discussion Completed ***** Ron's (and Grandson's) Disc Camouflaged Tamiya Panther Ausf. A.*****

[Mickc1440]

Great work Ron and grandson, I can see a lot more models turning up on your doorstep, ".....granddad what can we do to this?"
Tunnocks? Top Granddad indeed :smiling2::smiling2:

 

[spanner570]

Thanks Mick.
He's rapidly approaching his teen years, so I thought I'd catch him before 'other distractions' come along and he looses interest in kit making!

 

[Steve Jones]

Looks like you are both having a lot of fun. Nice work on the disc camo.

 

[spanner570]

Looks like you are both having a lot of fun. Nice work on the disc camo.

Steve - It might read as though we are having fun. He's having a ball watching me sweat. But this disc camo. lark is bl**dy difficult!........:cold-sweat::upside:

 

[spanner570]

On to the base.
The little toe rag is now old enough to be shown how to use sharp tools, so I let him make the whole base. I marked, he cut.

Here is the initial build. Using a sharp point saw he cut the slabs of polystyrene to size and stuck them together. Then I marked out where to cut for the tank to slot in. He cut that out with a junior hacksaw blade. I then asked him to count his fingers - All present and correct!
View attachment 312208


Next I showed him how to break bits off with his fingers to form the river bank. He then added some powder adhesive mixture to his handy work using a small paint scraper.

"You're being too fussy. Don't faff about, just sling it on!"
"Granny, he's shouting at me again!"

To finish off this stage I showed him how to squidge the tank into the stuff to get a nice fit around the hull where it sits in the water. Missing track sorted!
View attachment 312209

Cheers.
Ron

 

[papa 695]

Coming along nicely, and an added bonus no fingers missing. Keep up the great work the both of you.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Ron.
Coming on a treat.
Genuinely great to see a young man doing something creative rather than sitting in front of a screen. As a retired teacher I can vouch for the huge benefits a child gets from using their leisure time well. Credit to you both.
Jim

 

[spanner570]

Thanks boys
Jim - I can but try to get him interested in further projects - I'll just have to wait and see.

We were like a well oiled machine and worked in perfect harmony.

Although we had fun time together, there was serious endeavor from both of us to do the best we could with our project.....:thumb2:


Thanks again for all your support chaps. We both appreciate your input. He thinks they are all fab! - And so do I!

Ron & G.S. (No.5)

 

[spanner570]

Here's a bit more.
I asked himself to go and get some dry dirt for the road - he came back with half a bucket load.

A quick coat of pva and the stuff sprinkled on - job done!
View attachment 312453

I marked the wall out and he scribed it with a modelling knife. One or two wayward scratches, but he did well for a first attempt. All his fingers still intact! He then slurried on a coat of grey acrylics and this time he remembered not to fiddle, so no bo***cking.
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View attachment 312455
Ready for some paint and vegetation. I hoped my missus wouldn't catch him up on our flat roof hunting for 'Grass and reeds'. We just got away with it!

Cheers Ron & G.S.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Grandson and Ron
You are making a great job of this. I hope the lad reads the thread as he should be proud of what he is doing and the comments he is getting. Modelling the 'Ron Way' makes the hobby accessible to those without deep pockets. Wall and ground are coming on a treat.
Jim

 

[Steve Jones]

Terrific work on the base guys. Must have been a snowstorm digging out all that polystyrene. Wall is looking great. Keep up the good work guys

 

[spanner570]

Thanks Jim and Steve for your great posts. I appreciate your support during this joint build. My Grandson loves reading the encouraging comments along the way.

Nearly there now....
You'll be pleased to know he survived the trip on to the flat roof - and so did I, sort of, as the wife didn't spot where he was!!

A bit of colour added. He did it all.
View attachment 312609

The river bed is done ready for the varnish. Him again, whilst I scoffed yet another Tunnock bar!
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It was at this point we decided to 'Block off' one end of the base. That's up next along with some greenery and varnish.

Thanks again to those who have posted. He's having a ball reading them........:thumb2:

R & GS

 

[spanner570]

Next, I explained why I try and avoid a sudden 'End' to a base and sometimes build something simple to try and make the final pictures more natural. So having a river bed, a bridge seemed the obvious solution.
Using a pencil, I marked the bridge face detail for him and explained how the arches stayed up in the real thing. His first attempt at scribing the stonework with the scalpel was not successful. Fair play to him he wasn't phased, so we made another. This time he succeeded. He then added a coat of grey to the stonework. Big smiles and a hug. - Winner!

For a bit of variation we built two different sizes of bridge arch and added tubes to add a bit of darkness under the bridge. We then stuck the whole bridge frontage to the base and the stone wall end.

We then added just two coats of varnish to the river bed - one each. Then I showed him how to carefully bed the reeds and greenery into the tacky varnish. Then he add some broken stonework made from off-cuts of polystyrene. I did one end and he did the other. Guess which?.....That's my boy! :smiling::thumb2:

Here's the pictures of the finished base.
View attachment 312616

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The false rear. These added a bit of depth and darkness to the arches, giving an illusion of a complete bridge in the final pictures.
The boy was well impressed, yet another hug. 'Ruffy Tuffy' Grandad reached for a tissue claiming he had something in his eye...........It doesn't get much better.
View attachment 312621


We added a second coat of road rubble to make the surface more bumpyerer. Now it's finally ready to plonk the tank on.
View attachment 312622

Thanks for looking.
Cheers.
R & G.S.

 

[Jim R]

Hi both
Just gets better and better. Real bonding time between the generations - can't beat it. The stream with its bridge looks great. Bring on the tank.
Jim

 

[minitnkr]

A touching recount. All luck to ya on the base. PaulE

 

[spanner570]

Thanks Jim and Paul.
The dear sweet child will be probably call in tonight, so I'll show him your comments.

Thanks again.
Ron

 

[spanner570]

The base is finished so just a quick post to thank those who took time out to post words of encouragement to my grandson during this build of ours.

I appreciated them all and the lad loved them.....

I hope this little exercise has kindled an interest in him to keep at it. We'll just have to see. I'm glad to have done my bit to help.

It's well worth the effort to try and drag youngsters away from the T.V. and games machines, if only to show them there is another life other than staring at a screen.

Photos to follow.....

Thanks again for your contributions.

Ron

 

[Mickc1440]

That's looking really good Ron, look forward to seeing the tank going for a dip

 

[spanner570]

That's looking really good Ron, look forward to seeing the tank going for a dip

Cheers Mick and thanks for being one of those who posted encouraging comments, we both appreciated your input.
I'll post the finished model photos asap.

Thanks again.
Ron

 

[Jim R]

It's well worth the effort to try and drag youngsters away from the T.V. and games machines, if only to show them there is another life other than staring at a screen

Young peoples lives revolving around social media, their phones and other technologies is responsible for so many of the problems they have which previous generations never had. Whatever we can do to show them 'another life' is time well spent. I was involved with children all my working life and seeing how their lives changed from the 70s to when I retired is truly frightening.
Your grandson is lucky to have you. The benefits will last all his life.
Jim