wookiees meng m2a3 build with herman the german

Post by **wookiee76** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 9:53 pm

Ok so group build number two and I've gone for something a little more complex this time however i will be helped by herman the german this time.
I wont do a review per se although i will point out anything of interest or trickiness as we have all seen the reviews on you tube of this kit, so here we go then, obligatory box and sprue shots, 22 sprues in total, 3 frets of p.e. and some metal tubes which i assume are part of the suspension.

ScaleMates · Post by **papatika** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:05 am

Waaa, that's a monster!

I'll definitely check back to see your progress!

Post by **Jip** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:31 pm

Nice kit, I have it also and started already. There is a lot of extra's in the box and you can make it with a complete interior. Good luck!

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:53 pm

Thanks guys, i will try to post regular updates and yes i will be doing the interior. Looking through the instruction book it doesnt look too bad, well not in comparison to the trumpeter t90 that had 1300 parts and no interior!
May well end up doing an abrams too and attempting some form of diorama, that will be the tricky part!

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:21 pm

So time for a progress report on day one, wheels assembled but need sanding down and suspension built.
One tip is that when you assemble the dampers ( bits with the metal tubes) make sure the glue has set on the captive end before inserting the piston rod, luckily i managed to detach mine without damaging anything!

So far i think herman is happy, hard to tell really!

Post by **Nige201980** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:29 pm

Great start mate best of luck with the rest of the build.

Post by **gaz45** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:36 pm

A good choice i have built this one it's a very good kit

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:35 pm

Cheers nige and gaz, anything to watch out for gaz?

Post by **warped72** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:21 am

Great work so far wookie. Thanks for the tip on the shocks. I'm building the brother model , M3A3 with interior too,basically the same model except a couple of differences , your build looks to be going great have fun an take care.

Post by **schweinhund227** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:22 am

Beautiful kit ! Happy modelling !

Post by **wookiee76** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 6:12 am

Thanks warped and norm, looks like today i make a start on the interior, this is where things get confusing as to what to paint and what not to, guess i will just figure it out as i go.

Post by **wookiee76** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:10 pm

And todays update, some work completed on the interior, no real hints other than to be carwful when snipping off the seat bases, i started with the centre sprue gate to release the tension and sanded carefully, managed to not snap any and although the carpet monster munched one small transmission part it was fortunately cylindrical and of similar diameter to the sprue..

Oi herman wake up you have a job to do!

Post by **Coen** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:41 am

Holy Bradley's batman!
I think that's three so far that I know of.... Still counting.
A bit of a SIG and GB all in one.
It should be very cool,to see how they all turn out.
Good luck with the build bud, they're supposed to be epic kits.

Post by **gaz45** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 12:20 pm

wookiee76 wrote:Cheers nige and gaz, anything to watch out for gaz?

Not that i remember mate goes together really well

Post by **wookiee76** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:08 pm

Not a lot done today, just put a few more bits in and primed the interior bits so just a sea of light grey plastic, hard day at work lol, still, half day tomorrow so should be able to crack on and have photo updates then.

Post by **warped72** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:59 pm

Looking good Whookiee, I seem to be riding your tail , I guess thats what brothers do. Try catching up to where you are tonite, and I'm having the same confussion on when to prime and paint and then decal, but will get it.thanks for the tips too.

Post by **wookiee76** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 5:55 am

I left the engine and transmission out along with the drivers bulkhead and rear plate for painting, once everything is painted i will install them, i did it this way just to give me more room to maneuver the windy brush so i could get to everywhere.
Next is the upper hull inside although i may get ahead and clean up the track links first.

Post by **wookiee76** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:29 am

A spot of cheeky painting before work, new there was an upside to insomnia!

Post by **wookiee76** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 9:28 pm

Trundling along painting the interior and took a break to start on the tracks, i found the easiest way to separate the track links was to snip off the end sprue pips with clippers and then twist the two links apart using a small pair of pliers to twist off the joining sprue piece. Doing it this way i found i needed minimal if any clean up. Will post pics tomorrow once i make a bit more progress weathering.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 12:48 pm

A spot more painting and weathering done in the lower hull, upper hull built up and base coated and looking somewhat crowded in the front end, everything fit well although i did sand down the engine locating lug to give a bit of wiggle room.
Also got the tracks built, definitely workable and the nicest tracks i have built thus far.

Post by **Nige201980** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:26 pm

Looking good mate.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:57 pm

Cheers nige, another update. Lower hull finished building and will start turret later. No real issues other than some slightly tight fits and being somewhat annoyed as to how little of the interior is actually visible through the hatches.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:59 pm

The sideskirts have been left off until the hull has been painted along with the wheels and tracks as once the skirts are on i think it would be damn near impossible to get the wheels or tracks on.

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:59 pm

That really is a mean looking thing. Great work buddy.

