D I E S E L W E R K

Little Adler returns from war: Painting

2011-12-15T10:56:00.000+01:00

Así va el Adler de Bronco a 1/35 tras pasar por la Belgian Scale Modellers Convention. Como días antes ya ví que no lo tendría terminado para el show y no es cuestión de prisas, decidí llevarlo tal cual para trabajar allí en la mesa del Spanish Team: un fantástico y largo fin de semana trabajando y riendo con los viejos amigos, las compras, las sorpresas y todo lo que una expedición de estas conlleva. La técnica de la laca me ha venido formidable para imitar esos esquemas a pistola en que la pintura estaba diluída de forma tan pobre que a poco que lloviera empezaba a deshacerse y desconcharse.

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This is the 1/35 Adler from Bronco after the trip to the Belgian Scale Modellers Convention. Days before I saw it wasn't going to be ready for the show, so instead I continued working on it at the Spanish Team table: a fantastic and long weekend working and laughing with the old friends, some shopping, surprises and everything an expedition of this type carries along. The hairspray technique has been very useful to imitate those airbrushed schemes where paint was so poorly diluted that simply some rain started to chip and wear it off.

Limes Model : Wow, wow, wowww!

2011-11-14T18:46:00.001+01:00

Desde Hungría, la buena gente de Limes Model me envía varios de los sets de detallado que tienen disponibles. Están realizados en un cartón muy denso y duro, cortado por láser, en escalas 1/35, 1/48 y 1/72, tanto para vehículos como para dioramas. El cuidado y la atención que ponen en el desarrollo y producción son increíbles, y os aseguro que son una joyita de precisión y detalle. Están ya trabajando en la próxima e interesante serie de novedades, así que estad atentos! Echad un vistazo a su WEB.
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From Hungary, the fine people from Limes Models has sent some of the detailing sets they have available. These are made in a laser-cut compressed cardboard, in scales 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72, for both vehicles and dioramas. The care and attention they put in its development and production are incredible, and I can assure they are a marvel of accuracy and detail. They are working now in the next and interesting new sets, so stay tuned! Take a look at his WEB.

Little Adler returns from war: the pic

2011-11-11T13:14:00.001+01:00

El pequeño Adler en una captura de vídeo.
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Little Adler in a video capture:

Little Adler returns from war

2011-11-06T01:28:00.000+01:00

Un breve apunte sólo para mostrar el pequeño Adler Kfz.13 a 1/35 de Bronco que llevo entre manos. Las fotos del montaje son de la semana pasada y este finde recibe la capa base. Está basado en una curiosa modificación de final de guerra, con techo elevado y cerrado en la parte superior, que aparece en un ejemplar de la formidable serie Panzerwrecks.

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Just a brief note to show the little 1/35 Adler Kfz. 13 from Bronco I'm working on. Pics of the build are from last week and this weekend is getting the base coat. It's based in a curious modification at the end of the war, with higher and closed roof, that appears in an issue of the superb Panzerwrecks series.

Pz.Kpfw. 35(t): Love & Rivets!

2011-10-20T16:50:00.000+02:00

Por fin el pequeño dinosaurio está terminado. Me lo he pasado pipa de principio a fin, casi me da pena haber llegado al final de este Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) de CMK. Ok, viendo todo lo que tengo por pintar no es tan triste. Tengo que pegar bien la antena y tal vez le coloque el cable de remolque que le tenía preparado, pero está listo para rodar por esos campos del norte de Francia...
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At last the little grey dinosaur is finished. I have enjoyed a lot that project, from head to toes, it's even sad to be at the end of this Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) from CMK. Ok, well, looking at the rest of models waiting paint, is not so sad. Have to glue the antenna and maybe I'll add a tow rope I was preparing, but now it's ready to roll across the french fields in 1940...

