Andrew's 1/35 North Africa Vignette (SimonT Tribute GB)

adt70hk

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Good evening all

So I managed to get decals on at the weekend and in doing so the modelling Gods kicked me where no man should be kicked.....:fearful::crying:

The kit offered five different marking options but I was left with only one given the the DAK service and my chosen camo scheme. The destructions were not very clear on placement and although the box art had that set on, I thought I'd check it out online.

I found one photo of a tank from the unit, which supported the box art....so far, so good.....

And then I found a picture of the actual vehicle......

You will recall I hacked off the field modification stowage box from the rear left, as that was taken from a captured Pz II and was not a standard fit on Pz IIs.....

Well it turns out that the captured Pz II was the one I was going to use the markings for....never mind I will just have to pretend the box was a modification after my representation of it! ;) In any case, it was also a good test of my skills that worked out reasonably well..

Although the picture wasn't very clear on what markings had definitely been applied, I went with the destructions. As you'll see though the turret looks a bit crowded and so I had to take some liberty with the placement. Then it dawned on me that all of Tamiya's decals are oversized - the red 'R' in particular is about 50% bigger than the real thing but I had to work with what I had.

Obviously this is being depicted as a tank that has seem some use, if not being a complete wreck. I therefore scuffed the decals up a bit by rolling a round 2mm needle file over them, although one side worked out better than the other. I'll obviously calm them down a bit more at the weathering stage.

I'm going to have a go at doing some tracks for the front next.

ACW as usual and all the best.

Andrew

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An example from the same division....

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The actual tank...

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My rendition...

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adt70hk

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Hi all

So I'm having a test crack at the Bronco tracks.

Each side will require 108 links......fortunately you get 20 spare links in addition to the 216 for the tracks. I'll use some of these spares to go on the front rather than use the kit supplied piece.

Initial impressions are reasonably favourable, with minimal flash and what there is, is not visible with the naked eye. They articulate ok so far - albeit I've only completed 4 from each side so far.

ACW as usual.

Andrew

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adt70hk

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Nice progress Andrew, those indy links look fiddly, but worth it.:thumb2:
Thank Graeme.

They're actually not quite as bad as they look. As I've only done 8 I've not quite worked out the best way to approach them. They do at least click together quite positively - the one online review I'd found reported they fell apart quite easily but so far so good.

Thanks for stopping by.

Andrew
 

adt70hk

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Hi all

So the first of a couple of minor updates.

The tracks for the front are now complete and on. As well as the 216 you need for the tracks, you get 20 spares, so I used five spares from each side, leaving another five from each side in the event any snap during the track construction.

I tried creating my own enamel rust washes from some leftover enamel paints I have as an experiment, the first one worked quite well, the second less so but I can hide the worst of it under some dust/sand.

ATB.

Andrew


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adt70hk

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Me again....

And now for the stowage. I bought a set of Legend stowage nominally specifically for a Pz II.......and wish I hadn't.

Can't say I've heard of this brand before and to say there was a lot of tidying up is an understatement - not to mention some of it was unsuable......:sad:

In hindsight I should have gone for a couple of generic sets from someone like Value Gear - better quality and more for my money. And maybe some plastic jerry can sets too. C'est la vie....

There is at least far more stowage than I will need for the tank, which does help with an idea I've had for the vignette/diorama. I gave it a quick going over will rattle-can primer this afternoon ahead of an AB session tomorrow.

ATB and ACW as usual.

Andrew

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The offending item.....

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As you can see quite a lot of waste to cut off..... :surprised:

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More waste than actual finished pieces.....:surprised::sad:

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All primed - the light makes it look a bit lighter than it actually is.

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Graeme C.

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That's a lot of waste Andrew, a lot of resin to cut & the dust is nasty stuff, don't breathe it in.
 

adt70hk

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That's a lot of waste Andrew, a lot of resin to cut & the dust is nasty stuff, don't breathe it in.
Graeme

Indeed it was. I wore a dust mask given how much there was.

ATB.

Andrew
 

adt70hk

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Hi all

So I've just about finished the stowage, although looking back at at the photo, now I think I will do a bit of chipping on them to make them more used looking. Painted using a mix of Vallejo Model Colour, Revell and Humbrol acrylics, and even Humbrol enamel on a couple of pieces(!)

I'm not going to use all of it for this vignette as it will overload the vehicle but I thought I might as well paint it all in one go, seeing as how I had the paint out.

