April - Austin Armor Builders Society

Sabot Away!
AUSTIN ARMOR BUILDERS SOCIETY
Volume 13, Issue 4
April 1, 2009
From the Turret
Believe it or not, somehow I
always missed Brent Mullins'
annual event presented by
the Museum of the American
G.I. and Mullin’s Jeep Parts.
This year Russ, Bruce, and
Rod were kind enough to
keep me company, and so
off we went on the morning
of March 21 to the venue at
College Station, TX.
Eric Choy in the loader’s hatch of a M24 Chaffee Light Tank at Brent
Mullin’s Open House 2009. Photograph by Bruce Burden.
Aside from the jeeps, beeps,
and duce-and-a-halves,
there were a few rarities this
year at the Open House.
These included a M3 75mm
GMC (that's Gun Motor Carriage, not GM's truck division), a Universal 'Bren' Carrier (T16), and not one but
two M18 Hellcat tank destroyers. All vehicles in the
exhibit were in running condition, and they all took part
Austin Armor Builders Society Membership Dues
Dues are collected in January. This will make it easier
for us to track and easier to
maintain the membership
cards.
The card will be valid for
one year and a new card
will be created each year as
long as your club membership is in good standing.
As always, membership is
$12.00 USD per year. The
membership cards will be
presented to members at the
January meeting.
New members will be given
a card after they pay their
dues. Dues will be prorated
based on the month they join.
Special points of interest:
♦
♦
CHENILLETTE UE, POLISH
STYLE: MIRAGE HOBBY
1:35TH RENAULT UE
“ACHTUNG, JABO!”
♦
MODELER OF THE MONTH:
JORGE ADUNA
♦
KING’S HOBBY 20%
DISCOUNT DEAL
♦
ONE OF THE LAST WORKG IN THE
WORLD.
ING STUG
Inside this issue:
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2
CHENILLETTE UE, POLISH
STYLE: MIRAGE HOBBY
1:35TH RENAULT UE
3
“ACHTUNG, JABO!”
8
15
ONE OF THE LAST WORKING STUG G IN THE WORLD
MODELER OF THE MONTH:
JORGE AUDUNA
16
KING’S
COUNT
18
HOBBY 20% DISDEAL
New Kits
19
Sabot Away!
From the Turret - Continued
“I EVEN HAD THE
in the WWII reenactment
later on in the afternoon.
During the battle scene, we
were treated to some loud
gunnery firing and a live
flamethrower demo.
OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY
WITH A PANZERFAUST
AND A
PANZERSCHRECK FROM
ONE OF THE VENDORS.
MY PARENTS ARE SO
PROUD OF ME NOW
THAT THEY KNOW I
CAN HANDLE NAZI
ANTI-TANK WEAPONS!“
All in all, it was a gorgeous
day to be out and about.
We had a wonderful time,
not to mention coming home
with gigabytes worth of reference materials in our cameras. I even had the opportunity to play with Panzerfaust
and Panzerschreck from one
of the vendors. My parents
are so proud of me now that
they know I can handle Nazi
anti-tank weapons!
See you all at the meeting.
von Erich (Eric Choy)
Eric Choy takes aim at a M4A3E8 Sherman tank with his newly acquired
Panzerschreck at Brent Mullin’s 2009 Open House in College Station, Texas.
Photograph by Roderick Bell.
Calendar of Events
♦
April 1, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by: Worth Haggerton
♦
April 17-18, 2009 - AMPS International Convention, Havre de Grace, Maryland
♦
May 6, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by: Bob Bethea - “Ground Work”
♦
June 3, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by: Greg Beckman - “Modeling on the Road”
♦
June 3, 2009 - White Elephant Contest
♦
July 1, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by: Rick Herrington
♦
August 5, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by: Dave Edgerly
♦
September 2, 2009 - Club Meeting; Club Auction
♦
October 7, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by Roderick Bell - “How to use the Testors Custom Decal
System”
♦
October 24, 2009 - AMPS Centex 2007
♦
November 4, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by Jeff Forester
♦
December 2, 2009 - Club Meeting; Presentation by Tom Ferris
♦
January 6, 2010 - Club Meeting; Presentation by Richard Eaton - “The Mighty Sponge: How to simulate
paint flaking and wear and tear”
Page 2
Volume 13, Issue 4
Chenillette UE, Polish Style: Mirage Hobby 1:35th Renault UE
named Mirage. I was kind of
tickled because I do enjoy an
occasional “slap around” by
Eastern European “b**ch
kits!”