Revolver armarios da como resultado que a veces salgan maquetas olvidadas bajo una pila de otras. Esto me pasó cuando, escarbando y poniendo algo de orden, apareció este 35(t) de CMK, que recuerdo compré nada más salir al mercado hace ya sus buenos años y que, aún resultándome atractivo, como muchas otras piezas pasó directamente a la cava. Pensé que ya era hora de hacerle justicia, y armado con fotos, libros, y demás le dediqué unas tardes tratando de adecentarlo un poco, sin querer meterme en detallados complejos o grandes correcciones. Como base es un buen kit, con algunos detalles muy finos y sorprendentemente bien realizados en algunas zonas, mientras otras piezas resultan pobretonas (caso del cañón o las ametralladoras). El encaje es bueno en general, y siendo de la primera hornada, las rebabas son casi inexistentes. Faltan algunos detalles, y los remaches, por las limitaciones del molde, en unos casos apenas si se notan, y en otras deberían ser en realidad tornillos de cabeza esférica. Así que dispuesto a dejarlo presentable, y tras "pelar" de remaches unos viejos cascos de Grant y Lee, así quedaba el montaje.
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Trying to put some order in my workshop, I found that CMK kit purchased just as soon as it appeared years ago and stored under piles of other models. Thought it was time to make some justice to it, and armed with books and pictures, went to work on that beautiful beast. Surprisingly, the kit has some very nice detail in places, a good fit overall and no flash, just the moulds had their limitations and dozens of rivets are nearly non-existant. I had a good stock of old Lee/Grant Tamiya hulls as donors for the rivets, so I just needed some quiet evenings to put them right. The only extra purchase were the (superb) Tasca early jerrycans, the rest is Evergreen, sprue, and some leftovers from other kits. Lionmarc has a lovely new gun for the 35(t), the kit one is poor, but had just glued the original and opted to detail it a bit and put covers on both gun and MG.

A look on the Stuart OP

2011-05-27T23:23:00.009+02:00

Mientras arranco el montaje de mi contribución al Panzergruppe Sherman, y viendo que la Royal Artillery no podía quedarse atrás, a ratos perdidos ando liado poniendo a punto este M3A1 Stuart III de Academy a 1/35 en version OP.
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While starting my contribution to the Panzergruppe Sherman, and as the Royal Artillery can't be left behind, I'm also working on and off on this 1/35 Academy M3A1 Stuart III OP.

El kit es el de Academy que si bien de calidad de moldeado es bastante bueno, el detalle no es del todo correcto. He tenido que reposicionar remaches, las ruedas son mejores las de Tamiya, y sospecho que algunas medidas no son correctas del todo pero he preferido no meterme en demasiado berenjenal. Para hacer el OP hace falta añadir lanzahumos en la torre, tres nuevas antenas, reposicionar o hacer nuevas cajas, guardabarros, bobinas de cable telefónico y pijadillas varias que aún le faltan. El esquema será mediterráneo pero no tengo decidida aún la combinación de colores o la unidad.
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The Academy kit has good moulding, but detail is not at all correct. I had to reposition rivets, wheels in the old Tamiya kit are far better and suspect there are some size issues, but have prefered to skip getting involved too much in that. To make the OP version we need new smoke dischargers, three antennas, new or repositioned stowage boxes, sandshields, telephone reels and some other bits. The paint scheme will be in typical mediterranean pattern, but have not decided still colours nor unit.

A striped Opel for the landing strip

2011-04-25T23:51:00.002+02:00

Some simple pics of the finished Opel TLF. Painting has been an enjoyable experience, quicker than expected, and a great satisfaction to get it finished after the sad start-and-stop it suffered years back. Just some pieces from the chasis and cab of Italeri Opel Blitz were used. My dear hungarian friends at Mosonmagyaróvár, this model is specially dedicated to all of you!

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Unas sencillas fotos del Opel TLF acabadito. Pintarlo ha sido todo un disfrute, más rápido de lo previsto, y toda una satisfacción terminarlo después del triste arranque y parón que sufrió hace años. Sólo se utilizaron unas pocas piezas del Opel Blitz de Italeri. Mis queridos amigos húngaros en en Mosonmagyaróvár, esta maqueta está especialmente dedicada a todos vosotros!

Come on Opel, light my fire!

