Sunday, December 25, 2016

A Christmas Gift

Well today is Christmas and what better gift I could get from my in-laws than a scale model! To be specific I received the Tamiya M1A1 Abrams with Mine Plow 1/35 scale American tank, a kit that I have had my eye on for a while now. 

The main reason I want to build this kit is because when I was about 14 I built one, a Revell kit I believe but could be mistaken. It was my first armored kit and I really enjoyed building it and it sure looked great! It was also built only a year or two after Operation Desert Storm so these tanks were all over the media.

While there have been upgraded version of the Abrams tank released I really wanted to build the same version I built as a teenager but at the same time use a much more modern and higher quality kit and this Tamiya model fit the bill perfectly.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Step 8 - Part 1 - Motorcycle Assembly Complete

Step 8 consists of completing the motorcycle where I added the last accessories and installing the front wheel to the chassis. Whats nice is that the wheel can be turned as it is not glued which is a nice extra for when I am ready to place it in a diorama. The light was easy to install but had issues to properly align the light cover so that the slot would be straight. I then used a black Staedtler pigment liner 0.05 pen to darken the slot.





Saturday, December 17, 2016

Step 6 & 7 - Sidecar

The next two steps to assemble the side car went without a hitch with very simple trouble free assembly. The only issue I had was what color to paint the brakes? After checking several reference photos I decided to go with a metal look. I also opted to add two luggage compartments which were optional as I want to depict this bike as an Africa Korps in the desert fully loaded with gear.



Friday, December 16, 2016

Step 5 - Motor & Luggage

Step 5 comprised of adding the baggage compartment for which I filled in the hollow backing with white putty as the hole was visible through the rear tire and completing the engine.



Sunday, December 11, 2016

Step 4 - Have a Seat

Completed assembly of step number 4, painting instructions are vague and am using several reference photos to guide me. Front seat was a bit hard to place and required trimming the plastic underneath as the guide pin would not align properly to the hole in the chassis of the bike.


Step 3 - Gas Tank & Stand

Step 3 was fairly simple, glue the two halves of the gas tank together which to my surprise went fairly well and install the stand.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Signature

Not knowing where to sign my name and date on this kit due to its very tiny size I decided to place it on the back of the sidecar seat.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Steps 1 & 2 - Start Building!

After a week or so of painting various parts I finally started assembly of step 1 the front wheel and step 2 the motorcycle chassis.