September 08 2009 | Being wise...

Now the Magic Sculp is probably the mopst handy scratchbuilding material I use but it jhas its shortcomings. One of those is that it would tend to glue to the plaster far more than it would on plastic for isntance. So I didn't wait for the MS to be thoroughly dry before removing the parts I did. To ensure I would have a circular shape in the end, I let the shape rest in some other circular plaster mould I did previously.

September 08 2009 | Sanding triming etc..

eh eh, now It is dry and what do I have to do? that's right, cutting the openings alright, and generally speaking thinning the two halves, I spedn hours over a few days to do that, with a few accidents in the way, but well.. in the end it was sort of worth :)

September 09 2009 | The thow halves of the ball turrets

Honestly it took me some time to get that!

September 09 2009 | Ball turret reasonnably okay

The 2 halves seem to join okay..

September 09 2009 | Time to put the photoetch near the windows

Time to put the photoetch near the windows..so now you can see another use of tghis phototetch: by trimming with an X-Acto around the openings following the straight metal parts, I will be able to thin the ball turret enough so that nobody can see the actual thickness of the thing :)

September 10 2009 | The figure

There is something I didn't tell -it's one of the main reasons why I choose 1/32 instead of 1/35, surer there is this question of Browning guns, but also that the Ball Turret gunner was to be very small to fit, so If I was about to do a tiny guy, he would look even tinier if I were to model it in 1/35 if you follow me :)

Anyway, I alwyas wonder at those modelers who lovbe their work so much that they got to the length of modeling some stuff that nobody will be able to see in the end. i am not like that. Once the Turret will be closed what will we be able to see of the gunner? his feet basically.

So I decided to only spend a few short hours in doing it -and not even do a sculpting but more a conversion of sorts. I Happen to own that Tamiya Schwimmwagen that I have ben canaibalizing for various projects for years and I set up in taking the driver and vbend him to the appropriate shape..

September 10 2009 | Arranging the shape of the ball turret gunner

So i have been arranging the arms and back so that he looks like he is bending on one of the shotguns.

September 10 2009 | Does he fit?

Does he fit?..