badger Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Liking the progress so far. Welcome to the hellishly confusing world of British AFV markings. Apologies if the 50 vs 54 issue was down to me. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 10 hours ago, BIG X said: As you can probably tell I'm 'floundering' and need more help here Sorry - stupid, broken internet isn't letting me get email updates on threads so unless I check in on the website I'm missing all the fun. Am hopefully swopping to fibre optic this month so fingers crossed that works! Looks like your questions have been answered though. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 19 minutes ago, badger said: Liking the progress so far. Welcome to the hellishly confusing world of British AFV markings. Apologies if the 50 vs 54 issue was down to me. All the best Ben OH NO IT WASN'T... I checked back on the PM you sent me and it clearly says 54 - my mistake alone 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 Well after last night's 'fun and games' I have had time to make some more progress - so for those that are interested - here's what I got done... There are two sets of spare tracks with holding brackets that are obviously meant as 'stowage'. A little research in various books has shown these can go in quite a few places - but I liked the look of this - so I've gone for it... I had to scrape off some of the paint to get a good bond - I've fallen for that mistake before - with stuff 'falling off' finished models... ...as you can see I've kept most of the 'rust' on these spares - as they are not in use - but they will tone down later when I do my 'dark dirt' and 'sandy dust washes'. Also on the right hand side I mistook a horn for a light and hollowed it out - but it has been filled and painted SCC15 again now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 I also got the track and bogies sections together - but as discussed I'm a little disappointed by the joins at the front and the back of the tracks... ...as you can see I have used some Mr dissolved putty to fill in the worst of the gaps... these will get a coat of 'burnt iron' and a gloss coat - so the wases only stick where I want them to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 Following some excellent and 'friendly' advice from @fatfingers and @badger I followed their instructions and went for this - to accompany my 'mis-marked' halftrack ...but more on that later... ...and at the risk of annoying some folk I used some of the TAC symbols too... ...these decals are 'really weird' - as you can see they have loads of carrier film - but the weird thing is they come on a tissue paper and are a 'beggar' to get off. Time for loads of microsol and microset 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 When I reached the back though I came to a bit of a grinding halt... ...I could see where my yellow bull would look great - on the left mudguard - but the right mudguard has a 'box' on it - a telephone box I think... I decided to leave it for a while and hope some inspiration would come along - but to keep me busy I went back to the dreaded halftrack with the wrong number on. A quick gloss coat and some fresh decals meant I would redeem myself to my heroes of the day @badger and @fatfingers - so this is for you guys... ....I will weather them up and matt them back at the same time as I do the Sherman. THANKS GUYS!!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 Similar to the conundrum of the rear decals I wanted to put a ringed star somewhere on the top. The front is too small for the decals I have / the turret has too many hatches / the barrel lock is in the wrong position on the back. I believe from all the photos I have seen that the lock for the barrel should come in at a 45degree angle from the left back corner. But on the kit it is slap bang in the middle of the back plate. Anyway - not to be deterred and knowing you can almost 'bend space' - never mind decals with gallons of microsol and microset - I slapped one on... ...again you can see there is tons of excess clear film. My intention is to get it as 'tight' as possible on the barrel lock - and then paint the lock again - so the star looks like it is under the lock. It's wriggling like a goodun as we speak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 ...anyway - back to Sherman's rear... After trawling through a few books that another BM member was good enough to send me - I found this... a 'cut down' 52 on that telephone box... Now I know how that supervet bloke Noel feels - cutting down a 3mm decal by lopping off 0.5mm from the top and the same from the bottom - talk about 'microsurgery'... 1/72 kits are tiny - but NO CATS WERE INJURED IN THE MAKING OF THIS MODEL!!!!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Aye up Steve, Nice job with the decals. Shame about that carrier film but i'm sure you'll sort it mate Good save with the halftrack tac marking too 👍 Look forward to seeing the weathering going on. Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 3 hours ago, BIG X said: as you can see they have loads of carrier film - but the weird thing is they come on a tissue paper and are a 'beggar' to get off. Time for loads of microsol and microset 3 hours ago, BIG X said: ...again you can see there is tons of excess clear film. My intention is to get it as 'tight' as possible on the barrel lock - and then paint the lock again - so the star looks like it is under the lock. Hi Steve ran across an interesting thread on Hyperscale on decals and carrier films and PVA... which I'd not run across before as an idea. http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1511881812/last-1512025021/(View+All+Messages+In+This+Thread) when I decalled a 1/144 Hurricane i did with the daughter I bedded them down in Kleer and got no silvering. Hot water will also soften decals, maybe try a hot compress on the star? good work and looks like another WIP which has had a steep learning curve. cheers T 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Now you may remember way back last Sunday - not this Sunday just gone - but the Sunday before... I had a fight with my cat whilst trying to relieve her of a whisker - for an aerial - don't ask... In the end a sweeping brush bristle had to suffice as seen here... ...however - at this point it was correctly pointed out that the 'blob' of plastic next to my new aerial - was also an aerial - but it should have a kind of basket around it and was pretty essential to the look of the Sherman. I toyed with the idea that it had been 'shot off' - but in the end I decided it needed doing. The kit doesn't come with the part - so this is what we have... ...sorry the pictures aren't sharper but is only 2mm across. Also I am informed it would be 'the same base colour' as the tank - otherwise I would have painted it black or steel coloured. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Aye up Steve, Real nice job with the aerial base you must have bloody good eyesight! Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Just now, fatfingers said: Aye up Steve, Real nice job with the aerial base you must have bloody good eyesight! Regards, Steve Blind a s bat mate - just a flippin big magnifying glass 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 I've also had some progress with that star on 'the boot'. It was a big ask to get it to lie down over the barrel lock... but with a bit of 'gentle persuasion'... ...it finally began to give in - so time to repaint the lock - so the star 'looks' like it is underneath... I think I 'got away with that one' - phew... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 The thing that has been bugging me most about this kit and the halftrack for that matter is the complete lack of decals. I have acquired loads from Skytrex - stars / badges / numbers etc - but no serial numbers. ...and looking at my Sherman - it needs serial numbers - so for now I have obtained these - not accurate - but at just 6mm in total - 'a blind man on a galloping horse would be pleased if he even saw them' 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Last night was a bit of a disaster. It's the old old story - I 'got sloppy' and sure enough - things went wrong. I was attempting a 'dirt wash' with an airbrush - without bothering to hand brush some dirt into the panel lines first. Consequently by the time the panel lines were showing up the rest of the Sherman had been obliterated in dirt. I decided to let it all dry and see if I could 'brush' the worst of it off - with a large stiff bristled paint brush. NO JOY - it was literally 'caked on' and even damp paper towels only removed the fainter areas and left the thick areas untouched. This made it look ten times worse than before. I slept on it - (boy Sherman tanks are lumpy ) and this morning at 7am - before nipping off to work I used a tip that Phil Flory shows in one of his videos. I 'power washed' the tank with an airbrush filled with warm water. It was literally just like power washing a muddy car - but it worked. THANK YOU PHIL FLORY - YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!! Now I couldn't wait until this evening before having 'another go' and as luck would have it I needed to 'pop out' and see a customer - which meant passing home. So I took a quick 'tea break' and hand brushed all the nooks / crannies / panel lines - then left it to dry for an hour or two. Passing on the way back I decided a quick 'lunch break' was in order - so I wiped off the excess around the panels and then gave it a fine mist of dirt all over - paying close attention to 'not making it too even'. When I got home tonight I was quite pleased with the result - but that may be in light of how it looked last night - anyway I have now sealed the dirt in with another gloss coat - so please don't see any mistakes as they are there for good. Here is where we are... ...YES that carrier film is showing through - too late now - maybe a bit of 'mud' might hide it... ...I'm quite happy with the way the star has turned out... ...not too bad and happily the feeling of 'fun' has returned and that's what important 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 As looking 'too closely' at my work is never advisable - here is a quick mock up - from a little further back... ...a 'dusty summer' or 'sandy brown' wash tomorrow night and then a matt varnish and the agony will all be over... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 13 hours ago, BIG X said: As looking 'too closely' at my work is never advisable macro lenses are the curse of modern modelling, when I look at the stamp size pictures in old mags from the past, I'll bet many of them looked worse close up. "in the flesh" say at a club meeting, the "worst" (only) visible glitch would be the decal film, even if I brought some glasses... As other members have pointed out, many tanks get pretty dusty.... the crosses got me.... see http://beutepanzer.ru/Beutepanzer/us/M4_sherman/uk/firefly-1.htm the one at the top is better, but I was after dust... couldn't find much color... this is in the US and this oddity, (by oddity, that there is colour pic, the Soviets had entire division of Shermans) M4A2 76 in Soviet Army.. but might help in the final push. cheers T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 9 hours ago, Troy Smith said: macro lenses are the curse of modern modelling, when I look at the stamp size pictures in old mags from the past, I'll bet many of them looked worse close up. "in the flesh" say at a club meeting, the "worst" (only) visible glitch would be the decal film, even if I brought some glasses... As other members have pointed out, many tanks get pretty dusty.... the crosses got me.... see http://beutepanzer.ru/Beutepanzer/us/M4_sherman/uk/firefly-1.htm the one at the top is better, but I was after dust... couldn't find much color... this is in the US and this oddity, M4A2 76 in Soviet Army.. but might help in the final push. cheers T Thanks for the encouragement Troy - I get the feeling this tank may be 'quite dusty' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 ...just a quick update - I've been busy with other things today - like work All I got done today was a quick coat of dusty / sandy / muddy / messy - I don't really know what you'd call it... ...in summary - some bits need a bit more - some need taking back - I'm going to go at it first with a stiff brush - but only gently - if that makes sense. I also need to pull back some of the 'bare metal' on the tracks and I do have a bit of 'pooling' and a couple of 'runs' - but I'm confident I can drag it over the finishing line. I want to get it finished now - as I have figured a way of putting a canvas top or 'tilt' on a halftrack to make this ambulance... ...why is it we all - so often - start working on something new before we have finished what we have.... DISCIPLINE - That's what I need - MUST CONCENTRATE ...more tomorrow - thanks for looking in - Steve 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I call it OSS ... Obsessive Starters Syndrome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soeren Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 And it is OSS with each kit? When we see the amount of effort that we put into our models and some even much much more, then it is quite.obvious to me not to stay with one single kit until it is "finished". When is an afv even finished at all :crazy: ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Aye up Steve. Coming along nicely. Great job with the star decal over the gun travel lock Regards Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 2 hours ago, fatfingers said: Aye up Steve. Coming along nicely. Great job with the star decal over the gun travel lock Regards Steve Gun travel lock - so that's what it's really called - I'll remember that - cheers Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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