Maddog Manufacturing 2014 Armor Production Line

[Duke Maddog]

Happy New Year and welcome to the newest edition of Maddog Manufacturing's newest Ground Vehicles works in progress for the year 2014. I got a slightly slow start, but then I'm trying to get caught up on a couple of older models that have been sitting around for far too long.

Here on the armor side of the factory, we find the Stuh 42 from the Doc's StuGs campaign showing more progress. I got the upper hull all finished up here:

Here is the cannon for this beastie:

Next I added the gun mount to the inside of this lower hull. The main gun will snap into this mounting here:

This is simply a 'mockup' of all the major assemblies all dry-fit together to give you an idea of how this is looking so far:

Next I pulled out my Br-86 locomotive and shot some paint on the lower chassis:

Lots of places to touch up. I later did just that, shooting into every nook and cranny I could. I then set it aside and after it was dry, I hit every patch of unpainted plastic I could see.

While that was drying I shot paint on the boiler and the cab, as well as the coal bin. After that dried, I shot some Panzer Dark Grey over parts of it to modulate the color a bit. I overdid it some so I later toned down the grey with some more black misted over it. Here is the locomotive dry fit together so you can see how it looks now that it is painted:

This is almost ready for decals and some finishing touches.


And that is the start of my New Year's ground vehicle model production. I also got some progress done on some of my aircraft. You can see the aircraft side of my factory on the Wesendorf Field Forums, feel free to check it out. More to come soon. I'm trying to get as much done as I can before I start my next job on the 6th of January. Can't wait!

Meanwhile, thanks for looking in; comments are welcome.

 

[Dave wahl]

Duke, you are just a modeling machine. I like how the STuH is coming along, but that train engine is something in itself. They are both fantastic, and to think, they are both 1/72 scale. I'm hoping to be back modeling at the end of the month, as I get the Cataract in the left eye removed on the 22nd. With all good fortune, I'll be able to see right again.

Dave

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Dave! I'm actually having fun with that engine. I'm glad to hear you're getting that cataract out; I'll be looking forward to seeing more of your work.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Hello all, I have a rather large update here.

I started a number of models for a couple Group Builds and made some progress on others I had already had started. I'll begin with the ones I started for the Great War Group Build on the IPMS USA Forums.

The first model I started was RPM's Mack AC "Bulldog" cargo truck. I didn't get many pictures of this while I was working on it; I was too wrapped up in getting it built, so here it is all mocked up where I stopped working on it:

The next model is Emhar's Mark IV "Male" tank. Incidentally, this is the first Emhar kit I've ever built. I've been breaking ground building kits from companies I've never done before such as Emhar, Attack, ModelCollect etc. Anyway, back to this little model; I started with the driver's and commander's cupola:

Next I assembled the main body; or at least the first part of it, then I added the cupola:

Then it came time to assemble the six-pound cannon and install them into the sponsons. The instructions said to glue them into place, but I wanted my guns to move. So, the first thing I did was to cut some styrene strip and glue them into place; trapping the gun inside the rotating drum:

Now they'll be able to elevate. Making them traverse was a more difficult proposition. I came up with the idea of adding some styrene strips to the sides, making them angle behind the rotating drums and gluing them into place with reinforcing pieces. Here is the start of the first one:

Here is the end result:

Now both guns traverse as well as elevate.

Moving right along, I re-started this model for the Shelf Queens Group Build on the Missing Lynx Braille Scale Forums. This is the Roden Sdkfz 4/2 rakatenwerfer. I added some of the detail parts and hatches on the main body of this thing. Then I assembled; or rather engaged in battle with the running gear on this model. After a couple setback, I finally prevailed:

Then I decided to do something easy on this model: I assembled the rocket launcher assembly:

On these Forums, I've done some more on this machine gun wagon for the First Blood Campaign here. I finally got almost all the P/E on this model:

After this I realized I needed to do a base for this since I need to glue the horses to something before I could add the reigns. Gee, what to use? Hmmm.... there was a section of 1/8" thick plastic card sitting there, so I cut a section; shaped it, then added some "landscaping":

I haven't dumped the loose flocking off that yet. I should be able to get that done in a day or so. I'm so close to finishing this I can taste it!

