I have done a lot since my last post, but have not been able to show any of it because of school and being away from home, the model, and a camera. Since painting figures is without a doubt the thing I have the least experience with, it was a challenge and a half. And just when I though I was done, I had to figure out how to portray them. This is because I hadn't put much thought into whether to include them in the final model and had already glued the roof down. I paid for that mistake dearly. Look through the pictures here and I will explain the rest at the bottom.







I didn't weather this one like the driver as mostly a comparison and probably will weather it soon enough




I need to touch up the bottom as there are parts of paint that got scratched off. I am not sure if I am going to weather the bottom


This is where my model is as of this posting:









You can see in the last couple of images the result of not being able to test fit the gunners position and just plain get the driver into his seat (though I kind of like one foot out). Positioning the gunner and his arms just plain sucked. I didn't have the turret glued down which popped up constantly nor the launcher itself which always managed to rotate. Add to that, the figure's general positioning and posture did not help matters; it would always fall down in the turret and I would have to dig it out.

I plan on doing a little more weathering, but mainly want to hear your reaction and suggestions before I go foward. If anyone has any suggestions on the color of the boot on the driver that would be great as the color is the same as his uniform. I used Tamiya's Buff color for that but was not sure what I could mix it with to get a slight variation to offset the uniformity (pun intended). Thanks.

Jeff

Maybe if you put a canteen/water bottle/coke can in the driver's hand it won't look so out of place not on the steering wheel.

Also is it just me or do I see the driver's thumb popping out of the glove?

If the kit came with a canteen, or any stowage for that matter, believe me I would add it. That is the one thing I dislike most about this kit is the absolute lack of stowage included in the kit. I guess it is just a ploy to get you to buy Tamiya's accessory kit, which I already have.

For now, I think I will settle for an "in motion" figure getting out of the vehicle.

As for the thumb, I did a spotty job on the gloves, thanks for pointing it out.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Jeff

Here's another suggestion. When I wanted to make a sizpack of beer cans for a Nam dio I found the piece of plastic tree about the right circumference and cut is to size. Then I painted them white and simulated the logo of budweiser with some red and black paint. Maybe you can paint the can red with a white squiggle to simulate a can of coke

Where as the idea of the driver exiting the vehicle with a can of coke is good, I feel that it doesn't fit with the gunner taking aim... Maybe you can give the driver a gun or pair of binoculairs as it would be more likely that he would be holding those when engaging a target.
As for the figures, in the pictures I think the (unweathered ) gunner looks a bit better than the drivers body armour. How did you weather the driver?
I know what you mean about building a figure and then trying to fit it into a vehicle... been there, done that.... next time dont glue the figure together untill you fit them around the vehicle / equipment .
Good job though, add something to the drivers hand and put it on a nice desert base and your flying.

Cheers
Henk

Since this is the AGE 2 campaign and scratchbuilding is out of the question, I will leave that idea until after the campaign. I have a few tidbits I want to add after it is over, the most important being an antenna, I can't stand having a little antenna "stick" poking out the back but no antenna to go with it.

Henk - the problem with fitting the gunner around the equipment was that the equipment was not glued down. The reason I did not glue it down was with my luck and past experiences, I would end up glueing the launcher in a position I didn't want. Now I could not get the launcher in a position I wanted without knowing where the arms go, but I did not know where the arms were going to go as I did not know where the launcher was going to go.........aahhhhhh!
(*quietly*)hence my problem

In the end I said "screw it" and hoped for the best. This is the result. The arms and in fact everything you see in the last images are glued down (well except for the driver's door which inadvertantly fell off for the third time; there isn't much contact area between the body and hinges for the Tenex to stick making it very fragile. I will probably find a way to reinforce it)

Thanks for the suggestions and keep 'em coming.

Jeff

I'm not registered for this campaign and so find myself in unfamiliar waters but I give it a go at your boot and the coke can.

Varying Tamiya Buff color with small additions of Light brown (for darker shades) or yellow (for lighter shades) might provide you with some variations. Getting highlights & shadows on light and completely black colors are tough. White is never totally white and black are really shades of grey in order to get variations. Add a little first to the basecoat (i.e. 10-20 % yellow to buff) as shading tends to be a bit subtle with acrylics if that's what you used. Dilute the mix well (at least 1:10 or more).

As for the coke can, made mine out of aluminium foil that came off a disposable baking tray. The foil tends to be thicker than the sheet ones. Wrap around suitable sized cylindrical rod, I used pencil lead. Cut a minute circular piece for the top out of the sheet material and don't bother about the bottom as it can't be seen. I tried simulating the wording, but at 1/35 it was an impossiblity for shaky hands/poor eyes so opted to paint the Coke "wave".


Sorry to hear about the fitting. Happens to all of us at some time. With me its always the hands and weapons.

Thanks for the advice on the boots, I will try that.

Jeff

What about adding an M16 or M4? You could have the driver holding the grip end and have the butt of the gun resting on the driver's thigh. I think that would look more natural considering the guy's arm is sticking almost straight out. Good job so far on everything else though (the weathering on the tires is superb).
Kyle

I forgot this was AGE2 so scratchbuilding a can or using something from another kit would be illegal. Well you could always add that kind of stuff after you submit it for AGE2. Nothing in the ruls says you can't change or update the model AFTER you submit it OOTB.

Like I said, no scratchbuilding, but that is a good idea. Right now, I figure the guy has just opened the door and is retracting his arm, but I have Dragon's somewhat dated M16 family kit and I like that idea.

[/quote]how did you weather the driver[/quote]
Something. Basically I just painted the driver as I did the gunner. I then took the Tamiya buff color, since it double as a great sand color, and dabbed it on moderately over the camo vest. I let it sit for literally about 3 seconds and then wipped it. Essentially I was smearing it. That is the same way I weathered the wheels only I used the color of the HMMWV - ModelMaster's Army/USMC Desert Armor color.

Jeff