Lizards

I got a set of lizards from Amazon recently.

They are about 4 inches long.  This is a horned toad.

All the lizards are essentially the same size.  Chameleon  with tongue.

IAt about 4 inches this one is about life size.

I am not sure what this one is, but it is a stereotype lizard I think.

I like the pose also.  I don't know what kind of lizard it is.

This one is kinda dinosaur looking.

That ridge down the back is cool.  Another one I can't identify.

Obviously I don't know much about lizards, this one is a green one.

 With black dots.  I don't know what this one is, if you know what any of these lizards are, let me know in the comments.

T54 Odd Things

For a very long time essentially all Roco military vehicles were the same black green color.

This Roco T44 tank has a black green hatch.

But the rest of the vehicle is the olive green that Roco changed to at some point, perhaps in the 1980s.  I like it a lot better, it's easier to paint over, not so glossy, and looks better for American tanks at least.

At about the same time, they started making other vehicles in other colors.  Yellow or gray for WWII German tanks for example.  This is a camouflaged T54 hull that was originally the standard black green.  Note the configuration of the large hull box on the fender.

Here is another one, note the serious mold error on the hull box.

As some of the molds got older more and more flaws began to show up.

This is the only one I have seen with this flaw, but the hole in the turret horn is common as is a mis-molded right side track.  Judging by my collection of about 190 T54 tanks this is the only one of this problem but the mis-molded right side track is about 3% of the models and the turret hole about the same.

Some of the T54 tanks have enough flash on the gun barrel, turret end, that the gun no longer fits properly.  A quick move with the X-Acto knife fixes this problem.
 

Painting and Model Building Tools

The T54 project is requiring a lot of tools to do the job.  These little cheapo clamps are good at holding the upper and lower hull parts together.

These larger clamps are good for holding the upper and lower hull together if they need a little more force to hold the pieces together.

This is a cotton swab.  I use it to wipe off excess paint from the windshields of some of the Soviet trucks that I am also painting as part of this T54 project.  I also wipe off excess glue.  I put glue on the upper and lower hull halves and press them together and sometimes the glue will seep out.  A quick swipe from a swap can remove that excess glue before it has an opportunity to mar the surface.

Sometimes I need to do a tiny touch up of paint, and a swab can work for that.  I also have these little hobby brushes that can reach into little nooks and crannies and touch up paint.

The tank turrets sometimes need a little bit of plastic to fill a gap between the gun and the turret.  Filling that gap allows the gun to stay in the up position without having to hold the gun.  I made a bunch of these little pieces so they are ready when I need them.  Since I took this photo I used up all these pieces!

This little plastic cup, lined with paper towels is good for holding a jar of paint.  So it makes it harder for me to knock it over by accident.  Note the T54 tank turret with the white plastic replacement hatch on it.

Soda bottle caps.  I decant spray paint into small jars.  When it comes time to use the paint I use these lids for holding small amounts of paint that I am using for touch up paint.

These are some of the paints I am using on this project.  I take notes of the paints I use so that I can do touch up at the conclusion of the project.

My speaker stand is a wire cup and I store Dixie cups in it.  The Dixie cups get used for holding water for cleaning brushes.

Black paint for painting windows.  Note the silver circle on the cap.  That indicates to me the paint jar has been open.  My paints are stored in a drawer and so I view them from the top.  Lighter colors get a black circle.

Note the hole in the turret horn, it's a mold flaw.  I use Testors Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker to fill the hole.  It is gap filling and works very well to fill a small hole.

This is the same turret as the photo directly above.  Did you notice the hatch was installed upside down with the detail on the inside?
 

The Work Yard

As I prepare the tanks for rehabilitation, they each get their turrets removed.

Any markings, or decals get scraped off.

An inspection is done to see if any parts are missing, damaged, or deformed.

Missing hatches are replaced, and other parts are either sourced immediately, fabricated or the tank is pulled from the yard and sent to the spares pile.

My intention is to have all my T54 tanks, variants and spares back into full operation before the project is considered complete.  Right now I am waiting for a few new T54 tanks to come in the mail, and I also need some rubber and resin to cast a few missing parts.