Maddog Manufacturing 2023 Grand Reopening!

[Duke Maddog]

Thank you John! Yes, there has been a bit of that "Where did I put that?" but there was even more of "Oh, so THAT'S where that went!" as well when I started moving things around and uncovering places that had not seen the light of day in forever.



Still no camera though.....

[Medicman71]

Nice work Mark!

[Duke Maddog]

Thank you Mike!

It's been awhile since I've been here with enough time to follow everyone and due to so many issues, events, small jobs and other incidences; I have been very neglectful in checking out and commenting on anyone else's work. For that I apologize; it has been so hard to find the time to just enjoy the Forums. This coming week will be another extended absence as well due to a long and arduous job I'll be doing, so if I don't reply right away, you know why.

I don't know how many people take my 'tours', but here is an update from the last month or so, whenever I was able to find some time at home and at Hobby Day events to get something done.

That being said, this might be a bit of a long tour so all aboard the trams and remember to keep hands and feet inside at all times. Our first stop in the Hangar.....


Our first stop shows the Me-110 cockpit assembly finally painted. It may not be the most accurate color but it's the closest I have and I want this finished so this is what I used.:



Decals go on this instrument panels so that will be next before I close this up and start painting.

Next, two Spitfires were started. These were from Saul, and so I pulled them out and we started them while waiting for other things to dry. First is the Mk.VIII, starting with the cockpit of course:



Later for ease of handling while painting, we cemented the cockpit assembly into one of the fuselage halves:



While that was drying, we cemented the wing tops to the lower wing section:



In the next bay, we have the Mk.XIVC, which also had the cockpit assembled and then cemented into one of the fuselage halves:



Followed by the same wing assembly as before:





Yeah, not too much was done here, but some good progress was made. Now let us head on out to the Shipyards....



Here in the Shipyards, all the work has been focused on the small torpedo boat craft since some of them are so close to being completed. The first one is the German Schnellboot, which has been fighting us all the way. Final detail parts were added and some rigging was done, but I decided to leave off some parts that are just extra stuff. It's slowly getting closer:





That is one long boat! As of now, we won't be able to complete this until I find the screws to it which I had in place ready to install, and they completely disappeared. I have to wait until they're found before I can call this one finished:



Moving along, the British Vospers 71 foot boat got final detail painting, some rigging and some last details installed:



The white styrene rods are rigging that we're using instead of thread because we could not get the thread to look right. At least this; when painted black, will simulate rope better. Once that is done, final decals and finishing will be done.

Finally, in this last slipway, we have the Vospers 73 foot boat. Lots of seams needed filling and lots of extra parts were installed as well:



All of that was painted and now all that is needed are the decals, rigging and weapons:





That completes the tour of the Shipyards, now on to the Motor Pool.....


Here in the Motor Pool, there is a lot that has been happening. With the influx of new kits, we went to work to get as many of these built as fast as possible.


Our first bay holds one of the two SCUDs, this one is the SCUD C. The driver's cab was completed and windows installed:



With that completed, we installed all four body assemblies onto the chassis:



We can't go much further on this one until the sprue with the correct launcher arms are found. The ones I currently have are for the early SCUD B and this is the -C.

Meanwhile, we got the launcher arms assembled and installed for the SCUD D:



Yes, it does elevate and I forgot to get pics of it fully elevated. All that is needed now are the missiles to be painted, windows masked so we can start with Silly Putty and paint to add the other two camouflage colors.

In the next bay, we started the FROG-7 missile truck. Ever since seeing this in some larger scale when I was a kid, I've always dreamed of having this as part of my 1/72 scale collection. Finally, thanks to Trumpeter, that dream is becoming reality. We started of course with the driver's cab, building the interior and testing it with the cab shell:



Next all the rest of the rear parts were added to the chassis:



Preliminary paint and the final launcher arm assembly was added next:



This arm elevates vary nicely:



After the interior of the cab was painted, the windows were installed and the cab was painted outside; the whole sub-assembly finally added to the rest of the truck:



The missile itself was then completed and left to dry on the sprue:



Later it was removed and tested on the launcher arm. Additional rear body parts were added as well to complete construction as much as possible for the next coat of paint:



This one is coming close!


In this next bay, we got started on the SA-4 Ganef, starting with these wonderfully complex missiles:



Next was the lower hull and tracks, which were molded into one piece with the outer road wheels molded separately:



The complex launcher arms were next, they do work well when assembled:



The upper hull was completed with all but the most breakable parts, the launcher arm was added; and the whole thing was dry fit to the lower hull. Then for fun, we added the missiles to see how this ungainly vehicle was going to look:




That is where this is so far. I do have a lot of missiles that we need to get painted, so someday when I have the spare time; there's going to be a missile painting marathon!


Finally the last bay here contains the US Army D-7 Dozer that we got in. First assembly was the surprisingly detailed little engine:



Next were the tracks. Again, simple assembly, but very nicely detailed:



Now since most of this needed to be painted before any assembly of the main body could be done, we went ahead and built the dozer blade itself:



Now after some preliminary painting again, we started building this up. First, the engine was added to the main body:



Then the driver's seat and the rear section were added:



Final assembly, painting and early weathering were done next:



The track assemblies were weathered next so we could get it in places we wouldn't be able to reach when these tracks were installed:



Once done, these were installed on the dozer itself:



The dozer blade was then snapped into place:



Looks great doesn't it? The blade will be weathered later and then installed. This little model was a blast to build; just so you know what I was dealing with, here it is next to the Exacto blade I used for removing the more delicate parts:



Pretty darn small!



That concludes our tour of Maddog Manufacturing for today. Thank you all for stopping in, your patronage and comments are most appreciated.

[keavdog]

Great stuff mark. Love the tiny tractor

[jeaton01]

Mark's bench has been busy. That D-7 looks like a well turned out kit. I would have a bit more sag in the tracks, but in 1/72 it's not too apparent. Did it come with two exhaust stacks, one for the diesel and one for the starting engine?

[Stikpusher]

Ah yes, now this is Mark being Mark Great batch of builds… that Schnell Boot looks great!

[Brandons_Iron]

The amount of work you are cranking out is nothing short of amazing. Great job, keep it coming.

[tempestjohnny]

Ah yes, now this is Mark being Mark Great batch of builds… that Schnell Boot looks great!

[BlackSheep214]

Great stuff, Mark!

[Medicman71]

Very cool builds Mark!