2011-03-23T12:54:00.011+01:00

No se cuántas maquetas duermen en vuestras casas, completamente montadas y esperando su turno de pintura. Seguramente demasiadas, más de lo deseable. En mi caso, un par de docenas fácilmente, cosas que no me enorgullece. Pero sucede que a veces un proyecto se tuerce, o acabas un poco harto tratando de mejorar una maqueta infumable, o un proyecto de scratch se alarga más de lo razonable y se pierde el interés. La solución es arrumbar lo que llevas entre manos, abrir el armario y elegir otra.
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I don't know how many models do you have sleeping at your home, completely built-up but unpainted, waiting their turn. Surely too much, more than desirable. In my case, easily a couple of dozens, something I'm not proud of. But sometimes it happens that a project turns wrong, or you finish a bit tired of correcting a crappy model, or a scratch takes longer than expected to finish and you loose interest. The solution is to stop what you have on hand, open the cupboard and start another one.

Comencé este Opel Blitz a 1/35 (2,5 ton, modelo 1934) contraincendios de la Luftwaffe hará ya unos 8-9 años. Es casi un scratch total que hice con mucha ilusión y en un espacio de tiempo breve e intenso, utilizando sólo unas pocas piezas del Opel Blitz de Italeri. Incluso llegó a estar pintada, casi por completo, pero sufrió un terrible accidente: le cayó encima un bote abierto de disolvente. No preguntéis cómo ni por qué, yo todavía no me lo explico, pero el triste resultado lo podéis imaginar. Ya no tenía ni ilusión ni ganas. Limpié y recuperé lo que pude, lo metí en una caja y adios. Hasta hace unas semanas ;)
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I began this 1/35 Luftwaffe Opel Blitz (2.5 ton 1934 model) fire engine some 8-9 years back. It's a nearly full scratch that I made with a lot of illusion and in a brief and intense period of time, using just some pieces form the Italeri Opel Blitz. It was finally painted, nearly finished, but suffered a terrible accident: an open bottle of solvent dropped over it. Don't ask how and why, I still can't explain it, but you can imagine the sad result. I didn't have nor forces nor illusion. I cleaned and recovered what I could, put all in a box and goodbye. Till some weeks ago ;)

Ordenando un poco el taller reapareció el Opel y pensé por qué no intentarlo de nuevo. Así que terminé de decapar lo que quedaba de pintura, reparé los destrozos y rehice algunas piezas ya perdidas. He imprimado con Vallejo, cosa que ayudó mucho a detectar algunas fisuras y defectos en la superficie, y una vez subsanado esto, ya tiene los colores de Tamiya esperando todo el trabajo de pincel. El Opel rueda de nuevo y lo mejor empieza ahora.
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Putting some order in my workshop, the Opel showed up and thought why not try it again. So I removed what paint remained, repaired the damage and remade some lost parts. I have primed with Vallejo, that helped to spot some cracks and defects on the surface, and once corrected, it has now the Tamiya colours waiting all the brush work on them. The Opel runs again and the best part starts now.

Humber "Toffee Box"

2011-03-03T10:35:00.023+01:00

Empezado hace bastante tiempo como ya publiqué AQUÍ, y por fin ahora dándole el empujón final tras unos meses madurando en la oscuridad, como un buen vino. Desde el momento que empecé a montarlo, tenía previsto pintarlo en el curioso esquema Maltés "crazy paving", que ya me apetecía probar. Pero husmeando fotos de la impresionante y magnífica colección que la revista Life ha puesto online a través de Google, descubrí un Ford WOA1 del 8th Army en un rarísimo y sorprendente esquema tricolor que me atrapó de inmediato y cambió mis planes: tenía que pintarlo así. Viene ahora lo más divertido: lavados, filtros, picaditas, suciedad, darle vidilla...

