The M3 Lee, US Medium Tank Mk 1 is my next target to complete after the Panzerkampfwagon II (Panzer II) and the M113 ACAV. Since I would like to see if I can add scratchbuilding materials to the Lee, I may finish it in conjunction with the ACAV, but paint it a different color. I said I wanted a desert sand color but honestly I don't know what I want- right now is not the time to fret over it.I'm on the home stretch with the hardest semester of my College career. I made it home this weekend to prepare my room for re-habitation, after the end of next week it will be a week long Thanksgiving break.
I look at my models now and see that I could have vastly improved on them- but they are my initial creations that got me here. I am building a 1/35 Military Vehicles collection; currently the collections contains one German vehicle, one American vehicle, two american armor, one israeli armor and in the near future another american armor (japanese markings) and two future german armors. Caking my M41 Walker Bulldog with mud probably would have been a good idea- it looks like it came right off the factory line, but my Merkava looks used. Likewise, it is impressive to see the size of the Bulldog and Merkava side by side in the same scale.
I think I also want to start a small aircraft "wings" collection of aircraft I like. I need to finish a 1/48 F-14 Tomcat, but I am finding that 1/48 is too large for me and I would like to go smaller, say 1/72. These "collections" of models can take up a lot of room- I have three tamiya 1/350 ships built and they take an entire shelf! I am starting a 1/700 ships collection as I have multiple waterline dioramas. My USS Yorktown needs to be finished and the USS North Carolina, USS Washington and a DD-445 Fletcher all need to be completed. Currently, I am in the 1/35 vehicles collection phase, where I build any armor or vehicle of interest. I am interested in collecting israeli vehicles and armor- they bought a lot of tanks from Britain and America and made modifications to them. It will be my job to research those modifications and scratchbuild a solution.
I think I also want to start a small aircraft "wings" collection of aircraft I like. I need to finish a 1/48 F-14 Tomcat, but I am finding that 1/48 is too large for me and I would like to go smaller, say 1/72. These "collections" of models can take up a lot of room- I have three tamiya 1/350 ships built and they take an entire shelf! I am starting a 1/700 ships collection as I have multiple waterline dioramas. My USS Yorktown needs to be finished and the USS North Carolina, USS Washington and a DD-445 Fletcher all need to be completed. Currently, I am in the 1/35 vehicles collection phase, where I build any armor or vehicle of interest. I am interested in collecting israeli vehicles and armor- they bought a lot of tanks from Britain and America and made modifications to them. It will be my job to research those modifications and scratchbuild a solution.
As a side note, I enjoy the military channel's broadcast of Tank Overhaul and Tank Restoration programs. I get to look at the restoration of a tank but also learn the history of it. Perhaps this is what has driven me to collect a 1/35 collection: I can't have the real thing but I can have 1/35th of the real thing! It is a joy to build models, but it also takes a knack and fascination for what you are building- I love history.
With scratchbuilding, I am beginning to appreciate the simplicity of adding extra details to take a model a little bit further. I want to invest in photo-etch parts, and I will probably begin ordering photo-etch sets this summer when I have more time to dedicate to models. My F-117 Nighthawk, completed last year needs to be secured to its base and the cockpit secured to the aircraft. I need to fix my SBD-5 Dauntless so that the landing gears are no longer wobbly. I have a lot of fixes to implement, and the good news is that my stockpile is winding down. Who knows how long it will take me to complete everything?
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