justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hi all. I've started a bit of an epic journey with this one. It's my first tank so a completely different learning curve for me! I have loads of experience with aircraft and figures so hopefully those skills will come in handy with this one. I plan on building it into a dio using as many of the figures as possible to really bring it to life as regardless of how much i love the Churchill its hardly the most 'dynamic' looking tank! lol In terms of after market i've got hold of the eduard etch set for it and i'll also be using an RB productions replacement gun and as a little extra their excellent radio antenna mounts. Any suggestions/hints and tips are welcome throughout the build. So without further ado!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Prelim work has started on the turret, lower hull and drive sprokets/idlers..... All helped along with a cold pint of mild! This will be a slow build due to work commitments but i'll post as often as i can. More to come soon hopefully. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Grumpylee Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking good so far Is the mild for medicinal purposes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking good so far Is the mild for medicinal purposes? haha! yes entirely! provides inspiration...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking good keep it up just finished my first tank but with no after market bits so be interested in this build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vally G Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Hi Ben, I am afraid you'll need to save the RB aerial bases for another project as they are not right for a Mk.VII. The straight base should be taller than the RB one and the two other bases were bell-shaped, not funnel-shaped. Even if they did use the funnel-shaped bases, the RB disc that sits under the funnel is overscale. Check out this photo from the IWM: There are also excellent photos of a couple of Mk.VIIs in Leszek Moczulski's book Churchill Vol. I, published by AJ-Press, that show the bases very well. The Polish firm Panzer Art do a No. 19 British Antenna Set for AFV in resin (see 3D graphic below), which I highly recommend. You will of course need two sets, but any other British vehicle you build with a No. 19 radio will certainly benefit from your having some spare bases around. By the way, though they aren't shown, the set also comes with protective baskets for the straight bases and a couple of pieces of straight wire. A word of advice: If you do end up using the funnel-shaped base from the above set on another vehicle, you might want to remove the wingnut clamp. The bell-shaped bases for your Mk.VII did indeed have them, but this style of base had a spring clamp. Kind regards, Adam Edited March 2, 2014 by Vally G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hi Ben, I am afraid you'll need to save the RB aerial bases for another project as they are not right for a Mk.VII. The straight base should be taller than the RB one and the two other bases were bell-shaped, not funnel-shaped. Even if they did use the funnel-shaped bases, the RB disc that sits under the funnel is overscale. Check out this photo from the IWM: There are also excellent photos of a couple of Mk.VIIs in Leszek Moczulski's book Churchill Vol. I, published by AJ-Press, that show the bases very well. The Polish firm Panzer Art do a No. 19 British Antenna Set for AFV in resin (see 3D graphic below), which I highly recommend. You will of course need two sets, but any other British vehicle you build with a No. 19 radio will certainly benefit from your having some spare bases around. By the way, though they aren't shown, the set also comes with protective baskets for the straight bases and a couple of pieces of straight wire. A word of advice: If you do end up using the funnel-shaped base from the above set on another vehicle, you might want to remove the wingnut clamp. The bell-shaped bases for your Mk.VII did indeed have them, but this style of base had a spring clamp. Kind regards, Adam Bugger. Ok Adam thanks for the heads up. I think I'll use the tall one as it is as I'm not shelling out for more after market stuff. appreciate all the info though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Does anybody know? just forward of the commanders hatch is a piece of metal sticking up from the turret directly in front of one of the view ports. it looks roughly shaped like a house or sometimes triangular, what the devil is it?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vally G Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Hi again, Ben. It's a blade vane sight. Kind regards, Adam Edited March 2, 2014 by Vally G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Brilliant Adam. thanks mate. i hope i can do her justice, I've been looking at your builds and they're incredible. I'm inspired! Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Looking good there. This was my first armour kit (and I suppose it still 'is' my first armour kit- I never did get round to weathering mine before I moved on to more exotic and expensive stuff!) Couple of dead simple improvements you could make that won't cost much... 1) drill out the muzzles of the BESA machine guns. (think you can get brass ones, but hey- why spend the money!?) 2) use either plastic cement or Mr Surfacer (or tippex correction fluid if feeling cheap) to add a subtle cast texture to the turret sides (only). The top panel of the turret was plate so will be smooth. And there should be a welding bead where the two meet. Very fine plastic rod (or stretched sprue- cheaper!)- melted in with liquid cement serves quite well. 3) Lots of the extra bits on the Eduard etch (and in the Tamiya kit) were quickly dispensed with during use in theatre- mud guards, intake hoods etc being the obvious ones. On mine, I cut out the whole of the track guards on each side at the base of the turret- these often got dinged which then jammed the turret traverse. There are even pictures of Mk.VIIs post-1944 sporting absolutely no track guards at all! One accuracy issue- Tamiya mould 3 additional armour blocks on the sides of the intakes which I think I'm correct in saying were only fitted postwar, or at least sometime during 1945. As always with armour modelling- good to work from a photo of the specific tank. If you want to spend some wonga on all things to do with Churchills, check out these chaps. http://www.insidethearmour.com/ Looking forward to seeing progress. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john boy Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Hi, just joined the site and just finished this kit,really enjoyed it painting the crew was daunting I have a AFV club MkIII Churchill in the stash took the instructions out read them and had to lay down with a large scotch Terrifying I will post some pics if i can work out how to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Looking good there. This was my first armour kit (and I suppose it still 'is' my first armour kit- I never did get round to weathering mine before I moved on to more exotic and expensive stuff!) Couple of dead simple improvements you could make that won't cost much... 1) drill out the muzzles of the BESA machine guns. (think you can get brass ones, but hey- why spend the money!?) 