Kraz 255 B "oversized" Renova 1:2X.X

  • Hi everybody,
    this is my very first post over here. Some time ago I was checking out some info generally about Russian military vehicles. Accidentally winded up on this site, encountering all those breathtaking 255's you guys made. Really far out. Couldn't help myself. I just had the urge...so I started my own.
    There's one thing I need to tell you guys. I don't have experience in card modeling. Well, I did a building or two when was around ten years old. I gave myself an other shot. Also decided to scan and blow up the scale a little, just because I was sure no way I can achieve such a clean, precise job like most of you. Printing them on super A3 sheets (329x483 mm) gave me an impressive 532 mm frame length (yet without the bumpers). My project started about three weeks ago, experimenting with different glues, papers and of course getting familiar with the basic things like cutting strait.
    I hope, you'll enjoy them.


    regards,
    delcom

  • Hi,


    First. welcome to the forum.


    I think that so far you are doing a very clean and nice job. What will be the scale of the model? (I beleive that the original scale was 1:25?). Is it the Renova Kraz model?


    Good luck


    Igal

    Plastic is bad for health


    Gallery


    Tornado - Halinski - 1:33

  • And BTW, thanks for Bernie, J.C, Had, Nikolai, Owen and Wisa for all the ideas. You really got me inspired.


    Just one more thing. I hope using children's clay for the weldments is not considered cheating. I really do not know those unwritten rules.


    see ya'll,
    delcom

  • Thanks for the warm welcome, Patel...
    I did some painting today on the air tank of the truck. Started with basic shadowing and highlighting some spots. The next step was kinda dry brushing the entire vessel in a way that it wasn't really dry at all. Did a few thin wet layers with different rusty colors to achieve an uneven surface dotted with tiny cavities in order to make it look like rough metal. The last image is I believe the last layer just to see how the final dry brushing will look like. That will be a smooth moderate rusty color. That should cancel this cartoonish appearance of the air tank. Enjoy them.


    regards,
    delcom

  • Hi Eatcrow2,
    thanks for your interest...well in this particular part I was using an acrylic mat dark gray as a base coat. If you've done any plastic (sorry, I know plastic is not healthy...to mention in this forum) scale models before, then probably you know the purpose of that...to reveal any possible faults of the surface. Normally that is a thin mat layer. Some guys do it black, others do it gray. Application of glossy paint as a "primer" is not so wise because a lot of surface problems would go undetected during the process. The smugged, slimy surface was done with a few layers of different colors of enamel. The final dry brushing was performed with enamel as well. Although at a certain point accidentally applied a satin shade of brown. The vessel looked if it was a bronze reservoir of a steam engine. It looked really authentic, but obviously a no go for a Russian heavy truck. Gotta stick to mat paints in this project.
    I must admit there's a whole lotta difference between working on paper and plastic.
    I think this is it...concerning this air tank. Two more to go.
    Hope you like the appearance of it. Critics are welcome, too.


    regards,
    delcom

  • Good day everybody,
    this morning I proceeded with the first oil cooler. Again just the basic painting techniques, nothing fancy, no rocket science. Primer, base coat, shadows and highlights, dry brushing here and there with different shades of brown. Applied some glossy black to indicate oil drips.
    NOTE: I couldn't really get the white balance right today for some reason, so these images might appear a little too hard. Perhaps it's just the sad cloudy weather. Hopefully tomorrow I can see my own result better with some proper daylight. Let's hope I do not have to start all over again.


    Well...enjoy them,
    delcom

  • Hi there,
    today I decided to pick something easy. No cutting, no gluing...only painting. I found that the battery box would be just the right specimen. Preshading with black, then four different shades of green were airbrushed on the box cover. The bottom of the box is staying flat black (according to my pretty much limited Kraz 255 photograph collection). One might spot the modification on the side of the battery box.
    NOTE: the highlights on the ribs, the slight corrosion are NOT finished yet. Nicks, scratches, tear and wear will come later. This is it for today.
    Do you guys like it?


