Panther

[Spasm]

The chaps and chapesses in the office go out of their way to ensure they know everyone's birthday. They then buy a small present as the birthday's come round. It costs me a fortune as it seems as though there's a birthday every week or so.

So, mine came round in September and they bought me a model tank! I haven't built one of these for many years. When younger in SA I used to build these, shoot them with my pellet gun and blow them up with the chinese crackers that you could seperate into individual tiny sticks of dynamite with fuses to boot.

I was just gonna stash in the loft but I'm gonna take it back in to give to the ringleader. Serves him right.

[Spasm]

I don't remember it taking this long when I was younger. A 4" brush and some green paint and voila!

[Spasm]

I 'spect its because you become a bit more finicky as you get older

[Spasm]

I don't recommend doing this. It opens new hobby doors, you need glue, paint, polyfilla for the snow, very tiny brushes to do the even smaller medals on the weeny figures and hair cut from some voluteer (or not) to make the reeds :whistle:

[Spasm]

The soldiers don't come complete with straps on pouches, gas masks or weapons and you need to fiddle around with cutting paper and sticking on. Its a right faff

[Spasm]

You then need to look up tank paint jobs on the model you have, paint the camo and then whitewash to make it look authentic. Don't take this hobby up, it'll make you try to get a thing that weighs 3 ounces to look like it actually weighs 40 ton. Madness is in this direction.

[peter monahan]

Spasm

Couldn't agree more! Life's too short. You forget to mention: overbrushing handles and knobs with silver so they look as if the paint's worn off, abusing the fenders with a hot metal object to simulate dents and, if you really don't have a life, scratch building interiors so you can fix the hatches in the open position.

I never did that last myself. All my AFV were done in 'buttoned down' mode: hatches closed and crewmen all safely inside. Then, at 18, as I was a late bloomer, I discovered alcohol and women, and the long winter evenings got way more interesting and it was "So long, plastic modelling!" ;)

Edited November 20, 2011 by peter monahan

[TacHel]

You definiely haven't lost your touch! It looks awesome!

I love the attention to fine details! The snow in the threads, the wear, the rust, the overheated exhausts... Magnificient! Great job!

[Douglas Jr.]

Marvellous for someone that was away from modelling!

Congratulations.

Douglas

[Laurence Strong]

Excellent work. I really like the whitewash camoflage

[Spasm]

Ta very much chaps....although tempting (after the praise) I'm not going to do any more. Even though I do have a few boxes of "small men" of the 40k variety (and I'm sure I remember some heavy armour that go with them) hiding in a box in the loft.

I'm trying to teach myself how to paint in 3D now. I'm on layer 4 of about 10 (I will explain once they are complete) with each layer taking a good few days to complete. If they come out as intended I'll show ya'll them on here. They are only practice ones though, so I may just chuck them in the bin if they don't work and start over. All will be revealed in about a month or so........exciting aint it? I can't wait

Thanks again all

Cheers Spaz

[Spasm]

The 3D painting practice items are dead. They were going ok but I got bored so they are stashed on the work bench and am now back to drawing (much easier and familiar ground)

[peter monahan]

A shame! I always knew I had no artistic bent at all - never tried the multui-layer stuff even on the few figures I did because I had neither patience nor talent but have always apprciated the skill and real artistry in those who do it right. It is no less an art than minature portraits or larger lanscapes, provided the skill level matches the interest level and I always want to smack people who refer to it as a 'craft', as in "arts and crafts", as if it were something you did to fill a wet afternoonwith a paint-by-numbers kit!