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Started a long time ago as was posted HERE, and getting now the final push after some months maturing in the dark, like a good wine. Just from the start I wanted to have it painted in the curious Maltese "crazy paving" scheme, something I wished to try. But rummaging through the impressive and magnificent picture collection from Life magazine made available online by Google, I discovered an 8th Army Ford WOA1 in a rare and surprising tricolour scheme that caught me inmediately and changed my plans: I had to paint it that way. Now comes the fun: washes, filters, chipping, dirt, some life put into...

M8... Greyhound?... Windhund?

2010-10-17T22:15:00.004+02:00

M8... Greyhound or Windhund? That would be a question for its new owners...
Except for the antennas, some stowage and possibly a bug or two to retouch, that 1/35 M8 Greyhound from Tamiya it's finished. Sorry about the pictures quality, and all comments wellcome!

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M8... Greyhound o Windhund? Habría que preguntárselo a sus nuevos usuarios...
Salvo algunos detalles como antenas, algún petate o caja, o alguna pifia que se le vea, este M8 de Tamiya a 1/35 lo doy ya por acabado, que hay otros dos bichos pidiendo paso. Perdonad la calidad patatera de las fotos, es que no tengo remedio...

Sd.Kfz. 221: "A (last) night in Tunisia"

2010-09-15T16:03:00.009+02:00

"A (last) night in Tunisia" for this old warrior, at the end of the north-african campaign. The Bronco kit is a superb model but sadly it retains the interior of the normal 221: the s.Pz.B. 41 version had a rearranged interior (ammo stowage, radio, etc) and as reliable info on this is scarce or non-existant, I had to base my work on the 222/223 series and some educated guesswork. I'm very happy with the result and has changed the perception I had of the 221 as the "ugly duck" of the family: definitely it is nicer than the Sd.Kfz. 222 / Sd.Kfz. 223 series.

Painting is a Tamiya mix for the sand base colour, and all the follow-up work was made by brush (and a bit of sponge) with a combination of Tamiya enamels, Vallejo acrylics, pin washes, MiG filters and some pastels and pigments on the underside. Stay tuned for the complete printed article!

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"A (last) night in Tunisia" para este viejo guerrero, al término de la campaña del Norte de África. El kit de Bronco es una soberbia maqueta pero por desgracia conserva el interior del 221 normal: el modelo equipado con el s.Pz.B. 41 tenía el interior modificado (munición, radio, etc.), y como la información detallada del mismo es escasa o inexistente, tuve que basar mi trabajo en el 222/223 y algunas suposiciones. Estoy muy contento con el resultado final y me ha cambiado la percepción que tenía del 221 como el "patito feo" de la familia: definitivamente es más bonito que los Sd.Kfz. 222 / Sd.Kfz. 223.

Sobre la pintura preparé una mezcla de Tamiya para el color arena de base, y todo el trabajo posterior se hizo a pincel (y algo de esponja) con enamel de Tamiya, acrílicos de Vallejo, lavados puntuales, filtros de MiG, y algunos pasteles y pigmentos en la parte inferior. Atentos al artículo impreso!

M20 "a la Marseillaise"

2009-09-16T22:11:00.003+02:00

I began painting this 1/35 Tamiya M20 more than a year ago, at the World Expo in Gerona (man, what an incredible time there ) and finally have finished it these days. The reason for such a long period to finish the model is simple: I've using the M20 all this time as a test bed for tecniques I wanted to try or adopt.
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Empecé este M20 de Tamiya a 1/35 hace más de un año, en el taller de la World Expo de Gerona (qué bien lo pasamos allí eh? ), avanzó intermitentemente durante varios meses y finalmente estos días lo he terminado. El por qué de tanto tiempo para acabarlo es sencillo: me ha servido de banco de pruebas para algunas técnicas e ideas que quería probar o adoptar.

