TW47 Krote

The T.W-47 Krote that I have is from Nitto and was released in 1984 under the SF3D series.

Box art for the re-release in 2000, with new Ma.K ZbV 3000 branding.

I have had this kit mostly assembled and never completed for the better part of three decades then! Well, it's finally time to dust it off, replace the missing components, fix the poor construction, and paint this baby once and for all!
I first had to give the entire model a bath. The amount of crud built up on it over the years was scary. Warm soapy water and a soft brush scrubbed most gunk away and a quick "wash" with lighter fluid got rid of the greasy buildup that wouldn't seem to budge.
There was a lot of damage to the model. Glue and plastic had dried and gone brittle, and general handling when moving had broken off all the fine plastic tubing, aerial, and other fragile items. These would all require replacement. This would also give me the opportunity to clean up poor kit construction by yours truly, mainly in the turret region but also along some pretty ugly seams down the leg assemblies.

Added brass protection rails and hooks to replace the missing/broken plastic ones.

Replaced the thin power cables with electrical wire and half round plastic support rings.

Rear view showing routing of new power cables. Superglued down.

The top hull prior to fixing poor fit. Quite bad seams and dips.

 I used Milliput to fill in the dips. NOT a cool experience at all!

Milliput is quite tricky to use. It is very sticky and needs water to prevent it sticking to fingers and tools. This meant I was always fighting the water to get the product to stick to the model. The areas to be filled were very shallow so the Milliput was pretty thin, so when applying the tiniest amount of water to smooth it over it would lift back off again! Grrr. I now have some Aves Apoxy Sculpt so it will be interesting to try that out next time.

Underside filled and smoothed.

Rear filled and smoothed.

I decided to attempt a rough cast texture like I had seen on some other Krote models. There were a number of techniques described on the web using various materials but as I couldn't locate them here in New Zealand I ended up using Tamiya Liquid Primer mixed with talcum powder. Depending on the amount of talc used, working time was pretty variable. A small amount meant the primer was still quite liquid and didn't texture very well. Too much talc and the mixture went off quite fast and got thicker before it could be worked properly. I sponged it on using a fine sponge so as not to create too coarse a texture for the 1/20 scale. I think it turned out pretty well, but wish I had done the feet as well in hindsight.

Turret primed and ready for top coat.

Rough Cast texture not as even as I would have liked...

...but it hides the poor body filler job I did!

The new protection rails and service hooks came out pretty good i think!

 

Engine and leg assembly primed.

Scale Modelling

Way back in the early 80's there was:
- No Internet (ergo no Facebook, no on-line gaming, etc)
- No DVDs (we had to go the cinema to see a film, and if we waited 4-5 years it "might" turn up on TV as a 4:3 ratio pan-and-scan)
- No game consoles (WTF? No C.O.D?)
- No mobile phones (see No Internet)

As kids we had to go out and make our own fun (shooting at each other with slug(BB) guns or building go-carts from old lawn mower engines were favorites I recall), actually call up friends and talk to them live, and for some of us kids (particularly boys, which was unfortunate) building plastic kitsets was a hobby that allowed us to re-live some of the things we saw on TV and the movies, stretch our imaginations a little, and be a little bit creative to boot.
Well, after nearly 30 years of not building kits, I have decided to have another go at building some of the kits from my childhood, and some new ones too hopefully! I have a particular fancy for the Maschinen Krieger series (or SF3D as it was called back in the 80's). These kitsets were the benchmark in design and detail back in the early to mid eighties. They included mixed media parts (springs, wire, tubing, photoetch, etc), well defined sprues, and were completely unique in design. Back then they were very expensive as far as kitsets went, more-so than your typical tank or fighter plane, but I did my best to save up and buy a few. I ended up building one kit to completion, The Raccoon, and started on several others including the Krote, Jerry, and PKA Gustav. Unfortunately by the time I was in my late teens my interest in modelling had waned (other "interests" took over my attention!). I was in my last couple of years at school and was heading to university, so kits got packed away and forgotten. I went overseas for a time, and all of my belongings were put into storage. The upshot was, by the time I got around to showing any kind of interest again, I had lost all but two of the kits (The completed Raccoon and almost complete Krote) and only had the camo cards from the other kits. Sigh.
I made the decision to complete the Krote, referencing some awesome websites like I Luv Ma.K, Maschinen Krueger and Ma.K In Action, and also look to buying the old kits that I lost. Retraining myself in the craft of building and finishing kitsets, to the highest standard I can, is going to be a long haul I suspect!
And so, my journey begins...