Italeri 1/35 LCVP - landing craft & figures

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 28, 2014 10:37 am

I've been really looking forward to this GB and finally my entry arrived in the post yesterday. Now I best warn you, for those of you that have had the misfortune of following any of my threads will know that I take a rather flippant and irreverent look at life and this thread will be no different. However, as a slight departure, I would like to kick my entry off with a tribute to every person that gave their life almost 70 years ago.

D-Day for me always evokes images of the beaches with landing vehicles crashing on to shore spilling troops out into a hell laden with sea, sand, smoke and blood. The deafening roar of supporting artillery fire accompanied by the un-ending rattle of machine guns. Thousands of men running, fighting, screaming, retching, but most distressingly, dying. It evokes for me the stench of fear that you get from the surge of adrenalin that you only experience when you are fighting for your life. It evokes for me the look of utter terror that most of those men must have had in their eyes, but in the face of that fear they carried on regardless and thus defined the true meaning of courage. Normandy now is one of my most favourite parts of the world and I have been lucky enough to share many a holiday with my family there. It's a well worn cliche, but looking out across those beautiful beaches and out to sea, it is easy to forget that once a battle was fought there that was so bloody and horrific, but yet so important. Many of my friends, all ex-services, are going over to take part in the Anniversary Remembrance, but unfortunately I am unable to make it, so in a strange turn for a scale modelling forum I would like to start my build thread with a poem. For personal reasons that I won't go into here, I would like to share with you The Commando Memorial written by Archie MacLellan -

The sun shone down upon the snow
Atop Aonach and the Ben,
As in the shadows there trained below
A finest group of fighting men,
None braver lived is to be said
Honour flowed throughout their veins,
Freedom bred, Lord Lovat led
Their lives to stop dictators' gains.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

With command for to land on the shore at Sword Beach
On the Sixth Day of June Forty Four,
A place in our history was now within reach
The Piper to take them ashore,
Though danger around him, The Piper gave stand
He stuck to his task without care,
His march unrepentant, as if claiming the land
As ‘Road To The Isles’ filled the air.
Battle ferocious, the enemy strong
Sweat mixed with sand mixed with mud,
Young men unrelenting though battle was long
The water still flows with their blood.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

Perished did men still young in their years
The land of our birth lost Her Sons,
But liveth they on in Remembrance tears
Liveth on how they silenced the guns,
Lest we forget the Sacrifice
In our Bloody Wars were made,
That Sacrifice that takes us here
Can never be repaid.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 28, 2014 11:03 am

Right - 'shun!! Eyes front!!! Lets get on with this build thread. I had set my heart on doing this subject, but was worried about whether to do a diorama or not - eeeeek!!! modelling water!!! Ah, what the heck - there's plenty of time and if it doesn't work out I'll chicken out and only show the model!

After all, Nigel is using foil on his Mustang, so how difficult can water be in comparison. I was a little put off that the only kit that I could track down was Italeri as I've not had a huge amount of experience with this make. I'm half-way through building an Italeri Chinook (yeah, yeah it was for the Whirlybirds SiG and NO I still haven't finished it yet!

), but on the whole it's not a bad kit. I've done some research on the subject itself and whilst I can regurgitate vast amounts of Wikipedia, I thought it best to stick to the salient points, so here is some wights and dimms etc. for the "Higgins Boat" -

Class overview
Builders: Higgins Industries, and others
Operators: United States Navy
Built: 1935–1950
Completed: 20,000

General characteristics
Type: Landing craft
Displacement: 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) light
Length: 36 ft 3 in (11.05 m)
Beam: 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Draft: 3 ft (0.91 m) aft
2 ft 2 in (0.66 m) forward
Propulsion: Gray Marine diesel engine, 225 hp (168 kW) or Hall-Scott gasoline engine, 250 hp (186 kW)
Speed: 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Capacity: 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) vehicle or 8,100 lb (3,700 kg) general cargo
Troops: 36 troops
Crew: 4 Coxswain,Engineer,Bowman,Sternman
Armament: 2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns

Not hugely struck on the box art, but it gives you an idea of what's in the box

Instructions are nice and clear, but limited on the colour call-outs - nothing too unusual there then.

