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M5 Allied Halftrack – PSC 1/72 +++COMPLETED+++


BIG X

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I’ve been feeling a little ‘low’ lately and in need of a break from work – to try and get my modelling mojo back on track.

I had 5 days holiday left and as we can’t take time off work in November and December this is the last week available before Christmas.  So here we are – on another rainy day in October.

As I’m not feeling ‘at the top of my game’ (which isn’t exactly high anyway) at the moment, I didn’t want to attempt anything too difficult – just in case I ‘lose the plot’ and I only have a few days to spare - so I thought it was time to have a play with this...

 

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I bought a load of 1/72 AFV stuff back in August to hopefully go with a vintage Airfix Pontoon Bridge I bought on a whim.  These kits are very simplified and you actually get 3 kits in one box – which with my meagre skills is a definite bonus.  Here’s how simple they are…

 

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…and here are the instructions…

 

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I haven’t built any ‘amour’ before.  I have done a couple of 1/48 trucks – but that’s it – so I’m hoping some more knowledgeable folk might be able to point me in the right direction along the way.

As I said the kit is very simplified and here is what the ‘real thing’ looks like…

 

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...here we go - wish me luck :)

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The last couple of months have been a bit ‘weird’ – I have had all the enthusiasm in the world to come on here and trawl the internet for inspiration – but no will whatsoever to dab a drop of glue or spray any paint.

 

I have been doing a bit of research on this project though and @badger has been very helpful with advice on paint colours for Allied AFV’s.  With this being a ‘lend lease’ machine it would most likely have been US Olive Drab.  I did have a fair few ‘greens’ to choose from…

 

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…fortunately @badger has a lot of patience and sent me a sample board with various colours to match against my spoons…

 

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its amazing how the silky sheen of ‘raw’ Vallejo Air paints change as you move them round in the light – compared to flat matt paints.  It’s a bit annoying really– but I eventually settled on these colours as matches…

 

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...anyway - time to actually get some work done.

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2 hours ago, FrancisGL said:

Wonderful trick of the spoons ..."100% scientific method", because I would not think of me before ... lol?, really something so simple and so useful ...

Cheers mate :D

100 spoons - ASDA - £1

I did consider false nails - you can get these...

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64-UV-gel-Nail-Art-Acrylic-Tips-font-b-S

 

...a bit more professional looking - but pricey too.

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1 hour ago, Lawzer said:

I built one of those snap fix kits - a hurricane - number of parts don't matter a damn!! :) 

I need a mojo boost - I'm not proud ;)

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It looks to me like the little ‘windows’ – with armoured sliding bits for the cab area - appear ‘open’ – but are filled solid – so I’m going to cut them out.

 

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The plastic seems thinner than the rest of the kit – so I guess this is an option – the instructions are ‘non-existent’.

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As the build itself took a matter of minutes I didn’t bother boring you with the pictures – but here it is – armoured screen down and with the winch on the front – primed and ready for some olive drab…

 

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I’m quite pleased with the cut out ‘viewing slits’ and there is plenty of detail on the bodywork.

The wheels and tracks are just ‘pushed on’ for now – but I am pondering the best way to paint them – as they are all in one piece each.  A bit of research has shown that the tracks are actually black rubber.  As a complete novice I would have assumed they would be metal – but that is the purpose of research I suppose.

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I am guessing that the tools on the side would be separate items in the usual 1/35 scale that most AFV stuff seems to be built in.

 

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Painting those will be tricky with my sausage fingers and failing eyesight.  Any idea if the heads of the tools would be ‘silvery’ or black? And what about their shafts – wood or green maybe?

 

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The ‘real one’ above shows a black headed axe with green handle…

…I guess we will worry about that when we get there.

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In the meantime I have painted the wheels and tyres in ‘tyre’ black and I have a cunning plan to get the olive wheel centres done...

 

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In the summer I bought this hole punch and using some black plastic from the bottom of a packet of cooked ham – I have ‘masks’ for the tyres.

 

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When your eyesight is as bad as mine and you get the shakes every time you see a defined line – this has just made my life a lot easier.  Push the wheel into whitetac – then position the mask and spray…

 

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Then pull off the mask and pick the wheel out – job done - hopefully...

 

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...not perfect by any means - but not bad for a first effort I think. :)

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1 minute ago, Arachnid said:

Getting to like these Braille scale more and more,how much did these set you back ?

This kit was £16 from my LMS - a bargain for 3 kits in 1 box I think.  It is far from perfect - compared to 1/35 versions with all their after market options - but for a bit of fun - it's just right for my skill level I think. 