By Eric Choy
This Chenillette (French for
tankette) is my White Elephant from last year. Bruce
Burden was of the opinion
that I was screwed when he
saw me with the Mirage
Hobby kit at the party. He
gave me his best rendition of
Dr. Evil’s hysterical laugh
(“mwahahahaha”) and a joke
on why the company was
Mirage Hobby of Poland
released their first UE
“Universal Transport”
(35305) kit in the late 1990s.
Ultimately they managed to
“milk” five more kits out of
the same vehicle: AMR-UE
Tankette (35306), Scout Tankette (35307), Transporter
with Trailer (35514), UEsWG with 40/28cm Wk Spr
(35518), and UE-sWG
40/32 “Stuka zu Fuss”
(35519). The one I have is
the original “Universal Transport.” The box art shows a
captured German UE with the
“BRUCE BURDEN
WAS OF THE
OPINION THAT I
WAS SCREWED
WHEN HE SAW ME
WITH THE MIRAGE
HOBBY KIT AT THE
PARTY. HE GAVE ME
HIS BEST RENDITION
OF DR. EVIL’S
HYSTERICAL LAUGH
(“MWAHAHAHAHA”
) AND A JOKE ON
WHY THE
COMPANY WAS
NAMED MIRAGE.”
Eric Choy’s 1:35th scale Mirage Renault UE. This photograph shows Eric’s clean build of the Renault UE. Photograph
by Eric Choy.
Page 3
Sabot Away!
Chenillette UE, Polish Style: Mirage Hobby 1:35 th Renault UE - Continued
“FOR THOSE WHO ARE
INTERESTED IN THE
HISTORY OF THE
RENAULT UE, I
RECOMMEND DANNY
EGAN’S EXCELLENT
ARTICLE IN THE
MARCH/APRIL ‘08 ISSUE
Eric Choy’s 1:35th scale Mirage Renault UE prior to painting. Photograph by Eric Choy.
OF BORESIGHT. WHAT?
YOU DON’T HAVE A
COPY? DIDN’T I TELL YOU
TO JOIN AMPS?”
UK trailer (not included in my
kit). Two decal options,
French and German, are provided to entice both Allied
and Axis modelers.
Inside the box are three
fresh-freed sprues. While I
enjoyed working with the
softer Eastern European plastic, the white colored polymer
left much to be desired. I
found it difficult to spot seam
lines, and I was never quite
sure the surfaces of the parts
that I sanded were smooth
enough. Comparing to
Tamiya’s state-of-the-art
offering, the Mirage Hobby’s
parts are bit thick and lack in
finer details. But this kit is still
a highly buildable “weekend
Page 4
project,” and I had no trouble
finishing it out-of-the-box.
For those who are interested
in the history of Renault UE, I
recommend Danny Egan’s
excellent article in the
March/April ’08 issue of
Boresight. What? You don’t
have a copy? Didn’t I tell you
to join AMPS?
Construction
I built my UE almost completely box stock except for
thinning out the fenders,
scratch building the headlight, replacing the taillight
with one from Italeri’s Commando Jeep, and installing a
new towing indicator from
leftover PE part. The only
difficulty when putting this kit
together was removing the
track links from the sprues. I
recommend using a PE saw
blade instead of a knife or
shear for that.
The kit-supplied cable is pure
rubbish. Using the Tamiya
box art as a reference, I rebuilt it with nylon thread, bits,
and pieces from my spare
parts box. In addition, the
edges of the rectangular
cargo bin were excessively
thick. Therefore, I covered the
entire bin with a tarp made
from epoxy putty. I goofed
when I did not roll the putty
thin enough, so there were
quite a bit of stretching while
the tarp was being installed.
Volume 13, Issue 4
Chenillette UE, Polish Style: Mirage Hobby 1:35 th Renault UE - Continued
No doubt this caused it to be
punctured by a piece of
stowage I stuffed inside the
bin earlier. But then again the
torn looked kind of realistic,
so I left it alone.
