Plasto Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Hi, i don't build much Armour but a while ago I made a start on the Tamiya 1/48th Crusader. I really like the 1/48 armour kits as they are nicely detailed and reasonably compact. I got the Crusader pretty much assembled in an afternoon and as with all things Tamiya the fit was flawless. Anyhow other things got in the way and I never got round to finishing the build.. I've elected to build another 1/48th tank the Tamiya IS-2 for a GB local to me . So I thought i'd dust off the Crusader and freshen up my limited skills with tanks.. I made a bit of an effort with it finishing off the build tracks and some small parts and I've begun the paint. Deciding to run with the Caunter Scheme.. Depending on what you read the introduction of the Crusader to North Africa possibly was a bit late for the Caunter Scheme to be applied. But the earlier versions of the tank with the MG turret might I suppose have been on the cusp of the change.. Either way the Caunter scheme makes for a colourful build so I went with it. I mixed the colours from Mike Starmer's Tamiya recipe's and had some fun masking and blowing in the colours. Here is where I've gotten so far.. Obviously still a good way to go with detail painting washes weathering etc.. However it did take the opportunity to scratch through to the base colour. Let me know what you think.. Cheers John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Nice! I built this kit a couple of years back and it just fell together. Would be nice if Tamiya up scaled this to 1/35th. Look forward to seeing this progress. Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 So far, so good. I really like the Crusader. Loads of bits and pieces on it. Lots of opportunities to get it dirty/dusty and bashed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Thanks for the kind words.. I've been progressing with the Crusader. I added some markings electing to paint on the IFF and Tactical marks. They were not to difficult to mask up. You can see I chipped through the paint while it was still soft. Once that had hardened off I set to work with some basic weathering.. After painting on the markings It had a couple of very well thinned Tamiya Buff / Desert Yellow mix which I built up on the lower side skirts to replicate dust. Then it got a oil wash of highly thinned burnt umber. i sealed that in with a flat coat of gunze clear. Added some X11 to the turret sides for the Serial number decals. Then I've done a few washes on the side skirts with a bit of streaking and some fuel stains and added a bit of silver pencil to some hinges etc to simulate wear and tear. It's been fun so far. All of this work now needs sealing in then I'll add a few more stains with some oils and perhaps a spot filter here an there before breaking out the pastels. Thanks for looking Plasto 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Here is where I ended up with the Crusader's weathering. Let me know what you think.. Cheers Plasto 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Looks really nice, the geometric scheme suits the angled rather modern-looking Crusader IMO. It's good to hear all the positive word on this kit, I've had one for years and keep thinking about passing it on to someone because I don't build much 1/48 armour, but now I'm glad I haven't. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 That looks good. Wish Tamiya would scale it up to 1/35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Lovely that. Got all the British vehicles in the Tamiya 1/48 range - must make a start soon . . . Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Vey nice indeed, well painted and weathered. It always looked ahead of its time to me with the shape of the turret. Not intended as a criticism, but you missed a bit, the inside of the Barrell is sand coloured, on a vehicle with this amount of weathering wouldn't it be a bit darker, maybe a touch of very dark grey? I didn't realise that Tamiya had a range of armour in 1/48. Il have to investigate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 very nice finish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 That does look nice! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Thanks for the kind words on my build much appreciated. Not intended as a criticism, but you missed a bit, the inside of the Barrell is sand coloured, on a vehicle with this amount of weathering wouldn't it be a bit darker, maybe a touch of very dark grey? You are correct the 2 pdr muzzle needs painting and weathering in, it also needs the antenna adding at HF length and the antenna base painting, the tools need adding as does the coax BESA barrel. So there is a bit more to do on it. It also probably needs a simple base with a accessory element for interest and context.. Cheers Plasto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Apologies for jumping in with my comment so soon, I should have realised it wasn't finished. I think the model stands up well on its own, as you say, just a simple base is all that is needed. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 That is very impressive work. I do have this same kit tucked away in my stash somewhere. Someday I'll come up with enough courage to try it. Thanks for posting. Bob H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Really nice work, I built one of these last year and I found it very enjoyable. Caunter scheme looks great on the crusader. I think there is someone out there making early crusader conversion kits- maybe I saw it on Track48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks for the kind words and feedback.. I have finished the main build. I have also begun work on a bit of a base for it. Feedback welcome.. Cheers Plasto 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 That looks good. Wish Tamiya would scale it up to 1/35. Revell did it 1/35th back in my youth. Dunno if Revell exist still? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 It looks really good. Are you using real dirt ? I'm just curious. Thanks for posting. Bob H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hi, The base is just a bit of hard board with some DAS air drying clay for the terrain. Once dry this got a coat of ova thinned with future as a seal. Then a coat of Tamiya buff. More PVA and then a good coat of seived garden dirt. Once dry I shook of the excess and then added some earth tone pastels blended with a soft brush... HTH Plasto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adt70hk Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Lovely job! weathering is very nicely done !! Nicely dirty but not overdone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hi, The base is just a bit of hard board with some DAS air drying clay for the terrain. Once dry this got a coat of ova thinned with future as a seal. Then a coat of Tamiya buff. More PVA and then a good coat of seived garden dirt. Once dry I shook of the excess and then added some earth tone pastels blended with a soft brush... HTH Plasto Thanks for the info. Once again, GREAT WORK !! Bob H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Starmer Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Nice build and correct colours but I hate to spoil the ship. Totally the wrong type of pattern, which is a great pity. This should be Caunter pattern which consisted of elongated triangles starting at a point on the rear of the hull, offset to the right and diverging out to the front corners. The scheme was never random slashes of colour across a vehicle. The official drawing for a large tank was with MTP 20 of 1941 repeated from a November 1940 MEGO. PM me via Matador Models website for a correct drawing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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