With the 2 options for D-Day and I will be going for the US Navy version.

The tub itself is quite big and whilst I should have used the universal scale comparison device (a Tamiya paint pot!), I only had an Xacto knife to hand at the time.

And all that lovely sprue-age bagged up and ready to be set free!!!

A bit disappointing that they cram 3 sprues or more into a single bag whereas other manufacturers seem to stomach the cost a one sprue, one bag. Still, once I've got at them with my craft knife, it's not going to make a lot of difference!

Decals for the landing vehicle and also for the Jeep.

Not too sure whether I'll use the jeep for this one or not. I might just see if I can get some more figures instead - I'm struggling to find any reference pictures where it shows any jeeps being deployed on the landings. I opened one bag to get an idea of the detail and it all seems pretty good - I guess the amount of detail is pretty limited for one of these things anyway.

And finally I thought I would get a close-up of one of the figures as this is generally a good gauge of what the level of quality and detail is going to be. There's bits of flash here and there, but nothing too bad. Although, I have no idea why this guy has a tin of boiled beef and carrots on his head!!

And that's my entry into this fine GB. I'm really looking forward to this one as it's great to see models from all genres all building away together - Dan's even doing a full blown floaty thing!!

The very best of luck to everyone and apologies if I don't get to always comment on everyone's build - there's just too much great stuff going on!!

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Wed May 28, 2014 12:45 pm

I liked the poem very much Alex, thanks for posting. Great choice of model too. Nothing like stretching oneself, what?

Post by **DBMiller** » Wed May 28, 2014 1:18 pm

Oh, no! We will be "buddy building" the same kit! I haven't posted any sprue shots yet but I have opened the box. Did you get the instructions for the jeep, because I didn't. I had to download them, curtsey of a link on this site! Good luck!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 28, 2014 1:23 pm

Rob wrote:I liked the poem very much Alex, thanks for posting. Great choice of model too. Nothing like stretching oneself, what?

Thanks Rob - although at 48 I have to be careful when stretching myself just in case something snaps!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 28, 2014 1:25 pm

DBMiller wrote:Oh, no! We will be "buddy building" the same kit! I haven't posted any sprue shots yet but I have opened the box. Did you get the instructions for the jeep, because I didn't. I had to download them, curtsey of a link on this site! Good luck!

Hehe!! I saw your build thread and thought, "phew, someone else is doing this - safety in numbers!"

Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing instructions for the jeep.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bnealuk · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Wed May 28, 2014 6:33 pm

OOh this is going to be a good one to watch

Post by **DBMiller** » Wed May 28, 2014 7:46 pm

Found this today from Mobile Model Zone (https://www.facebook.com/Share4Model) on Facebook.
Look to the left! A jeep offloading!
By the way, I'm 54, so I think I will over stretch before you!

jeep_offloading.jpg

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:19 am

T3hGuppy wrote:OOh this is going to be a good one to watch

Not sure about a good one to watch - it could be a complete car crash!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:19 am

DBMiller wrote:Found this today from Mobile Model Zone (https://www.facebook.com/Share4Model) on Facebook.
Look to the left! A jeep offloading!
By the way, I'm 54, so I think I will over stretch before you!
jeep_offloading.jpg

Excellent - thanks for the pic!! Looks like I will be including the jeep after all!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:47 am

Update One (Ahoy, me hearties!)

Right, lets crack open the lid and get going with this one. I have no preconceptions about this kit as I've never built anything like this before. I have checked out a couple of reviews of this on the inter-web and they seem quite favourable. From what I've seen the hull and deck seem to be made up of various parts and I'm just concerned that if there's any warping anywhere then this could be quite a dog to get together. Still, being the eternal optimist I don't see the point worrying about things that may never happen.

