Valid point Steve. Visually they'd be nice there, but being realistic they would be inside.



The angle of the roof there Tom is not steep at all...so wasn't figuring anything additional.

Alas, I may use the boxes for something else - like on the rear deck. We'll see.

Mike

Last of the primer.



First of the Light Gray.



Tape removed from around the barrels.



There's some minor touch ups to do and some very light wet-n-dry sanding to do before I give it it's final light gray coat. About 2/3 of a bottle of thinned Tamiya Light Gray used.

Mike

Looks great, Mike. It is fantastic to see the beast get some color.

Looking forward to see more.

Some wet sanding with 1800 grit. I may seek a different "light gray" as that one seemed too dark (?). [see previous picture] Heading to the LHS tomorrow, so we'll see.



Mike

I now have, for the most part, a completed 1/35th scale battleship turret.

I dug around online looking for an appropriate color (based on other kits, previous builds, cross reference paint charts, et al) and came up with Vallejo Air's Pale Blue Gray. I am quite pleased.



Mike

The first ever 1/35 German battleship turret? I think after this you need to go bigger. Maybe do a full 1/35 battleship?

Nahh.. the next will be a 1/6 Ratte based on a VW bug that you can drive.

I like it!

More of the turret:

The opening to my paint booth is about 33 inches.








Mike

Hello Mike, I was just wondering if you are going to build a new spray booth for the Tank frame? Your turret looks Awesome. I still can't believe you are building it in 1/35th scale.

Mike are you going to weather that beast of a turret? Would look great with rain streaks and bird poo!!

Paul

Freakin' awesome!!

Been following your progress since I started modelling and joined back in 2014...So impressed!🤔😩😧😧😧 even if I knew how to do this, I probably wouldn't do as good a job on the painting. Keep going sir!!

Thank you Joe. Words of support are pleasing.

The P1000 has not ended, just set to the side while a full kitchen remodel is done and a couple of Campaign builds.

I will get back to it, you bet!

Mike

Holy Smokey Joes.

A key component of the Ratte build is on its way!



Mike

Wow, that great. You'll need to put some MG42's on the sides for just in case.

Looking good I haven’t gotten started on mine at all yet but I’m thinking about getting a 3D printer to get mine a roling a bit faster but haven’t got thare yet

I’ll have to print hull sections to rivet together like the real ships woulda been

You'll have to start a blog when you do that. I'd like to follow along. I have a couple campaign builds going on, but once they're done, I think I'll finish off the turret.

Mike

I thought of this thread the minute I saw this announcement!

Michael, I have the kit in my possession. Quite intricate for sure. Should build up beautiful.

I purchased some "streaking" fluid from AK. I think I'll do the turret as if it were recently pulled off the ship (or where ever they got it from). Weathered, dirty, etc. gray.

Mike

Hi Mike, I've been following you for months and am quite impressed with the build thus far. I did have a thought. I'm building out a Sturmtiger and it has a crane for loading rounds into the fighting compartment. It would make sense to me that the rat would have something similar so it wouldn't have to rely on as many support vehicles. It may help fill in "empty" areas if you have any. Anyway, just a thought. Keep up the good work.

I gave the reloading concern some thought early on. There will be a "hatch" underneath for ammo to be loaded along with personnel access and maintenance.

Though a crane would look good, I think I'm going to have enough on top as it is. However, I may have a spare jib boom that I can strap down below one of the Kugelblitz turrets and put the mounts somewhere in that vicinity. It would never hurt to have some 'quick-lift' capability.

I appreciate the comments and encouragement. Thank you!

Mike

Haven't checked this thread for a while, and it shows.. Like I missed the Kolibri post entirely (and I forgot your landing pad). And I agree that Kolibri is a must-have for the Ratte, so I'm glad you have one of those kits. With the range of these guns it needs a spotter plane and the Kolibri is perfect for that role. I was thinking about that when I opened this page, but hadn't thought of the Kolibri. I was wondering if the Fi-56 Storch could land on the deck.

I wouldn't want to be the pilot though, sitting on what's essentially a large, tracked "BOMB ME PLEASE!" sign.

But its still fun to come back to this thread and think about the (im)possibilities of this 'Tank'

Mike,

I was thinking a quick dio of the Norway gun position to diplay the turret.