Here I used for the first time Vallejo in place of Humbrol for chipping, bruishes, etc. I even tried to apply washes with this medium, not the best result but it didn't went that bad. I used for the first time Tamiya enamels (superb) replacing my long-loved Humbrol for filters, washes, rust, etc. And I've trying to apply dust with enamels in the way my friends Jorge López and Joaquin García Gazquez have been doing for a while (I went for just a bit of dust, but I like the way it works). Also, I haven't made any shadows nor highlights (just a bit of "outlining"): the idea was to start with the Tamiya base colour and then work directly over with filters, pin washes, chipping, dirt, etc. There is no modulation nor pigments. I'm quite happy with the results, some areas could be better and there are some details to retouch (the too shiny cal .50, etc), but as a test bed for future projects has been very helpful.
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Ha sido la primera maqueta donde utilicé Vallejo en lugar de Humbrol para roces, picaditas, etc. Incluso probé a hacer algún lavado, que sin dar el mejor resultado tampocó quedó mal. He utilizado por primera vez enamel de Tamiya (soberbios) en lugar de Humbrol para filtros, lavados, óxidos, etc. Y he probado también a empolvar con enamel como vienen haciendo Jorge López y Joaquín García Gázquez, y confieso que me ha gustado y mucho (no me he pasado con el efecto, pero tiene grandes posibilidades). Además no he dado sombreados (sí algún perfilado) ni luces algunas: la idea era empezar con el color base y pasar directamente a trabajar la superficie con filtros, lavados puntuales, desgastes, roces, picaditas, suciedad, polvo, salpicaduras, etc. Véase que no hay modulaciones, ni pigmentos, ni artificiales puestas en escena. Estoy bastante satisfecho del resultado general, algunas cosas pueden mejorarse pero como "test bed" me ha venido de perlas para futuros proyectos.

A Bedford in the "crater"

2009-08-12T14:31:00.006+02:00

Traigo aquí el Bedford RL a 1/35 de Accurate Armour que tanto disfruté montando y pintando el año pasado, y que es motivo gráfico de la cabecera del blog. Típico "three-tonner" de la guarnición británica de Adén, 1964.
Artículo completo en inglés.
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I bring here the 1/35 Bedford RL from Accurate Armour I enjoyed so much building and painting last year, and graphic motive of this blog headline. Typical three-tonner of the british garrison in Aden, 1964.
Full article in english.

BEDFORD RL, the real thing

Some years after WWII the British Army decided to develope a whole new range of transport vehicles, due to the age and sorry state of most of the fleet as they were WWII veterans if not older. But with cold war warming up and all the branches in the Army needing money for their respective projects, it was decided to keep costs down and to develope a program that combined three groups of vehicles for their transport fleet. First group was composed by vehicles exclusively developed for combat use, the most capable, strong, impressive vehicles that could be designed and built at the time (at a price). Second one were vehicles based on commercial vehicles but modified with all-wheel drive and stronger components. Third one englobed purely commercial vehicles used for administrative work. From the first group, after testing lots of prototypes and new ideas, only a handful of designs arrived to the roads: the Leyland Martian, Alvis Stalwart, Austin Champ, Humber 1 ton, etc. From the second group, with nearly every commercial company making proposals, emerged a vehicle that would nearly outshine all the members of the program: the Bedford RL.

The Bedford RL was based on the commercially available S-type and started its development around 1950. The frame was strenghtened, and new axles and transfer case added to it. The prototype was tested at FVRDE (Fighting Vehicle Research & Development Establishment) in 1951, next year the chassis was standardised as the FV13100 series and entered production for the Army, RAF, Royal Navy and other Government services. It was a rugged, simple, robust vehicle, and also relatively cheap, built by thousands, exported to other countries and employed all over the world. It took over the fame from its predecessor, the famous QL from WWII, and was the standard three-tonner (uprated in 1968 to 4 tons) of the British Army for two decades and still more. First series were built with a six-cylinder petrol engine of 115 bhp and later ones with a six-cylinder diesel of 99 bhp. There were short and long wheelbase versions and was fitted with all kinds of bodies, with some slight changes in the cab along the years (even armoured ones).

