The Model Box

My first few attempts at squash casting using melted down sprue plastic. I'm not too happy with them yet, having attached them temporarily and compared with the original part. I'll be attempting some more castings and will hopefully come up with suitable replacements. BTW, having a motor tool is a must imho. Squashing the melted blob of plastic creates a thick backend that is a b#tch to sand off.

 Work on the 1:35 SU-122 continues as I try to replace some missing parts thru squash casting. Squash casting is a technique to reproduce simple parts using a one-part mold. Here's a link to where I first learned about it. For the 1:35 Tamiya SU-122 project, I realized that I had lost 2 viewport hatches for the tank destroyer's superstructure. Luckily though, I found one of the three hatches and decided to try squash casting replacement parts.For this attempt, I'll be using an A/B epoxy putty for both the mold and the replacement part. Depending on how it looks, I might try a different material later on such as glue-softened sprue plastic. Anyway, I mix a batch of the putty together by kneading vigorously the resin and the hardener components and roll them into a cushion-like ball. After the colors had evened out to a neutral color, I split the blob into two and use the plastic hatch part I have left to create an impression on one side of the balled-up putty. ...

I just found this useful website with tons of information regarding camouflage. I'm currently researching some US army and Philippine army patterns and Camopedia turned out to be a very good resource. Here's the link to the entry on the Philippines . US soldier in Somalia. Base painted without patterns yet. Another figure from the same set

Missing-Lynx has a useful article on AFV Desert Finishes and Weathering Techniques written by Ron Puttee. check it out here . I plan to try these out soon.

In between work, I've been surfing some reference materials for my recent model projects and found these really nifty entries including a parts/name diagram and a list of modern MBTs. I hope this is helpful to other scale modellers. Wikipedia's entry on Tanks Wikipedia's entry on Tanks in World War 2 Wikipedia's List of Main Battle Tanks by Country Modern Armoured Combat Vehicles of the British Army Tank diagram from Wikipedia

Seriously contemplating trying out a gundam model. Or whatever robot kit I have. Just to break away from figures and armor for awhile...

Suddenly, my workbench is full. Oh happiness! A short list of ongoing projects: 1/72 scifi tank squadron 1/35 US Delta Force in Somalia 1/48 T-34/76 1/72 Humvees 1/72 Bradley 1/72 US troops in Iraq 1/56 Scifi gunship 1/56 scifi grav apc 1/56 Sith Troopers repaint

With time off from work, I fix up a new workbench for my model making and painting. Here's to more models!