1/72 Conquistadors

I painted up just three of the fine 1/72 Conquistador figures from Revell set and posed them against the SHS Mediterranean Church (still wip; please see elsewhere in this blog).

This is a small experiment as it's the first time I used Vallejo alcohol-based metallic pigment. I think they have come out rather well so I will paint more of the figures in the same way soon.

Ultrasonic Cleaner ... as Paint Bottle Shaker

Yesterday I bought a small Ultrasonic cleaner with 35 watts power and 16 fluid oz. capacity. It is normally used for cleaning jewelry and other fine metals and I believe railway enthusiasts use it to clean etched brass frets and metal train parts. I recall that I read somewhere that it can also be used to shake up paint bottles, which seemed to me a good enough reason to pick one up.

I filled the cleaner with tap water and began to place handfuls of 17ml Vallejo paint bottles into it.  Most of my Vallejo bottles are several years old and have not been stirred/shaken very often since I purchased them. Even the metal pellets I put into some of them had become impossible to shake loose due to settled pigments. 

I put each batch of bottles through one to two 3-min cycles (auto-timed default for the model I have). I then took the bottles out and towel dried them. The result was better than I expected. After the ultrasonic treatment, a quick shake was all it took to re-integrate the pigments with the medium/carrying fluids.

So I am quite happy with this purchase and can't wait to see what else I may be able to use this machine for. Perhaps I will even use it to clean something some day...

1/72 Churches WIP - yet further updates

1/72 Italeri Church ... the 2 bell tower roofs (terracotta vs. slate) compared. The one on Right is made from original kit parts and that on Left is what I scratched built with balsa, plastic roof tiles sheets, epoxy putty and plastic miniature bells. 

I may have to build another new roof along the same lines since the current one was made in haste and is therefore somewhat shoddy (edges not quite square). 

Below are the two mounted on the bell tower.  I didn't think the original roof has enough pitch and think that the new one is a little better on that score at least.

Italeri Church: alternate roof made from mounting card.  Version Mk. I that I made with celluloid foamcore was far too thick, which makes the side roof very difficult to fit on. The thick card one is just right thickness-wise and once I have stabilized the warpage I will mount the plastic roof tiles sheets on.

Mediterranean Church Progress ( photo colors are more vivid than in real life):
1. Started work on the tower.
2. Scratched another gallery using foamcore, tamiya masking tape and toothpicks, as the resin original is somewhat lacking.
3. Started painting on the one-piece terrain base and church crypt/basement. The painting on the basement/crypt may be a little too cartoonish now.

WIP 1/72 churches - updates and interior shots

Here are some further shots of the Italeri church and the SHS Mediterranean church. You can see the various parts that make up the SHS church and the interior of the Italeri church in its current state.

One thing I should probably say is that while the SHS church is looking quite nice now it's a bit of a horror in terms of clean up and preparation. The resin of the model I have is filled with bubbles and pinholes; it is also quite brittle and already broken off in some places. I have had to use styrene bits to reconstitute some of the windows, for instance.

Next I will try to deck out the SHS church with icons and frescoes and generally make the interior look pretty.

I also threw in a picture of all the small ruined pieces together.

Sorry for being such a crappy photographer. I am lucky to have a very nice Nikon Digital SLR but still can't take photos that are worth anything! :-(

20mm Mediterranean Church WIP

Working on the Italeri church model has inspired me to to start on painting other church models that I have collected over the years.  Here is the current progress on my 20mm Shell Hole Scenics Mediterranean church.

The resin model consists of:
- a large base representing the church's foundation walls and an underground crypt, an exterior stone wall and lots and lots of stairs
- the main church structure (this can be used alone or with the base and tower)
- 3 roof pieces
- a tower in 2 pieces
- some interior bits representing a balcony and pulpit.

The tower still needs lots of work. I am considering adding a section to the middle to raise the tower's overall height. With the pictured addition, the SHS tower will be just as tall as the Italeri church bell tower.

Two ruined wall corners for WWII, 1/72

This is a nice pair of ruin wall corners. They represent improvised strong points that were built around the hull and engine of a destroyed T-34.

Hovels 1/72 Industrial Chimney, WIP

This is a nice two piece model of  a collapsed industrial chimney. I wish there is a third piece that represents the middle part of the broken chimney. Maybe I will be inspired to make one myself later on.