Painting & Weathering
According to Egan’s article,
no French Army UE was
painted in multicolor back in
1940. This makes painting
my model straightforward.
The instruction calls for
ciemno zielony (Polish for
Dark Green (Humbrol 30), I
suppose). As Yorkshire Finest
was in short supply at King’s,
I chose what I had, French
Artillery Green (Humbrol
179), as the base color instead. After I sprayed the
first coat, I realized the
green was too light. So I
darken the color and resprayed it. Well, it was still
somewhat light after the second coat of paint dried. Paint
Nazis be damned, I was not
about to spray the darn thing
three times!
Moving on to the tracks, I
used Track Color (Humbrol
173) instead of my usual
MMIR mix. This chocolate
liked color has long been
discontinued, but I was fortunate to grab the last ones
from Dibble’s in San Antonio.
The towing indicator was
painted Blue (Humbrol 25)
and the yellow triangle was
cut to shape from an old airplane kit’s decal.
With the model being so
puny, panel fading was done
with drybrushing instead of
an airbrush. After two coats
of Future, I applied the decals and a wash of thinned
Raw Umber artist oil. Then I
highlighted the edges and
raised details with Faded
Khaki, a trick I learned from
Bob Bethea. A flat clear coat
sealed everything in, and
various earth color pigments
were applied all over the
lower hull and tracks to finish
off the model.
Conclusion
It was fun building my UE,
and the slapping barely
scratched my skin. More importantly, I finished my White
Elephant. How are you doing
on yours?
Eric Choy’s 1:48th scale French Renault UE showing the scratch built tarp. Photograph by Eric Choy.
Page 5
Sabot Away!
Chenillette UE, Polish Style: Mirage Hobby 1:35 th Renault UE - Continued
Page 6
Volume 13, Issue 4
Chenillette UE, Polish Style: Mirage Hobby 1:35 th Renault UE - Continued
Here are four shots of the completed kit. Photograph by Eric
Choy.
Eric Choy
Page 7
Sabot Away!
Acthung, Jabo!
By Roberto Enriquez
(a.k.a. Bob Bethea and
Henry Nunez)
This project was a collaboraPage 8
tion between Henry and me
based on facts and presumptions of what could have happened if Germany did not
capitulate to the Allies in
May 1945.
The first presumption sets the
Volume 13, Issue 4
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
Bob Bethea & Henry Nunez’s 1:35th scale diorama called “Acthung, Jabo!”. The two figures are DML figures that
have been modified. The tank is a Panther F from DML. Photograph by Eric Choy.
scene during a period in
which Germany had extended the war into 1946.
The premise is that Germany
either had been successful in
stopping the American and
British forces at the Battle of
the Bulge or had held the
Allies at the Rhine and the
Russians in Poland, thus prolonging the war into 1946.
The other presumption is the
introduction of Panther F into
Germany’s arsenal. This variant of the Panzerkampfwagen
V features a new “Schmal”
turret, additional radio set,
and steel-rimmed road
wheels. Historically, Panther F
remained a “paper panzer”
project that never went into
series production.
The Figures
Our diorama depicts a Panther F tank crew recovering
stowage that has been blown
off by enemy action when
suddenly they spot an enemy
aircraft overhead. The scene
supposedly takes place
somewhere in a German city
in front of a heavily damaged government building
where several German infantrymen are congregating.
The title "Achtung Jabo!" is
based on the German word
Achtung (Attention) and the
Jabo (ground attack aircraft).
With Allied aircraft dominating the sky, they are used to
such activities and are responding appropriately.
The eight figures in this diorama are an array of plastic
and resin, stock or converted
figures prepared by me and
painted by Henry. He chose
to paint them in different
camouflage patterns to depict the anarchic supply situation in the besieged Germany.
By 1946, the most prominent
German camouflage uniforms
were the "Pea Pattern" and
the new “Leibermuster.” Introduced in 1944, the “Pea Pattern” was aimed to replace
all previous camouflage designs, and the “Leibermuster”
was a proposed but seldom
Page 9
Sabot Away!
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
issued 1945 pattern that was
supposed to become universal in the armed forces if the
war had stretched on.
