AFV Content

Looks great, I think you’ve done a fab job on the tracks particularly! Haven’t seen a tiger in this scheme before and with the number on the barrel

Hi Whitewolf, good point with the info, as I mentioned before, the idea was not to camouflage the wheels (alternate colors), if not the change of some due to mechanical causes or damage ... anyway my priority is not the maximum accuracy when it comes to finish a model, I try to make it look as seen in the included instructions (so sometimes if there is a manufacturer error ... I eat it ... lol), as well as sometimes a small artistic license ... (two wheels in red ... lol) I know that there are modelers who do research work on the real model first (bravo for them), but for me it is some extra effort, and where I really like to apply myself is in the final part, the weathering ... Cheers and TC Francis.

Hi Phil, I`m glad to see one of your models, very good for all the equipment distributed by the vehicle, along with the figure that accompanies it very well. Cheers and TC Francis.

A belated thank you! I was quite pleased with the result, and discovered that weathering techniques for 1/35 work just as well in 1/72 AFV's! Full RFI here Terry

It was good to walk into the living room this morning to the smells of glue and plastic. I'm back on the bench! Well, back on the dining table to be candid. I didn't have much more than an hour to spare last night so I made best use of it. I was delighted that the hull was a single piece, unfortunately, the weird varimultipolygonal shape of the fighting compartment meant I'd have to do some sticking. Piece A9 even has to be folded before use; origami in plastic! This was one of those situations where timing is everything. Letting each join set hard before attaching the next piece risked little errors accumulating and eventually a big gap when I came back around to my first part. Going too fast risked the whole thing falling into bits in my hands. The joints needed to be tough but flexible, like a dancer's knees, so I could force everything together. The process was almost impossible to photograph as I needed all of my fingers, and sometimes more, to hold this house of cards together. At times I was holding it with one hand while preparing the next part with the other two. The picture above was taken at one of the rare times that I was breathing normally. This is how it looks this morning. The fighting compartment isn't glued to the hull yet; I used the hull as a jig to hold the slightly floppy thing overnight and avoid it sagging out of shape. There are gaps evident and that's because on the Whippet these are thick flat steel plates riveted to an angle iron framework - there were gaps! Possibly not as big as these, so we will move swiftly on, pausing only to offer up congratulations to the engineer who worked out the geometry of that box using only geometry and other magic. Can you spot the broken one? Nor can I. I wanted to get that little problem solved before I went to bed because if it was still on my mind, you can bet I'd have been awake at 3 AM ruminating on it, or even trying to fix it in the dark of the night, which would have been a disaster waiting to happen. And this is where we are at start of play today.

Last nights progress saw more fiddly bits applied to the Italeri kit. Its getting close to being complete now. Main items left to do are the front turret grab rails, towing cables, headlight guard and turret tie downs. The lower hull and engine have also been primed. Unusually for me I will need to paint this in subassemblies due to the resin tracks which will have to be fitted before I can glue the hull top and bottom together. More soon

Hi Massimo, there were definitely no yellow tanks (or vehicles) used by the Angolans. That is the harsh African climate which has done a magnificent job of weathering. Bear in mind also that these tanks have been lying there since 1987 / 1988. The war ended in 1989 when SA forces withdrew under mutual agreement together with the Angolans, Cubans and Russians aided by the UN. The tanks you're seeing photos of are "recent-ish" photos taken by ex SADF members who have gone on trips to Cuito Cuanavale from Rundu on the Namibian side. This route up to Cuito was the main area of battle for the last year of the war.

Chipping is done. Oil render next.

the model car guys practice spraying on plastic spoons. nothing says you can only paint models. the paint used is an investment in your skills, it might help???

