in their vehicles, but there's something experiencing that life first hand that makes the brain go wild. I can't imagine cramming four men into a vehicle this small. And WOW this thing was much faster and smoother than expected! As for the build, I wanted to go full out. The Tamiya M8 Greyhound kit I'm using as the [...]
Surprisingly good primer
My buddy Bob is an amazingly good figure painter. His house is full of amazing creations, the likes of which I can only hope to achieve. He told me once a while back that the only primer he uses is Touch ’n Tone Primer, available at auto parts stores. For some reason, that recommendation went in one ear and out the other. I was probably thinking “Hey, the small, expensive spray can of Tamiya primer just has to be the best…right??" During a figure painting lesson recently, he repeated this recommendation. By now, I’ve learned to listen to Bob, so I ordered a can off Amazon (link). It showed up a few days ago, and I headed out to the garage tonight to test it out. Wow. For half the cost and three times the quantity, this stuff is great! Lays down very smooth, no problems with spray control or pebbling, and looks [...]
ModelFiesta 2014 Photos
This past weekend was the yearly ModelFiesta show in San Antonio, Texas. I headed down and snapped a bunch of pictures. Check 'em out! [fancygallery id="2" album="13"]
Tuesday morning hilarity
Ha! Love this.