RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Loads of grinding & rough filing done today, no cricket to watch
The Taigen chassis is VERY durable. Im not sure what it is actually made of, but its not simple folded alloy sheet like most others.
It 'pinned' the grinding disk, and seemed to work harden if allowed to be skimmed rather than ground by the abrasive disk.
I used a thin disk on the dremmel tool to remove the last of the material.
The characteristic nose shape of the front of the JS is now evident.

I can say that the Taigen have made this model in such a way that I can confidently say that it will retain its strength regardless of how much hacking I do to it.
With all of one side guards removed & a quarter of the other, the upper hull has not bowed in any way.
The nose section can be profiled right back to the chassis without opening any gaps where plastic has been removed.
Some minor filling will be required on the rear plate where I got a bit greedy with the guard removal, but it can be easily made to look like the side armour with suitable flame cut marks.
Once all the removing is done I can get on with lots of casting surface and new fuel tank mounts.

Looking good!!

A neat bit of 'rhinoplasty' there, HB, to achieve a good snout lookalike.
Given the warning shots across the bows from the trouble and strife, making a mess is definitely not an option. Perhaps the excised bits can be collected by the 'tank-fairy'!
Given your worthy track record (pun intended), I'm sure this is going to be another well turned out, and totally enviable, homage to WW2 Russian armour.
Following with keen interest, and a first aid kit (ready to despatch), just in case the T and S doesn't appreciate the finer points of the finished item.

The mess was not the trigger, it was the fact that I seem to disrespect the price tag of it !!

First try out of adding a more pronounced cast effect.
A base of Mr Surfacer 500 stippled on, then some Tamiya putty added the same way, with more 500 over that to bind it all together.
Lots more to add, but the effect is starting to come good.
I'm going to hit the turret with a wire buff wheel on a power tool to key it ready for the cast effect to go on........and get rid of the awful white band

'Surfacer is fantastic stuff. Very expertly applied, HB I see that no. ''202' even had the headlight shot out, and no (visible) accessories beyond a shovel on the left. Is yours going to be a faithful reproduction of it, or is 202 just for inspiration?

43rdRecceReg wrote: 'Surfacer is fantastic stuff. Very expertly applied, HB I see that no. ''202' even had the headlight shot out, and no (visible) accessories beyond a shovel on the left. Is yours going to be a faithful reproduction of it, or is 202 just for inspiration?

All the accessories are already gone !
but I will keep the headlight as its too nice to ruin!(i grant it mercy!)
202 is the base concept, but I think I will stay close to it at this stage.

These things are a big canvas for 500 and putty!
Got it all on bar a couple of thin spots which I will do tomorrow.
I took a bit of a punt & added a bit of very thin styrene to one side of the turret & hooked into it with a hot screwdriver.
Now the bog is over it, the section looks close enough to a very large patch of casting that was seeping out of the mold, a lot of late JS's have patches of incredibly rough casting that almost defies logic!

Mr Surfacer is my go to texture paint as well. Nice job

Awesome texture! Are you gonna get some stencils from Rad?