The Darkside Pt 1 - Sliding To the Dark Side

 So, after the model show in Chattanooga, I've attempted to start two different cars. One is the 72 Nova Pro street and the other is the Revell '65 Shelby GT350H. The body paint of the shelby was amazing. Black Pearl over a gray primer and it was smooth as a baby's butt. 

It was the decals that ruined it. The hood decals were two seperate stripes, while the roof and trunk were a single decal. The decals over the bumpers wouldn't lay and flow over the curves. Even using the MicroSol solution, the decal paper was thicker than normal. Then I realized  that the hood stripes weren't aligned correctly with the roof stripes. 

In the end, I had to pull the decals off, sand them off and in the box it sets. I ordered another set of 65 Shelby 350 decals. However, they seem to be smaller than they should for 1/24 scale. A little frustrated, I decided to start on the Panzer tank I picked up at the model show.

Went to a friends house and we started to build. We spent the entire day working on the kits and at the end of the day, all I had built were the wheels and holes drilled. When I looked, there two drive wheels, two return wheels and all of the track wheels for each side. Sanded, glued and set aside. 

This is the first time i've dealt with photo etch. I don't know how many times I dropped one of the pieces. In the end, I got the two track guides installed. I have a few other pieces assembled and in place. 

The kit itself is well molded and barley any flash at all. Pieces fit together with minimal effort and I haven't seen much of an issue as of yet. With this being my first ever tank, I will say it's a lot more tedious than a vehicle and definitely more of a pain in the ass. Despite all of this, I am enjoying the kit and the build. My friend gave me a tank crew for it as well as a German Stug to build.

I have been researching a build due to what little research i've done about this tank. My goal now is to do a Panther build based of the historic Stoumont Battle of '44 in Belgium. BUt first, I need to learn to paint these things as it is a lot different then a few coats of paint followed by a few coats of clear. 

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Chattanooga Modelcon 2024

 So, I entered my first model show. Other than trying to find parking and getting registered, the day was amazing. There was a small accident when unboxing my builds. The bottom of one of the cases fell out and the purple custom Ford fell. Broke off the rear bumper and one of the light lenses. Thankfully, I took my tweezers and glue. within a few minutes, everything was back together and up on display.

One thing I will say, not sure if they're all like this, but you can't go to one of these shows without a few hundred in cash on you. Whether it's for a new kit, decals, parts, books, the prices average between $10-15 for small things to a few hundred for larger more rare kits.

Overall, the day was amazing. I have more respect for everyone who does this, whether it's for competition or just hobby. The builds i saw were amazing. From the JR class to just the display, non-judged kits. 

I was not expecting to win anything. However, I did come home with two Bronze place finishes. One for the wife's '65 Thunderbird and one for the '71 Olds 442 I built specifically for the show. Their only feed back on both was they weren't shiny enough. One scored a 7.8 out of 10 and the other a 7.9 out of 10. Not bad I'd say for my first time.

'65 Thunderbird, Bronze Finish

'71 Olds 442 W30, Bronze Finish

Here are a few photos from some of my favorites.

You can find the rest of the pictures here. They include different angles of the dioramas a few close ups and more.

Overall, I had a lot of fun. I will go again, but I will be slowing down on builds. I will need to decide on one or two builds for a show and really dig in.

I did buy my first ever tank kit. Ran into a old coworker there who is into the military kits. So we're going to set aside some time to work on some builds for this tank.

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