RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

jee wrote:although I am not a great fan of the IS tanks, this is great work!

Thanks Mr Jee, I get that sometimes it hard to appreciate a model when its one you dont really like, but for me the thought of having an even set of German and Soviet heavy tanks is far too tempting, so the J.S. had to happen.
I will say that with the price tag of this Taigen down here making this one the most expensive tank I own, it was not without some reservation that I started hacking into it

Having managed to fluke getting 3 tins of spray primer which I normally have to order in & wait for, I got a rush of blood happening & took the big fella outside
Its real soggy & hellish humid here at the moment so I hit it with the hair drier for a bit once I got out there.
God I "Love the smell of Primer In The Evening"................(ok so its not Napalm in the morning, but its the same desire!)
I had to shove bits of cardboard masking inside it to stop any red from dusting into the internals, & I hope to get the silver base on it tomorrow.
There is still the issue of mounting the spare from track links on the lower front plate, good & solid enough to be belted constantly, but also having to look right.
Im out tomorrow morning to scour the land for suitable material.
I will not waste my last 4 remaining spare metal links on what is basically cosmetics, so if I can use the robust plastic items that I got off it, they will do if necessary.

Good morning, Herman,
The Build is really coming along great! I read your bit about redoing the front track links and holders. I'm not tooting my own horn here but the methods and materials I used turned out to be pretty solid in use. Driving it through the rough out here, I have sieved through a lot of undergrowth and lost nothing off that mounting so far. Just an idea, my friend. Following along.
regards,
Painless

PainlessWolf wrote:Good morning, Herman,
The Build is really coming along great! I read your bit about redoing the front track links and holders. I'm not tooting my own horn here but the methods and materials I used turned out to be pretty solid in use. Driving it through the rough out here, I have sieved through a lot of undergrowth and lost nothing off that mounting so far. Just an idea, my friend. Following along.
regards,
Painless

Your horn is fine to toot Mr wolf, I did study your solution & its still a very good option.
If I can get 2mm hex head bolts I will drill clean through the hull and secure the track links with those and 2 part epoxy.
The outer 2 links are missing on '202' so I will try to get that look as well.
The actual mounts on the real tanks are massive blocks of steel welded to the hull, but the positioning of the top row would be on the upper half of the hull in the case of the Taigen, which wont work due to the opening system of them.
Its not a show stopper, but just another thing to consider before top coat.

Gun metal silver shade is on, as is the shadowing around the usual areas.
I'm getting well used to using the silver as a foundation coat over primer on Soviet machines now, it helps with the 4BO topcoat modulation.....................(tell myself that enough times & I might actually believe it )
I wasn't worried about shading the lower hull as I'm going to use wash & pigment down there to get the look I want.
Fair way to go yet but its getting there.

Green is on.
Sure is a big canvas with a lot more angles than a King Tiger.
Lightened the larger flat top surfaces and hand painted the turret numbers & slogan.
Got paint on the tracks and washed them in too.


Loads of wash & pigments to apply so still lots to do.
Chipping effect here & there, and some sort of stowage.
I adjusted the idlers and got the sag just about right.
If it gets too loose I can set them back to where they were ex-factory without using any new links.

Amazing transformation with the paint expertly applied. Looking great.

Herman, it's certainly coming along now! The gun metal undercoat looks like a very interesting approach indeed. I never thought of doing that to underpin the shading and modulation for 4BO but I will certainly try it the next time I do a Soviet build.
Looking forward to the next instalment...

Looks great!!

Jimster wrote:Amazing transformation with the paint expertly applied. Looking great.

Cheers Mr Jimster,its coming along pretty good