Step one deals with attaching the prop and prop shaft along with the rudder. Now at this point I must interject and point out that my knowledge of anything that goes on or in the water is pretty miniscule, so I may (and probably will) get terminology and the names of things wrong. Being an armour builder, I saw there were a couple of MG's in the kit and spent the next 20 minutes looking for the turret!! (Is that a form turret's syndrome perhaps!!

)

All quite straight-forward and looks quite good once together.

Now its on to the interior and this calls for fitting a number of vertical struts in place - 20 per side to be precise. This bit worried me at first as whilst they locate quite well, I was worried that if a couple weren't quite right, would it cause problems later on in the build - time will tell.

Phew, first side done and everything seems good and dry fitting into the main "tub" and there doesn't appear to be any issues - yet! Quite a nice touch here - the locating lug on the bottom of the strut actually pokes through the main structure causing a rivet-like effect on the visible side - now I like that!

And the second side done.

Wow, that was quite tedious and being an armour builder I actually like building and painting tank wheels - go figure!

Now that seems a good point to call it a night, but first I decide to just try and dry-fit these bits together - just to get an idea of the fit and the size.

And it all seems to go together very nicely. I must say, I was a little surprised at the size as I was expecting it to be a little smaller, but then again these things did transport up to 32 personnel or a couple of Shermans so they had to be a bit bigger than your average dingy!

It was then that the little devil-voice piped up inside my head, "surely you're not going to call it a night yet - just do one more bit, go on, you know you wanna!!"

Oh, all right then - if you insist.

All went together very nicely and I'm really forward to getting some paint on this thing. I'm thinking, Red Funnel Isle of Wight ferry colours - "are you sure this is the way to Cowes harbour!?"

I must say, I'm thoroughly enjoying building this so far and any initial worries that I may have had look to be unfounded. My wife's not to happy though as since starting this kit I have started speaking like a pirate!!

On that note, how much did the pirate pay for his gold earrings?

A buck-an-ear!!!!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **Nige201980** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:53 am

This is going to be a good one to watch come together mate great start and best of luck with the rest of the build.

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Thu May 29, 2014 12:51 pm

A buck-an-ear indeed!

Great start, impressive size too.

Q - Why can't pirates take tablets to cure their head aches?

A - 'Cos the parrotseatemall

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu May 29, 2014 2:32 pm

Nige201980 wrote:This is going to be a good one to watch come together mate great start and best of luck with the rest of the build.

Thanks Nige, appreciate that!

Been following your build and all I can say is - man alive, foil!!!!

Best of luck with that mate!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu May 29, 2014 2:37 pm

Rob wrote:A buck-an-ear indeed!

Great start, impressive size too.

Q - Why can't pirates take tablets to cure their head aches?

A - 'Cos the parrotseatemall

Thanks Rob, I often get comments on the size of it!

And last pirate joke - after this is a serious modelling forum!

A young boy with a speech impediment goes out trick and treating for halloween and knocking on the first door he's greeted by an old lady
Lady, "Hello there, what are you dressed as?"
Boy, "I'm a birate"
Lady, "And what's that on your shoulder"
Boy, "Its my barrot"
Lady, "And where's your buccaneers?"
Boy, "There on the side of my buccing head of course!"

Taxi!!

Post by **Nige201980** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:32 pm

alextheblue wrote:
Nige201980 wrote:This is going to be a good one to watch come together mate great start and best of luck with the rest of the build.
Thanks Nige, appreciate that!

Been following your build and all I can say is - man alive, foil!!!!

Best of luck with that mate!

mate

Post by **generalgrog** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:58 pm

This is cool! I was hoping to see some landing craft.

GG

https://www.youtube.com/user/bnealuk · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:39 pm

Wow the detail on this kit is much higher than I expected.

Flying together dude.

Post by **DBMiller** » Fri May 30, 2014 2:03 pm

You are so far along already that you may not need this link but I will be going over it (and yours) for tips. I like the paint scheme he used but I think I will go with basic US Navy.

http://www.militarymodelling.com/forums ... p?th=50595

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:06 pm

generalgrog wrote:This is cool! I was hoping to see some landing craft.