Hi Troy, ok sorted I assumed it was like email addresses no gaps. Merlin

WOW, fabulous modelling ! Wulfman

Lovely build and weathering , excellent work ! Wulfman

Never heard of it but I like it, great job ! Wulfman

Jamie, @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies dont let the tail wag the dog, I am fed up of seeing modellers spend months on a model only to paint it the wrong colours so please advertise your wares more, saying why spoil it at the very end, stating the actual target references matched to, saying 'unlike others' ! Others never state the research and colours matched to, that tells me everything. Merlin

Wow, just wow, Seeing this literally just as I was watching the PBS documentary on Vietnam too!

Hi Richard, I'm certainly pleased to see that you started positng on this again - great project, and really a pleasure to go through the full build log. Very insipiring work. Cheers Nick

I have to admit I didn't realise that was on my site. It must have been some WEM text inherited when we bought Colourcoats in 2014. I certainly didn't write it, as I know absolutely nothing about armour paints. The entire armour range is unchanged from WEM days. Mike Starmer did loan me some very valuable documents to check the British Army stuff we have, but that's it. I couldn't tell you if that stuff about German army paints is write or wrong so I certainly can't endorse that and am about to remove it from the site accordingly!

Thanks guys.

Aye up Lee, Nice work on the tracks and will probably do the same as you with the extra thin Regards, Steve

I sprayed another coat of glossy varnish and indicated some wear on the paint.

Eastern Front Vol.1 Camouflage & Decals ISBN: 9788366673205 Kagero via Casemate UK This is the first of a new armour series from Kagero Publishing that consists profiles of various armour and softskins from the Eastern Front during WWII, drawing from both German and Russian forces. It is 40 pages and is in a card bound portrait format, and it is rammed with profiles, as you’d expect. In addition you get a set of decals in the three major armour scales of 1:72, 1:48 and 1:35, with tons of numbers in black and white, a bunch of crosses in various styles, some bird of prey motifs, and the name Rudy, which is from a popular fictional story. The quality of the profiles is up to Kagero’s usual standards, and includes various scrap diagrams where additional detail is necessary on the rear of the vehicle or on the front etc. Each profile has a caption in English and Polish, giving some information about the subject, inasmuch as there is available to the researchers and artists. At the front of the book is a single page that is split between an introduction to the series, and in the bottom half of the page is a large table that suggests a colour palette for the German vehicles in FS codes, Humbrol, Gunze, Pactra, Testors, Extracolor and Tamiya paint codes. Conclusion This is a niche series that will doubtless appeal to those that enjoy looking at and studying profiles of vehicles, and the decals that are included, whilst generic for the most part also include the Rudy decals (as seen above) that will appeal to an Eastern European market where the series is more well-known. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Is your subject WWII or post war? Only one vehicle was completed in 1943, and with the fall of Italy, the factories in the north came under German control. Consensus appears to be that most vehicles were taken by German occupation forces until the end of the war. Afterwards, any surviving vehicles were adopted by the Italian police, or used by the military unit 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment Lancers in Aosta. Photos of the German operated Lince seem to confirm the Italian "amoeba" camou pattern continued in production, and therefore likely in Italian paint colours. The only differences noted is some finishes had wider as opposed to thin outlines of the camou shapes. Some minor differences could be a result of two different production companies - Lancia and Ansaldo. Colours are likely splotches of dark green and brown, all of which are outlined in dark yellow. dark green = Verdo Scuro brown = Rosso Ruggine dark yellow = Giallo Sabbia Scuro regards, Jack

Thanks both for the input. I guess these things are largely designed as either storage or protection. Although what happens out in the field may differ from original intent depending on needs and circumstances.

Hi Troy, Just revisiting this thread but see the conversation hasnt continued. I will try what you suggest. however not once as I typed the name did MikeStarmer prompt appear, so this may not work. It picked up on Jamies no problem. @Mike Starmer did Jamie's Khaki Green No.3 match your works ? @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies I wish Jamie did Nobels Dark Tarmac Green No.4 and Light Green No.5 to go with his other British Military vehicle colours, especially as the RAF vehicles also used the colours. Merlin

Interesting project I'll follow along if I may? Stay safe Roger