Tamiya 1/35 M16 Quad .50 cal Gun truck-non ISM halftrack SIG

[Art17847]

started this for the non ISM halftrack SIG--the plan is to make a vignette of the truck emplaced on the tarmack of an airfield in an antiaircraft position....these trucks were used both in antiaircraft roles and infantry support. Nicknamed the meat grinder they could unleash alot of lead on their target.

im going to use some figures from the gun and mortor set along with other bits and pieces. i will be making a boat load scratch built sandbags out the clay in the pic. The sheets in the pic are verlinden tarmack which will put on the wooden base


the kit is an old tooling from 1976 but overall it appears to well molded no flash and pretty good details





intstruction sheets pretty typical tamiya well illustrated and easy to understand


panting and markings


thats it for now ...next update will be on the beginning of the build which is the gun mount

[Donkeywalloper]

That is gonna be a real nice Dio.
Good luck.
John

[Art17847]

thanks...gonna be a fun one

[AchtungPanzer]

Nice set - good luck

[Joesdad]

I'm watching too Art, good luck

[Tiger131]

Good luck and looking forward to seeing more

[FokkerDXXI]

Thanks for entering! looking forward to the next update!

Jos

[Art17847]

so...started the build the kit contains about 180 parts and has around 10 steps to complete...construction begins with the gun mount which includes the guns, the seat and gun sight, ammo cans and the motor and battery that drive the gun mount. it all went together in typical tamiya fashion without any problems...u cant really see by my crappy cell phone pics but i took a pin vice and drilled out the ends of 50cal gun barrels....that takes nerves of steel and steady hand to keep from drilling out the side....




next bit is the chassis....this contians the wheels and drivetrain,,,this kit has no engine included and its only represented by the bottom of the motor being molded between the frame rails...the only bits added to the engine area is the muffler and something that looks like a flywheel....also the driveshafts are all added to...heres the completed chassis





next i moved on to the cab...here the bottom of the cab and the sides and hood are all joined toghter...no fit problems and not a gap to be found i was surprised that it fit so well together as its such an old kit...at this point you get to choose which front grill you want to use it can be either open or closed i chose open as u can see the radiator when viewed head on..added the tools gas cans and head lamps along with all the gear shifts...the seats i left out as it will be easier to paint the interior of the cab with them out





ok thats it for this update ...next i will assemble the bed and add a few other bits to complete the construction

[martin57]

good progress so far

[Art17847]

good progress so far

thanks...moving rite along and havin fun!

[froppolo93]

Very interesting diorama. I follow you for sure!

[Russ72]

Great stuff. Looking forward to the next update.

[Art17847]

ok gents time for another update...well i built the bed during which u have the choice do have the sides up or down ...i chose the down position because when the gun was in use it was easier to move with the sides down...in my excitment from building i failed to take pics of the completed bed ...heres a pic of cab and chassis



next i added the front windscreen minus the glass which i will install later and then went ahead a gave her a coat of black primer...





then she got a coat of the ole Olive Drab





tomorrow she gets a coat of klear then we will add the decals and start the detail painting and then the weathering...till the next update cya

[Nige99]

Enjoying following this!!! Been thinking about building one out of my stash, looking good so far. Keep up the excellent work.

[Donkeywalloper]

Good job Art, nice model from Tam and excellent work from yourselves.
Keep the good work up.
John

[martin57]

coming along great.
i some times forget to take photos just get carried away building and stuff.