2) use either plastic cement or Mr Surfacer (or tippex correction fluid if feeling cheap) to add a subtle cast texture to the turret sides (only). The top panel of the turret was plate so will be smooth. And there should be a welding bead where the two meet. Very fine plastic rod (or stretched sprue- cheaper!)- melted in with liquid cement serves quite well. 3) Lots of the extra bits on the Eduard etch (and in the Tamiya kit) were quickly dispensed with during use in theatre- mud guards, intake hoods etc being the obvious ones. On mine, I cut out the whole of the track guards on each side at the base of the turret- these often got dinged which then jammed the turret traverse. There are even pictures of Mk.VIIs post-1944 sporting absolutely no track guards at all! One accuracy issue- Tamiya mould 3 additional armour blocks on the sides of the intakes which I think I'm correct in saying were only fitted postwar, or at least sometime during 1945. As always with armour modelling- good to work from a photo of the specific tank. If you want to spend some wonga on all things to do with Churchills, check out these chaps. http://www.insidethearmour.com/ Looking forward to seeing progress. Will Hi will, some great advice there mate so thanks for that. I have drilled out the BESA barrels and started some etch work. As far as the track guards go, sod removing them, that's way too much surgery for my liking, and I can live with the inaccuracies as I'm not a massive rivet counter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 A bit of progress for you gents. The barrel and antenna mounts came today so I've had a bit of a session whilst the wives been at work. I have added the main gun (which is gorgeous) and done some etch work on the rear turret storage bin and antenna mount. I have never done this amount of bending and shaping with etch before, my only experiences have been with aircraft seatbelts which aren't all that bad, but this has been insane on the difficulty scales. it doesn't help not having adequate tools (I'm only using a scalpel and a bathroom tile to work on) so come pay day I'll be investing in a small shop "bug" hold and fold I reckon. I'll post up some more WIP shots shortly as soon as I've tranquillised my 2 yr old son who is seriously hampering my posting opportunities! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 So far so good mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Right! More WIP pics as promised... Photo etch is complicated! but getting there slowly. More to come soon. Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 looking good... if i move from German to Allied vehicles I may have to try a Churchill... let me see how i like a green A13 first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Have four on the go, so good luck Ben on yours. Before you ask, they are mothballed for a later date Looking good and nice touch with drilling out the MG. You can get them in brass in two pieces, but yours looks just as good once painted. Cheers foxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Looking good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Looking very neat. That barrel is a real beauty- much better than the plain ARMO one I have on my kit, and not much difference in price either. Looks like the etch is coming along well. I find that for folding longer lengths of brass an 'old fashioned' razor blade is quite useful, if a little by scary! Otherwise I just use a scalpel blade and tweezers like you do. Never have had a specialist jig, although I do accept they have their uses! I also find having a set of needle files on hand is quite useful because you can use them to achieve 90' angles on things like handles, or use them to roll curved pieces. Look forward to seeing it come along- By the way- if you break/lose any items on the etch drop us a line- I have a few bits left over on my sheet that I didn't bother adding as they would be obscured by weathering/stowage. Just ask! cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Looking very neat. That barrel is a real beauty- much better than the plain ARMO one I have on my kit, and not much difference in price either. Looks like the etch is coming along well. I find that for folding longer lengths of brass an 'old fashioned' razor blade is quite useful, if a little by scary! Otherwise I just use a scalpel blade and tweezers like you do. Never have had a specialist jig, although I do accept they have their uses! I also find having a set of needle files on hand is quite useful because you can use them to achieve 90' angles on things like handles, or use them to roll curved pieces. Look forward to seeing it come along- By the way- if you break/lose any items on the etch drop us a line- I have a few bits left over on my sheet that I didn't bother adding as they would be obscured by weathering/stowage. Just ask! cheers, Will Cheers Will! if i fudge up I'll be sure to come knocking on your door for spares! i have some needle files and hadn't even thought of using them so top shout there fella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Step Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Needle files and a metal ruler are your best friend with etch parts. Looks to be coming on really well though! On that kit does it have any interior detail? such as the gun and breach? Was thinking as the hatch is open you could do a little work inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Needle files and a metal ruler are your best friend with etch parts. Looks to be coming on really well though! On that kit does it have any interior detail? such as the gun and breach? Was thinking as the hatch is open you could do a little work inside. Step, No unfortunately it doesn't. I've already mostly constructed the turret now so trying to add any interior detail would be a serious ball ache so i won't be detailing inside. With the gunner figure sat inside the hatch i dont think you'll be able to see that much of inside any way so i can probably get away with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justaspitcrazy! Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) Hi all, Quick question. Any body got any suggestions on a paint as close to British olive green in acrylic, or whatever is a good match for a Mk.VII? Cheers in advance. Ben. *Bearing in mind I'll be doing a Normandy diorama... Edited March 7, 2014 by justaspitcrazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I don't know about acrylics but the Mike Starmer mix (2012 version) for SCC15 is 5 x Humbrol 150 Forest Green, plus 5 x 159 Khaki Drab, plus 2 x Humbrol 33 Black, or you could use White Ensign Models Colourcoats ARB19. Here's a link to more info, which is a bit out of date but useful. http://www.mafva.net/other%20pages/Starmer%20camo.htm And a link to the WEM website, https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/c/British+Army/236/1/ For acrylic mixes try looking here http://www.network54.com/Forum/47208/message/1252022924/The+complete+Mike+Starmer+Acrylic+Paint+Mix+Database! Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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