    Ah...and Merry Christmas everybody,


    delcom

  • Hi,
    I managed to gather sufficient info about the steering system of the truck, so I decided to go ahead and make this hydraulic actuator myself. The actuator will be attached to the outboard surface of the left frame, just behind the front left shock absorber. That empty space near the front left wheel cries for a little more detail. These images illustrate only the beginning of the construction, just to show the basic shape. The wire is simply there to provide some stiffness, so it won't act as the actuator rod itself. Later it will be wrapped with paper to match the correct diameter. Today I'll try to finish detailing the valve housing...then I think it's good to go for a paint job.


    How do you guys prevent the paper going "hairy"? And once it got "hairy", is there a technique to hide it somehow?


    good luck,
    delcom

  • Thanks Peter P.
    I'll give that one a go, hope the results will be alright. New pictures are coming tonight, so stay tuned.


    regards,
    delcom

  • With this kind of work I inspire to work with paper , 'cause then you say, it's really paper?, I hope some day work like this.


    Rgds

  • Jstm,
    thanx for the nice words. Don't worry. You can do it as well. And as I mentioned above, this is my first card model. I still have a lot of obstacles to overcome. I'm kinda experiencing on the fly. Still having some serious issues with "flooding" glue all over the place.
    And a little preview of the evening progress. I might be able to finish it tonight...well, before midnight.


    see you soon,
    delcom

  • Hi delcom


    Grate work your doing here, just how I Said , but a have a Question , how do you get the Welding efect? what kind of material you use to form the cord ?


    I really wanna lear that trick to used in my models


    regads & Thanks
    JSTM

  • Thanx for the compliments guys,
    yeah, the weld. I made it really easy and quick to make. I'm sure there are dozens of other methods. But if you like the appearance of my joints, I would recommend the following steps.
    Get to a toy store, and try to find the hardest children's clay. Do not buy the soft one, 'cause later it's gonna give you some serious problems. If you find your favorite color that's the hardest at normal room temperature...well you're lucky. If you're really desperate on the way back home, you can already rip the package open, pinch a little piece and start "massaging" it. That's the whole idea. Getting the hard children's clay soft enough to form is the clue.
    We all remember from our childhood, rolling the clay on a table to create carrots, or certain "body parts", huh? You can roll it very very thin.
    Personally, the clay I use does not stick to the paper firm enough, so I had to apply it with some glue. Put some glue on the surface or edge where you want to create the weld itself. Then you lay the thin clay "cord" in it, keep feeding it, follow the trace of the glue. I did not use any tools for this part of the procedure, you would tear the cord even with tweasers. Do it with your fingers, do not worry about the fingerprints you leave behind, in the next step those will be gone anyway.
    So now you have the cord piece glued onto the paper, lets make it look like a weld seam. The only tool you'll need here is something...kinda small disk shaped. It is not necessary to wait for the glue to dry, so you can start pushing that little disk at a shallow angle into the clay. That shallow angle is really important. That will create the distinctive shape of a weld seam. Than you keep doing that along the cord.
    By now the clay probably hardened, ready for paint. If you cannot find really hard children's clay, don't panic, it is still possible to do the weld, but you will have to seal it off with some glue. Try to use some thin glue, and make sure you do NOT fill up the little grooves you've just formed. I tried it with some water based glue thinned with...well, water, and it worked just fine. After it dried, it created a nice thin shell on the seam, protecting it from deformation.


    This is how I did it. I know I did not reinvent the wheel with this. I also think it all comes down to the paint job. So try to get the dark paint in the grooves, and the light colors should be kept on the high spots of the weld seam.


    Happy weldings everybody.
    delcom

  • Thanks Delcom


    Its avery smart & Easy way to do it, it's really impresive, thank you again to share it , I'll try to use some day, and i'll follow your work here to keep learning.


    Your are an artist man !!


    Rgds
    JSTM

  • Good day everybody,
    routing the hydraulic lines were quite a challenge. But I think it worth all the effort. Here are some images.


    Note for the picky pro photographers: I know...the bad composition. I did the loooong shadow on purpose. Busy, very busy long shadow. Kinda helps to reflect the complexity of the object...I reckon.


    enjoy them,
    delcom

  • Dear builders,
    let me take you on a time lapse journey. I got a little bored, so I tried out some features of my camera. It should be a smooth ride after the completion of the first loop. 180 frames, 0.08 sec delay.