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 2:11 pm

Impressive kit.
The uprated combat capability vehicles have something special

Post by **Oper8or** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 7:15 pm

I love this build sir! Its a super nice one. The first thing that came out of my mouth was "Holly S***" when I saw the engine. Fantastic work!! Its spot on and look fantastic.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 8:28 pm

Cheers, only problem with the engine is that once built you will never see it again, same with the airbox.

Post by **Coen** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:39 pm

I love the lay of those tracks. Nice and light but appear to have weight. Meng did well on those.
You did a cool job on the interior too, well used looking.

Post by **wookiee76** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:46 pm

Thanks mike, as usual ive nicked most of my techniques from your videos!
Made a start on the turret this morning and will get the hull, tracks and wheels painted tonight so they can be assembled along with the rather large side skirts.

Post by **wookiee76** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 8:41 pm

Base coat on the hull and skirts, herman disapproves, thinks it should be dunkelgelb! Tracks also done as are the wheels. Began the turret this morning too.

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:46 pm

Todays update, turret internals all built and primed, wheels and tracks attached before the side skirts go on and pretty much hide all the suspension and tracks, one quick tip, ream out the holes in the wheels slightly before putting them on, they are a tight fit and i nearly snapped one of the suspension arms before i opened up the rest. The poly caps hold the wheels firmly in place.
Also herman appears to be getting used to the colour!

Post by **gaz45** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:56 am

Looking great mate

Post by **Coen** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:44 pm

Looks excellent!!
I love the lay of those tracks.

Post by **Nige201980** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:19 am

looking brill mate

Post by **wookiee76** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 12:51 pm

Cheers guys, mike, thats just how they hang, nothing i did!
I do appear to have a warped sideskirt however, currently figuring out a skullduggerous and non bodge way of getting it to fit correctly. Turret is progressing well and will post update pics later.

Post by **wookiee76** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:33 pm

So with some successful skullduggery i managed to straighten out the warped sideskirt, warmed it up under a lamp for a while until it softened slightly then using plenty of contacta and holding it tight it went on relatively straight. Main turret finished, and the tow launcher built, just the turret basket to finish off and we will be built.

Post by **wookiee76** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 9:23 am

Getting there slowly, managed to badly sprain my wrist which is making modelling rather tricky at the mo, however i shall soldier on albeit somewhat more slowly than usual. Turret mainly painted now then some fading before the decals go on and there are quite a few for armour, most seem to be saftey warnings however.

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 1:13 am

Very nice build so far
It looks like a very nice kit and it is harder to find now then it was a year ago (should have got one back then)
There is a lot of nice detail on the interior and you did a excellent job with it
Keep up the good work
And put Hermann to work he had enough rest with his supervising job

Post by **wookiee76** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 5:55 am

Thanks mark, still easy to find these in the uk, even amazon has them in stock! A very nice kit to build all around just glad i already had some experience with interiors so it took less head scratching and figuring out about how to put it together but still leave it paintable.
Decals and clear went on yesterday so today i really have to figure out what kind of weathering to do.

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 12:20 pm

Great work mate.

Post by **chief5437** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 7:39 pm

Looking very nice so for buddy, nice to see Herman back at work, lol!

Post by **wookiee76** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:41 am

Made a start on some weathering with a wash mixed from Ultimate light dirt, concrete and sand, just need to figùre out what im going to do with the tracks now so back to google image search it is.

Post by **timtamtung** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 8:25 am

Looking real good mate- a good thread! That green interior is perfect.
Hoping to see more soon

Post by **wookiee76** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 5:13 pm

Cheers tungy, made a little more progress with weathering today but my wrist is holding me up quite badly, well that and getting a little carried away with the yamaha virago i also have on the go.

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:18 pm

Well my wrist is still giving me grief but im calling the bradley done other than pigmenty guff on the tracks and wheels which i will colour match to the dio, started work on the tamiya/masterbox marines and despite my total lack of carpentry skills built the dio base.
Also herman informing the marine that he is the boss, turns out herman is a sith lord!

Post by **NAMBiohazard** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:08 pm

Wow.......
That is coming along awesomely....

Beauti of a build you done there up

to now

Post by **wookiee76** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:12 am

Oh dont worry, plenty of opportunity for me to screw it all up yet!

Post by **Coen** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:00 am

Most excellent work dude!
Can't wait to see the dio layout.

Post by **wookiee76** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:55 am

Cheers again mike, the layout may look ok, it's just whether i can pull off the building and painting, trying to remember your how to videos on what to do.

Post by **wookiee76** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:09 pm

Todays progress, herman is inspecting his troops and some brick walls whilst the dio base is sealed and awaiting clay day, gonna be like being back in art class at high school! As an aside i managed to totally mess up my art gcse, something about being too graphic and ended up with a f so my results read f art!