Then I found an old JB Models L-118/M119 howitzer in a box. I knew I had already built the L-118 for my British Army, all that was left was to build the M-119 for the US Army. So I figured, Why not? Ten minutes later I had this thing all built and ready for paint:

That's all I have for now. Thanks all for looking in; comments are welcome.

 

[moon puppy]

Chuggin' along Mark

 

[Dave wahl]

Some neat looking WWI hardware in there Mark. Can't wait to see them finished. Those ARE going into the various contests with the Centennial of the beginning of WWI. Those are cool.

Dave

 

[Sherman 18]

Looking good Mark!

I'm digging that Mack Bulldog.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the compliments. Dave I do hope to have them done well enough to compete.

 

[Duke Maddog]

And now for the latest from Maddog Manufacturing. This weekend I was able to get a lot of work done at St. Crispin's Hobby Day. The aircraft I've been working on can be seen in Wesendorf Field if you wish to go by and see it.




I got a lot done on several of my armor models. To start with, I managed to get a little further along on my Morser 18. A little further along from here and I'll be able to add the little easily-breakable detail parts:

I also worked on my Japanese truck and trailer set, getting the decals on and doing some preliminary weathering. I wanted to seal the decals before dullcoating these and finishing off the weathering:

This truck set is now finished and can be seen here in the Armored Fury Forums with one other completed model. feel free to check them out after this.

Another project I was working on was my WWI Mark IV tank for a Group Build on the IPMS USA Forums. This little beastie is all completed now; just waiting for paint:

Finally, I was able to get my Br-86 Locomotive completed. All that is left now is to touch up the paint and then I can add the decals and weathering:

I really like the interior of the cab. I just had top shoot a pic of that before I closed it all up:

That completes the in-progress models, I also started up two new ones. This first one is for the Modern Armor Campaign here on the Modeler's Alliance Forums. It is the Fujimi Type 10 modern Japanese Tank. The plastic is so brittle and hard that I feel like I'm working on a toy. Still, it is looking pretty good so far:

Earlier in the day, I went with a friend to a local Hobby Shop where I picked up some paints and two of the new RevellAG T-90 Russian tanks. I got one to make Russian, the other will be Indian. I did get one of them started; working on the suspension and the upper hull a little, and then building the basic turret:

And that was my latest work on all my models so far. I hope you enjoyed this tour. Thanks for stopping in, comments are welcome.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Well, since everyone was too overwhelmed to reply here, I'll overwhelm you guys some more....


It's just another small update, not much more... I got some extra work done on some Group Build subjects as well as made some progress on some shelf queens that have lingered too long.


To start out with, I painted the Mack Truck I'm doing for the IPMS USA Forums WWI Group Build. After painting it, I found out how many more pieces I have to add to it!

Next I also painted the Mark IV Male tank I'm doing for the same Group Build:

Later I clearcoated this Mark IV and then added the decals. Meet "Flypaper":

Now it's time to dullcoat this and weather it up.

Next up is my Dicker Max. I got the inside and the main hull all completed, then finished the gun assembly:

The upper fighting compartment walls are just dry-fit into place to see how this looks.

Here you can see a bit of the interior of this models:

Later on, I shot a basecoat of Panzer dark Grey:

The upper fighting compartment is still only dry-fit on top.

Now to get that one further finished.

And finally, I managed to get the Locomotive all touched up and I modulated the base coat some as well:

After that, I shot some gloss clear on the side and then applied the decals when it was dry:

The swastika under the Eagle was molded in two parts. That was interesting trying to get them to look right.

Now to shoot a dullcoat on this and find out how to weather it a bit. Then I'll be able to call it done.