The tank commander, a New
World Miniature figure, has
his arm and head rearranged to show him pointing
to the enemy aircraft and
shouting at his crew on the
ground. He is dressed in the
one-piece overall that was
common early in the war.
Henry painted him in
"Summer Oak Leaf" camouflage to show that he was a
seasoned veteran who kept
his old uniform as long as
possible.
The tank driver is a DML
plastic figure with a resin
Hornet head looking towards
where his commander is
pointing. He is also dressed in
a one-piece overall, but
Henry painted him in a more
appropriate late war “Pea
Pattern.”
The radio operator is another
New World Miniature figure
with minor modifications so he
can fit into the hatch. He
wears the universal black
tanker side cap and mouse
gray undershirt. Henry
painted his pants to depict
the summer green denims.
The tank crewmember on the
ground is handing an axe
and a fire extinguisher up to
the crewmember on the deck.
He is also a New World
Miniature figure with an arm
swapped and hands rearranged. He is painted with
the standard black panzer
uniform trousers and M43
black panzer cap. He wears
a panzer jacket in the
“Liebermuster” camouflage to
set the scene as post May
1945.
The bareheaded crewmember on the deck wears the
standard black panzer
jacket. Henry decided to
paint his trousers in the late
war “Pea Pattern” to show
yet another late war alternative.
The three other supporting
actors are all based on DML
figures from different kits,
A close up of the driver and radio operator. The tank driver is a DML figure with a Hornet head. The driver is from
New World Miniature. Bob Bethea & Henry Nunez’s 1:35th scale diorama called “Acthung, Jabo!”. Photograph by
Eric Choy.
Page 10
Volume 13, Issue 4
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
The Tank
The proposed but never built
Panther F is a recent retooling of DML’s 1990s classic. It is a wonderful kit, and it
was finished almost out of the
box with just some battle
damage inflicted all around
it to show it was truly functional.
I came up with a fictitious
urban camouflage for this
fictitious "Paper Panzer."
First, the vehicle was painted
in a red primer color used by
the Germans late in the war.
Bob Bethea & Henry Nunez’s 1:35th scale diorama called “Acthung, Jabo!”.
The two figures are DML figures that have been modified. The tank is a
such as the “Afrika Korps”
set, the “Panzer Grenadiers
in Italy” set, and the
“German Medic” set. The
machine gunner on the steps
has a hornet head and DML's
Gen2 weapons. The infantry
officer up front has had his
arms and head rearranged
to address the aircraft threat.
They both wear late war
ankle boots and standard
Field Gray trousers. The machine gunner wears a different shade of the
“Liebermuster” camouflage,
and the officer has a tunic
made from a captured Italian
camouflage. The infantryman
up front dresses the same
trousers and boots, but he
wears the early war
“Zeltbahn” shelter quarter
with the Wehrmacht "Early
Splinter" camouflage pattern.
The late war G43 automatic
rifle he is carrying reinforces
the period.
With all the different styles
and camouflage patterns, we
hope you enjoy this grand
tour of German uniforms of
WWII.
A rear view of the Panther F and the detail done on the figures by Bob Bethea & Henry Nunez. Photograph by Eric Choy.
Page 11
Sabot Away!
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
A close up view of “Acthung, Jabo!” Panther F crew by Bob Bethea and Henry Nunez. Photograph by Eric Choy.
I then cut and placed Tamiya
tape onto the tank to show
simulated brickwork that was
such a major fixture of destroyed German cities. After I
over-painted that with khaki
and gray stripes, I panel
faded each color and used
oil paints to blend the colors
into a cohesive whole. The
numbers on the turret are
Archer transfers. Finally, to
give the Panther F a dusty
and used look, I grounded up
some pastel sticks and applied the chalk liberally all
over the tank.
added. All aspects of the
building face were re-scribed
with an X-Acto knife to add
dimensions and battle damages. I posted all the plaster
building parts together with
The Base
The base was built from a
piece of fiberboard with a
Verlinden building façade
Page 12
A top angle view of “Acthung, Jabo!” by Bob Bethea and Henry Nunez.
Photograph by Eric Choy.
Volume 13, Issue 4
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
A front corner view of the Panther F by Bob Bethea and Henry Nunez. Photograph by Eric Choy.
wooden dowels and used
carpenters glue for tougher
connections. I then spread the
roadway with Sheetrock
Spackle and scribed in the
brickwork when it was close
to dry but still tacky. A sanding leveled out all the
scratches.
