M3A1 Scout car finished, well almost!

I decided to put all the figures in place, and build wise that finishes the kit.
I still want to put it on a small base, but I still need to buy materials to do that.
So for now I consider this build finished!

Finished pic 1
Finished pic 1
Finished pic 2
Finished pic 2
Finished pic 3
Finished pic 3
Finished pic 4
Finished pic 4

Next will be creating the small dio.

M3A1 decals and weathering

There are decals for 3 versions in this kit, one american and two russian. As there are russian soldier provided with this kit I decided to go with one of the russian options.
Only three decals and the set I thought looked the coolest, but also turned out to be the most difficult.as one is quite large and covers the rear side of the vehicle.
I actually broke the decals when sliding it on to the surface and then had a lot of problems moving the pieces around. I managed to get it right in the end and after some micro sol it sits quite nicely.

Decals on
Decals on

I assembled and painted some ammo boxes to put in the car.

Painted ammo boxes
Painted ammo boxes

I did a new test fit with the figures and guns.

Test fit with soldiers and guns
Test fit with soldiers and guns

Looks pretty ok to me. I still need to get the driver in place, but first some weathering. I sealed the decals yesterday, and today I used black oil colour to make a pin wash.
I also painted exhaust pipe and some other spots on the underside with rust.
Then I started working with Tamiyas weathering sets, adding mud and rust to certain areas.

Weathering started
Weathering started
The other side
The other side

I think I’ll need to do some additional weathering later. I’ll do some weathering on the figures, get the driver in place, and start to plan for a small dio. Might add some more mud once the base is done.

The russian figures painted.

I consider the figures to the scout car done. I still need to do some weathering that’ll go hand in hand with the weathering of the car, and perhaps a small base.

Figures painted
Figures painted

I also did a little test placement of the figures.

Figures placed in the car
Figures placed in the car

I prepared to apply the decals, and then I will see if I can get the driver in place.

Then guns and stuff needs to be placed and the figures put into position, and some weathering done. That’s more or less it! 🙂

More progress with the scout car.

The seat cushions was painted and I’ve started to assemble two of the figures.

Seats painted
Seats painted

Then the seats was assembled and glued in place.

Seats glues in place
Seats glued in place.

I put the gunner figure in place just to check.

Test fit of gunner
Test fit of gunner

I sorted the missing glass with a piece of cut 3 mm clear plastic. The instrument panel got decals and two figures got assembled. I needed the driver to see if I could fit him into his seat..

Front lamps and protection glued and two figures assembled.
Front lamps and protection glued and two figures assembled.

The panel was glued in place, which some other interior parts was a bit fiddly to get in place.

Panel in place
Panel in place

Except for the steering wheel, the vehicle is done, then of course decals will go on and some weathering. I’m also working on both the machine guns and 2 more figures.

Four figures on the go and one more to do.
Four figures on the go and one more to do.

I still have one more figure to cut lose and assemble, then they all need to be painted, and I also need to put some decals on the vehicle.

The M3A1 build continues and a quick update on the Lightning.

First the hull and chassie was assembled. The wheels had poly caps so they’re just pushed on.

Chassie and hull assembled

The machine gun railing was assembled. A bit fiddly with the movable gun holds, other than that they went on smoothly.

Railing added
Railing added

Then I started with some of the small parts like front lights. Accidently dropped the clear piece and couldn’t find it. I’ll see if I can solve that later.

Working on small parts.
Working on small parts
Rear view
Rear view

Lastly I’ve started to paint the seats and the front windows.

Seats painted olive drab
Seats painted olive drab

The seats cushions will be painted next.

I’ve also done a little puttying on the belly of the Lightning.

Seams puttied
Seams puttied

Progress with the Lightning, Weekend build meeting, and my new purchases.

Earlier last week I was asked if I wanted to join a weekend gathering were we could sit and build and talk. After not being able to meet like this for quite some time, it was a no brainer, adn with my girlfriends permission, I was ready to go.

I managed to to do a little on the Lightning beflre it was time to pack everything for the little more than 1½ hour trip to the meeting.
I assembled the exhaust pipes, painted the chrome on the rear piece, added decals to the cockpit and started painting the pilot.

Exhaust pipes, pilot and cockpit
Exhaust pipes, pilot and cockpit

The seat was also painted.

Ejection seat painted
Ejection seat painted

I got some wash on the exhaust and intake parts, to enhance them a bit. Not that they are very visible inside, but anyway.

Exhaust and intake
Exhaust and intake

That was how far I got before the meeting. At the meeting I glued the intake to the fuselage and added some weights to that half.

Intake glued and weights added
Intake glued and weights added

For some reason the the pilot didn’t fit, at all, at least not without major surgery, so I decided to skip the pilot. So I added seat belts made of thin stripes of tape.

Seats with belts added
Seat with belts added

Landing gears assembled.

Landing gears assembled
Landing gears assembled

Wings assembled.

Wings assembled
Wings assembled

The cockpit fits nicely on top of the intake. More weights was added and secured with white glue.

Cockpit and weights added
Cockpit and weights added

Missiles and over wing tanks built.

Missiles and tanks
Missiles and tanks

Landing gears painted black.

Landing gears painted black
Landing gears painted black

I decided to switch object and started a new kit, a Swedish personal carrier, BV206S.

Boxart
Boxart

I forgot to take pics, but after some time I had gotten this far.

Wheels and chassies assembly
Wheels and chassies assembly

Talking about forgetting to take pics, which is easy to do when building and making conversations with my fellow model builder friends. So all of a sudden, I had gotten this far with the lightning.

The lightning assembled
The lightning assembled

After some more time I hade masked the canopy parts, painted the inside, glued them to the fuselage, and assembled a lot of small parts on the body.

At the end of the weekend
At the end of the weekend

One of the kits I picked up from a visiting vendor, was this M3A1 Scout car in russian service.

Boxart
Boxart

Same problem here, I forgot to take pics during a large part of the build process.

Frame and upper hull almost done
Frame and upper hull almost done

Another find was this lamborghini kit.

Boxart
Boxart

And this one.

Boxart
Boxart

On a table was a few kits that caught my attention, and especially one of the kits, I wasn’t sure who had brought them to the meeting, but when I asked it turned out they were for sale, so I snatched this beauty.

Boxart
Boxart

And it came with this book.

Book cover
Book cover

I came home sunday afternoon, and before putting all model stuff in place I cleaned up my workspace! Much needed, and now I only need a new cutting mat.

My workbench
My workbench

It was a great weekend, even if my girlfriend complained about spending too much money.