Author: nomadmodel

So I’ve finally finished Miniart’s Bantam jeep, and wow what a slog. The kit was a absolute dumpster fire. The fit was vauge, poor, and overall it seems like the kit was handed to an intern to design then sent off to the factory for molding. Don’t even get me started on the the figures. Put simply, the figures are incompatible with the jeep and can’t be positioned sitting in it. Even after chopping off a few toes you can’t get enough clearance to position them sitting down. Additionally, there’s the fact that there are subtle differences between how the figures are portrayed in the instructions and box art and how they actually build up, it’s as if they changed the molding and just didn’t bother to update the instructions.

Suffice to say, Miniart should be ashamed to have their name on the box cover.

For the last bit of the build I wanted to refresh my memory in traditional weathering techniques. Overall, I think I was successful in this regard. It was nice to get the creative juices flowing in terms of which weathering techniques to use in conjunction with others. Overall the main goal for this build was just to attempt old procedures and not really worry about them turning out or not. I’m a firm believer that each model a modeler builds should be an extension of the last and be used to improve upon the next one.

So considering the final build, where should I improve for the next kit? For one, the painting. I was adapting to a new airbrush (Badger Sotar 20/20) as well as new paints (AK Acrylics) and early on the painting was very shaky. It got the point where I had to tell myself that I needed to take a step back and practice with the new brush before continuing further. After 48 hours of practicing my X’s, O’s and squiggly lines with varying paint/thinner ratio’s and PSI’s I finally got to a point where I felt comfortable trying again. In the end, the paint turned out ok, but there was too much splatter and I need to keep experimenting with the ratios.

Another place I need to improve is with my mud splattering. I used AK mud products and Mig/502 Abteilung pigments and to be honest the end result was a bit over done and not what I was looking for. I used two shades of AK mud and three pigment shades but in the end the splatter was dominated by two colours. I also need to learn to vary they thickness of the mud as well.

In the end, despite the kit issues, I think the Bantam build was a success and I’m happy to be back to the bench.

After struggling through the construction stage of Miniart’s Bantam, It wasn’t long until it was time to lay some paint down. The camouflage scheme I picked for the model was derived from the box art with a few changes. Notably the slightly different colour of the hood part to signify that it was changed at some point in the jeep’s service life. After completing the painting I also started the weathering process, adding small black chips and metal wear using a AK graphite pencil.

Next step is the clear coat, decals and further weathering.

For my first project back to the hobby I wanted to start off with a small, manageable project that wasn’t going to take weeks to complete. I settled on Miniart’s Jeep and for the past few days progress has been steady. I must say however that building the kit so far has been a struggle. The kit has consistent fit issues and misleading instructions to say the least. In terms of build progress, I’ve got a few more things I want to finish up before moving up to painting and I’m hoping it have it complete before the end of next week.

It feels good to be back to the hobby, although I wish my first kit back wasn’t such a dog if a kit. One redeeming factor is that the detail is nice at least.