GG

Thanks GG and you're right, it's just not D-Day without lading craft. It's like Laurel without Hardy, or as Coen eloquently put it, it's like a hot-dog without the bun!

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:07 pm

T3hGuppy wrote:Wow the detail on this kit is much higher than I expected.

Flying together dude.

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised - on the whole a nice kit!

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:08 pm

DBMiller wrote:You are so far along already that you may not need this link but I will be going over it (and yours) for tips. I like the paint scheme he used but I think I will go with basic US Navy.

http://www.militarymodelling.com/forums ... p?th=50595

Thanks DB, appreciate the link, I'll have a good look a bit later!

Post by **alextheblue** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:17 pm

Update Two (All hands on deck - but won't Dec mind!)

I had a few moments spare so crammed in a small amount of work on the landing craft. Managed to get all the hooks onto the deck along with the details for the MG mounts. All of the location points are drilled right the way through the deck enabling you to glue it from the back, helping to keep it all nice and clean. There's only one small grumble and it's a very small one at that; there's some handles that go inside the cowling of the MG housing and in the instructions it depicts a couple of indentations to show where to put them, but these are missing from the actual parts. As I say, no biggie as it's straight-forward to "guesstimate" where they should go.

I'm getting fairly close to getting the LCVP itself finished now, so I might crack on with the Wills jeep when I next get some workbench time.

Thanks for taking a look and wishing you all a great weekend!

Post by **Willem** » Fri May 30, 2014 5:53 pm

Looking good mate. Looks like a nice kit too.

Post by **wappynutter** » Sat May 31, 2014 10:39 pm

Very, very nice kit Alex mate.....
Your figure with the can of carrots on his head seems to have a smug grin too...
Why did Italeri cast him with a grin?? Obviously he hadn't noticed the death and destruction before him...
I'd have been absolutely crapping myself!

Anyways once again the kit looks very good for an Italeri offering, detailed well and you haven't mentioned any real issues with fit.
Looking forward to your little beach scene?
Good luck my friend, your poem was very moving.. God Bless..

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:05 am

Willem wrote:Looking good mate. Looks like a nice kit too.

Thanks Will - it is a very nice kit and goes together well, thoroughly enjoying it!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:07 am

wappynutter wrote: Very, very nice kit Alex mate.....
Your figure with the can of carrots on his head seems to have a smug grin too...
Why did Italeri cast him with a grin?? Obviously he hadn't noticed the death and destruction before him...
I'd have been absolutely crapping myself!

Anyways once again the kit looks very good for an Italeri offering, detailed well and you haven't mentioned any real issues with fit.
Looking forward to your little beach scene?
Good luck my friend, your poem was very moving.. God Bless..

Thanks Andy, and you're absolutely right, he does have a smug grin on his face. This is one of the figures that came with the jeep and all the figures with this are grinning like loons - will have to sort that out!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 10:34 am

Update Three (friggin' the riggin')

When I first started this hobby I wouldn't plan a single thing, I would just crack open the instructions and build as per the steps thinking that the manufacturers knew best and surely they wouldn't steer me wrong! Over time I learnt that this clearly wasn't the case and with a bit of forward planning you could save yourself a lot of work, not to mention heartache. However, being a rather impetuous bloke, I do tend to charge at things with a bit too much gusto and gung-ho attitude - what's the saying, fools rush in. But on the other hand, faint heart never won fair maiden, let alone got a Meng Merkava Mk.3 D built!

I do plan ahead a bit more now, but if there was ever proof that I don't plan FAR ENOUGH ahead, it is in this very post. Having aleady worked on the hull etc. I couldn't help think that a stand would have been nice, if for no other reason than to help with the general construction.

Ahem, what do we have here then!

In my defense, this bit does come right at the end of the instructions and I didn't recognise it on first glance (or the second or third for that matter!), but it's built now and I must say, it has been a great help. Also got all of the other detail bits on the deck-top.