BUILDING THE KIT

Personally, the RL from Accurate Armour came as a real surprise when it appeared. Softskins are not the most popular subjects from model companies, even less british vehicles and far even less post-war ones. But AA is trying to level that and they have been releasing very interesting and nice kits in this class. The kit is made up of resin parts, a big and well-thought photo-etched brass fret, a very complete decal set and some brass rod. Resin detail is very fine and well reproduced, the grey resin quality has improved over the previous green one used these last years (but I will allways prefer the creamy, lovely one from their early days) There were some minor bubbles here and there but they are easy to deal with. My only real regret is the textured surface of the resin pieces: clearly the master parts got a primer coat before mould-making, but the resulting finish is too coarse. Wet sanding is the solution, but while some parts like the cab are easy to work on, others like the cargo body are nearly impossible to sand correctly. Building was in general very straightforward. When all the resin bits are glued together, it's better to drill a hole in two opposite wheels and pin the model to a foam or wooden base for safer handling. Take your time with the PE parts as a lot of them are small and quite delicate.

I just made a few corrections or additions to the kit. I roughened a bit the wooden seats and wooden "bumpers" in the lower body sides with coarse sand paper.The tilt supports were made with plastic rod taking measurements from the resin tilt included in the kit. Earlier tilt suports were very basic, this later version, more intrincate, has more appeal. I discarded and made new trafficators on the cab sides, with a tiny slice of rod as its center, and two sliced and polished sections of transparent sprue, front and back. New too were the headlights and trafficators in the cab, made with small sections of transparent plastic sprue, sanding them to a convex shape, then cutting carefully off the sprue and polished smooth. Fragile details like were wipers, mirror, etc. were added after painting was finished.

PAINTING AND WEATHERING

Aden is located in Yemen, in the north entry to the Red Sea, a very good natural port and for many years an strategic point from where to police the area and to control shipping into and out this vital route to the Suez Channel. For a long time the United Kingdom had a garrison in the area and when the capital (the "Crater" for the british) and the mountains erupted in revolution a lot of british units rotated in the area.

From the beginning of the project I wanted to paint my Bedford as one of these used in and around Aden. The sand and black scheme was very atractive and the possibilities of weathering very appealing. Before painting, I carefully washed the model in lukewarm, soapy water, with a smooth brush, and let dry well. The metal and PE pieces were primed with a very diluted wash of Tamiya putty in acetone, and added some putty textured with an old, hard brush over the lower areas of chassis, cab and body.

My painting method is quite chaotic, I do not have fixed receipts and like to test and try colour mixes and techniques on each new model. I make base coats and camouflage mixes in a Tamiya jar by eyeball, and directly in the airbrush cup for the filters, etc. I know I'm not an example to follow, but this is the way I work. For the basic colour I usually don't adhere to available ones. The diverse manufacturers, atmospheric agents, application methods, etc, always affect the official colour and that allows us to obtain still more variety in every model.

The sand colour is a mix of Tamiya Desert Yellow with small portions of white, yellow and orange. It was applied in two layers and to get more chromatic variety, I gave smooth filters by airbrushing the same base colour very, very diluted and adding alternatively small amounts of white, yellow, orange and brown, working on different areas and trying to get contrast and variety between them. Over that I airbrushed filters with orange and yellow transparent colurs from Tamiya, very diluted in its solvent.

The next step was painting by hand the black stripes with Humbrol Nº 33, first defining the edges and then filling up the interior. I let dry well for a day and repeated with a second layer.

On the rear axle, the central casing was painted white, as an ingenious light under the chassis iluminated this area at night and worked as a blackout/distance-keeping aid for drivers in convoy work.

For the shadows, first I dampened with Humbrol solvent the zones to work and next gave several very diluted Humbrol dark brown washes around details, panel lines, etc.

Now it was time for the paint chipping. It's a very important phase, and as with every other effect, we must try not to overdone it, it's the total sum of all effects that will give the correct final look. I started using a small, tiny piece of foam (just the type in which airbrushes are packed in) pinned in tweezers to "tap" into the surface and get irregular shapes. It works very well but don't go over it, select the areas to paint, control the shapes and use as less paint as possible. And remember allways to combine it with the brush or the effect wont' look Ok, this technique it's just an add-on to the brush, it doesn't replace it.

