Martin's "Secure the position"

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Martin

Firstly, well done with the figure with the light machine gun - it's nice when a plan comes together isn't it?! I'm looking forward to seeing the growing army.

The etch looks superb and will make a noticeable difference, especially the grills. Seems quite a bargain too - on it's own a metal barrel in 1/35 can cost £10!

If you need any advice with the etch once you get to that stage you only need ask.

All the best mate

Paul

 

[bikerbart]

Nice one Paul...you must be able to read my mind. As ive never used PE before i will most definately need some advise on how it is "worked". Another first for me in this GB build which is great, and its something i really want to get right. There are some trickey looking bits so it will be a nervy but also exciting thing when i come to do it. What i will do Paul if ok with you, when i do come to using it, or just before is open a thread on "How to use PE" that way anyone else that has never used it will be able to pull on yours and others skills in its area.

Thanks so much for your continued support and advise that has been extremey benifical...all the best mate, Martrin

 

[Fenlander]

Nice looking PE Martin and not too tricky for your first go with it. Can I ask about the barrel? Is it round in section? Oddly, the tamiya barrel is not round, it has a very slight flattened shape. It doesn't look not round but it does feel an odd shape, have a feel at the kit part and you will see what I mean.

 

[bikerbart]

Hiya Graham, yep the aluminium one is round, i will have a look at the Tamiya one tomorrow as ive only just got in from model club, will let ya know mate, cheers

 

[noble]

Your figure is well done mate but i do agree that pastels are the way to go as far as weathering.... oh and i like the PE bits.

scott

 

[bikerbart]

Cheers Scott, much appreciated mate

 

[Fenlander]

Couple of tips re the T34 Martin. I have now added the tracks and a few things came to light that you may want to be aware of.

1) Do not glue the back engine cover or the the ball machine gun in place after you have screwed the top on to see what it looks like (I know you will) and spray/paint it up. You need to be able to take the top off. (see 4)

2) if you want a laborious but easier way of painting the road wheels, attach the small hub cap things but do not glue the wheel halves together. Spray or paint them up for the green and the tyres and then stick them together. trying to paint the tyres when glued up is a pain as you have the inner sides of the tyres to do.

3) The front idler wheel is mounted on an eccentric shaft in the rubber bushes. This means that the idler wheels are a tad floppy and can move quite a distance from the front road wheel to almost touching it by twisting it on the shaft. To fit the link and length tracks as described in the instructions, the front idler wheel must be almost touching the front road wheel. Make sure you do not glue the front idler or you may not get the tracks to fit as they should. While glueing the tracks together and letting liquid cement run onto the rims of all the wheels, this, when set, will secure the idler and it will stay put.

4) The reason for 1. You will have a real problem trying to fit the tracks if the upper hull is in place. Do as much painting as you can with the screws still accessible and the wheels off. Once you have the tracks on and painted, you can then add the top but leave the screws still accessible as it may be needed to mount the driver (?) before adding the top. One, because his shoulders and arms only just go through the hatch with lots of twisting about so it may be easier to blue tack him into the lower hull, place the top on loose and when you are certain of the position, glue him in place and replace the top.

The commander figure is designed to have his head pocking out from the port side of the large commanders hatch. The hatch will need to be glued in place when you have the commander figure assembled as you will ned to have the stumps of his legs on the plate that hangs under the turret and his right hand holding the top edge of the hatch, his left arm is bent along his belt line so that does not matter. If you look in the instructions for the figure pack, there is a line drawn on the commander figure representing the T34 top hatch.

Unfortunately, as the commander is to the port side of the hatch and it is a big space, you can see into the totally empty turret quite a bit. I will be getting around this by judicious positioning of one of the tank rider figures to make this void less noticeable. You could detail the interior of the turret if you like

 

[tr1ckey66]

Sorry, Martin...

Didn't get back to you about you're photoetch question.

I think because etch comes in such a variety of shapes and sizes it would be difficult to do a general tutorial on just the set you have. I think if it remains in your thread advice can be geared specifically at the task in hand. To give you an example of how this is quite a big subject, I would, for instance, solder parts for added strength. Soldering can be quite an involved subject and could quite easily have a tutorial in it's own right!

In preparation for the etch I would make sure you had:

Super Glue (gel type)

Super Glue accelerator

Scalpel with fresh blade

Some small pliers with flat faces (not serrated) - these will enable you to bend the parts accurately.

A cylindrical object you can use as a roller (small drill bits can be used) to impart a curved surface to the etch.

A soft surface you can roll the etch on to like a small rubber mat (I think a mouse-mat might even work).

These tools should see you right with this set. In some larger sets bending some of the parts is impossible without an-etch mate or similar tool, but I think you'll manage just fine with this list (you may not need some of these).

Hope this helps

Paul

 

[rogue-one]

hey martin. that 1/48 scale figure is brillant. really nicely done. it looks like the figure kits have some great sculpture. and what is this etch thing? is this extra detail bits for the tank that you buy separately? they look like a good buy.

 

[bikerbart]

Hiya Bobby.....photo etch sometimes comes with a kit included, however on this kit i had to purchase it seperately. It gives a finer, more crisp finish on really detailed areas of a model than plastic does, situations where you will often see it used is things such as ship's railings, car seatbelts, grill covers on armour, cockpits in aircraft etc etc. It is very dificult to sculpt these areas in plastic as fine as they should be in small scale so photo etch is used instead. Hope this helps mate, and thanks for the kind comments on the fig, all the best, Martin

 

[Cov1]

oooh PE parts and ali barrel, nice stuff mate.

Which type of Cryo glue you using if you dont mind me asking, and is gator glue any good?

Thanks in advance

Trying to get round to read as many posts as I can in the short time I have!

Ade

 

[bikerbart]

Hiya Ade buddy, i just use the thin CA glue...i put some (a tiny bit) in a seperate container (something like the lid off an old 35mm camera film container) and then apply iy using the tip of a tooth pic on really small parts, works fine, Have to say ive never used gator glue and dont know much about it so dont know if it does PE mate, sorry. All the best bud, regards Martin

 

[Ian M]

Gator glue works briliantly and was developed for PE use. Is sticks very well, but not instantly, so if you place it wronge, or drop it on the floor, you have time to adjust/remove befor the bond takes hold. An other good thing with it is it is not as brittle as CE. Being water based it is very easy to clean the excess off with a wet brush. A brush can also be used to apply it with. (try that with CE)!

I agree with the comments made earlier. big CE parts are best soldered up before glueing them in place. An other good thing to remember is to find an old tile or thickish glass to cut the CE from the trees. cutting on a soft surface WILL deform the part making it hard to fold up or get to lay flat.

Love the figures. Looks like you got a whole army on the go there!

Ian M

 

[bikerbart]

Brilliant post Ian, i never knew about Gator Glue so thankyou, im ganna order some from John on here

Also a brilliant tip about cutting the PE from the tree, ive been cutting on soft cutting mats and yes it does make life difficult (im now in the process of knocking a tile off the wall to use instead lol) Hope the Mrs dont notice lol. Never used a solder before, i will have to look into that?

Glad you like the figs mate, done some more reading for painting today!!!!! All the best, Martin

 

[spanner570]

Martin, I've been away for a while so I have missed a lot of progress on the G/Bs

Your idea and story line sounds great and the build is progressing nicely. The figures are looking good too.

I hope to be able to keep up with the progress of this, good luck.

Ron

 

[bikerbart]

Cheers Ron, great to see you back on ere buddy, hope all is good with you