I bet that was "character building!"Well it's interesting to me Andy.
The last time I saw one of these in the flesh was at Borden on a recovery training course. It was sunk in a lake well over the towing eyes. Guess who had to go in and fit the winch rope ?
Oh, don't get me wrong Neil, I wasn't fishing for comments. Sorry if it came across that way.Me too Andy.
Don't judge by the number of replies, just check the views.
Thanks Andrew.Andy
That's coming on vey nicely. Love the adjusted stowage box. A vast improvement!!
Very well done.
ATB
Andrew
Guess who that 'one person' will be?Cheers Paul, it came in handy for this bit too.
This afternoon was wheels & tracks. It's a job I despise and I'd probably build more tanks if it wasn't for this stage, but there we go. I was really pleased to get it out of the way but then realised I've got it all to do again on the other one I don't know how others approach link & length tracks, but since I took pictures I might as well share how I do them.
After the wheels & rollers were built I cemented them to the suspension with the merest dab of TET, just enough to hold them in place. Note how one of the return rollers has an alignment pin to make it impossible to get the tracks in the wrong place & direction.
View attachment 480842
Tamiya provide a template for laying the track pieces out but in the past I found it hard to build them on their sides like that, and it left room for user error, so instead I put the pieces in order on a strip of masking tape and lightly cemented the joints. 19 pieces here.
View attachment 480843
After a few minutes, once the glue had started to take effect but was still pliable, I wrapped the lot around the wheels, adding the lower section too. Once it was all in place I went round the outer edges of each joint with more cement, taking care not to stick the links to any wheels.
View attachment 480844
I left this for half an hour while I went and had something to eat (chicken fajita wraps washed down with a fruity little red. Yummy )
The tracks had hardened up by this time so I carefully removed them. The minimal cement on the wheels meant I could just rotate them to crack 'em free, and everything slid off nicely. I then went around the track joints once again with TET and will leave the tape on overnight.
I'll then be left with everything in separate pieces which should help with the painting. I'll no doubt add a bit of damage to the rubber tyres before I get to that stage.
View attachment 480846
I'm probably teaching many of you to suck eggs, but if my method helps just one person out it'll be worth the typing.
Thanks Allen. I'm sure things will slow down quite a lot now that I'm on to the more fiddly stuff but I always like reaching the primer stage as it means my favourite bits are not far awayWow Andy, some really fine work going on with this Sir!!! I am a bit late to the party and looks like you have a good plan for the dio. You sure don't mess around at the bench with the progress you're making here!!!...
Prost
Allen
I'm far from an authority Doug but I hope it helps in some small way.Guess who that 'one person' will be?
My next build is armour with diy track links so any help is a bonus!!!!!!
Cheers Mark. It's been a few years since I used it and I remember why now lol.Good progress,tank wheels are always great fun. I have been using vallejo nato black for the tyres ,slightly greyer looking,looks a bit more realistic compared to the tyre black i think.
Thanks Andy. Don't get your hopes up too high but I'll give it a good crack.Blimey, that's coming really well !!
Superb stuff Andy..... This is all promising something a bit special.
Nice one!!
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