Thursday, May 31, 2012

Steyr 1500A/01 - The Business End

The rear section behind the front seats will be filled with two tables holding all sorts of radio and teletype gear, two chairs, and a whole host of wartime miscellany. I decided to construct and paint all of these off of the vehicle due to the detailing involved.

Shown above is the larger of the two tables. I replaced the Verlinden table top with a piece of scribed styrene to which I attached two styrene rod supports. (There are PE brackets on both legs which do not show in the photo.) The PE table back was formed around the edges of the top and two PE drawers and a writing surface were constructed and attached. Below the table is one of the resin batteries and its PE case and strap.

Next up is the construction of the two resin chairs. Then it's time to get out the razor saw and scalpels to hack and cut at all the resin radio pieces! (Cough, cough.) Because everything is out in the open, there's no getting by without wiring it all up, so it's off to find some fly tying wire this weekend.

Steyr 1500A/01 - Body Nearing Completion


As you can see above, I am just about finished constructing the body of this little gem. I decided to go ahead and add most of the parts and just paint everything in situ. We'll see how that decision turns out in a week or so! I've added some extras from the Verlinden detail kit: the resin windscreen/cover and the folded top as well as various PE bits to "dress it up" a bit. The only kit parts still missing are the doors, seats, and steering wheel. The steering wheel and seats will be added after the dash is painted. As I'm planning on leaving some of the doors open, they will be attached just before painting the body.

I also need to construct and add the PE cable reel which will be attached on the top of the spare tire housing and a PE exterior antenna mount which will be located on the exterior body just in front of the rear left door opening.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

MFCA Show, May 18-19, 2012

I attended the Miniature Figure Collectors of America show at Valley Forge, PA, last weekend. Rather than try to describe it myself, here are their words:

The MFCA Show and Mart is one of the largest shows of its kind in the world. There is a large display area of miniature figures and models. Most of the figures are of connoisseur quality, miniature works of art in a variety of scales, from a few inches in height to almost a foot tall. Some are single figures on foot or horse and some are arranged as groups. Others are models of tanks, ships and planes in all the most common scales. There are even a few box dioramas, miniature stagings of historic scenes. Artists come from all over the world to attend and display. Visitors from Canada, Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy are common. In recent years there have been hundreds of displays.

I hadn't attended one of their shows in probably six or seven years and was astounded at the increase of the quality of the finished figures as well as the increase in prices for the various kits. Several of us were reminiscing and remembering when we could take $200 and have to make several trips to our cars with our purchases. Now, one is lucky if that amount will buy two to three figures and maybe an inexpensive book.

I took plenty of pictures with my iPhone . . . here's a link to the album I posted on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3143563556632.120656.1491297756&type=1&aft=3143691799838&l=5d0d8a5d49  There are over 200 photos in the gallery, so take your time and enjoy!
 
I did manage to buy two kits. The first is Young B. Song's (Young Miniatures) bust of a DAK Panzer Officer. It's one that I have been contemplating purchasing for quite awhile and finally bit the bullet. Here's a photo of the box art:
 

Pirates seemed to be big this year with numerous full figures and busts entered in the competition. I was bitten by the bug and purchased the Pegaso Model's bust of Charlotte de Berry, a (possibly fictional) female pirate captain. A picture of the box art:

 
More on each of these as I get to them :)