I have recently received (thanks to Fernando at AK Interactive) some paints , a DVD and weathering products for ships so having never built a ship before I thought I would try my first ever model ship and blog the progress with everyone here . I have on order a Dragon Z-39 destroyer in 1/350 scale

I also have a heap of aftermarket goodies on order too but before I start that I want to finish my current project which is a Tamiya Grandma goat. Here are some photos of where I am up to 

The Tamiya kit is very nice , if a bit basic on the detail , no doubt the aftermarket companies will provide update sets , I added the fire extinguisher to the dash sill and the ammo box armor , it was typical that gun trucks and APC's used either empty ammo boxes loaded with dirt or sandbags as added mine detection in Vietnam so why not the goat ?  

For the ammo boxes , to add some variation I used various shades of Olive drab from AK131 Olive Drab Color set which contains six different shades of olive drab so can be used to depict different age of ammo boxes , the same technique can be used for example to add some variation to a truck load of Jerrycans .

The Grandma goat is going into a Vietnam diorama with MecModels lovely Conex container , the kit is resin with just 7 parts , they fit together perfectly . 

You may notice the roof is not glued on , this is so I can load the conex with loads and loads of MecModels boxes . If you model the Vietnam era , then you would be wise to bookmark the MecModels webpage , they are a small cottage industry that offer simply some of the best Vietnam accessories , from decals , signage , soda and beer bottles to some superb scenery pieces for either firebases to vietnam era civilian buildings .

 The Conex has the option of either open or closed doors , if you look through Vietnam era photos , you will see these conex's were often incorporated into firebase defenses , gun slots & doors were cut with Oxy acetylene and then the whole thing was covered in sandbags

 You may notice the scuff marks of different colors on the sidewalls , this was commonplace when shipping containers get transported during shipping .

I have already weathered the interior which just needs the load of supplies that will be being carried out and loaded into the grandma goat .

More progress on this build to follow soon .