Tamiya 1/35 Universal Carrier

[Deleted member 7181]

I wasn't going to bother with a build log for this as it's nothing special but the wife persuaded me.

Straight from the box, won't be going to town on the weathering, but another one to get under my belt for practice.

No box or sprue shots as I wasn't going to blog, but I started it on Monday morning and by the end of the day it was starting to take shape. Plenty of pin marks inside that I wasn't sure would be covered so got rid of them just in case.



Had a busy day Tuesday but managed to get a bit of bench time in the evening and splash some paint on it. Excuse the multi-colour effect, it's down to a mixture of LED and fluorescent lights in the shed.






Figures had a basecoat of Mr Color flesh tonight, then I started to paint the uniforms. Will need a few coats by the look of it! I've left the arms off the driver and gunner as I've read about fit issues. Will assemble them all together at the end to fit around the steering wheel etc.



Stuff that hangs from the back. Will see how they look once fitted but might get a bit of oil work.



And the main hull as it stands, mostly dry fitted. Again, apologies for the weird colour effects.

 

[PaulTRose]

you have a different version of this to mine........well, the figures are different

what colour did you do the tracks?

you might find that you cant get the driver in his seat once the front bit of armour is on....thats one problem ive heard of with the figures

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Paul, mine is the forced recon version. It comes with the original figures (in shorts, for Africa) and an additional sprue with these guys on.



Tracks haven't had much work yet, just a couple of brown washes to take away the shiny black plastic look.

And yes, I've heard about that too. For those that haven't the drivers hands are glued to the steering wheel, which is part of the front plate, so any slight misalignment at the shoulder and it won't go well. Plus the steering column fits through his legs so he has to go in first.

I'm hoping that by leaving his arms off I can fit the driver, then the front plate & wheel, then make the arms fit between the two. Sounds good in theory but we'll see.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice clean job on this Andy.....

 

[PaulTRose]

I'm hoping that by leaving his arms off I can fit the driver, then the front plate & wheel, then make the arms fit between the two. Sounds good in theory but we'll see.

i got the north african figures too but by european theatre figs are different............in 'at rest' poses, so the driver is kneeling , leaning over the front, and my radio operator is sat there with a water bottle in his hand

still dont know if im going to use them

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Tim

i got the north african figures too but by european theatre figs are different............in 'at rest' poses, so the driver is kneeling , leaning over the front, and my radio operator is sat there with a water bottle in his hand

still dont know if im going to use them

Ah, right. These guys look like they're in the thick of it, driver grappling the wheel, gunner is working the Bren, and the radio guy is frantically calling for help!

 

[Ian M]

I have built a couple of these and the build up well.
You are doing a great job Andy. And I agree, those figures are going to need another coat, or two. What are you painting them with?

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Ian.

I'm brushing them with Model Air dark earth. I'm sure it would have gone better with a darker primer but figured since the only flesh tone I had was Mr Color solvent, I'd spray that all over as the primer coat. 3 coats and they're looking much better though. A hint of the undercoat shining through here and there but it breaks up the solid block of colour look I think. I'm no figure painter so will be happy with "adequate"

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Coming on a treat. Typical Tamiya - not too many bits and good fit. Figures are nice and multiple coats is probably going to give you a better finish anyway so just take a bit of extra time.
Jim

 

[PaulTRose]

Thanks Tim



Ah, right. These guys look like they're in the thick of it, driver grappling the wheel, gunner is working the Bren, and the radio guy is frantically calling for help!

these are mine..............the african driver is grumpy about something lol

 

[Steve Jones]

So glad you blogged this build Andy. Its coming on really well. Figures are a real dark art. You will do well with these ones. The best advice PDiddy gave me on figure painting is to have the pupils to the left or right as though the figure is looking to the side. It avoids the rabbit in the headlights look. Good luck

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Jim & Steve, will remember that trick for the eyes.

 

[Jason Crausby]

Cracking job so far Andy,
Jason

 

[Tim Marlow]

Another trick for eyes at this scale is not to try to paint them, just use a flesh wash to generate shadows.....look at yourself in your avatar for an example. Your son’s eyes stand out, but yours don’t.....shading from a wash will emulate that look really easily....

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Tim!

I've tried the radio guy and he doesn't look too bad, for my beginner standards anyway, but may try that idea on one of the others.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

The 6 pounder turned up today (discussion here) so I made a start on that. Plenty of mould lines to clean up but it went together well enough.

That was until I connected it to the carrier. The front plate of the gun dragged on the floor. The detail is there showing how the bottom hinged up for transport but it was moulded in one piece. And thanks Tamiya for putting the injector pins on the detailed side rather than on the basically flat reverse.



So I lopped the bottom of and folded it up, replacing the two hooks with a simple styrene rod. Not perfect but at least it can be towed now.



And a quick dry fit on the back of the carrier. There's still some cleaning up to do before paint but I like how they look together.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Edited my post to say “flesh wash”......”flesh was” makes no sense LOL....

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
I really enjoy your builds mate and this is no exception.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Paul (or do you prefer Scottie?)

Might be dipping my toe into the diorama pool after this so I hope you'll follow that one too. I've been toying with an idea for months but wanted more practice first, then suddenly John slashes the price on the kits involved so I couldn't say no. Not sure I'm quite ready for a 3 vehicle scene as my first attempt but might as well jump in at the deep end At least it'll keep me occupied a bit longer than the builds I've been doing lately.

 

[Steve Jones]

Great work on the tow plate. It really looks the part now. Good luck with the wet stuff and base