Armourfast T-34/85

I started this particular Armourfast T-34/85 (No. 99009) when I was living in the Bay Area. How, you may ask, can someone make so little progress over two years with a model that consists of only eight pieces? To which I would have to reply, that this model needs a lot of work to make a passable T-34. The first thing I had to do was to thin down the treads. The treads were so thick that they made the tank tower over other 1/72 T-34s. The next step was to drill holes in the wheels and add bolt heads on the road wheels. I used the little beads from the inside of a Brita pitcher filter cartridge for bolt heads. Unfortunately I lost all the beads when I moved, so only the right wheels have bolts in them. I added some fuel drums from a PST tank kit, a scratchbuilt headlamp, and wire grab handles.


Recently I decided to try and make some progress on this kit, so I shaved off the turret ring that was molded into the hull of the tank. This ring should be part of the turret. I affixed a 22 mm washer to the turret using CA glue, and applied Kneadatite to fill in gaps. The diameter of the washer is slightly large, but I could not find anything 21 mm at the hardware store.


If the washer looks asymetrically positioned, it is because a) I needed it positioned so that the turret could rotate freely, and b) because the turret actually is asymatric on this model.

Goth Gang II

Here are the figures from my previous entry on TDSC-11 painted up. It's been many years since I've actually painted any metal miniatures. I finished the zombie very quickly, but the other two figures took a bit longer.


Actually, the Gothette was quite simple to paint since she is all in black except for the pink highlights in her hair, and the green skull logo on her shirt. The backpack worn by the Gothette is Hoshimaru from Shadow Star and was made of Kneadatite. I think it came out quite nicely.


I'm not really happy with the way the Wedding Dress Goth turned out. I thought that the purple skirt would look pretty cool, but after I finished it didn't look as good as I though it would. I do like the way that the rabbit turned out though.


The close up images kind of make me cringe. The camera is not very forgiving of my painting skills. I suppose I will get better as I paint more figures though.

Bulgarian Jagdpanzer 38(t)

This is my first entry for May, and the month is already almost over. It hasn't been a very productive month as far as hobbies go, but work has been pretty busy. Anyway, I finally decided to start on my UM Flammpanzer 38(t) kit (UM 355), only I will build it as a Late Hetzer. The sprues for both the Flammpanzer 38(t) and the Hetzer (Late Version) are identical, with the only difference being the photoetch parts. I decided to do the build as a Late Hetzer because I wanted to model a Bulgarian Hetzer (pictured below), and the UM kit has link and length tracks and individual side armor plates which is perfect for what I want to do. Actually, I'm not sure why UM decided to make their Flammpanzer an Early Hetzer. The photos of Flammpanzers that I've seen are always of a Late Hetzer.



After assembling the upper and lower hull, I compared the UM Hetzer with my built up Fujimi Hetzer. I'd have to say that by eye, they are very similar in size, though the barrel of the Fujimi Hetzer is much thicker.


The UM Hetzer is much wider, but with the way the armored skirts of the Fujimi Hetzer stick out, the difference in width is not so apparent to the casual observer.


Now that I am looking at the photo of the Bulgarian Hetzer again, I also realize that I used the wrong type of rear idler and headlight. The color profile that I was working from got these wrong. The UM kit actually provides an idler like the one in the photo, but I'm not going to bother correcting it. Oh, well.