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Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:25 am
by Coen
Two days ago I got the Takom Ratte in 1/144 scale from Ultimate retail. I had it on preorder almost as soon as I heard about it.
It lasted about an hour sitting on my bench before I had it open and started hitting glue to sprue.
I don't normally build paper panzer as I prefer to have concrete or the next best thing in references. With paper panzers there's next to nothing as they're flights of fancy. You can tell by the box art for this kit... There are flying saucers in the background.... No they aren't included. 
Either way, I wanted this one as its a model of a tank that is the size of a small office building. I gotta try some of that.
I had it built in about four hours, as there's not much to it. The most time was spent on the tracks. They're a little fiddly.
The photo etch railings are a pain as well, but they look cool when applied, if maybe over scale.
So here are some shots of the work, next week I'll see to painting it.
The two mice in the box are completely awesome!! These I loved. 
The turret, though simple, is nice looking.
The main hull is nice but plain, that's expected for something both of this size and scale.
She was a really fun build, though expensive, I enjoyed it. So that makes it money well spent.
A few comparison shots with a 1/35 Mause.
So far an enjoyable kit for a nice distraction.
Next is a bit of paint and then maybe a diorama.
Here is a video as well where I discuss a few more details about the kit.
[youtube]22p1oRcGr5Q[/youtube]
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:19 am
by Lego
Last time I saw so many rectangles my wife was shoe shopping.
What kit is the big maus Michael? Jesus what where they thinking
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:09 pm
by Coen
Hahahahaha!
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:54 pm
by Kingdan
That looks a beast
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:58 pm
by Donkeywalloper
Hi Mike
Awesome build mate.
Really ummed and ahhed over purchasing this kit.
Kind of needed someone to jump in first and see how it looks.
Looks bloody great, and think Mr Debit Card might get bent.
John
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:10 pm
by Paul
Liking that mike, also love there weathering on you 1/35 scale Maus
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:45 am
by Coen
The big thing about this kit is what extras you can add if you're a 1/144 builder. There's a lot of fun that you can have by dressing this thing up in all sorts of configurations. She s not a real tank so you can go nuts.
I suggested to young Wesley Ellsemore that he try scratch building the flying saucers on the box art and he envisioned a landing pad in the main gun turret roof.
Very cool!
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 9:41 pm
by brickfan8
For a diorama you could do 20 1/144 scale t-34s running away or something funny like that
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:08 pm
by trekfanj
Saw this post and video, and immediately ordered one!
When I saw it next to a 1/35 Maus, I was like...
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:56 am
by Coen
trekfanj wrote:Saw this post and video, and immediately ordered one!
When I saw it next to a 1/35 Maus, I was like...
I did the very same thing.
brickfan8 wrote:For a diorama you could do 20 1/144 scale t-34s running away or something funny like that
Actually... I have a plan with some shermans and a tiger if I can find some.
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 3:24 am
by Coen
Finally got around to painting the Ratte and mice the last couple of days.
The Ratte has been repainted twice while the mice at least three times. I just couldn't find a scheme that I liked.
I eventually settled on this.
I've added some decals from my stash to the mice now and the whole thing is waiting for the gloss coat so I can start the washes. I don't think that I'll do too much chipping as the Ratte would have only received any on he lower surfaces, and the mice may be to small to show it well.
I'll need to practice the effect first.
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 5:23 am
by trekfanj
Great work, Coen!
My Ratte arrived last week; I've been on the search for 1/144 figures, not much luck so far but I know Preiser makes some, but everywhere I look they're out of stock(haven't checked out Ebay yet).
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:53 am
by Lee
Awesome mate
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 2:03 am
by mincemeat
First off, I think your paint work is awesome. But for real life argument sake....what would be the point of a camo scheme on a vehicle that large?
German Commander: "Go park the 1000 ton tank it near those trees."
Allies: "It vanished!"
Those crazy Nazi's.
Did you just paint on top of the scheme you didn't like or strip it off, re-prime and everything?
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 9:38 am
by Coen
I think that maybe they were worried about aliens seeing it... there are flying saucers on the box art.
haha.
I don't think "what's the point" even entered the lunatic's mind when he thought this one up.
I don't strip paint unless there's something drastically wrong with the paint, like texturing. The surface pebbled because I was too far away with the brush or something like that. Even then I'll most likely just sand it back to the primer and repaint.
In this case I just repainted over the existing paint. There's no details to speak of so I wasn't worried about flooding the surface and losing it.
Even if there were, I paint in really thin coats to preserve detail so I wouldn't strip the paint off and reprime in any case other than texturing.
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 1:10 am
by mincemeat
Thanks for the painting tip, that's great info!
A guy in my monthly model club is primarily a Gundam builder and is building this kit. He's adding some landing strips for some unidentified flying objects.
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 3:20 am
by ForbesHutton
mincemeat wrote:Thanks for the painting tip, that's great info!
A guy in my monthly model club is primarily a Gundam builder and is building this kit. He's adding some landing strips for some unidentified flying objects.
Why not a giant catapult to launch the Maus? The Russians tried flying tanks but that would have nothin' on a 188 ton tank landing next to you...or on you.
Re: Takom's 1/144 Ratte with a side of Mause
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 2:25 pm
by Nige201980
Loving the camo mate.
