Dave Ward's Meng 1/35 FT-17 & extras

Dave Ward

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Mr Benson has already blogged a FT-17, but mine is the cheaper boxing, without engine etc, and a riveted turret.....meng ft-17 contents.jpg
Nice mouldings - including a Hotchkiss m.g
hotchkiss.jpg
Meng went to a lot of trouble, moulding the roadwheels in one piece
roadwheels.jpg
Two schemes, one American, one Chinese, neither of which I will be using
schemes.jpg
As add-ons for a small diorama....
crew box instr.jpg
The crew figures look OK
crew.jpgNot sure about the motorbike wheels, thoughmbike.jpg

All of this will be mounted, somehow on this cobbled street section
cobbles.jpg
Construction will be starting shortly.....................
Dave
 

Si Benson

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Hope you enjoy the build as much as I did Dave, without the interior it goes together quite quickly:thumb2:
 

Dave Ward

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Finally got back to the bench - I've had a few health problems that have laid me low, but I've made a start on the FT-17. I've gone out of sequence of the instructions, and started with the suspension, as wanted it all to dry before going any further
return rollers.jpg
Return rollers - each consisting of 9 plastic bits & 1 metal pin!
bogies.jpg
Road wheel bogies - all the bits at the bottom make up the two assemblies at the top ( same bits either side ).
Some of the parts had ejector pin marks that needed cleaning up, so the wheels would fit neatly clean-up.jpg
Meng would have you assemble the bogies so that the roadwheels can rotate, but I cannot see any reason you would want to, it makes assembly very difficult ( & fragile ). Anyway, the wheels are fixed, but the bogie mount beams are moveable.
So far, fit has been good, but rather fiddly, due to the small pieces. I'm surprised at the clean up on parts so far, I don't associate this with Meng, at all
Dave
 

Jim R

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Hi Dave
Looks well detailed but more clean up needed than there should be. Sprue attachment points look a bit heavy on some pieces. If you get the motor cycle frame off in one piece you'll have done very well. You look to have made a good start.
Hope you're feeling better.
Jim
 

Dave Ward

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A little more holding my breath, and the left hand suspension is assembled, just a few bits of PE to be added - the right hand will have to wait until tomorrowlh suspension 01.jpglh suspension 02.jpg
The roadwheels & bogies are hardly visible, and will become even less, when the tracks are added.
I took up my extra sharp sprue cutters, and very carefully extracted the motorbike frame
bike frame.jpg
in one piece! phew - that's enough for one day - back to bed :sleeping:
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Both suspension assemblies completed - not sure why the PE bits couldn't have been made of plastic.................both suspensions.jpg
The internals and floor pan assembled - in the top range model, there are an engine + other bits added, but detail stops at the drivers seat in mine.floor pan .jpg
Other minor details prepared, the tail skid, and the main suspension springs - not sure about these 'working' springs - probably I'll make it all solidskid & springs.jpg
That's it for the day
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Very good session today, the bits seemed to fly together - excellent fit & a minimum of clean up. The hull is more or less complete, the front hatches are left off, so I can paint the drivers area..................
drivers cab.jpgassembly 01.jpgassembly 02.jpg

The riveted turret is 8 separate flat sides - tricky little assembly to get all pieces to join the top and bottom platesturet assy .jpg
The front gun mount plate is left off at the moment - I can't decide whether to use the 37mm cannon, or the Hotchkiss m.g.
I've just about reached the stage of priming - I've got a set of AK French WWI AFV colours for the final camo finish
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Last few details added, and the outside & inside primed. The interior of the turret, and the crew compartment have the white basecoat addedprimed 01.jpgprimed 02.jpginside primed.jpg
I'll have to decide which colour to use as basecoat - 'Milky Coffee' looks to be the lightest ( yes, that's what it's called ). I'm going to use the Hotchkiss m.g. in the turret - as Mr Benson used the 37mm cannon!
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Hull and turret basecoated with 'Milky Coffee'. I'm sure that should be 'Café au lait' but that's what AK call ithull basecoated.jpg
I'll leave this overnight to really dry, then green, and red/brown camo will be applied, by brush, as it's only a small model & masking would take more time than doing it by hand.
The tracks clip together ( some better than others ), 32 links a side, but you seem to get quite a few sparesTRACKS ASSY.JPG
Legs and torsos..............bodoes.jpg

And, that motorbike, a real b****r to assemble - the parts are small and thin - not sure about the wheel spokes - maybe they'll look better under paint
mbike assy 01.jpg
No real problems so far, only fat fingers & tiny parts!
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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The tank is essentially finished, just the tools to add, before I start to throw dirt at it. The tracks were a good fit, 32 links a side, as per instructions - I ran liquid poly into the joints after I'd fitted them, to keep them snug.prewet 01.jpgprewet 02.jpg

The crew have been assembled - without heads, and I've started a hunt for my nearest to 'horizon bleu'. I'll probably mix up a bit - I'm not buying another paint pot, just for their trousers - anyway, I bet they were pretty dirty after bouncing around in the tank, or riding a motorbike!primed crew.jpg
Isn't it amazing how primer shows up the mould lines?
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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I've decalled the tank - such as they are & started a bit of a wash...............
decalled & wash begin.jpg
A long way to go on that!
Now, that motorbike - assy mbike.jpg
This is one of the fiddliest assemblies I have ever completed! 27 tiny parts - not very clear instructions, and fat fingers! I managed to get the parts off the sprue without breakage ( a miracle on it's own ). Assembling them & getting them straight ( that saddle looks wonky, now! ) was a real struggle, and it nearly ended up in the bin several times - anyway, assembled & primed
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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I've managed to find the resin cobbled street section I intend to use as base ( I'd tidied it away! ). This will be the layout...........layout.jpg
At the moment, I'm finding it difficult to sit down & paint the figures - especially the heads ( still on the sprue ). I'll have to find a way to fasten the bits down, probably stubs of wire into drilled holes. Conscious of the 11th fast approaching..........
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Health issues have interfered with benchtime, but at least I have managed to finish the tank,
washes don't need concentration, or steady hands!
tank fin 01.jpgtank fin 02.jpg
With the nights getting longer, I'm going to have to try and move my benchtime to late morning, as opposed to afternoon. At the moment I'm not sure about finishing the figures, it'll depend on how things go in the next few days...........
Dave
 

Dave Ward

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Sadly the figures have defeated me - my hands are just not up to face painting. It's frustrating, I know what I want to do, but, I can't get the fingers do the tiny movements I need! The tank is finished, and in the completed GB folder.
The Meng model is superb - no problems at all. The motorbike is a real pig to assemble, and the spokes are well overscale - PE would solve this.................bike fin.jpg

All in all, a disappointing end to what I thought was going to be a nice diorama. It's brought home to me yet another thing I can't do now, that I could a few years ago.
Dave
 

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The only good thing about getting old is that it's better than the alternative.

Pete
 
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