Up In Your Grille

This new kit from Trenchworx will be joining my late war German forces soon!  Let's take a look...

It is no secret that I really enjoy the Trenchworx vehicles, and that one of my favorite things are the instructions.  Even if you are familiar with a vehicle and how it should look, each kit always breaks up those parts differently.

Having something that shows such a breakdown saves time and potential aggravation, which I love!

The precision sculpting and casting are spot on...

I will have to choose a color scheme for it, and it just might be this, including the additional foliage.  The temptation to make it a winter version for Hungary was tempting, but I wanted to make a video showing how to paint this and various methods for creating the added foliage camo.

I think that I will paint on the camo pattern by hand in the video, since not every has airbrushes.  The rest will be done with oil paints, as usual.

Here are some views of the assembly.  I did leave the gun shield armor unattached, so that I could paint the interiors of all surfaces more easily.  This is another fantastic element that is built into the kits.  Everything snaps and fits together so well, it is possible to dry fit in this manner.

I was tempted to create some crew out of plastic figures, but I will have to see what I can find.  Perry Brothers probably has some crew figures as well.

This video will probably be a recorded version that I post on YouTube, since I will have to take this on in many sections.  It is possible to put in a lot more detail and info with an edited video vs the live sessions where I often have to repeat answers to similar questions.

I can also set up the camera for an ideal shot/angle, which is very difficult to do live.  With all the fighting compartment details, that will be quite important!

Leviathan of the East

In the process of evolution, some branches of that tree tend to snap off.  That happened with the multiple turret style tanks that had been developed prior to WW2.

Obvisouly, they tended to be very slow, and the multiple turrets created a very high profile, and made things a wee bit hectic for the crew.  I suppose that the could have worked best as dug in bunkers... but in any case, they are still very fun!

This is the Trenchworx version of the massive T-35.  As with all Trenchworx vehicles, you have excellent casting, and a very helpful instruction sheet!  These are extremely helpful, especially with a more complex kit such as this.

https://trenchworx.com/product/soviet-t-35/

A quick look at the parts shows you what you will be working with.  There is minimal mould line and flash nastiness to deal with, which saves a lot of time.

A closer look at the resin bits...

Now for the assembled tank!  You really get the sense of how giant this was.

I am still pondering a winter appearance for this T-35, since I have seen so many green versions so far.

Given all the vertical surfaces on the T-35, I thought that might be a great way to show some weathering, with streaked whitewash, rust, mud and even some icicles!

For those of you how might be wondering, this is 1/56 scale for Bolt Action.  A penny included for a size comparison.

As with all Trenchworx vehicles, the added luxury of magnetized turrets!  Not having loose turrets bouncing around inside my cases of painted miniatures is always a plus :-)  It even makes some of the final weathering and painting easier.

An added bonus is the magnetized main gun!  They think of everything!  

Some final views of the vehicle prior to the priming phase.  That has since been completed, and I am hoping to paint this in one of my facebook live sessions soon! Stay tuned.

Side by Side Demos!

There were too many fun things at Adepticon to count, but one that was entirely unique beyond any experience for me was doing a side by side painting demo with Paul in the Trenchworx booth!

They had all their resin beasts of doom on the table, along with a few that some guy had spilled paint all over!  Some of you will remember those as test subjects for a variety of Facebook Live broadcasts.

Late Friday night, a plan was hatched where we would each paint one of Victoria's new Matilda tanks.  Trenchworx did the sculpting and printing and casting, so the action would take place there.

Victoria nervously awaits whatever mischief  that might be about to take place!

Our supplies were limited, because there was no power to tap into.  So, we would have to go "Old School" on these, using brush on primer for the bare resin and metal.

It didn't take long to discover that the cold temps in the room, along with all the bodies, would make it difficult for the primer to dry.  I am very used to that, since I have painted entire vehicles and miniatures using just the Badger Stynlrez primer!

We had roughly two hours to go from bare resin to finished, so the challenge was certainly high.  We each picked a classic desert camo scheme, with mine on the right hand side of each image.  My camera died early on in the painting, so I don't have any of those pictures for you.

Also, that wiped out my reference source, so I had to lay out the pattern right off the bat when I saw there was only 10% power remaining!

I loved doing that camo scheme, so I will definitely have to try that on a "conventional" Matilda.

I did a number of "spot demos" as the painting moved along, using Mig Ammo products to get the specialized effects.  I was even able to use the heavy mud to smush tufts of static grass into the mud guards in the side assembly!

I could not resist freehanding a few ID numbers on the vehicle, of course!

This was a very fun experience, and it is something that I hope we could do again!!  One never knows...

Winter is really Hell

After a few facebook live painting sessions, we have the finished version of the Trenchworx M18 Hellcat.

