Revell 1:144 German LSM Eidechse-Class

[gaz45]

Very very nice work so far mate

[NorthernModeller]

I love how much work is going into this build Lovely stuff

[pourquoi61]

What a build you are giving us.

[Tat2bhoy]

The ships main identification number came as one decal, which had a lot of carrier film that would most probably show even using micro sol and micro set, so I decided to trim each letter/number individually. So using a scalpel and a straight edge, I very carefully trimmed the excess away.
-laced them in warm water for several seconds until they were ready to come away from the backing paper. I’ve been using warm water for over 40 years on decals as that’s the way the instruction always said to do it.


Each number/letter was carefully applied the the hull as they are even more delicate now, onto a coat of micro set then pressed and dried with a cotton bud then another coat of micro set, then allowed to dry before a coat of Tamiya x22 clear was applied with an air brush over them to protect them from the weathering stage



The forward ramp was fitted and glued and checked to see if was still able to move up and down.



The bow doors were fitted at the bottom then a piece of tape was put on to hold them in place so the upper part to could be placed on top



Once the upper part was fitted and glued, it was all checked to see if each part moved ok.
All was good

[Tat2bhoy]

The detail on the life boats look ok, but I’m going to see if I can make it look better



Started off by finding a length of micro strip that was the correct width for the seats



Then with some small burrs in my mini drill, I carefully removed the interior of the boats



When the interiors were ready, I cut the strips of microstrip to the correct lengths and glued them into the positions where the original seats were

[pourquoi61]

Very nice.

[Tat2bhoy]

The landing pad is only fitted to the Krokodil version. Once again I decided to paint the landing markings instead of using the decals.to make the masks, I used Frisket Film, a low tack stencil film.


Using a circle cutter, I cut out two circles, one slightly bigger to make a ring the size of the decal.



After priming the deck, I sprayed the area of the landing markings in yellow. Once that was completely dry, the ring was placed in the correct position, the using Tamiya tape, I placed them on the outer edge of the top and bottom of the circle to get the outside edge of the straight markings.



Next was to put tape, cut to the right width, adjacent to the tape I placed earlier.



The next step was to carefully remove the wide tape so only the thin tape was left



The deck was then sprayed the deck colour.





The tape was then carefully peeled of to reveal the yellow markings.

[Tat2bhoy]

The kit comes with three of each vehicle on three sprues, three different vehicles on each sprue.
There’s M47 Patton main battle tanks, HS 30 armored infantry fighting vehicles and MAN 5t gl "Emma“ trucks



The aftermarket PE set only gives you the option for two of each vehicle.



Starting with the M47, the rear box has to be removed for a new rear panel and box can be fitted.






Guards are fitted over the headlights



The handrails are a bit fiddly, but with a bit of patience and a few swear words, one tank is finished, one more to go.

[Minty]

Seriously what an excellent build description, well done sir!!

[Tat2bhoy]

The HS30 hull is built in four parts,



the tracks and wheels are moulder in one piece, there isn’t any detail on the tracks unlike the M47, but there is some PE track with the set.



But it only goes under the tracks so only the front a back are seen, I’m not sure why they didn’t make the track detailed the same way as the M47



When trial fitting the parts together, a large gap appears at the front because of the PE tracks.



So a bit of plastikard to fill the gap and all is good

[Tat2bhoy]

Seriously what an excellent build description, well done sir!!

Thanks Minty, I’m not the best at putting what I do into words, so hopefully it makes sense

[Tat2bhoy]

There’s more to do when building the trucks, more parts and PE to be fitted







Starting with the cab, internally, there’s only the dashboard and a steering wheel to be fitted



The window frames need to be removed from the cab roof part




Externally there are PE doors, steps, front grill, headlamp protectors and mirrors to be fitted. There are some small parts to be fitted but give a nice result when fitted, so well worth the time and effort once again.




The tops of the sidewalls of the cargo area have to be removed for new parts




When looking at the PE instructions, I noticed I put the mirrors in the wrong place, on the bonnet instead of the doors




I glued each vehicle on a piece of sprue as to make it easier to paint. I’m painting the truck before I build it up to make it easier to paint the tyres.



Then it was all under coated wit MRP grey before giving them a coat of olive drab

[Tat2bhoy]

I replaced the kits railings with the PE ones. I painted them while they were still on the PE sheet then CA glued them in the holes on the deck.
I used the clear thread again which I pulled through each hole with tweezers then CA glued at each end.





I then repeated the process on the landing pad.

[1975GinjaNinja]

Looking good but where has the little helper gone?

[Tat2bhoy]

Got the helicopter landing pad fitted.

[Tat2bhoy]

When it came to fitting the anchor chain I had already decided at the begging of the build that I would replace the plastic one with a real piece of chain. I managed to find two different sizes on line, I think they are intended for the model railway builders, ideal for what I need though.



After trying the two sizes against the kit part, I went for the one on the left.



The two holes where the chain are to go are already drilled out so I can hang each end in to them so they will look like it is coming out of one and going into the other



Cutting it to the right length wit a pair of snips, I dropped one end into the rear hole and placed it onto the guid.



Passed it around the windlass, I think that’s what it’s called, and checked to see if it was long enough to go into the forward hole.



A touch of CA glue to the opening of the hole



And placed the chain into the hole



The chain fitted

[pourquoi61]

This build has got to be a winner.

[Tat2bhoy]

This build has got to be a winner.

Thanks m8, there a lot of great builds in this GB

[Tat2bhoy]

Next was the Air part of this build, the helicopter



There’s isn’t much detail in the cockpit, only a chair



So using Tamiya black, I painted the interior of the cockpit



Once the two halves were joined together, some small clean up was needed on the joins.



Before painting, some foam was cut into small bits and put inside the cockpit.



The rest of the exterior parts were fitted, and was then ready to be primed and painted.

[Tat2bhoy]

Once the helicopter was painted and all the decals were on, it needed the nose weighted.



So usinging some fishing split shot I had lying around, (need to get out and do some fishing)



I put three inside the cockpit



Now it sits much better. I’ve also decided to repaint the windows that weren’t cut out that I painted silver, with black gloss so they look more like the cutout ones.

[pourquoi61]

I stand by what I say, a winner.

[Tat2bhoy]

That’s all the wee finishing bits and pieces done, so I’m now calling this one done.
It’s been a fun build, not many problems. It’s a nice kit that would probably look good straight out of the box but I decided to use the aftermarket PE sets which are intended for the US WWII version so I had to buy two sets so there was enough railings for the flight deck.
I will put the finished model in the build section of this group build.

[Gary30]

Your assistant's work looks VERY good....I might have to head hunt him to come and work for me

[Tat2bhoy]

Your assistant's work looks VERY good....I might have to head hunt him to come and work for me

He's busy just now assisting in the WWI build, I'll send him over when he's finished