For the building debris, I
spread Sheetrock Spackle
out onto an aluminum foil on
an old cookie sheet. While it
was tacky but not dried, I
scribed in parallel lines to
represent bricks. When dried,
I separated the lines and
broke off individual bricks.
The mounds of bricks were
made the same way with
mounds of spackle and
pieces of balsa wood and
soft wire stuck into them. To
busy up the groundwork, I
also added individual plastic
bricks, miscellaneous Verlinden scraps, and some dented
oil drums and gas cans from
Armand Bayardi.
With everything in place, I
ran super glue over all the
loose parts to set them permanently and to keep them
from lifting during painting.
The entire rear section of the
building was covered with
thin sheet plastic. I painted
everything Flat Black to hide
any shiny white items as time
goes by. The rest of the
Page 13
Sabot Away!
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
Here is the rear view of the Bob and Henry's Panther F. Photograph by Eric Choy.
structure was airbrushed and
hand painted with various
stone and brick colors.
Once the groundwork was
finished, we added the figures and the tank for which
we had left spaces for earlier. Each figure had brass
pins protruding from the feet,
and they were glued down to
the appropriate holes drilled
in the base. To avoid any
movement of the tank during
transit, a hole was drilled
through the lower hull to ac-
Page 14
cept a bolt. With a washer
and a nut thread onto the
bolt, the tank is now strongly
attached. In addition, just in
case an "inquiring judge" at
a show decides to complain
about the bolt showing underneath, a large block from
the building was added under the tank to camouflage
the connection.
To dress the whole thing up, I
built a wooden frame with
stained and varnished 1.5" x
1.5" birch stock. The diorama
drops right into the frame,
but it can be separated for
transport to reduce the
height. We even built a special box for transporting
them!
Conclusion
Henry and I really enjoyed
working on this diorama together, and we are planning
to do another one in the near
future. We feel joint projects
like this one utilize our talents
appropriately to build something we could not or would
Volume 13, Issue 4
Acthung, Jabo! - Continued
Here is club member Bill Menzie riding his German Motorcycle at Bren Mullin’s Open House
2009. Photograph by Roderick Bell.
not have done on our own.
Try a project like this with a
friend. You will end up better
friends, or… well. We hope
you will.
Editor’s Note: Who in the heck
is Roberto Enriquez ? Roberto
Enriquez is the pen name for
Robert Bethea and Henry Nunez. Roberto is Robert in
Spanish and Enrique is Henry
in Spanish. So they came up
with Roberto Enriquez.
Bob Bethea and
Henry Nunez
One of the Last working Stug G’s in the world
By Roderick Bell
Bruce Burden, Eric Choy,
Russ Holm, and myself to a
jaunt over to College Station
on March 21st. We heard a
rumor about a working Stug
G and also heard a rumor
that it was off limits to the
public. The first rumor was
true the second one was absolutely false. So we didn’t
get a chance to swing by the
barn at Brent Mullin’s place.
However, Chris DeHaven of
the Central Texas Scale Modeling Society (Centex Modelers) did and took a few photos. He shared them with me
and I am posting one of them
for all to see. A special
thank you to Chris DeHaven
for providing us the picture!
Roderick Bell
Here is the German Stug G that was photographed at Brent Mullin’s Open House 2009. Photograph by Chris
DeHaven.
Page 15
Volume 13, Issue 4
Modeler of the Month: Jorge Aduna
By Roderick Bell
This month’s Modeler of the Month is Jorge Aduna! So lets get to
know Jorge a little better by his responses to the following 20 questions:
1. What is your hometown Or where are you from?
I am an adopted San Antonian and consider the Alamo City my hometown.
In 1994, after my retirement, my wife and I moved here from Mexico
City. Although I was born and raised there, I always felt that – in some
way – I was growing up with one foot in Mexico and the other in the
U.S. Let me explain:
One of the most relevant figures of my childhood and adolescence was
my paternal grandfather. Due to his first significant job, he spoke perfect Spanish and perfect English. For several years, he worked for the
Brits who owned and operated the Mexican Railways.
