When is a Kit not a Kit? Part 2

 Previously, I did a post about whether 3D printed models could qualify as making. Well, here's another little conundrum which is maybe even more though provoking...

Is a 'virtual kit' still a kit? 😕

Let me explain. I've been playing the PC game 'TANK MECHANIC SIMULATOR' for a while now - in this game you take on the role of a tank museum curator (and his staff) and you are tasked with collecting and renovation old tank hulks so that you can display them in your museum!

I find this game very relaxing, it's sort of a 3D virtual jig-saw puzzle in a way. Nothing too mentally taxing, though you can up the challenge by stripping the tanks right down to the last nut (which is what I do). Reassembling them in the right order can be a bit of a head scratcher! 😆

Above: You begin your Tank Mechanic Simulator project with a real junker! Aside from
being a rust bucket you will find that there are many parts missing which you will have to
source or craft in order to be able to renovate the tank! (Pzr. III)

Anyway, my point is two-fold. First of all, as a scale modeller I find this process very educational and it gives me a real insight into how complex some of these armoured vehicles are. It also gives me a real insight into what some of the components are and how they fit together, which is a real boon when you are taking on a complicated plastic kit.

Being able to see inside a vehicle that you are making a plastic kit of can be very useful, especially is you a super detailing your model.

Above: (Panzer III) Stripping back the tank to it's basics and slowly replacing the
missing components is very relaxing. Here you see me about to spray the new bits
which so far have just been primed in red.

But also, and my main point is, even though this is virtual assembly you still get a kick out of completing, painting and adding the decals on the tanks in this game. And it's a lot less messy!

Now, I'm not going to be as stupid as to try and convince anyone that a game like Tank Mechanic Simulator is any real substitute for the physical craft of scale model making, but as I have pointed out it can be a useful and satisfying ancillary hobby for modellers.

Above: You get a real sense of elation when you finally complete a tanks in this
game. Here I have put back together my Panzer III, I can now sell it or place it
in my virtual museum!

As the game progresses you access bigger and more complex tanks to challenge you. I have reached the pinacol of the available tanks - so far, but more are in development - with the German Panther & Tiger and the Soviet KV-2 and American Pershing! Believe me when I say that the more complex tanks can really make you sweat!

Above: The interior of the German Panther tank (using the x-ray mode). This gives
you an idea of just how complex the late-war tanks begin to get. Believe me when I 
say that there is nothing more frustrating to finally complete a tank like this only to
find that you forgot one small component hidden deep inside!

There is lots more to this game I haven't covered - like the excavating for buried tanks, painting camo schemes and organizing your museum - but the renovation and construction are most relevant to model makers I guess.

Eventually you do work your way through the dozen tanks that come with the game, but the developers do have a long-term plan for the game and are adding some very interesting projects to the game in the future. I'm absolutely ecstatic at the idea of doing a Churchill tank and Lordy - that Maus!!! 😁

Tank Mechanic Simulator is available on STEAM for £15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/407130/Tank_Mechanic_Simulator/

1:1 Scale S&W Model 10 'Kit' - Part 3

 Moving on the base colour painting of the revolvers grips, I began with another round of masking!

First of all, as you can see, there was the fine masking of the outline of the grips. But then, as I had already base-coated the frame in black, I also had to find a way of quickly masking the rest of the gun to prevent any over-spray...

Yep, a plastic bag (actually a stay-fresh sandwich bag)! Quick and very convenient.

I then laid down a base coat of a hazelnut paint, but as the grips are meant to be wooden I wanted to try and create a multi-tonal background for the fake wood-grain effect I had planned to go over this. So, I did some light dry-brushing with various shades of brown to create a streaking effect...

This completed my base layers onto which I would apply my finishing weathering effects. But before I begin to start these I decided to take a very quick snap of the progress so far and apply a filter to get an idea of how I might approach the final photography for this project...

Will I eventually go with a sepia effect or just a straight noire-like B&W photograph for my set of props for this project? Sepia does give a bit of a vintage look but it's a bit false in my opinion as by the 1930s sepia photographs were already a little anachronistic.

I think I would prefer to go with a slicker and moody black and white. It's more evocative of the hard-boiled detective movies of the time.

While I now start to plan my weathering of the revolver model I'm also starting to look around for the rest of the period props to go with the gun for the photo-diorama (I plan a shot of a detective's desk with several items and nick-knacks relevant to a 30s detective). In fact, I've already picked up my next prop...

Above: Dress Up America 939 Kids Pretend Play Police ID Wallet

I thought a detectives wallet, ID and badge would complement the revolver really well. Obviously I would have to make up a realistic ID and badge - both of which will be the subject of my next project once the revolver is complete. (I was thinking - maybe - an FBI badge?) 

NEXT: Weathering the revolver.

Emperor Augustus Bust Model

 As I've mentioned before, one of the main reasons I take so long to complete projects is because I tend to jump between multiple projects, going from one job to another depending on how I feel at the time. And sometime I might not even get back to a particular project for quite some time (I'm looking at you K7 truck)! 😄

Anyway, today I'm working a new 3D bust model, another classic Roman statuette of an Emperor  - Augustus (I am a big 'I, Claudius' fan and particularly enjoyed Brian Blessed's portrayal of the Emperor who gave us the name for August)!

Above: A statue of the first Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC - 14 AD) as
a younger Octavian, this sculpted artwork dated to around 30 BC. It is located
in the Museo Capitolino of Rome, Italy. [Credit: Wikipedia.]

I was kinda drawn to this new project as I'm just reading John Williams's 'Augustus' - 'A brilliant and beautifully written novel in the tradition of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, Augustus is a sweeping narrative that brings vividly to life a compelling cast of historical figures through their letters, dispatches, and memoirs.'

Modelling Challenge
This will be my third 3D printed bust and I've still got lots to learn about the technicalities of preparing and setting up 3D files for printing. One of the issues I'm trying to make sense of is how the orientation of the model file on the printing plate can effect the quality of the print. Additionally, I want to find out more about how supports can be set up to get the best results.

So, this time around I'm changing the orientation of the model on the bed AND trying out a different type of support (and number of supports)...

The bazzilions of 'legs' look rather disconcerting and I did worry that having so many supports might affect the quality of the print, what with all the contact points from all the supports. And as it trned out, I was right to worry...

The result looks bad, but in a way it is quite positive as well because I feel that I am getting a sense for how things work. The fact that I had a 'premonition' that there were going to be problems means that I might be getting better able to avoid them in the future (maybe). So, I'm not too down.

Another positive was that - as I had hoped - the unsupported front of the bust printed out perfectly...

And even though the back of the head was a bit of a mess, it was the back of the head AND after a bit of a clean up I could see that it might be fixable...

So I got out my MILLIPUT putty and had a bash at recreating the damaged hair. I had to use my imagination a bit but - as I said - it is on the back of the statuette so I wasn't too worried...

My 'hair' attempt is a little prominent so I shall give it a bit of a sand to help blend it back into the rest of the model. Even so, it does feel good that I can deal with problems like this wen they occur. I'll just carry on experimenting with my prints and try to get better and better at preparing my models so that they have the least amount of problems.

Here's the completed model, though I might add a small plinth to it later...