Friday 11 March 2011

Pillbox and other stuff

I've been working on some more of the scenery items I bought at Cavalier a couple of weeks ago. In the process I have learned an important lesson about the dangers of buying in a hurry and full of adrenalin! Before the show I had made a list of items I wanted to get and a list of traders I knew made these items and more importantly would be at the show. On the whole this was a successful strategy, but I made a few 'dodgy' purchases non-the-less.

One item I bought was a 15mm hexagonal pillbox from TSS, the same company that made the Dragons Teeth I was so happy with earlier in the week. I know from experience that resin models can vary in quality enormously but when I opened the packet I was shocked by what I found. The basic construction was strong enough with a separate roof and moulded base but the quality of the casting was appalling. The roof in particular was horrendous. It consisted of an uneven and wonky hexagon of resin that no matter how I tried to align it just didn't match the shape of the pillbox building. It was twice as thick at one end than the other and looked like an off cut (I know resin isn't cut, but that was the first impression I had).

In the end I decided to make my own roof for the pillbox. I marked out the correct shape (using the pillbox as a template) on a sheet of thick (2mm) plasticard. I cut it out and then trimmed the edges make it a better fit. I decided to glue the roof in place and used Milliput putty to seal any gaps. I also glued a scatter of sand on the roof to simulate a rough concrete finish. Painted and dressed with vegetation I don't think its come out too bad.

I'm currently working on another objective marker, this time using a spare Stug vehicle I found in my bits box. I've started some conversion work so that I can paint it up as a knocked out vehicle. This is still at the early stages but I'll post pictures when it's completed.

10 comments:

  1. As you went to the effort of fixing up the roof, (and did a great job) maybe you should think about scratch building more models yourself.

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  2. I like the picture of Britain on the roof :P

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  3. That pillbox looks nice. Great fix on the roof and nice job on the vegetation.

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  4. Great work fixing the problem, i take it the grass map of Great Britain wasn't intentional:D

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  5. Just an accident. Didn't even notice it until it was pointed out by Chris...now it stands out like a becon!

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  6. PS Big Lee did you make any progress on our Model Dads Bunker Project we are looking forward to seeing anything you produce!

    Chris

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  7. Well done, you could never tell the casting was that bad from the finished product.

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  8. Chris my first attempt fell apart on the making. My big stumpy fingers aren't made for delicate work. I'm going to have another go... when I calm down!

    Out and about this weekend (including Skirmish in Sidcup tomorrow) so not sure if I'll get time for few days. But I will definitely post a picture when I've done it.

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  9. That's a really good fix for a problem. Loads of kudos to you, Lee, for sticking with it. I think the final model certainly passes muster!

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  10. Look forward to that BL, maybe a map of Germany this time :P

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