    It might take a few seconds to get this animation going.


    Please, let me know if you find it totally useless and/or annoying.


    regards,
    delcom

    Images

    • actuator2optimized.gif

    Edited once, last by delcom ().

  • Hi,
    I just did some tryouts, I was curious if I'm able to deal with tiny parts. The dial is custom printed, the "glass" is cut from an ice cream box. The bezel still needs to be painted. I'll try to make the instrument housing tomorrow.


    Some initial shots of the experiment.


    cU,
    delcom

  • Hi Hajo,
    the wires I've used for hydraulic lines, bezel, spring and handles so far are 0.25mm, 0.50mm. On one of my images showing the primered air tank has a piece of 1.00mm wire attached to it....well that is just there for show. The wires I use are not soldering wires. I simply just use anything I find, easy to get it to the desired shape and right for the scale.


    delcom

  • Hi delcom,


    Really nice job, especially the paint job.


    For my Leopold, I'm also going to paint the model. I will not weather it to much, but still a basic course of how to paint/weather the model would be nice.


    Maybe you can make some kind of tutorial in which you show every step.


    I think a lot of builders will like that, since to my opinion more and more builders start painting their models.


    Xander

  • Hi Xander,
    thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it.


    I always photograph each step of each assembly during the progress. I just don't think I should flood the thread with countless of pictures just because I added one or two drops of black to the brown paint in the airbrush.


    That's one of my tricks. I never paint a surface with one color. This exhaust drum contains at least five different shades of brown, plus a few gray. Due to the excitement I even forgot to pre-shade the whole exhaust drum...which is a shame, 'cause that gives incredible depth to the object. I can still do the highlights, but I think I'm gonna have to skip the shadowing. A basic thing I understand you always apply the dark colors, then build up the light ones on it. The coffee trick was meant to be there to indicate rough surface due to corrosion. Did not quite work out. I'm receiving feedback from the professionals: Uh...nice mud, lol.


    I'd like to pronounce it one more time...I'm not a pro modeler, nor Bob Ross. It is my first cardboard model and I just recently purchased my airbrush and compressor. At the moment I don't even have a proper paintbrush in the house.


    However If you really dig my style (I made up myself), please feel free to follow and apply these no-brainer tricks yourself. If you want, of course I can make a step by step thingy of my next assembly...namely the fuel tank(s). I'm still gathering technical information about it, but I think in a few days I can draw a sketch of the general layout, necessary extra parts (probably a lot of them), damage locations etc. For me preparation actually takes longer than the execution itself. I draw a lot...believe me it helps.


    Wow...I saw that project of yours. Good luck with that. Sure a nice paint job won't hurt on it. Make sure you do not get carried away with weathering. Those Jerry equipment were pretty neat, tip-top. I've got a truck that belongs to a junk yard.


    I hope I've helped already a little. Have fun with that Leopold.
    regards,
    delcom

  • Good day,
    this morning I started with some major modification on the aft side of the frame. My 255 photo collection indicates a number of cutouts for electrical receptacles, hydraulic and pneumatic unions and couplings at this location. Grooves here and there, weld seams (again), bolt joints, etc. I decided to go ahead and boost the tail of this beauty a little. This photo shows some filler I just applied, preliminary grinding and sanding. At this point it might look a little rough...still a lot of work needs to be done here.


    Note the Mickey Mouse draft background. Just to have an idea of the effort I put in the hydraulic actuator of the steering system.


    I'll be back soon,
    delcom

  • Hi delcom.
    a very big, a giant big hand for ageing the parts of Your model.



    best regards


    modellschiff

                                                                                   Artikel 1 GG:

    Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.

    Sie zu achten und zu schützen ist Verpflichtung aller staatlichen Gewalt



  • Hi delcom,


    It's really impressive, what you are building. I think at the end it will look more authentic than the original one... :D
    Is it all made of paper, I can't immagine... :D


    Very, Very, very, very nice Work ! and of course nice photos too.


    Greets Frédérick

    Mal ist man die Statue.. X(
    ... und mal die Taube :P