Now it's on to the cabling for the loading door. A bit of advice here for anyone looking to build this kit, do this bit now as I imagine that this will be very fiddly once the relevant parts are cemented onto the hull interior. Also, the lengths that the instructions recommend that you cut the two cables to are quite generous, so you do get a bit of room to play with.

The instructions show you tying the string into position to represent the cables, but to my mind any knot is going to be too big, so I add a couple of dabs of CA just to keep everything in place.

Now it was time to fix all of the interior parts together, being careful to thread the cabling through the relevant holes and underneath the deck floor so it can attach to the other side. It's a tad fiddly, but with the aid of your trusty tweezers it's not too much of a trial.

It's starting to come together now and there's some nice little touches.

I've also assembled the rear-door and have dry fitted it in order to give me an idea of how it will look. It is loosely tied in place and again I won't know how far down I will won't it lowered until I have decided on the diorama.

I did also make a start on the jeep, but I shall leave this little gem until a future update as I have to rush off to attend an anger management sessions. The landing craft has been a pleasure to build so far, but the jeep on the other hand has been a utter pig. I suspect that they've used an old tooling, perhaps from another manufacturer and and just the photos from the accompany instructions are enough to make you shudder.Still, I shall save that delight for a bit later on!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 3:30 pm

Update Four(jeepers creepers, just look at those peepers!!)

I wasn't sure whether I was going to use the jeep or not, but after DBMiller very kindly sent some pics over, I decided it would look pretty good after all. However, this was before I started the darn thing!

I haven't checked for a date stamp on the sprues, but I'm guessing that the jeep and the figures that go with it are actually from a different kit (maybe even manufacturer) and weren't really intended for the LCVP. To say the contrast in the quality and fit is like chalk and cheese is like saying that a tennis ball and the moon and both round! There has barely been a piece that I haven't had to cut, bend, hack or amend and don't get me started on the seams - it would be easier to trim the actual part off and leve the seam instead!! It really is a nasty little thing and I would like to say that it fits where it touches, but it barely touches! I'm going to persevere with it though as there's not too much to it and I'll make a decision once it's finished.

However, the real issue is with the figures. Andy (wappynutter) noticed on one of my earlier posts that the figure I had pictured had a huge grin on his face. When I looked at the rest of the figures that came with the jeep, they were just as bad. Talk about a bunch of Cheshire cats that had gotten hold of some nitrous oxide - not quite what I had in mind for a respectful D-Day tribute. And whilst i would never denigrate anyones hard work, I think these pictures from the instruction booklet give you a good overview of the level of quality you can expect from this little kit - or lack of!

Still, onwards and sideways as they say!

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **peppie** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 4:37 pm

Looking great so far, and also a nice one for a dio.
And going fast

Gone be a challenge painting it I think, with all the nooks and crannies (I believe you say it like this?).

Looking forward to the next steps.

Post by **Nige201980** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:01 pm

Looking great mate always enjoy your builds especially love that I have to stand on my head to see some off the photos

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 8:25 pm

wow... great progress mate

That tub looks great!

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:23 am

peppie wrote:Looking great so far, and also a nice one for a dio.
And going fast
Gone be a challenge painting it I think, with all the nooks and crannies (I believe you say it like this?).

Looking forward to the next steps.

Thanks peppie and you are right, there's plenty of nooks and crannies (could be worse, there could be crooks and nannies!!

).
Can't wait to get some paint down, thats when it all starts to come to life for me!

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:26 am

Nige201980 wrote:Looking great mate always enjoy your builds especially love that I have to stand on my head to see some off the photos

Thanks Nige and apologies for the acrobatics!

I'm not too sure what I'm doing wrong - the pics look ok when I take them on my phone, they're ok on Photobucket and they all look the right way up on my PC, but then when I check on my tablet - doh!!

Darn technology!

Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:29 am

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:wow... great progress mate
That tub looks great!

Thanks Frans!

