Arc's Higgins

[Arcwelder]

Placeholder for now, but I'm going to make the 1/72 LCVP, a kit that has many good points and quite a few not-so-good points.

Fun awaits.

[Arcwelder]

Here we go

Boxart



Hull all in one piece, which is a plus



Other stuff



And moar stuffs, including beach obstacles.. not gonna get used on this one.



Complicated rope action for the ramp.. not going to happen on this one: it'll be empty and on its way back to USS Samuel Chase.. decals for same included



The guy who drew the figures in Revell instructions (rightly) gets a lot of abuse.. seems like he went to the same Art School as the person Airfix/Heller hired for this job



But then...



"Boy, you look a lot like your picture...."

See what I mean about the less-good bits of this model?

Anyway, this should be a quick n' easy build (famous last words) .

More as it happens

[TobyC]

Interesting choice. How does it compare with the Airfix one?

[Arcwelder]

I believe it's exactly the same. Unless I'm sorely mistaken Airfix and Heller developed this model together?

[TobyC]

I believe it's exactly the same. Unless I'm sorely mistaken Airfix and Heller developed this model together?

Just checked on Scalemates and you're correct although the latest Airfix is a new tooling.

[gnomemeansgnome]

I have the Airfix Higgins and it turned out quite nice if I do say so myself. This one looks pretty cool too, except from the Michelin Men figures.

[Arcwelder]

OK, so after a week of neglect, did some actual work on the Higgins today. It's not a complex kit , definite Blitzbau potential.



I'm going to run some monofil to simulate the cables for the ramp, not interested in having it as a working feature.

Awful blob people getting some paint, but if they look really bad then they can go live in the spares box



LHS is, of course, out of US Ghost Grey, so I'm using Hu 126 which, being satin, is taking aeons to dry. Oh well.

[Arcwelder]

'Iggins.. nearly there

[Arcwelder]

I believe the correct expression rhymes with "Clucking Bell"...




Gave the Satin paint a full five days to cure, assumed it would be fine to hit it with a quick spray of acrylic matt from a rattlecan to tone it down. And this is the result.

Five days to get this stripped off and repainted? I can do it.. I hope..

[Arcwelder]

Most of the crud is off (the worst parts are in the hardest to reach areas, of course) and I've given it a lick of acrylic grey to see how it looks.. this one will likely be finished on time but may look its best if you squint...

[Old_Tonto]

Nightmare! What do you think went wrong?

[Arcwelder]

I think the satin hu126 hadn't fully cured, despite getting five days to do so, hence the reaction with the acrylic matt varnish. My bad. I've had it happen before with matt enamels, so gave it what I thought was enough time. Lesson learned.

[TobyC]

It might sound silly but it does look like it has gone very rusty. Might be worth using that method again should you want that effect
On a more serious note hope it works out alright in the end.

[Arcwelder]

Heh, true, that! Shame the Higgins was made of wood or that would have been a handy "out"

[TimJ]

Shame about the paint. I hope it turns out OK second time round.