As you saw in the original unboxing post, these kits are very easy to assemble, and they even have magnets for the turrets!  That is a fantastic feature.

This version was winterized to go along with the winter American army for the Bolt Action Battle of the Bulge book which has just been released.

I tried out a number of brand new materials on this vehicle, such as the Wilder oil paints, and the Secret Weapon mud kits.  That involved mixing sand, realistic water and weathering powders.  I also mixed static grass into this to create grass tufts hanging out of the treads.

Here's a link to that live video:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/10209626582475478/?pnref=story

The views from above show some of the variations in the greens, as some areas have a little more blue, while other spots are more yellowish.  Also, you can see the leaves that were added that had been cut with the Green Stuff World leaf cutters.

The stowage was mostly sculpted, although I used a few extra bits from the American Bolt Action sprues too.

One winterized American tank ready to take the field!!!

A Brand New Medium!

This will be an unusual blog post today, in the form of a link.

I have been experimenting with facebook live broadcasts the last few weeks, to see how those work, and many of the technical aspects involved.

With each session, I learn a bit more, and there is new equipment that I am trying to secure for future improvements.  The best thing about them is that there is no limit to the number of people who can watch and participate as it's happening.

This makes them very interactive, yet there are no interruptions in the lesson... the questions only add to it!  That's great!

For the moment. I am using an ancient phone for these broadcasts.  I am hoping to get updated equipment which should make a huge difference right away.

In the meantime, I will focus more on large scale figures and vehicles, since it seems that the current device works more readily with them.

My ultimate goal is to be able to do sessions like these almost every day, if not a few shorter sessions each day.  Basically, I want to just "turn the camera on" and let people see whatever it is that I am working on at the moment.

Here's a link to the most recent session, where I continue to work on the Trenchworx vehicles, testing out a brand new paint!

This is from Wilder, and these thinner, fast drying oils are fantastic!  They are so much like the regular miniature paints we all use, but with all the benefits of oil paints... take a look:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209553700813482/?type=2&theater

A sweet little Kitty

Next up from Trenchworx is the M18 Hellcat.  This will also get the winter treatment like the Sherman.  Here's the opening of the box... goodies!

This instruction sheet is really handy.  Each company has a different way of casting things like treads, so it is very good to have a picture of that piece so one doesn't mistake a tab for a gate or vent!

Just like the Sherman, the pieces fit together so well out of the box, it stands on its own, without even a touch of blu-tak.

Once again, a fantastic rare earth magnet set up for the turret.  Better yet, I have noticed that the magnets even change size with the turret.  This is bigger and heavier than the Sherman turret, and  it comes with a bigger magnet

These views were shot right after the assembly.  Since then, I have sculpted a bunch of stowage to give it a lived in look.

The casting is so fine on these vehicles, you have minimal amounts of cleaning, filing and so on.  I didn't have to break out the jeweler's block and the razor saw to hack away  massive gates and vents.  Always a plus.

The tracks and drive wheels are especially clean and straight.  This is the single most variable part in all vehicle castings.  They can be a nightmare to deal with, and it's great to be able to blitz right through the process and have a tank with tread assemblies that are not tilted or distorted!

It's the little things that bring me joy. 

Down in the Trenches

As the winter American army draws closer, it's time to get some vehicles ready for them as well!  

Just in time for the relief of Bastonge is the trusty Sherman... I look forward to "winterizing" this. :-)

I had never gotten Trenchworx vehicles before, but I knew that I was in for a real treat.  Sure enough, all kinds of amazing things were waiting inside the box...

Instructions!  Yes, not something you see very often with resin and metal kits.  Very handy though :-)  Even at the rough stage of yanking them out of the bubble wrap, the parts all looked and felt fantastic.

The resin had a wonderful smooth, uniform finish, as opposed to the alternating glossy/rough like you all too often run across.

The pieces already went together, with no slicing, filing or other machinations!

And yes, each turret comes with a rare earth magnet set!  The holes are already set for you... all you have to do is glue them in.  That saves a whole lot of time, pain and potential suffering!  Love it!

The assembled vehicle.  I have since added some stowage, so that it has more places for the snow to accumulate.  The drive wheels and treads were super clean and distortion free, which is yet another amazing attribute.  Normally the treads get a bit whacky and out of shape.

Not here!

I look forward to working on many more Trenchworx vehicles, since the kits are soooooo easy to deal with.  Every detail is sharp and crisp, down to the smallest tool, hatch or vent.  Painting these will be a joy, because they will practically paint themselves.

I have a link to the site here.  They are continuously adding new kits, so I keep coming back to see what wonderful new tank will be coming out:

http://trenchworx.wpengine.com/product-category/world-war-ii/