Revell/Monogram M48a2 (sorta)

[townhouseonmars]

Hey everybody. I'm new on the forum and accidentally posted this work in progress over in the land gallery section, and any help with how to go about deleting it there would be appreciated! But I'm going to post here in the mean time.

I've taken up modeling recently after an idea popped into my head of a post-apocalyptic WWII world where the Germans had the bomb unbeknownst to the rest of the world, and after the U.S. used theirs on Japan, the Germans used theirs and the world turned into a wasteland. After Christmas I'm going to start building a Tiger tank based on this idea, but to start I bought a cheap Patton from Michael's and went to town. I'll do a flash update over a couple of posts leading up to the current status of the build. I hope you guys enjoy!

The first step after building it was to throw some paint on it (nowhere to go but up once it's ruined right?!). And I also got out the xacto and cut out the first details including the periscope holes, and chopping the fenders. The tanks I imagine from this world are mad max style. Hacked up, repaired, beat up, and wicked looking. So the rear fenders turned into a shield for the top hatch and a makeshift Jerry can rack.

rps20161217_102950.jpg

Then I used the glue stippling technique to simulate cast steel. I'll knock the gloss down before final paint with a coat of matte black. I also replaced the plastic tie down rings with wire ones.

rps20161217_103031.jpg

Replaced the stock rear racks with wire ones. Using a prime portal walk around of an m48 to get all the details down. Very very helpful.

rps20161217_112937.jpg

More updates to follow...

[townhouseonmars]

Progress on the rear rack, a tow rope made from twisted wire (thinnest gauge I could find) and tape to simulate the clamps. Also in this shot is the exhaust! I mainly wanted to build use this kit as a test bed to learn how to fabricate some cool exhausts so that when I start on the Tiger I don't ruin it. I made the exhaust from aluminum tubing. I filled the tubes with coffee grounds to try and keep the pipe walls from collapsing with some of the sharper bends. It worked (i think) but with the last couple of pipes I ended up just bending them very slowly and carefully.

rps20161217_104210.jpg

Not sure if I'll keep the exhaust this dramatic or cut it down some. We shall see. I'm also slowly adding details like the handles on the boxes beside the turret. This is a learning experience so I'm trying to add as much detail as I can.

rps20161217_134224.jpg