2Aircraft1Tank

Well I've gotten the attack helicopter built. Once again GHQ delivers superb quality and detail. I've looked around at many many other manufacturers of 6mm scale models and I honestly don't know how any of them stay in business. Their models just can't hold a candle to GHQ's. This is a similar situation to when I played Flames of War where I only bought figures from Battlefront because the quality in my opinion was worth the extra expense.

Here is the AH-64D Saraph. Paint is a long ways off as I do not have the proper colors for the IAF. Note that the doodad that sits on top of the main rotor fell off so I have to figure out a good way of securing it. Probably going to need pinned although I have never pinned anything before so it'll be new to me.

Next up is a test Merkava Mk IV. Nothing special here. Just a magnetized turret and custom antennae. The antennae were made by using the bristles from a $1 black paint brush from Walmart. The synthetic ones you'd paint your house with. A $1 brush has enough bristles to give like 100-200 tanks aerials. I felt this was a better option than some of the other ideas I've seen kicked around such as piano wire. The bristles are flexible so you're not having to bend anything back in place.

Finally, I bought a GHQ F-16. This model was chosen to become an extensive conversion project to change what appears to be an early model F-16C (Block 30?) into a modern Israeli F-16I Sufa. The only F-16I Sufa currently available in 6mm anywhere is a model on Shapeways at https://www.shapeways.com/model/327961/1-285-6mm-f-16i-sufa.html?li=productBox-search&materialId=62 . That's all good an dandy but I worry about the detail and the material the model is made of. There are no panel lines to speak of and all details must be painted on. The other downside is that that model isn't even an F-16I. It's just an F-16 with CFT (conformal fuel tanks) which aren't even shaped accurately.

What sets the F-16I apart isn't just the use of the CFT but also a modified cockpit that utilizes a crew of 2 instead of 1 and an interesting dorsal spine that runs from the cockpit to the aft stabilizer. Go easy on me with this model because it is the very first time I have ever modeled anything with kneadatite. I've always wanted to play with green stuff but just never had a reason to use it. So far I've gotten the extended cockpit modeled and just finished doing the preliminary work on the dorsal spine. I've gotta wait a day for it to fully cure so I can do some detail sanding on the spine and reduce its size slightly. It also needs to be a bit more teardrop shaped and remain wide in the middle while tapering at either end. I gotta say though, for my first time ever sculpting anything, I am fairly proud of myself.

Up next are the CFT which I am absolutely dreading. They are curvy and I think it is going to be very difficult for me to get them just right. After that I will add some kneadatite under the nose to round out the bottom a bit. The GHQ model is nearly flat under the nose and I don't know why that is but the F-16I is rounded. Finally, I will take some of the bomb pylons the model came with that I will not be using and I will cover them in kneadatite in order to model the 600 gallon drop tanks that many Israeli F-16s use. Having a whole hell of a lot of fun in this GHQ stuff so far.

If you're interested and you chanced upon this blog because of my Flames of War stuff, check out GHQ at http://www.ghqmodels.com/

Panthers Remastered

I had sent off an email to Battlefront telling them about the issue with the Panther G tanks. This was the response I got.

I'm sorry to hear of your displeasure with your recent purchase. As of this morning, I have sent an email to our production staff to see if there is anything we can do on our end. As soon as I hear back from them, I will let you know what their response is. It is likely, if action is taken on our end, that it will take some time to see a resolution on this as it will probably involve remastering the hull of these kits.
It seems as though the issue here lies with how the tracks mount to the underside of the resin hull piece. Have you tried filing down the underside of the hull?

I wasn't about to be having any of that. When I buy a product I shouldn't have to grind it down just to get it together to fit properly. The point is moot anyway since my tracks are already glued on.

I've had a forum thread open about this issue on BF's site for a week and BF Evan has finally responded to the thread with this information.

Posted By Evan At Battlefront on 21 Jun 2012 04:32 PM
Hi guys, sorry to take so long to reply but I've been a bit distracted on a couple of other projects! I see whats going on and the Panther hulls have already been remastered to suit the new plastic tracks so the hulls here are the metal track orientated ones still coming through. The quickest way to get the right look with these hulls is to actually trim the backplate of the plastic tracks( don't try the resin hull..) with a sharp knife or sandpaper - I used a sharp knife and each track took me about a minute to carefully remove enough of the backplate. The Panther G hull is wedge shaped and narrows towards the front so the rail, the skirt hangs off, should be slightly wider at the front, after the tracks are on, and the skirts are glued on at the rear, back fill the gap at the front to complete the rail. Please let me know how you get on.

cheers,

Evan
So here is confirmation that the hulls have been remastered and once again I am being told to rip the PLASTIC tracks off and cut them up just to get them to fit. Interestingly enough, despite Evan saying that the tank is supposed to be wedge shaped, it is Thursday, update day, at BF and they have a quide to painting the camo on these. Their pictures contradict Evan.

Here is their Panther from the Panther G platoon web article. This vehicle is showing the skirt gap issue.

Now here is how the Panther is SUPPOSED TO LOOK, also from this same new painting article on their mage page.

Notice how the skirt mounting bracket is perfectly parallel to the tracks at all times? THIS is a Panther.

The new article on how to paint the camo scheme on these can be found at http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=3329