And that is my weekly update for this past week. I hope to get a couple more of these done before next week as I have a couple jobs coming up and may not get to the workbench much while they are happening. Meanwhile, feel free to check out my three finished models in the Aircraft and Armor Forums.

Thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Okay, I've had a great week this past week with plenty of time to work on my models; especially at Hobby Day. This is going to be a bit of a lengthy update spread over two Forums, so keep all arms and legs inside the tram while it's moving and enjoy the tour!

Here's the tour of the armor section of Maddog Manufacturing. I also got some progress done in the Maddog Manufacturing's Hanger on three other aircraft. Feel free to take that tour too.


I'll start out with my Mack truck that I've been trying to get done. I tried to put the roof on the cab, but found that it was too wide. No matter what I did I couldn't get that thing to fit:

So, I did some quick measurements and then started to scribe a line through the one side:

Here it is cut down to size:

After a bit of sanding and then fitting, I got this roof put in and then added some Mr. Surfacer 500 to the seams to blend everything in. It still needs to be sanded in this next pic, but I've already done that. This next pic also shows all the other detail parts that I had forgotten to add to this before I painted it:

Here it is all test fit together so you can get an idea how it is gonna look:

Next up are a couple German armor models from WWII. I'm building a StuH42 and a StuG IV for Dr. Steinman's StuG Group Build here on these Forums. You'll be abloe to see these over there as well. These are both 1/72 scale Dragon models. First up, I got the StuH 42 all completed and ready for paint. This one is sitting in my spray booth right now:

This is where I am with the StuG IV. I assembled the lower hull and the upper hull section and added the roadwheels:

This third one is a 1/72 scale Dragon Panzer IV that I started for another Group Build here on these Forums called German Steel. I've had this one for awhile, so I felt it was time to finally build it. That Group Build gave me the perfect excuse to start this. Here is the lower hull with all the details added to it:

Next I built the gun and mantlet:

Parts of it are not glued into place yet.

Finally, I also assembled the upper hull for this:

I hope to get the turret done pretty soon, as well as add all the roadwheels.

Speaking of Panzer IV's, once again I found this little Airfix Panzer IV that I'd started about 2 years ago and then set aside and forgot about. Upon seeing this, I figured it was high time that I finally finished this little beastie. Here it is all finished and waiting for it's turn in the spray booth:

That would make a good comparison shot with the Dragon one when they're done; especially since the Airfix is actually in 1/76 scale.

One more WWII item is another piece of German equipment that I've had sitting for awhile. I'm tired of this thing being on my workbench so I took it out and glued all the detail bits on it. This German Morser 18 is also now sitting in the spray booth ready for paint:

Moving right along, I have been working on three modern tanks to add to my tally. Two of them are for the Modern Armor Group Build here on these Forums, the third one I've been wanting to build since I got it.

Here's the first of the Modern Armor Group Build entries, the Japanese Type 10 tank. In this pic you can see that it is ready for the spray booth:

Since I was also doing the Swedish Leopard for this Modern Armor Group Build, I figured it was high time I got it going too. I started by cementing the hull together:

I added the roadwheels next to the lower hull and detailed it out a bit more:

This is the main gun after I got it built:

Next I went though one of the most convoluted systems for gluing a turret together; but I succeeded and the gun still elevates. This is a shot of the tank all together so far. I still have to add the sides of the turret to this model:

Finally, this is another of the two Revell of Germany T-90 tanks that I bought some time back. I want to make one Indian and one Russian. Earlier I started the one, here is my start on the other one. This one as the hull assembled with all the roadwheels on it and the additional armor and other detail parts as well. I also had built the basic turret on this; I still have to add the details on the turret before this is ready for paint:

The upper hull is only sitting on the lower hull right now.


That completes my report on my latest progress on all my most recent work. Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed the tour. Comments are always welcome.

 

[willem]

This is all in 1/72 ?

Great job !!

willem

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Willem! Yes, these are all in 1/72 scale. Even the aircraft I worked on in the other Aircraft Thread. Thanks again, I'm glad to see you stop in.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Okay, here is the latest on all my 1/72 scale armor.

