SPA Modeler

Quite a diverse batch of builds Mark! From that French LAV to the giant Ratte… wow And a nice gazebo for the crews to relax in between spins around the training areas…

Courtesy of Saint Crispin’s Irregulars. You will find our Duke seated at a his bench on the top, center.

Again a good batch of builds Mark!

Annoying the glue spill, but holy malony how well you fixed that! Really good safe!

I think it will look very realistic, when paint is on. The truck has been in heavy use

- Kari

KSaarni wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2025 3:08 am Again a good batch of builds Mark!

Annoying the glue spill, but holy malony how well you fixed that! Really good safe!

I think it will look very realistic, when paint is on. The truck has been in heavy use

- Kari

I really want to second what Kari wrote about building the truck door rather than trashing the project. We all have had those moments, especially with thinned hobby cements. I am amazed by how quickly certain glues react to plastics after a glue spill. I think that’s why I personally use hot cements only if necessary—not that by so doing makes any difference—I still had to remove a series of fuselage thumb prints recently as a reminder that even the most carefully applied glue can and will attach to the skin. Reading your trials and solutions is for me the heart of a successful model builder revealed and also the most satisfying moment to watch! I don’t care how much skill is involved in a perfectly finished build but I will always applaud a model builder who snatches success from the jaws of defeat. Duke versus the plastic Dragon! Bravo!

Thank you Carlos! Quite the diverse group indeed.

Thank you Bruce for posting that. Yes, that is where you'll find me every Hobby Day.

Thank you Kari! Yes, I was so upset when I saw it but I was able to pull it fast enough that the damage wasn't irreversible. I think the paint helped a bit to enhance the appearance, as you'll see in this next update.

Bruce, thanks again my friend! I did seriously consider trashing that project; for three days I considered it. The thing that most convinced me not to was: "how am I gonna afford another one of these trucks?" so I took a long look at it and decided to at least try. The results were such that I felt I could continue on and finish it up. "Duke verses the Plastic Dragon!" I like that! I have another friend who calls it "Man vs Model", and in this case, Man won!!


Now on to today's new tour...

It's a short tour of the Motor Pool, since we managed to only get a few things done this past week.

In the first bay we started a new project it's another IBG Chevy CWT truck. This one will be an RAF truck. The cab was built first:



Next the Chassis...



Finally the rear bed was built and went so fast, I didn't get progress pics. Here's the whole truck fully built and ready for paint:



In the next bay is the Iranian Chieftain. It got all the detail parts added to the rear hull:



The troublesome Italian 3Ro is in the next bay sporting it's camouflage paint:



After gloss coating it for decals, I realized the wheel hubs hadn't been painted, so I got them painted:



Then while looking at the instructions, I realized that four racks needed to be made for Jerry cans. Naturally they were photo etch:



Those will be painted and filled with the cans before installation. Then we'll get the decals on it.

Finally in this last bay, I got the patriot TEL completed and added to the trailer:



That is now ready for paint. That's it for the Motor Pool, as I mentioned, its a short tour. Still, we can check out the progress of the Gazebo on the back lot.

It got painted overall, and the deck and stairs got a wash of dark brown:



You can see I gave the railings some top rails of mahogany. The roof got painted next; it'll get a wash and drybrush treatment soon:



Naturally the underside of the roof needed painting too. I gave it mahogany joists and the slated roof got the same pant and wash as the main deck:



A few more touchups and effects and this will be done.

Thank you all for looking in and taking the tour. Comments are always welcome.

Another super round up Mark, I do like that Patriot!

Nice progress!

Stuart wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2025 6:39 pm Another super round up Mark, I do like that Patriot!

and the Gazebo too!

Thank you guys! That Patriot is a fun build too! The Gazebo is giving me problems, it seems nothing wants to stick! I'm hoping to get it done pretty soon.

Duke! Duke! Duke! I'm not sure why the gazebo is giving you trouble. Is it a glue issue? Those older kits like to be melted together with tube glue as hot as you can find it, none of that modern age capillary action stuff. Did you build all of those classic Life-Like kits? I know I did the station, the restaurant and the water tank with maybe a bunch of city houses too. Later on I built a bunch of Walthers Cornerstone kits. What's the scale on this? HO? You could probably find a bunch of figures to paint and assemble inside—you could have musicians playing and couples dancing—depending on the era and the season. Check Lance Mindheim's layout work online!