Later on in his career, he became a successful businessman in Texas,
mostly in South Texas and Houston. It was in his home where I learned
my first words of English and also to appreciate and admire the red,
white and blue. If he were alive, I know he would be very proud of me,
his grandson, who became an American citizen and lives in the U.S.A. Here is Jorge Aduna at a San Antonio restaurant early last month. Pho2. How old were you when you began Modeling?
tograph by Eric Choy.
I was in my early teens, circa the early 1950’s.
3. What was your first model you built?
I was “initiated” by building the popular trio of WWII fighters (Mustang P-51, Japanese Zero and German 109). I guess they were
Monogram or Revell kits, as well as my first armor kits, both 1:32nd scale; a Sherman tank and a Panzer IV. My memory is not as
sharp as it used to be. There were other kits of brands that do not exist anymore, like Aurora and Lindberg.
4. Who has influenced your modeling building the most?
I do not have a specific source. I think it is more like the combination of
styles from modelers whom I respect and know personally and through
the media.
5. What is your favorite type of modeling?
I like AFV’s, especially Russian armor, but I am not afraid to build
other subjects. Military modeling has a wide scope so perhaps in the
future, I’ll try whatever interests me.
6. What is your biggest turn off with modeling?
Fads. Due to the development of the hobby, quite often modelers are
bombarded with “the latest”, “the ultimate” technique.
Suddenly, everybody is talking about and trying the new “gospel”
whether that is paint chipping, scratches, pre- or post-shading and
what-not. Then, after a certain time, the “craze” disappears.
I think we should not base our choices on sensationalism. Let’s choose
Here is Jorge Aduna’s 1:35th scale T-34/85 in North Vietnamese markings. Photograph by Eric Choy.
Page 16
Sabot Away!
Modeler of the Month: Jorge Aduna - Continued
new tips, technologies, ideas or inspiring finishes that enhance our models and/or help to develop
our skills.
7. What do you like most about modeling?
What I like most is to see military modeling - in its various forms – as History in miniature.
8. How many modeling clubs and organizations are you a member?
I am a member of AABS, ASMS, The Lone Star Brigade (San Antonio’s version of an AMPS club),
AMPS and IPMS.
9. Why do you travel so far to be part of the Austin Armor Builders Society?
Various reasons. First, I decided to join AABS because I wanted to be a member of the nearest
AMPS chapter. Second, since the very first meeting, I perceived that there was a greater interest in
building AFV’s than in San Antonio and therefore, there were a larger number of builders. Third,
AABS is not only a well-run club, but it offers me a variety of styles and skills through the models
displayed at every meeting. That is very motivating as are the comments or feedback from my fellow modelers. I have evolved as a modeler ever since I have been a member of AABS.
10. What scale is your favorite medium to model?
1:35th is at the top of the list. I have made some attempts in 1:72nd and 1:48th.
11. What is your favorite Tank model?
“WHAT IS YOUR
Those models I build with mistakes or flaws. Every time I look at them, I see them as vivid lessons in
model building.
FAVORITE TANK
12. Are you a builder or collector?
MODEL? THOSE
Like everybody else, I am a little bit of both. However, I try to stay on the builder side of the
house.
MODELS I BUILD
WITH MISTAKES
13. Do you build for accuracy or build for fun?
OR FLAWS. EVERY
I try to combine the two without exaggeration. I certainly do not care about the accuracy of the
colors and do not count bolts or
rivets. I leave the calipers in the
tool box.
TIME I LOOK AT
THEM, I SEE THEM
AS VIVID LESSONS
IN MODEL
BUILDING.
14. How much research do
you do before building a
model?
I gather as much information as I
can on the subject. I rely on the
websites, forums and my library. I
am not shy about asking questions
or sharing information with fellow
modelers.
15. What tool or technique
could you live without
having?
I hate fixing ejection marks, espe- Here is Jorge Aduna’s 1:35th scale Trumpeter German 12.8cm Tank
Destroyer L/61 “Sturer Emil”. Photograph by Roderick Bell.
Page 17
Sabot Away!
Modeler of the Month: Jorge Aduna - Continued
“WHAT TOOL OR
cially in top-dollar kits. Also, I do not “push” the drying times with a hair dryer. I let the paint dry
at least 24 hours.
