Capistrano Island Command

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History of Capistrano Island
Sector 1 - Command HQ
Sector 2 - Cove and Boat Facilities
Sector 3 - Airbase
Sector 4 - The Barracks
Sector 5 - Fire Services
Sector 6 - Bomb Disposal/Hazmat
Sector 7 - Training Facilities
Sector 8 - Tac Med Unit
Sector 9 - Armory and Quartermaster
Sector 11 - TOP SECRET REVEALED!
Sector 11 - What is Anomaly 26F?
Sector 11 - The Mission, OPERATION DARK PORTAL
Sector 11 - OPERATION DARK PORTAL PHOTOS CONTINUED
Sector 11 - OPERATION DARK PORTAL PHOTOS CONTINUED
Sector 11 - The End of OPERATION DARK PORTAL
Mainland Support Operations - Undercover
The Girls of Capistrano Island
Story of the Dragon Pup Aircraft
Photo Album - Dad's WWII Pics
World Trade Center/Pentagon Tribute
Flash Force in Afganistan: Operation Enduring Freedom
Vintage Iron Knight tank and Kitbash
Building a 1/6 Vickers Mk VI tank
Building a Type 97 Te-Ke Tankette
Building a 1/6 scale Bomb Disposal Robot
Marder III - Sunny Smile Tank Conversion
Research and GI Joe Links
My USDOC Uniform Page
Building a Type 97 Te-Ke Tankette

From a Sunny Smile Tank

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BRONZE AWARD WINNER IN THE ACTION FIGURE MILITAIRE INTERNATIONAL 1/6 SCALE MILITARY COMPETITION FOR 2001

To see the entries in the contest click here:

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First I cut down a Sunny Smile tank. Here is a picture of the finished cut down tank next to another Sunny Smile tank.

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The cost and availability of large styrene plastic sheets makes every piece valuable. I make cardboard templates of each piece before I cut any styrene. Once I get a good fit, then I move on to styrene. The dog was not neccessary to the model but I highly recommend one.

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Here the basic shape is taking place. The turret is added using the bottom of a large family sized pickle jar.

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Details were added, muffler, screen, hatches, rivets glued on (I used 3mm doll eyes, 144 for about $1.49), headlight and turret top was cut out and inverted for the hatch. I bought a door knob wall protector for the bottom part of the hatch. You can see the frame of the gun opening here.

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Not a great picture, but if you look carefully, you can see the cannon has been installed. I ran a pin thru the sides so the gun does elevate. I also added a breech and other details to the gun.

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Here is my Te-Ke after construction. I have already put the base coat of green on it and all is left is to apply the camo scheme and markings. Note the muffler screen is off to the right. I made it removable for painting.

That's it. Start to finish took ten days. I could have done more interior detail, but stopped at making the turret interior and some hatch interior details. This was a fun project and I have a Te-Ke tankette that is about 1/7th scale, just under the right size for a true 1/6th vehicle.

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Finished pics of my tankette. It may seem way to small, but look at the wartime photo of the same tank below. This tank was so small it only had a two man crew.

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Still a work in progress, these are my Imperial Japanese Army troops. I still need to do various modifications, and add a commander and a tank crewman as well.

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