Muro

Andrew Gledhill
Update 6. 01.07.24. I have now finished the build and the main bit of painting. The next thing to do is spray on a gloss coat ready for decals. Very few decals to apply. 3 rings around the barrel. 2 small plaques on the mine plough and a chevron on each side skirt. I had to scratch build the RH turret hatch ring because mine was missing from the kit. I cut a replacement ring out of plastic card. Now that its painted, you cannot really tell that its a scratch built ring. Happy with that. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 7. 13.07.24. Not long to go now. Finished all the main painting. Then applied a gloss coat. Then put the decals on. All 7 of them lol. 3 stripes on the gun. A Black Chevron either side and 2 small plaques on the mine plough. Then a Florymodels Dark Dirt Clay Wash was applied all over the model. Once dry, this was rubbed off with a paper towel and cotton buds. This left dirt and grime in all the panel lines, nooks and crannies. After that, a matt coat was applied. Then I did some dry brushing with a polished metal colour. This simulated scratches and scuffs. After that, I rubbed in some dirt and sand pigments from a Tamiya Weathering Set. Then I rubbed on some rust pigments in places. Especially on the mine plough blades. Then I put on some Ammo Mig Enamel Wet Mud. Before this dried, I stippled some Ammo Mig Earth Pigment. This made it look like dried on caked mud. Once all that has dried, I will spray a heavily thinned coat of an Ammo Mig Dust Colour on the bottom parts of the model. This should simulate dust build up from the ground up. Then a final matt coat will be applied, and that should get us to the finish line. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 6. 14.03.24. Well, things are coming along quite nicely now. I have finished the island control centre apart from the rigging. Waiting on some gel super glue to come to do that. If you look at the photos, you will see that I placed some of those Eduard PE figures inside the bridge areas. Not that many because you can hardly see them. I have placed one guy saluting in there lol. The kit does not come with clear parts for the windows. I made window parts from cuts of a clear acetate sheet, then glued them inside. You can get a pack of 10 sheets of acetate from Amazon for £5. Great for making windows out of. The last gun emplacement has also been fixed to the ship. All that is left to do now, is the cranes and tugs etc. Then its onto the aircraft. I have also got to fit all the aerials to the hull. But I will do that last. Anyway, that's it for now.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 7. 26.05.24. Its been awhile since I posted an update on this one. I took a bit of a break from it to concentrate on the C2 Mexas kit. Anyway, I have more or less finished the ship itself. I still have to do the island rigging. Plus paint some of the antennas etc. I have been slowly working on the air wing. I have a load of after market Star Fighter Decals for aircraft. So far, I have finished 2 x E2 Hawkeye's and 2 x A6 Prowlers. I have also finished painting 8 x FA-14 Tomcats. But I have only applied decals to one of those. There are still many aircraft to build up and paint. Oh and I have made up and painted all the cranes and tugs. That's it for now. Enjoy.

Gary Victory
Nice progress Andrew, I can only guess how big that thing is....! Following your progress.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Drew Z
That cooling pack looks absolutely perfect. same with the rest of the MGS!

Andrew Gledhill
Thanks Drew Z. They supply PE fan covers for the 6 fans of the Air Con Unit. But there are no actual fans behind those screens lol.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 7. 25.02.24. I have now done the first stage of weathering. I sprayed some Ammo Mig Jet Exhaust Burnt Iron into the engine intake grills. Then a Dark Dirt Florymodels Clay Wash was applied to the whole vehicle. Once this was dry, I went over it with a cotton bud. Rubbing most of the wash back off. This left dirt in the recesses, panel lines and around bolt heads etc. I then did some streaking with a Green Oil Paint. Once this was left overnight to dry, I covered the whole thing in a Matt Coat. I also finished painting the 2 jerry cans, and got these mounted in their rack. The next thing to do is to put some pastels of dust and muck over it. Then try some mud effects around the undersides and wheels. Then a dust coat will be applied. That's all for now. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 8. 27.02.24. OK, I am going to call this done for now. Today I finished off the weathering. First I rubbed a Dirt powder from a Tamiya weathering set all over it using some make up eye dabber things. I rubbed this all over the tyres too. This gave it a dusty look. Next I mixed up some Ammo Mug Enamel Liquid Mud with some Ammo Mig Earth Pigment Powder. I then painted this mixture all over the undersides behind the wheels etc. Then before it dried, I dusted on some of the earth powder. Once dry, this gave the effect of dried on mud. First time I have used this stuff, and I am quite impressed with the results. I will add some pics of the stuff I used to the album. I then sprayed a light coat of heavily thinned Ammo Mig Dust paint along the lower portions of the front, sides and rear. I have gone for minimal stowage items at this stage. Just a couple of ammo boxes, a small pack, a ration pack box, and a M60 Machine gun. Then I finished it off with some stretched sprue aerials. Unfortunately, due to the tiny hinge parts. I could not make the hatches to be open-able. There is no interior detail anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I may add other stowage items at a later date. But for now, I am going to say that this mostly enjoyable build, is now complete. Thanks for all the interest and positive feedback.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 8, 30.01.24. Things are coming along nicely now. Last night I tried spraying the Light Florymodels Clay Wash over the model. But I have the older wash. It was a bit too thin and was not spraying that well. So, I ended up painting it on liberally with a brush. It looked awful last night when it was still wet. But this morning when it had dried, it didn't look too bad. The good thing about these washes, is that you can remove it with water. So, by dipping a cotton bud in water, I was able to wipe off the wash in areas where I didn't want it. Areas such as the number plates and division markings. I was also able to rub parts of the wash with the dry cotton bud. I think it looks not too bad. I imagine that this vehicle is coming to the end of winter, and parts of the white wash have been lost over the months due to rain etc. I have also now fitted the acetate windscreen glass, and done some dry brushing of the canvas cab cover. Then the whole thing has been sealed in with a matt coat. I have some tools to paint next, then it will be onto the figures. I may try to paint some rust effects on the back bed of it. Not sure yet on that one. Enjoy, and thanks for looking.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 9, 19.02.24. OK, the tools have been painted and glued onto the side screens. Next I have done some rust effects on the rear deck and mudguards etc. I put some Mr Surfacer 500 down first. Let it dry for 15 minutes. Then stippled it with an old brush to roughen up the surface. Then I painted over this with Ammo Mig Rust paints of various shades. At first it was a bit too much. Especially on the rear deck. So I toned the rust effects down a bit by adding more of the light Florymodels clay wash. I am calling the main painting and weathering done now. Next I have to build up and paint the 5 figures, plus all the ammo boxes and equipment etc. Enjoy.

Olivier
Quite nice so far. I like the underside. What colour will you chose for the tarpaulin ?

Andrew Gledhill
Hi Olivier. I used Tamiya Khaki for the canvas cab roof.

Andrew Gledhill
Thanks for all the great comments.

Jennifer Franklin
That is a lot of stuff in the back. Where did you get all the paraphernalia? Nice model.