TECHNIQUE WOULD
16. What tool or technique would have the most negative impact if you could not use it?
HAVE THE MOST
NEGATIVE IMPACT IF
My air-brushes. I strongly believe that 60% of a successful model is a superior paint job. Airbrushing and weathering effectively boosts our modeling results. Spray cans do not do the same
job. Construction is important but a well built model deserves a first-class finish.
YOU COULD NOT
17. What do you think about modeling magazines?
USE IT? MY AIRBRUSHES. I
STRONGLY BELIEVE
Pricey, but they remain one of the sources of information.
18. What do you think about modeling websites?
THAT 60% OF A
Useful. Not only the forums but the kit reviews. Reading reviews might influence the decision to buy
or skip that kit.
SUCCESSFUL MODEL
19. What other hobbies do you have?
IS A SUPERIOR PAINT
Traveling, reading good books. I read with no preferences for fiction or non-fiction. Ever since I
learned how to read, I have been a History buff. So if it is historical, that goes first. I have a
“sweet tooth” for science fiction too.
JOB. AIR-BRUSHES
AND WEATHERING
EFFECTIVELY BOOSTS
OUR MODELING
RESULTS. SPRAY
20. Would you rather build a state of the art kit or a kit from when you were a kid?
That is a no-brainer. My choice would be a state-of-the-art kit. Many decades have elapsed since I
built those rustic, toy-like models.
CANS DO NOT DO
I would like to thank Jorge Aduna for providing his answers to the Modeler of the Month segment. Also, I would like to thank Eric Choy for his photographs of Jorge and his models.
THE SAME JOB.
Roderick Bell
CONSTRUCTION IS
IMPORTANT BUT A
WELL BUILT MODEL
DESERVES A FIRSTCLASS FINISH.”
King’s Hobby 20% Off Discount Deal
By Roderick Bell
King’s Hobby Shop has been
in business since 1973.
Every $50 you spend at
King’s hobby shop you get a
20% discount on your next
purchase from Kings Hobby.
If you were to spend $100
you would receive two 20%
discounts. If you were to buy
$150.00 you would get
three, etc...
Page 18
I tried it out and I received
my 20% discount ticket. I
came back a few days later
and purchased another
$50.00 worth of kits and
received another discount
ticket (actually, they just gave
back the previous one just
gave them). So, I left the
building and remembered I
needed a reference book, so
I went back in and sure
enough I purchased it and
some smaller items to get it
over $50.00. You guessed it
I got my discount and another
20% discount ticket (again it
was the same one I had just
used). See King’s Hobby for
specific details.
Roderick Bell
Volume 13, Issue 4
New Kits
By Roderick Bell
Here are a few more new
kits that have recently arrived or will arrive later this
year.
The Kengi M-24 Chaffee
Light tank in 1:48th scale is
now available.
Dragon/Cyber Hobby new
Flak 37 with simplified base.
Will be released very soon.
Kit number: 6523.
Here is the 1:48th scale M-24 Chaffee Light tank from Kengi (Ken Swenson). Photograph provided by
Ken Swenson.
Dragon/Cyber Hobby’s new Flak 37 with simplified base in 1:35th scale.
Page 19
Seek, Strike, and Destroy
AUSTIN ARMOR BUILDERS SOCIETY
Roderick Bell
2002 Boxwood Path
Round Rock, Texas 78664-7129
Phone: 512-507-6104
E-mail:
[email protected]
The Austin Armor Builders Society is an organization where members gather and share information
on building scale armor and figure kits. The Austin Armor Builders Society was founded in 1997
and has about 30 active members. The Austin Armor Builders Society is the local chapter for the
Armor Modeling and Preservation Society (AMPS). Every two years the organization host an
AMPS Regional show known as AMPS Centex. This show attracts armor and figure modelers from
around the state of Texas and is one of the Premier AMPS Regional shows.
We are on the web: AustinArmorBuilders.com
Support our Troops
Four M113 “Super Gavin’s” in Iraq. Please note the RPG pre-det bird cage all around but no so wide so the M113 “Super Gavin” couldn’t roll-on/off C-130
aircraft. Photograph by Unknown (Please note I try to give credit to all photographers / organizations but couldn’t in this case).