This stowage set really has been something of a let down. You will notice that the jerry cans have no handles or lids. This is because they were moulded separately and are very fragile, meaning a number broke in the pack or were impossible to cut off from the moulding blocks without breaking.....:crying::crying:. I don't know if this is standard Legend production techniques but I'll have a long hard think before I use them again.

I nearly threw the jerry cans away but I'll cover them in some cloths/tarpaulin to hide the omissions, so they can still be used, I have ordered some more from John to make up for the loss.

The poor thought that went into the moulding of the handles is all the more disappointing when you consider the detail they got on some of the pieces (see below).

There is one item I don't know what it is, if someone can let me know.

ACW as usual.

Andrew

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What is this? There are two in the set. (sorry for the blurry picture)

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Allen Dewire

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Morn Andrew,

I've been absent for a while, but have been following your great work on this project. Fantastic job Sir!!!...

The cases in the pic appear to be for carrying stick grenades (Potato Masher's). Check out Tamiya's German weapons kit on Scalemates and you will see them in the set.

Prost
Allen
 

Jim R

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Hi Andrew
Glad you sorted out the markings and that the tracks work OK - they certainly look rather good. Stowage looks good. Legend stuff is usually fine although being resin there are always casting blocks to clean off with the problems of resin dust and also resin is brittle and so thin bits just break - like the jerry can handles.
Jim
 

adt70hk

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Morn Andrew,

I've been absent for a while, but have been following your great work on this project. Fantastic job Sir!!!...

The cases in the pic appear to be for carrying stick grenades (Potato Masher's). Check out Tamiya's German weapons kit on Scalemates and you will see them in the set.

Prost
Allen

Allen

No problem at all. I know all too well that life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of the hobby!

Thank you very much indeed for the support - coming from you I will take that as a real compliment. I have enjoyed it but as always wish I had been able to get more done in the time available.

Thanks for the tip on the grenade cases - something else I've learnt as part of this build.


Hi Andrew
Glad you sorted out the markings and that the tracks work OK - they certainly look rather good. Stowage looks good. Legend stuff is usually fine although being resin there are always casting blocks to clean off with the problems of resin dust and also resin is brittle and so thin bits just break - like the jerry can handles.
Jim

Thanks Jim. I was expecting some casting blocks but the volume of the waste took me by surprise and yes resin is very brittle - just a shame they dint find a way of protecting it in the bag a bit but it's not been completely wasted.

The track links are working out very well so far - between us my son and I have completed six sections of 10 for each side today, so only 48 more per side to go! Although they only clip together they generally seem to be holding up well but of course assembling the full run will be the test!



Steve, thanks for the images, much appreciated.


Thanks again gents and all the best.

Andrew
 

adt70hk

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Paul

Thank you very much, much appreciated.

Andrew
 

adt70hk

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Morning all

So I'm now on holiday until the 6th April........:smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::smiling::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

So I've been quietly working on cutting off 216 individual track links from the sprues........108 per side

I finished that a couple of days ago and discovered in the process that rather than have 20 spare links, I had around 80, so clearly something went very wrong in the packing process!!

So last night I tried to test fit the tracks and discovered two 'problems'......you only need 100 links per side (not that bad, spares count now c. 100) - however, the second is that the links are not robust enough to stay joined in long lengths even though they do articulate quite well.....:disappointed:

Suffice to say I was on the verge of binning them but I resisted and put them to one side until this morning.

In the end I solved the problem by laying some 2mm Tamiya tape over the run, running TET along the whole length, letting it dry for 5 minutes and then it bending around the wheels, with tape to hold it place. Success.

I've corrected the minimal sag a bit since the last photo but you get the idea.

ATB.

Andrew


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adt70hk

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Thanks Paul. Glad I persevered too!

Another update below.

Andrew
 

adt70hk

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Hi all

So I got the second set of tracks bent. This went better than the first pair, which is good because that is the side likely to be facing the front of the dio. :smiling:

I took the decision to glue the free ends together on both tracks. I know it sounds a bit daft but because this kit was built with a motor in mind, the wheels, idlers and sprocket are held firmly in place with black poly caps, so they could rotate. This means no glue is required and so I can remove and replace them at will, with no ill effect.

Once the tracks are finished I can therefore slip the idler and sprocket inside the tracks before mounting, slip the track over the return rollers and road wheels and press them home - simples!! At least that's theory.....:cold-sweat::cold-sweat:

They might need a touch of glue on top of each return roller to hold them in place, as they're quite 'springy' but that's not a biggy.

ACW as usual.

Andrew


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