I would have done a bit more, but I've been too busy drooling over your D-Day builds - can't thank you enough for your step-by-step with how to model water; that's going to be a huge help to me!

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:35 pm

You do such nice work! Those shots of the rigging will be super helpful! But, now I'm a bit put off by your trouble with the jeep. I will still build it but watch your closely.

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:39 pm

Wow...this one zipped along, Alex! Looking forward to seeing this diorama come together!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:16 am

DBMiller wrote:You do such nice work! Those shots of the rigging will be super helpful! But, now I'm a bit put off by your trouble with the jeep. I will still build it but watch your closely.

Thanks DB and don't be put off too much by my comments on the jeep, in reality it's not too bad. Just needs a bit of tweaking here and there and once it's in the landing craft no-ones going to see too much of it!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:18 am

UKguyInUSA wrote:Wow...this one zipped along, Alex! Looking forward to seeing this diorama come together!

Thanks UK, me too!!

I've no how idea how the dio will come out - might take the easy route, build a small tank and use real water!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:53 am

Update Four ("we only have 14 hours to save the universe!")

Again, not too much accomplished as I'm really only chipping away at this one now. I fitted most of the remaining detail to the upper deck leaving things like the lifebuoys, gaffs, ropes etc as I think these will be best painted and then attached. Normally when I build AFV's I attach everything first and then paint in the detail, but i thought this would give me a chance to try another approach; plus things like the ropes will need initial weathering separate to the landing craft. That now gives the last spools for the steel cable to run through and it all threads together very nicely.

Now back to the jeep.....grrrrr!!! I'm tempted to just spray the thing liberally with glue and throw the remaining bits at it and wherever they attach is where they will stay. It couldn't possibly look any worse and if anybody asks, I'll say it took an artillery round before landing!!

One small point for anyone that is going to try this (the jeep's not really as bad as I'm making out!) and thats with the order that you attach the wheel fixing points. The "ring" that attaches to the chassis (30) is quite ambiguous in fit and if you don't get it right in the middle, the attaching piece won't fit at all. Attach these two bits first and then attach it to the chassis and that should all work.

As i say, only a small point, but it's these little gremlins that when they stack up, they can really take the shine off of your day!

Now that my latest grapple-fest with the jeep had come to a conclusion for one day, I decided to tackle one of the figures that comes with the LCVP itself. As I cut the first little fella from the sprue, I heard a booming voice call out......... GORDON'S ALIVE!!!!!!

FLASH!!......AAAH...AH!!

I must say the figures are quite nicely detailed. There's quite a lot of flash and the seams are fairly bad, but nothing that doesn't easily come off with a few passes of the old craft knife. The arms however are not a great fit and this figure is supposed to be piloting the landing craft, with one hand on the throttle and the other on the wheel. With lots of TET and squeezing I managed to get the wheel arm on ok but his other arm is nowhere near the throttle. I think i will have get the old candles out and light one up - not to heat up the offending arm, more as an offering in prayer for inspiration from the modelling gods!! It was at this point that I decided to call it a day...for one day.

Thanks for taking a look!

Post by **DBMiller** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:53 pm

[quote="alextheblue"]Update Four ("we only have 14 hours to save the universe!")

Now back to the jeep.....grrrrr!!! I'm tempted to just spray the thing liberally with glue and throw the remaining bits at it and wherever they attach is where they will stay. It couldn't possibly look any worse and if anybody asks, I'll say it took an artillery round before landing!!

I like this style of building. I may try it!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:05 am

DBMiller wrote:
alextheblue wrote:Update Four ("we only have 14 hours to save the universe!")

Now back to the jeep.....grrrrr!!! I'm tempted to just spray the thing liberally with glue and throw the remaining bits at it and wherever they attach is where they will stay. It couldn't possibly look any worse and if anybody asks, I'll say it took an artillery round before landing!!

I like this style of building. I may try it!

Many would argue that I apply this technique to all my builds!!

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:40 am

Update Five (Mind the Gap!)