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3 minutes ago, Arachnid said:

Good price for 3 vehicles and 24? Soldiers👍

Lazy soldiers though - they are nearly all sat down :lol:

Actually the figures have a lot of detail - this quick picture doesn't really do them justice - but I will have some questions about uniform and helmet colouring - later - much later...

 

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I am going to have to put these two guys in the front - as this area is empty without them - as for the others - well we will see how these go first...

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Well day 2 of this supposedly fun build has got off to a really carp start.  My own fault as usual.

I decided to the tracks the ‘opposite way round’ – olive first…

 

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…no problem so far – masking this time with bits of whitetac…

 

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…then spray the tracks and rollers black…

 

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…not too shabby – a bit of touching up and we are good to go…

 

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ARRGGGHHH!!!!!!

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What on earth was I thinking of…

I painted the tracks black – not TYRE BLACK – the picture doesn’t really show just how bad this looks – but trust me – it looks awful – 2 hours wasted – oh well time to prime AGAIN!!!!!!

 

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This WAS supposed to be fun – now where is my mojo – oh there it is – in the gutter… :doh:

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Stick with it steve! Thinking back to my (many, daily) ahem, mishaps this one wouldn't make it into the conference league......👍

 

btw - i FINALLY managed to get some vallejo air sprayed 😄

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You could have used the black as an undercoat for a tyre black dry-brush, and then washed in a dirty brown to represent some dust & grit, which is pretty much how all tracks go in the end, ... too late now of course :shrug:

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3 hours ago, Lawzer said:

Stick with it steve! Thinking back to my (many, daily) ahem, mishaps this one wouldn't make it into the conference league......👍

 

btw - i FINALLY managed to get some vallejo air sprayed 😄

Contrary to my instincts - I LOWERED my psi this morning - rather than upping it - and hey presto - paint - for now...

 

1 hour ago, Mike said:

You could have used the black as an undercoat for a tyre black dry-brush, and then washed in a dirty brown to represent some dust & grit, which is pretty much how all tracks go in the end, ... too late now of course :shrug:

I appreciate where your coming from with that - I could also have slapped the whitetac back on and oversprayed the black with tyre black...

...but that would have involved me thinking logically - which I wasn't :mental:

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Looking good!

 

I too would have left the tracks alone and just dry brushed various shades over the top of the black. 

 

Tools were a mish mash. They could be all painted Olive Drab, the metal could be OD or black only, or the entire tool was unpainted raw wood and steel. Take your pick. I go for contrast on my larger builds by painting handles and such bare wood. You could use a different shade of OD just for the tools, or just leave them be. A shovel or axe would have paint worn off near the tip of the blade due to use. But you know that.......:D

 

G

 

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Sorry to hear that your feeling a little low – feeling a bit like that as well. My current build is progressing painfully slowly (3 months and counting), BM holds more interest than the model at the moment. It's like ploughing through 'War and Peace' but only reading half a page each day.

Building a simple kit is an interesting idea for mojo restoration. I would say for a true mojo renewal, you need to build like your a kid again, not worrying about producing a totally accurate representation of the real thing. Admittedly I can't seem follow my own advice, as I always think to myself 'how can I improve that', which translates as 'how can I make that as complicated and as time consuming as I possibly can'.

Looks like an interesting project and is making me wonder about looking for something similar.

Good luck, and don't forget that this is supposed to be relaxing.

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18 minutes ago, Gorby said:

Sorry to hear that your feeling a little low – feeling a bit like that as well. My current build is progressing painfully slowly (3 months and counting), BM holds more interest than the model at the moment. It's like ploughing through 'War and Peace' but only reading half a page each day.

Building a simple kit is an interesting idea for mojo restoration. I would say for a true mojo renewal, you need to build like your a kid again, not worrying about producing a totally accurate representation of the real thing. Admittedly I can't seem follow my own advice, as I always think to myself 'how can I improve that', which translates as 'how can I make that as complicated and as time consuming as I possibly can'.

Looks like an interesting project and is making me wonder about looking for something similar.

Good luck, and don't forget that this is supposed to be relaxing.

 

Thanks Gorby - I knew I could count on you for some wise words and sound advice.

 

I really like the 'you need to build like your a kid again' tip - it is very tempting to get bogged down with detail - even when no real detail exists - such as on this little kit.

 

I also know what you mean about BM holding more interest than actually doing some work - arghh - there I go again - it's not 'work' - it's 'fun' - must remember  - FUN FUN FUN

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BIG X .... at least you didnt pull what did. I built a spitfire had it all going good. I had the MSG on the lower fuselage & ocean grey up top. I put the masking tape on & spray the Dark green. :rage: realised i inverted the masks. I had the grey areas green and the green areas grey. We all make a goof. So dont get down about it. 

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