I made small scratches and chipping with several Humbrol greens over the sand areas to imitate the original factory-applied Bronze Green, and with sand colour over the black ones to imitate the Light Stone under. This treatment was applied to the most prone areas for that: door and bumper edges, inside the cargo body, etc. On the cargo floor the effects were stronger and combined with drybrushing, almost leaving no sand colour.

For the oxides I employed mixtures of black, red and yellow from Humbrol, varying the proportions for the old, dark oxides or the new, brighter ones. Sometimes I have applied them as little chips in concrete spots, sometimes almost drybrushed, in other cases diluted for stains, or combining the techniques for very battered areas. Over the oxidized areas small filters of the same colours were given to unify the tones.

On areas that suffer continuous rubbing and get a shiny metal finish, I used two methods: small touches of Humbrol Gun Metal and Steel Metal Cote (slightly polished with a rag when dry), and graphite powder (obtained sanding a pencil) applied simply by rubbing with the finger. For the graphite, a little advice: soft pencil graphite holds very well over the paint but sometimes can result too dark, for that reason over the soft pencil you can rub over with hard pencil powder, which is brighter but of smaller adhesion over the paint.

For the dust, first I gave controlled washes with Tamiya Buff and Light Grey heavily diluted in water, when dried the acrylic pigment leaves a very real dust effect. After that I turned to pigments, combining different sand and earth colours on different areas, applied directly with a brush or diluted in turpentine, the secret here is to get the effects as less uniform as posible: play with the amounts, the colours and the shapes.

Some grease, oil and petrol spots and stains were distributed in wheels hubs, axles, transmission, etc. Where fuel and oil get mixed with dust and sand, I applied by brush some brown and orange pastel dust, fixed with a pair of drops of turpentine spirit. Over that I airbrushed black Holbein ink diluted in alcohol, which once dry gives a very nice matt dark grey finish, just like the "caked" real mix of grease and sand. For areas with fresh oil, I applied touches of a mixture of diluted Humbrol black, brown and bright varnish, varying the proportions here and there, and added also some splashes of the same mixture with a hard, old brush, rubbing it against a toothpick. Try also this technique in the undersides of the vehicle, you will be amazed how well it works for imitating the typical dirt in this area.

Glazing for the cab was made carefully cutting the acetate provided in the kit. You will need some "convincing" for the curved windows in the rear. Patience, good music and no coffee!

The decal markings from Accurate Armour are well-printed and offer a wide selection of vehicles. I choosed the red and yellow tactical sign for a RAC unit, and the famous "arab dhou" marking typical for the Aden garrison. The decals received the usual treatment: bright varnish over the zone where they are going to, Micro Sol, decal placement, Micro Set, bright varnish again, and finally water diluted Micro Flat to finish.

Time now for an ice-cold tea?

Lancia Lince o el copy-art en la guerra

2009-07-24T12:03:00.007+02:00

Cualquiera diría que es un Daimler Dingo, pero no, es un Lancia Lince, la copia italiana fabricada hacia el final de la guerra. El kit es una magnífica resina de Maquette (sí, sí, de Maquette) a 1/35 con dos o tres añadidos y algún arreglito, se monta en dos patadas (la única lástima, no trae interior), lo cierto es que es un kit soberbio con un detalle finito, finito. Hay otro kit de este bichillo de la italiana Brach Models, más caro pero realmente impresionante, con interiores completos. En todo caso, mucho me temo que Miniart es capaz de acabar sacando un Lince basándose en su excelente Dingo.

Y bien, tras unas semanas metido en otros berenjenales plásticos (que espero poder mostrar en breve) así es como va ya en pintura, capa base, más camo, más ruedas. Le falta mucho, pero es lo más divertido...

He empezado por un arena muy pálido y un verde muy discreto y apagado. Los posteriores tratamientos de lavados y filtros harán que oscurezcan y ganen saturación, de modo que es mejor empezar por lo bajo e ir subiendo poco a poco.

