Hello all
I’m new to all things armor. My third build is trumpeter’s 1/35 T-80 BV. What am i supposed to do with the kit supplied unditching log? It looks nothing like a log in texture according to pictures I see on the interwebs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Darren
Well, you can make it look like the logs you see in photos, you can replace it a better log, or you can throw it away. In real life the logs are often missing.
There was a previous posting about unditching logs here: Russian Tank Unditching Log - Armor/AFV / Modern - KitMaker Network
You can look at that for ideas.
Ken
You can make a log using real wood found in the backyard but if the log has the attachments molded on then you also can add a lot of realism by just using paint, Check the one below, aorry that it is not a very good picture…:
(Ignore the shine btw, it has received a gloss coat for further weathering.)
I painted it sand colour, then added a layer of chipping fluid, and then a dark brown colour.
After that, using water and a toothbrush i removed part of the dark brown to get a more then acceptable result, imo…
bit of weathering will increase the result…
Rub it with some 80grit sandpaper to give it texture and make some damage on the edges with a knife. Then paint it.
Olivier
A twig or stick won’t be correct. The real logs were run through a machine to debark them, turn them to a certain diameter, and put a chamfer on the ends. Taken down to 1/35, they would look pretty much like a plastic rod, with maybe a few longitudinal splits. Some waviness can be seen in some photos, but overall they were closer in shape to cylinders than a tree trunk.
A wooden dowel would also be better than a stick, except for the fact that 1:1 grain looks about 35 times too big on a model.
KL
Thanks for the help. I ended up using a colored pencil that i chucked in a drill and sanded to shape then painted various browns.
That 'ill work!
Ken
They are not always done so precisely, especially non-Russian tanks. For example, this tank (photo posted by @Frenchy on the Ukraine thread):
This log is off-sized, shows definite bends in it, and still has some bark still on it.
As for using a wood dowel, I added scale grain and splits with a razor saw and hobby knife. Same with plastic rod/tubing.
Ken
Diameter too big?
It measures .250" the same as the kit piece. I’m not sure if that’s accurate or not lol
It probably looks a bit big due to not having the fenders on.
