AFV Content

I like the strategy of painting the lower hull early on. I find it allows for weathering without too much in the way.

Love this! The weathering is excellent and like how you’ve got the colours so bright and vivid. Paul

Great job! And fair play for having the get up to come back to it. Paul

Coming together very nicely Roger. It won`t be long til she is fully together ready for some dirt? Simon.

Thanks John, I'm not sure I would want to do this again in a hurry, I did this one as a trial run in case I needed to do it on a Stug that I have planned to do later on, which is an interior build. I didn't want to try it on that without having tried it before hand. thanks for commenting Ed

@Bullbasket There's positive waves - I can't lose! I was thinking about CA to fasten it together as well as to attach it to the turret. My experience of soldering as suggested by @sardaukar is almost NIL.😔

You're right about it being detailed. It's looking good. John.

That's a really good looking little model. Looking forward to seeing it in paint. John.

Some of the Archer US AFV interior stencil sets include placards like "first aid kit" but these are probably not suitable for a bag, and IIRC were dry transfers hard to apply to anything other than a smooth surface. There are various red cross decal sheets available in different scales in sizes as small as 2mm. Try searching Google for "red cross markings 1/35".

@JackG apologies, I was mis-remembering the old debate on the subject. It would have been more correct to say that an instruction was apparently misinterpreted by some units. I'm sure it wasn't the only one, and it does seem to have been poorly worded. As for the dozers, yes the M1 dozer kit came separately and could fit any VVSS Sherman or Sherman based vehicle. As noted it was British practice not to mix M4 engine types in Regiments, preferably not in Brigades. Fireflies in Sherman III units being the most obvious exception. So I would expect to see them fitted to radial, diesel and A57-engined types. It is perhaps notable that the UK gave some M4A4-based dozers to US forces for Operation Dragoon and the M4A4 was chosen as the basis for the Crab, perhaps underscoring its technical superiority. The twin-diesel installation was apparently problematic for clutch balancing, which needed regular attention so that the 2 engines operated equally. I can see this being exacerbated by adding the stress of dozing. The A57 multi-engine installation does not seem to have had the same issue because it had a single clutch with the engines geared together rather than being separately clutched. Also perhaps important to note that tank dozers were not intended for earthmoving and combat engineering tasks. They were intended primarily for mobility support tasks like obstacle clearing, including disabled vehicles. In US Tank Battalions the dozer was often fitted to 105mm CS tanks in Company or Battalion HQs. Few British units had those, mostly in Italy - although Canadian units had a few in NW Europe - but I have yet to see one as a dozer. I don't believe that the Regimental establishment was increased by a dozer tank but rather that the dozer kit was fitted to an existing SHQ or RHQ tank. As for the large vs small hatch M4A1 debate, M4 Composites are often mis-identified as large hatch A1s from the front. The glacis profile is very similar and the angled open hatch position is identical. The "shoulders" where the cast glacis joins the fabricated hull are much squarer on the Composite. The only possibility for a large hatch A1 in British service is a stripped DD tank, which will have other clues. Identified large-hatch 75mm A1s in US service in NW Europe are stripped DDs. US DDs were built roughly 50:50 large and small hatch but their allocation seems unrecorded: the system regarded them as being the same. The recovered memorial US DDs on both sides of the Channel at Slapton and Port-en-Bessin are large-hatch and the 5 tanks from the 741st which landed at Omaha were large hatch, suggesting the US may have prioritised them for themselves. But mentions suggest that Fort Garry Horse had some.

Thanks Mike, Do you have pictures of the sheets by chance? There are several I may be interested in. Also sending an email but thought others might be interested in pics. Phil

I wouldn’t worry about it too much, apart from the errors it is a wonderful kit and far surpasses the Modelcollect kits. I am too much of a purist when it comes to Russian armour for my own good sometimes, the hull is perfect for a T 90A so I will use that and find something else for the turret. The level of detail is the best of any kit so far. The 3D canvas is disappointing as there is no plastic replacement in the kit, but you could add it from a material of your choosing, I will certainly get another for parts.

The RAC mk1 tank helmet looks a likely contender again first issued 1944, plus it had the regular type liner.. Shape is very similar to the paratrooper version.

3 days? Wowsers, that's very impressive! 👏 Great finish .... looks well used! 👌 Keith 😁

Thanks,.it's good practice for other kits....

Whatever you use to paint them, give them a thorough cleaning with some sort of de-greasing agent like washing up liquid or alcohol or vinegar or whatever. Getting paint to stick to soft tracks is tricky anyway, but it there's any grease/soil on the surface no paint will stick and it will flake off if they are flexed.

Hi, Hetzer TAKOM wip : tracks and wheels...

Hello all, first, I apologise for tonight's photos, I seem to have got the lighting too bright this time. With the radiator hoses and the four-part exhaust fitted, the chassis and transmission components are complete. The wheels have been added which helps to make the assembly look much better. So, now I can concentrate on the body. I have been dabbling with the colours and decided to do both the red and also the green with yellow stripe versions. I should be able to interchange these bodies on the chassis until I get a second chassis built. Interestingly, the construction of the cab internals is quite different from any other vehicle kit that I have built. On this model, the internal side panels are attached to the floorpan first, giving a capsule effect similar to model aircraft. This is my attempt to do a dry-fit of the body over the capsule, just to give an impression of the layout. I shall continue to paint the inside of the cab before starting on the assembly of the capsule, which will require the fitting of the dashboard, pedals, gear lever and steering wheel. cheers, Mike

You're really moving thru this kit.

Wow! Those wear effects are superb! 👌 The interior is looking very good .... 👍 Keith 😁

Hello. Apologies for the abbreviationosis I couldn't resist. Please read 1/72 IS-3 Out of the two boxes, spring kick up the armour. This was started in a GB in first lock down and got quite far being ready to paint: I picked it up last summer and got it painted in Mr.Color C511 4BO <1947 and assembled: These are the good bits. The other bits were also good till I put the tracks on: The tracks are pretty nice but sufficiently un-stretchy to have demolished the first, un-reinforced, suspension. Pretty disheartening. I've recently got a bit of inspiration from the current Tiger GB2 and have bought another to try again. I was able to salvage the bottom plate of the hull. I was glad because the top of the front plate comes molded to the bottom of the glacis and that took a lot of fixing. I have learnt, at least, that there is absolutely no point in painting the wheels separately. The new hull sides are glued to the old bottom and front and need a bit of smoothing in. Alan

After the build I decided that the Dodge needed a base. I've had an idea for some time to do a display base of a mountian road with a rocky cliff edge. A bit of polystyrene was cut to size, covered with Polyfilla (stucco for those across the pond) and painted The figure is a Miniart US MP with arms from a Tamiya 88mm artillery figure, yep that's the one, the ancient figure set that came with the 88MM gun.

thx PeteH1969 try SD AFV, they are cute 🥰 touchup camo & month, replace the eye with original decals 🤗 teapot shape body/chassis🤣

I am not suggesting anything of he sort. Ex works SCC.2 would look matt. Any sheen would occur on areas constantly rubbed by clothing in normal use.

Great model, great base. Inspiring stuff.