I'll start out with a little M-119 artillery piece from JB Models that I'd started some time ago. I painted the basecoat on it and saw where I still need to clean up some seam lines:

Next, I got some more progress done on one of my two Modern Armor Group Build subjects: the Swedish Leopard II. Here it is all ready for its basecoat:

Of the two models I started for that Group Build, I expected this one to give me the most trouble due to it being an over-engineered Revell of Germany kit. It has been a breeze to build compared to this other model: Fujimi's Japanese Type 10 model. Here you can see it after I primed it:

If you look closely at the above pic, you'll see two major issues that I hadn't noticed before this; until I tried to add the side skirts to this. One: the tracks and wheels stick out too far for the side skirts to go on this. Two: I had put the drive sprocket on the front instead of the back where it is supposed to go!

Okay, out comes the nippers.....

I removed all the wheels and tracks, drive sprocket and idler and switched the idler and drive sprocket to their proper places:

Next I re-attached all the wheels, making sure that this time they were far enough in to allow the side skirts to go on:

Here is the final shot of this tank ready for touch up and the rest of the camo pattern:

Maybe now I can start getting somewhere with this little tank without having to take two steps back for every one I take forward!

Speaking of taking two steps back before taking one step forward, I was putting the gun on to my gun mount on the StuG IV. Well, the way the instructions explained how to do it was not clear, so I had to rip out the gun mount assembly to rebuild it. In the process of trying to re-position the two side pieces that are supposed to trap the gun so that it elevates; I lost one side. So, after looking for 45 minutes and finding nothing, I finally said "____ it!" and started to scratch a new side piece. Here it is sitting next to the one that I still had:

It didn't need to be pretty, just functional...

Here's a shot after I rebuilt it:

Now it's holding the gun just fine:

And one final shot of this model ready for paint:

Speaking of ready for paint; I tried to also get my Dragon Panzer IV ready for paint as well. I did get all assembly done except the running gear:

That should be easy. I had also already painted the tracks for these three Dragon kits black.

Finally, I'd mentioned that I was building two T-90's; one Indian Army, one Russian Army. Here are the two sitting side-by-side ready for paint:

I did shoot a basecoat of green on the Russian T-90 here:

I haven't basecoated the Indian one yet; I still need to find an appropriate tan color to use.

Well, that's all I have so far. It will be awhile until the next update; I have alot of cleanup to do in my Hobby Room after the earthquake over the next couple days. Then I'm heading out to Florida for the funeral of a very good friend on Monday. I expect to be back in California a week and two days from Monday.

Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome and will be responded to before I leave. If I have a chance to check in while in Florida; I'll post then. Also, feel free to check out my latest aircraft progress in the Wesendorf Field.

 

[jknaus]

Good catch and save on the drive sprocket and wheels/skirt issue
James

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks James! I was so frustrated seeing that, but at least it was an easy fix.

 

[MrT]

Good stuff!!

Terry

 

[Dave wahl]

Duke, you are just awesome in your building. I could only hope to build in the assembly line style like you seem to. The one thing I haven't seen from you is a little WWI style tank transporter and a Renault FT17 tank as cargo. I think I've seen both of these in the Squadron catalog from time to time. Might be something to look into as a future project.

Dave

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Terry! I'm always glad to see your posts. It'll be awhile until I can get back to the bench so I appreciate all the comments.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Duke, you are just awesome in your building. I could only hope to build in the assembly line style like you seem to. The one thing I haven't seen from you is a little WWI style tank transporter and a Renault FT17 tank as cargo. I think I've seen both of these in the Squadron catalog from time to time. Might be something to look into as a future project.

Dave

Thanks Dave, I must have just missed your post when I posted my reply to Terry.

I have seen that kit and it is on my list of models to get. I just need to earn a bit more income. Right now though, things are gonna slow down due to this funeral trip and cleanup from the recent earthquakes.