[Art17847]

Tbanks everyone for the kind words......the klear is down and gonna let her dry a couple hours and then get the decals down.....so while im on a break i could use some input.....since im trying to depict this emplaced on a concrete tarmack what color should i paint the sandbags....should i do a concrete gray color or do them in olive drab...i have searched my books and the net and cant come up with an answer

[Art17847]

quick update....last few days been workin away....got the klear coat and decals done...learned a lesson about not using decal setting solution...being an old school modeller i figured who needs all these fancy potions they keep coming out with they just want my $$$ ...well i couldnt get the star to sit down on the hood and ended up ripping it... oh well next order from the ole hobby shop will include some decal solutions....anyway heres some pics....








next update includes detail painting and all the weathering....cya

[Art17847]

another update ....got most of the painting and weathering done...just need to get the windshield sorted out and installed ....today got to use my Ultimate washes thanks to Lee here on ISM and I LUV EM...they work fantastic....heres the latest pics as to where she stands as of today get close to being finished...used a better camera....enjoy

[Donkeywalloper]

I have to say, sat here in UK (actually on I-Pad, having toenails worked on by Wife).
You have done a sterling job. It looks absolutely fabulous, really ace job.
Ultimate Washes are de bomb
John

[Art17847]

Thanks so much John....its been an enjoyable build so far....still got a long way to go

[UKguyInUSA]

Awesome work mate, looks fabulous!

Cheers

Martin

[Art17847]

Thanks Martin.....

[Art17847]

so time for a quick update...i finished the truck as all that needed to be finished was the windshield and a bit more weathering to the exhaust so i moved on to the base...i started off by using a printed sheet by verlindin that suppose to look like concrete tarmack i prolly could have scratch built soemthing but this MUCH easier and the effect was ok ...i simply traced the outline of the base and cut it out and glued it to the base with some white glue




next i began doing the sandbags...i used crayloa air dry clay ....now this stuff has a few problems i didnt think of the worst being it shrinks pretty bad when drying so it caused gaps between the bags so if u try this stuff to do this i would make these a bit bigger the usaul say 25% to account for the shrinkage (HA shrinkage reminds of an old Seinfeld episode) then use white glue to stick the bags together to keep them from moving...

first grab a small amount of clay and roll it into a string about the thicknest of a pencil



i then cut pieces into small squares about 1/4" long



next i took a 2"x2" gauze pad and place the clay piece in it and pressed it down between my fingers to give the bags some texture




then i just began to build the wall in the traditional brick type style



finished wall ....it took 2 full days of work to complete



next after it dried which took another 2 days i painted it....now i wasnt real sure what colors to go with...most sand bage were either OD or a tan earth color so i went the tanish way to better match the ground....i painted using tan colors the washed it with Ultimate dark dirt to bring out the detail and dry brushed with light color of the base coat. it looked to shinney after painting so i dusted it using chalk pigments in sand colors and grays ...heres the result



lastly i added bits of dead leaves and grass between the cracks to give the base some life




thats it for now ...next is to paint all the figures and the bits of equipment and then put it all together....

[Russ72]

Nice work, I like the grass coming up the through the joins/cracks.

[Art17847]

Nice work, I like the grass coming up the through the joins/cracks.

thanks Russ ...almost done now just finishing up the figures and the stowage ...will have more pics soon

[Art17847]

well gonna call this one done it was alot fun doing this one....so without further adoooo heres the pics ....enjoy!!





































HHHHMMM now what to do for my next project...

[chief5437]

wow! Looks fantastic! Great dio set up, love the little details. I wouldn't want to be the guy that had to fill all those sand bags!

[rodrant]

Nice dio ! Very busy ...the guys shouting on Radio , the driver ansiety in getting to see the plane ...very nice , and full of little details here and there !

Like the base very much

[Art17847]

Thanks for the kind words guys ......really enjoyed doing this one

[Nige99]

Really good dio, plenty going on and well built and good finishing. If you don't mind me saying so I would be tempted to include an antenna for them radios though. But well done on the build.

[Art17847]

Really good dio, plenty going on and well built and good finishing. If you don't mind me saying so I would be tempted to include an antenna for them radios though. But well done on the build.

After i saw the pics i thought the same thing.....cant believe i forgot to do that...thanks for the nice comment

[UKguyInUSA]

Wow! Super looking dio mate, fabulous work al around!

[Art17847]

Wow! Super looking dio mate, fabulous work al around!

Thanks Martin .....it was a fun build