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Bronco kits, a bit like MiniArt. Bucketful of tiny parts. You've done a great job sticking them together! As for the paint: "Sarge! I've got a bargain, straight from Humber dealership showroom, last year model, 10% off" :-)) Zig

I managed to get some bench time today. I have added the last of the rear deck panels and handles, added the side tool boxes, installed the hatches with new wire handles, added the smoke discharger wiring and mated the two hull halves together. I have also replaced the lap gunner Besa with a 3D printed barrel.

I like others have run into problems with Village Photos, so I've replaced the images with ones that are hopefully visible!

Looks good from here. The key to decals is a good, clean high gloss surface. put the decal down - whenever possible I avoid panel lines, rivets etc and get all the water from underneath it and then a small amount of setting solution to get it to settle down. When it’s good and dry - 24 hours later get another coat of gloss varnish on. If you’ve got slivering then a steady hand, a fine brush & some of the base colour to cover it. If you can still see it then on armour you can always hang some kit on it.

I've been working upwards. The upper hull is secured and a few bits and pieces have been added in the fighting compartment. The fighting compartment sides were only dry fitted in order to see how close we are to painting. I think, quite close. Time to get some paint inside before I render it inaccessible. Before I do that though, I'll assemble the gun and anything else that needs to go inside and then paint them all in one go. Most of this assembly is very straightforward and hardly needs to be mentioned. I found this bit interesting though. It's the bin into which the empty cases are ejected. Considering the weight of all that brass, and the speed it landed in the bin, I thought a few dents would be in order. That should dry-brush nicely.

I missed the last 3 episodes, hope it screens again sometime

Nicely scratch built box, good details too. Stuart

That dark grey one is just a sanding block, while the yellow ones.... I don't really remember, they were with some automotive parts. Either as packaging material, or some form of applicator for self adhesive stuff.

A month ago I actually built a similar Ansaldo-Fiat CV3 tankette in 1/72. Oh God - it was really small ! Hope to finally take some photos next week to share with you. And in reality - with dimensions of 313x145x126 cm - it was smaller than the current Fiat Panda (365x164x155 cm). More like the boxy Panda from the 1980s (338x146x144) or even the Fiat 600 (322x138x140) from the 1960s.. Cheers Michael

Tah very much Bertie old bean Andrew

Of, bit of conflation going on... The tank is from Thun being restored in Full. Www.koenigstiger.ch

That's made me laugh Bertie, good on you, it will be good to see how you get on, thanks for looking in and commenting Ed

Thanks fellas , bertie , basically a paint mule that got finished, Darryl i think i did 4 layers in total before complete boredom set in,

Nice work. That really does look like a cement block. John.

While the Americans were turning out Shermans by the dozen. Over engineered or what. The PE does look good Simon, but it would frighten the hell out of me. I should imagine that the sound that could be heard a lot while you were doing this was "ping". John.

Fantastic detail and description of the various features! The dio looks very promising, too.

Very nice Andrew, nicely painted and weathered, I have this kit to do, possibly next, now that I have seen how good yours looks I'm looking forward to starting it. Well done, good job... Ed

My texture concern is that it may be made too noticeable, not insufficiently so. And I agree on the wheels. The usual problem is incorrect tread patterns, often from reference to preserved vehicles fitted with more modern rubber. Sometimes it comes from 2-part moulding limitations rather than the multi-part construction that is becoming more common. Although Airfix apparently have a problem with bolt counting........... As is often mentioned, correctly-inflated tyres would not normally be appreciably bulged anyway. And vinyl is just a toy gimmick.

Thanks for the review @Kelscale. It does look very nice and by the end of this project I may need a quick, easier build.

Thanks Mike. Reinforces my decision to go with SCC2, and I suspect I will take the option of the roundel, even if it may be dubious. Have to say the customer service from Miniart is first rate - a replacement sprue C is on its way already. May be awhile though - Perth, WA is a long way from anywhere…

Oh it's most definitely 'what if'. What if the Matilda 1 had proved a roaring success and the design was improved? The Germans had a go a a similar concept with the Panzer 1 F and Panzer 2 J. This would be of a similar size and weight, armed with two M2 0.50cal.

Looks great, I love it.

Hi Simon, a beautiful job, well done. Cheers

OK, quick update. Work has intervened in my modelling. I wouldn't mind but even though working from home I'm busy, I've even had to cut down on World of Tanks as well. January huh! The cheek though, I'm expected back for two days a week going forward with rumours of three! So... all of (most of) the interior lower hull bits are on skewers ready to undercoat and then with the blue grey. I will post piccies when I've done this as it will show real progress. What doesn't show real progress is the 38 ammo pouches I am half way through painting - see not just doing nothing. They are as fiddly as hell though. Yes to the rivet counters, there are 40 in the kit but two went "ptwang" when cutting off the sprue. They are really tiny. Hope to do lower hull parts this weekend and then after will start with pin lining and details on the radio and drivers "dashboard". One step at a time

A new engine is very possible. British tank troops in North Africa unfamilair with radial engines (who would be - it was an aircraft engine.......) failed to appreciate the need to hand-crank the engine a few turns before starting it. This distributed the lubricating oil from the bottom cylinder to the others. If you did not do this the engine did not last long before failing. Spare engines had to be air-freighted across the Atlantic because so many were ruined. I imagine it is likely that Russian troops may have made the same mistake.