It is with a heavy heart that I slowly trudge my way to our back-room, home to my workbench. "but, do I really have to finish it, can't I just leave it!". "Absolutely not!", booms the voice of my conscience, "now get on with it!". I know my conscience is right, it always is and so with a deep breath I snatch up my scalpel and endeavour to finish the Willy's jeep. All of the amendments, bent parts and pieces cajoled into place against their will seem to be holding firm and this encourages me to think that it might not be too bad after all. After adding certain details such as the seats, levers, spare wheel, fuel can, handles and grab rails, I'm starting to feel a bit more enthused about this little tyke!

Before going any further I decide to place it "in situ", just to get an idea of what it will end up like. I'm not fully convinced that I should just leave this jeep to one side and fill the landing craft with troops, but I guess it doesn't look too bad.

If nothing else, it confirms my belief that you're not going to see a whole heap of this thing, especially when the figures are in place as well. The instructions also show the jeep with it's canopy roof, but I'm probably going to leave that off. There is an engine with this thing and whilst not being the most intricate, not to mention accurate, it kinda does the job. Again my first thought is not to bother as the bonnet will be down, but the booming voice of my conscience pipes up again, "just get on and build the darn thing, or you'll know that it will bug you if you don't!".

Grrrrrrrrr!!! All right, all right!! The seams and flash on these parts are pretty bad and I just couldn't be arsed to clean it all off, but at least it will be included.

Few more details to add to the body of the jeep and I had read somewhere that the tools aren't a good fit. Not a good fit!! How often do you have to bend a shovel in order to hang it back up in the garage. This is the only way that you will get both ends of the tools to actually touch the sides of the jeep otherwise they will be just magically "hanging" there. Now, I'm all for artistic license, but I draw the line when it comes to defying the basic laws of physics!

It doesn't look too bad in the picture, but my next revelation is every bit as bad as it looks - if not worse!!!

To wind up the session, I decided to build the driver - oh, how I wished I hadn't. There was the usual seams and flash, but that is easily taken care of. It's the fit thats the problem - the gap between the legs and the body is just HUGE! If you line it up at the back the front is a gaping abyss and vice versa with the back. I opted to get the front to fit and fill the back as this will be obscured by the seat.

Beware - the next photo shows an explicit picture of a man exposing his crack!!

Another word of warning here for anyone building this kit. Don't make the mistake I did in fitting the steering wheel to the column as you won't be able to position the figure properly. The driver has one hand on the gear lever and the other on top of the steering wheel and the best way of getting it all to line up is to place the figure, tack the steering wheel in place and then fix him to the seat. Then with tweezers and a good deal of patience you can fix the steering wheel in place. This will all have to be done once it's all painted of course.

I know I've been a bit flippant with my description of building this little jeep, and whilst it does have it's problems, don't let this put you off building this kit as it's been a lot of fun.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:24 pm

Wow
You are haveing a lot of build progres
Looks great
Keep up the good work

Post by **DBMiller** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:59 pm

"Beware - the next photo shows an explicit picture of a man exposing his crack!!"

Must be a plumber in civilian life!

Otherwise it's coming out super!

Post by **robertw** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:17 am

Looking very nice

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:03 pm

Looking great so far, mate!

Post by **alextheblue** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:33 am

Thanks for all the kind words fellas!

DB - definitely a plumber. You've gotta have somewhere handy to keep your wrench!

Post by **strawnobi** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:18 am

Flash and gaps are frustrations no doubt. But I think you are doing a great job in assembly here. Plus one of God's greatest creations, putty will help that figure. I tell ya, I'm right there with ya though with frustration when things don't fit or there is a lot of excess clean-up. This build is going to look fantastic!!!!!!!! Can't wait.

Post by **wappynutter** » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:04 am

Coming together nicely Alex.... All your effort and hard work is making this shine...

I think it must be a Jeep thing though as my teeny Jeep has issues!!
...and only 15 parts to the build! lol...

Continued success my friend...... Model on!

" munch...munch...munch..."