Afternoon all
Been a while, in fact, a long, long time but that’s life as they say. I often wonder what it would be like to do Modelling as a full time /earning thing? Just day dreaming on commutes.
I suppose like all things that are done for long periods day in day out, they become monotonous and tedious after a while? Nice to hv ether money to find out for myself.
Anyhoo, less of my day dreaming and back to reality. The reality is I snatch a couple of days of modelling here and there and when I say days, it’s not 24 hours long but maybe a good stint is four hours. I’m just very overwhelmed with work and play.
Me? Still major health issues and the body from below knees is a complete FUBAR, effects every part of the waking day and most of the night. It’s getting worse and not a lot of positivity coming back from NHS.
So, I don’t want to dwell on me, lets dwell on a great model from Tamiya and you can’t go wrong with a Tamiya Tiger be you a beginner or an experienced modeller.
So, the Main lower tub is attached to my AK model holder via a neatly drilled hole in the bottom to accept bolt and Wing-Nut.
Lots of prep work as always cutting off wheels and sanding and damaging the rubber shoes in places. Not too much but just a few nicks and lumps cut out. Then carefully separated into Cockle Jars and labelled accordingly.
I also bought some figures and these were bought from
www.fieldsofglory.co.uk and from the manufacture First Legion. Never had these in my stash and probably Alpine would be a bit more quality but these were on sale and matched the scene perfectly. One belongs to a Stug crew but that’s irrelevant I feel.
Also, a Metal Barrel.
Whilst flashing the cash, I bought a PE Upgrade in the shape of Eduards 35624 Tiger 1 Mid Production.
And a bit more cash flashed, in the shape of the following, again from Fields of Glory in the shape of Tow Cables:
I also bought the following from wwwscalemodelshop.com
I went back to one of my favourite Aftermarket suppliers T-Rex Studio and ordered a load of extras in the shape of these beauties.
I also bought myself a new scriber for cleaning out weld lines.
Weld lines were okayish with the Tamiya mould but I do love the Night Shift method of removing Weld-Lines and then adding extra detail. It’s more work but it does give more definition when washed.
The upper hull build is normal and uneventful and typical Tamiya fit i.e. good and trouble free.
Work on Engine Access Hatch and addition of PE Grills which I damaged prior to C/A.
I also started work on the Rear Plate and this meant removing some moulded detail to allow the Zimmerit to be added.
Then lots of work on the Track Jack Box in the shape of PE and some work providing Wood Grain with a Wire Brush. This is then tempered back with TET and eventually you get a very nice wood grain effect.
In this shot you can see my handmade Weld Tool (All rights reserved to Night Shift), and is constructed from a Pop Tin and Cocktail Stick.
Then my world crashed.
My Dad was admitted to Warwick Hospital. He broke his Collar Bone whilst (Get this) exercising with Dumbbells on a Double Bed. He was doing presses. He went to put the Dumbbells down and as he rolled off bed with Dumbbells in hands, he fell and obviously put his arm out and felt a sharp, severe pain. Mum took two hours trying to get him off floor and when she did get him upright, it was evident that the Collar Bone was broken (lump). Mum rang 999.
Of course my Sister and BIL drove from Weston super Mare and we drove from our home, and arrived at Hospital and found Dad in a Ward, but being moved to another Ward. He seemed chipper but being Dad, p&@@ed off with the fuss. I was confused by all of this as surely this was a broken Collar Bone and although very painful it could and would heal in time.
It looked though, the NHS was wanting to keep him in and monitor. We all know that once in the system at 86 (actually, Going into Hospital is set with risks whatever the age and be honest after 60, your really not wanting to get admitted), the prognosis was not great. The susceptibility to catching infections and such whilst in hospital was greatly increased and everyone in the family including Dad thought the same. One of my Dad’s greatest fears was dying in hospital. He wanted to die at home and carried out in a box through his front door. I think a lot of us feel the same way as my Dad. Its not home and we want to be home.
My Sister who was closest to Dad, travelled back and forth from her home town of Weston Super Mare daily. I was travelling back and forth daily after work from Stafford and at first Dad seemed okay, talkative and as always entertaining the staff.
This started to tale off. We think he was aware prior to his going in that he had a illness and had been jotting down medical readings in a notebook for some time. He didn’t mention it to my Mum but he had rang my Sister and said that he was dying, and nobody believed him. Of course, many people state “I’m dying”, and the joking retort is many times “Well do it quietly”.
So, over a two-week period, he rapidly went downhill. Stopped eating and then stopped drinking. In the last few days, he didn’t even converse. I was going up, sat at his bedside with a coffee and a book, and would talk to him, but with no reply. After an hour I would leave. This was the same for any family member visiting. I think we all knew that the end was coming. The journey home for me was incredibly sad and long. I knew in my heart, he was dying.
On the 18.8.24, I received a call from Mum saying that Dad had died at 13:00 that day
.
I don’t know how I felt at that moment. I was putting up a new Shower Head Rail and was standing in Shower. I finished the job. Then Mrs DW and I drove down to the family home and met up with Mum, Sister, BIL and their were no tears just overwhelming sadness, shock and I suppose confusion.
My Dad was no more. Gone. He had been a major part of my life for 60 years, then he was no more.
I will talk more about this, but for now lets get back to modelling.
So the Exhausts were built and the Shrouds were mounted on Toothpicks ready for painting. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to add the covers or not but went with mounting everything in prep for painting.
The PE Rear Fenders were added after the Zimmerit was added and the areas where the Fenders fixed were pared away.
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I then built up the Turret as per instructions and once completed, I sprayed it with a off white colour (I mixed it from Tamiya White and a little Deck Tan).
I then moved on to the upper deck, the Weld-Lines were removed and re sculpted and a plethora of PE and 3-D printed Tool attachments were added from T-Rex. From images on web, I noticed that the Bow MG34 was often covered when not in use, so I fashioned a shroud out of Green Stuff 2-Part Putty. I also changed the Barrel Cleaning Rods to Brass Tube. A lot of work, but enjoyable.
I think that’s enough for a post that has been redundant for a while and smacks of sadness.
Take care all of you.
DW (John)
(not 
