Ricks' Ramblings

[NARSES2]

Thanks. 

Chris, as I recall I may have used a spraycan white but then the Humbrol went straight over the top.
Probably needed a couple of coats, but that's it - I hadn't heard of the pink undercoat trick back then.
And the Humbrol wasn't thinned much (if at all) either, so that probably helped.

Yellow's an odd colour that can have a mind of its own. Sometimes it will cover perfectly and other times   

[Charlie_c67]

Might be worth looking at the Montana range of spray cans? I've used them and they do give a nice coverage, though need a little practice beforehand. Picking the right shade can be a little bit of a minefield if one is looking for RW paint jobs, but I think I've worked out some suitable candidates. No doubt rivet counters may claim that the brown is "too purple" or other oft quoted head scratchers, but since I'm slightly colourblind, tough tatas 

[Wardukw]

I have no reason why but man I've got such soft spot fir the Cub ..no matter the version..sweet little build Rick mate     

[NARSES2]

. No doubt rivet counters may claim that the brown is "too purple" or other oft quoted head scratchers, but since I'm slightly colourblind, tough tatas 

I've always maintained that we all see colours slightly differently, and when it comes to how men and women perceive the same colour   

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, Phill. 

Chris - yeah, White for ex... 

There's a range of cheap(er) paints available for wall-scrawling, and some of the colours are pretty good for sci-fi usage.
Not so much for RW, but there are ballpark options and weathering can help things along.

[Rick Lowe]

1/76 LVT(A)4 **real world**

There was a conversion article in an old Airfix Magazine, turning the Airfix Buffalo into an LVT(A)1. It was quite attractive, but looked to be a lot of work.
Then I acquired a Matchbox M3 Stuart, and planned to use the turret for the conversion.
Another article in a Military Modelling Annual, in which Steve Zaloga scratchbuilt an M8 HMC, modified the plan: I would now build the later version.

I started by cutting off and modifying the rear of the Buffalo, as the Armoured version had the engine at the back and hence a solid rear end.
The trackguards and upper hull were scratchbuilt, but I made them in a single sheet, then realized the trackguards were at a lower level.
Nowadays I'd laminate a piece of card onto the hull part, but back then I hadn't had as much experience (or wasn't as lazy) so I cut the trackguard parts off and attached them a bit lower down. I then scratchbuilt the turret – not easy, as it was open-topped and what supports I used had to be cut away after everything had set; but the original article made this clear, so I knew that from the start.

Paint is Humbrol grey with green wavy camouflage and other colours as needed for the rest.

I cobbled together a crew and used an old S+S Models Browning on a scratch mount.
I decided to give a couple of the crew Marines-type cam covers to their helmets.

I didn't feel like trying to get the running gear sorted out, particularly as it was an old model I was reusing and the original wheel assembly job wasn't the best (misaligned wheels and lots of tube glue...), also a few of them had gone missing over the years.

So, I glued the tracks to the front and rear sprockets and pulled them tight underneath, and then set the model in a base to depict it swimming to shore.
The outer box is thick plastic with the tops of the walls contoured to the waves' shapes, which I made from wall filler plaster.

Poster and acrylic paint, and I used Humbrol gloss varnish overall to make a glossy sea.
I then had to repaint it a few years later, to get rid of the yellowed varnish. Sigh.

A fun little project and it turned out pretty much as I wanted.

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[NARSES2]

That's really, really nice Rick   

I think I remember that old article. I know they used to come out with lots of conversion articles as soon as a new armour kit was released. Indeed when the Bren Carrier came out the articles ran for months.

[PR19_Kit]

There was a conversion article in an old Airfix Magazine, turning the Airfix Buffalo into an LVT(A)1. It was quite attractive, but looked to be a lot of work.

I did exactly that, following that article to build an LVT(A)1 with the machine gun turret on the roof. To this day it remains the ONLY armour model I've ever completed!

(I promise I will finish my 'Berlin Brigade' Challenger 2...................................one day.  )

[Old Wombat]

(I promise I will finish my 'Berlin Brigade' Challenger 2...................................one day.  )

Yeah! Yeah! Sure! 

Nice job in mini-scale, Rick! 

[Pellson]

Impressive! 

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, fellas.

Chris - yeah, I remember seeing a few of those articles, but this one was in one of the later, A4 sized magazines.
Sometimes they got quite creative, too - I remember one in which Chris Ellis cut down a Leopard to make an M-18 Hellcat... out of the  box, but it worked. 

[NARSES2]

Chris - yeah, I remember seeing a few of those articles, but this one was in one of the later, A4 sized magazines.
Sometimes they got quite creative, too - I remember one in which Chris Ellis cut down a Leopard to make an M-18 Hellcat... out of the  box, but it worked. 

Yup the limited range of kits back in the day, especially small scale armour, meant that some of those conversions were amazing examples of mix and match with the odd bit of balsa thrown in for good measure 

[Rick Lowe]

Some of those conversions are still the only way to get a particular vehicle... But they work, so that's good enough.
I plan a few more, using those type of articles. 

[NARSES2]

Some of those conversions are still the only way to get a particular vehicle... But they work, so that's good enough.
I plan a few more, using those type of articles. 

Look forward to seeing them 

[Rick Lowe]

Some of those conversions are still the only way to get a particular vehicle... But they work, so that's good enough.
I plan a few more, using those type of articles. 

Look forward to seeing them 

Some are still on the 'Someday' list, others are done but I have to find the box they're in and photograph them... 

But it's on 'The List'.