A todo esto, uno diría que hay cierta "moda italiana" en kits: Italeri presentando nuevos moldes y reeditando otros, Tamiya poniendo al día los suyos y multitud de marcas en resina sacando kits interesantísimos. Una gozada puesto que los vehículos transalpinos tienen un estilo y encanto inconfundibles, tal cual como salsas para pasta... un día de estos haré un repasito de las últimas adquisiciones.

El viejo Barajas

2009-07-16T18:12:00.003+02:00

Ya tiene un par de añitos pero le tengo un cariño inmenso a este bicho. Es el kit de Modeltrans a escala 1/43 del Pegaso Z-207 "Barajas", al que transformé en versión grúa de la Marina...

Humber "Box" (not so straight from it)

2009-03-13T23:26:00.005+01:00

Aquí os pongo el bichillo donde me he estado dejando las yemas de los dedos las últimas semanas, un Humber "Box" 8cwt Heavy Utility...

El kit original a 1/35 es de Wespe y malo, malísimo, pero es uno de esos encantadores vehículos británicos que siempre he querido hacer y además del que tengo buena documentación. De modo que me puse a corregir en profundidad, entre otras cosas hacer por completo un frontal nuevo, cambiar ruedas por otras de Hussar, hacer unos moldecitos en Maskol de los bujes de las ruedas del Humber SC de Bronco, regrabar líneas de paneles, etc, etc. Hay otro kit de Accurate Armor, algo mejor pero exageradamente caro para la calidad que ofrece. A falta de añadir algún detalle final como cables, limpiaparabrisas o repasar la superficie, está ya listo para pintura, y menudas ganas tengo!

Cabeza de playa

2009-01-01T11:49:00.005+01:00

Primer día del 2009 y primer post en esta nueva cabeza de playa dedicada al modelismo. Para ir preparando el terreno a las maquetas que vayan llegando, este Sherman BARV ya está de nuevo apostado en mi mesa de trabajo tras empezarlo hace unas semanas.

Es un proyecto que me rondaba hace mucho tiempo. El Sherman BARV (Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle) se ideó para emplearlo como tractor blindado de rescate en las playas normandas. Se sabía de sobra que los vehículos que vadeaban hacia la playa podían quedar inmobilizados por fallos en la impermeabilización, o peor aún, atrapados en el subsuelo arcilloso de las playas, apenas cubierto de arena. Y resultarían igualmente útiles para devolver al mar las lanchas varadas en la marea baja. Resulta una variante interesantísima y con posibilidades de decoración bastante peculiares a cada uno de los empleados en Normandía, realizados todos sobre chasis A2 (aunque hubo un prototipo sobre el A4). Miré la posibilidad de comprar el kit de Resicast, pero entre su exagerado precio y algunas formas y detalles del kit que no me convencían en absoluto, preferí tirarme al scratch. Además me apetecía y mucho. Tenía unos viejos planitos de los 70, pero comparando estos con fotos tampoco me parecieron muy correctos. Al final internet ha sido la gran fuente de información en este aspecto y me estoy guiando por las fotos de dos reportajes soberbios del bicho real, uno de ellos con un metro escalado en cada una de las fotos, imprescindible... con eso, el casco de Dragon y la calculadora voy sacando medidas, me voy haciendo dibujirris de las piezas que me interesan y voy cuadrándolo todo, es más fácil de lo que parece.

Por cierto, ya le voy viendo pegas al Sherman M4A2 de Dragon, como tener que añadir esas dos tiras en el forntal para que tenga la forma y medida real (que ellos hacen así para meter los guardabarros, error, porque el escalón seguirá estando ahí), retirar y rehacer las tapas ovaladas traseras para los crampones, y eliminar dos pegotes junto a los faros (se creerán que pueden pasar por los soportes de los "taponcitos" que cubrían la toma eléctrica cuando se retiraba el faro). He tomado como base el Tarawa y si alguien lo hiciera como tal, atención también a los bulbos de las escotillas pues Dragon presenta los periscopios casi al borde, error que han solucionado en el Mk III.

Si todo marcha conforme a lo planeado, en los próximos días debería terminar toda la superestructura...