The more I build PSC stuff, the more I like it. At least that was true this evening... when I made the first of the two RSO included in this box. There are also Pak 40 guns, and enough variant pieces to build three different types of the RSO.
My favourite variant is the rounded cab - as opposed to the more boxy angular cab variety, or the various other oddities, such as the mounted guns or the semi-aquatic version - so that's what I've built. I now have three RSO vehicles of this type, two in 1/72 (this PSC one, and an Ace one I built some time ago), and one in 1/76 (by Milicast).
Cutting out the windows. The plastic is pretty thick in the doors!
Adding some very basic interior detailing.
In some respects this is my favourite so far: the component parts are all ultra-chunky, clean, and easy to assemble. The only major downers are lack of detail, and - worst of all in my view - the solid filled-in windows.
This last I couldn't stomach. So I had to cut them all out, and add clear-plastic 'glass'. The end result of this has deformed the framing of the cab around the front of the doors, which is a shame. But I think the cabs look so much better for it. Of course it meant having to scratch-build some interior detail. But I quite enjoy that kind of malarkey.
Slopping on the paint... brush style...
Looks a little better after a second coat.
Having scratch-built cabin interior detailing, which I kept to a very bare and basic minimum, and added windows, I opted to hand paint the interior, in a vaguely elfenbein colour, as my airbrush is still dismantled, awaiting cleaning and reassembly.
A little bit of paintwork detailing.
And just seconds later, the whole vehicle... boom!
And finally, I assembled the rest of the kit, opting for the sides that are shown holding some kind of wide (winter?) track-links. I'll probably add some tools and a jack to the model, and then get the outer paint up to the same level of readiness as my other two RSOs.
I'm still having trouble locating appropriate decals for this particular type of vehicle. So if anyone reading this knows of where they can be got, please leave a comment. Balkenkreuz and number-plates are fine. What I need are the circular Steyr logo, and the stencilled rectangle with vehicle stats, both of which, when they appear, are usually found on the vehicles doors.
I like the stowed tracks, and the exhaust pipe.
You can just about glimpse some of the interior.
So that's how she's looking at the close of festivities today. Incidentally my first spot of modelling since being laid low with a cold: spent the rest of the last week in bed. The upside of the illness was that I got to watch both Band of Brothers and The Pacific again, in their glorious entirety. Every cloud has a silver earring, as Count Arthur Strong might say!
Pictured below, my growing collection of mini RSOs. The Ace one is the most/best detailed, with the Milicast one a close second on that front. But the Milicast model was infuriatingly fiddly, with ill-fitting parts, and I hate gluing models that require super-glue, as I find it a right pain in the behind.
Joining the ranks awaiting the paint workshop crew.
The Ace model was also troublesome, build-wise. In both instances, Ace and Milicast, fit left a lot to be desired in many places. The Ace kit also had photo-etched tracks, which, whilst they seemed fab in some ways - individually toothed metal tracks in 1/72! Cool, or so I initially thought - were a nightmare to work with. Plus I put them on facing the wrong way... doh!
I'm hoping that with RSO #2 from this PSC kit, I'll do the windows better, and not deform the cab so much. Not sure if I might also do the fourth and final one with the boxy cab... Hmmm!? Choices! I think I'll also add frame supports for the tarpaulin to this one. But I might just have the cover off, or rolled up or back, so as to stick some stowage in the rear cargo bed.
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