A Facelift and Refit For a Bandai Hummel

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Thank you, Monsieur Chef. You're too kind.

[Model Builder 4]

Wow SCHWEREPANZER that looks awesome that's the kind of look I'd like to end up with on my bandai.
I was lucky enough to pick one up a couple of years back and fitted it with some new electronics and functions, I will eventually replace the standard gearboxes and motors though as they reach a bigillion degrees even when running for a few minutes
Here's a link to mine, it's got a short clip of it running as well

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Cheers, Lee.

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Hey Lee,

First, thanks. The much maligned Bandai, even in the moden modeling age, still can hold its own (much like the Imai Elefant). Let's see how it stands up to the new Trumpeters. You are fortunate to have picked up what looks like a pretty much virgin Bandai. I like the look of the petrol tanks (water tanks?) on the right fender. A much better look than the original box (which to my eyes is a bit over-sized). And your runs great with all features working very nicely. You are a very lucky guy, indeed. Mine had non-working 'electronics" when I got it and I'm not a tech wizard, so the ole gal is now a self-queen, 'looking pretty, but nowhere to go' (as the saying goes). So, have at it. I hope you'll post the report once you decide to get going on her. Parenthetically, I came across a built up, but unpainted Hummel in Germany a short while back and I was really tempted to pull the trigger. The announcement by Trumpeter is what stopped me, to say nothing of the shipping cost to me here in the USA. So, yeah, the Bandai is dear to my heart despite her shortcomings....but, which can be overcome without supernatural skills...which I do not have.

Thanks again,

Ralph

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I am looking again at the photos, and I am with Bix about the level of detail, the amazing painting, the whole thing. It really does seem as if the "real vehicle" is put in front of "photoshop[ed] fake background."

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Herr Dr. Professor, you're really too kind.

One dead giveaway though, among many others, that this is not a set piece 'fake' [ ] is the unnerving glare of the deadly decal carrier film shining in the background of some of the pictures...and which has caused me no small level of angst. If you could advise a remedy I would be eternally grateful. I even found and bought a bottle of old Polly S Clear Flat which I remember using with some success some 30 odd years ago and which, if my fading memory is correct, did an admirable job of hiding the dreaded film and edges of decal application. Furthermore, I'm not technically proficient enough with the computer and the vagaries of photoshop technology to pull off a stunt like you suggest.

One further proof that this whole post is not some master bit of skulduggery, I have been toying around making 'canvas' tarps and, over this past weekend, have made two rudimentary attempts and temporarily applied them to the Ole Bandai which is now, more or less, in situ, without the white background (which I do admit) is fake. I open the floor to comment....keep them or not?

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Thanks again, Doc

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I say "Yes" to the tarps. As for the silvering decals: after applying them, the best I could think would be to use some "Easy Lift Off" and be ready to do touch up painting if necessary. Another idea that occurs to me is to lightly sand the silvered area and the other decals to make them look like worn paint. That, of course, might require more weathering to blend it all in, too.

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[SCHWEREPANZER]

Ooh, the words "touch up painting" made my palms start to sweat. I'm hoping the Poly S Clear Flat works. Currently, the small bottle purchased as a single item
Is lost in a USPS Parcel Locker (never heard the term before)...so I have been told, today.

I have never had any luck successfully removing decals once applied and dry. Tamiya XF-86 didn't work, either.

[HERMAN BIX]

Stay your tarps Sir !

By the way, how did you make them !

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Thanks for the encouragement, General Bix. I'm not quite convinced about the larger one, but in my defense, it was my very first attempt at tarp making.

I've come to learn that if you can conjure a subject up in your mind, there's a U-tube primer on the subject. There are a lot of them for 'tarp making' of varying degrees of helpfulness. So to answer your question, the same one I had last Friday when I decided to attempt this new idea, I came up with the following:

Using the tissue paper method (as opposed to mold casting tarps which is way beyond my abilities or desires), a friend in Germany suggested using a product called Tempo which is really nothing more than a more heavy duty version of the typical 'nose blowing' tissue. Just as good, I think, is a dried 'wet wipe' the kind a mother might use on a baby's.... The 'wet wipe' was even better in my opinion as it has a bit more heft to it, yet is pliable enough, when wet, to work with. After determining where the tarp should go on the model and approximate dimensions of the intended tarp, the tissue (or wet wipe) is soaked in water mixed with a white glue (like Elmers sold in the USA), mixture about 50-50 for only as long as necessary to get it good and wet and gloppy. Then, it's a matter of placing it on the model and pushing it around with a tooth pick or similar object to form it into the shape hoped for. Sounds easy, but it was really not quite that easy (at least for me). The ideal process is to shape the tarp before the model is painted because it's messy work. after forming the tarp into a shape you can live with, it's simply a matter of letting the 'tarp' dry over night. Rather than try to to paint the white tarp an appropriate color while on the model, it became a matter of gently lifting (prying) it off, painting it with an airbrush, letting it dry and then replacing it back onto the model. I found that regardless of how gently the tarp is removed initially, it doesn't quite lay exactly as flat. I'm still working on that issue. An atom's sized bit of 'tacky' tucked under the tarp seemed to help.

My humble explanation of tarp making 101 in less than 500 words.

[Jimster]

Unbelievably realistic modeling all the way around. You have that special “eye” for details and weathering.