Peter Lloyd

War crime? It depends who is playing, surely?

It looks great Rod. Pop me a PM if you'd like an offer on those solid disc wheels.

Looking superb. Imagine going to war in that! And, I suppose, how desperate the regiments were to get some HE onto Rommel's AT guns.

Voters of Michig... er, Pennsyl.... Voters of Britmodeller! Support this Group Build, even if you don't want to participate! The Great War gets so little love (is that the right way to say it?) in the Group Builds and by model makers in general. Don't cast your vote for yet another round of the usual types, which are inevitably polling strongly. Vote for something a bit different. Vote for change.

I'm embarrassed that this model built so quickly that there are not many photos! These are the 3D printed suspension units. I had to drill out/enlarge the hole in the sprocket, and make a hole on the pivot for the idler wheel swing arm. I just used the kit pieces as a guide. The "sprue" is a multitude of little points on which the piece is formed. I tried to cut these with a fresh razor, which only snapped off a number of end connectors. Stupidly, I started in a place you can see this. I then tried a razor saw, but that wasn't going to work, either. The end connectors are held on only by two, tiny, almost-scale track pins! My third approach was a diamond wheel in a Dremel, and that worked pretty well. Like cutting resin, it makes a mess that's probably best kept out of your lungs. This photo shows the back of the first set of tracks. I only lost one or two connectors on the second set, but you still need to take care in handling the model. The 'powder' is the dust from cutting. You can plainly see the detail is exquisite, especially behind the bogies. I have no idea how to take the connecting bits off the sprocket teeth, they are staying. The face side of the second set of bogies. From here they went on the tank and it was built and painted very quickly. It's had a wash, drybrush, and some transparent "filters" sprayed on. I was making a Fw-190 and much of this effort is using up left over paint in the airbrush. Here it is, but there are still detail parts to put on. You might remember this is the second kit from a "two-in-one" box that S-Model like to present. I am a fan of S-Model. Their kits are good for the wargamer (simple and robust, and cheap, with large decals sheets to make units) or the serious modeller (add all that tiny detail). Others have tried this, but Armorfast kits, in my experience, are far from good enough to be serious scale models. While I found the excellent, but generic decal sheet, I am not sure where the little photoetch fret is so this tank might lack light guards for a while. My tank rides very slightly too high (see the original model extreme right side). Below, is the original model. You'd think it is a great model (I did, and do...) if you didn't see the other one.

The Great War does not get nearly enough attention from us, add me please.

I have been looking over such reading material as I have, and my impression is the 'Caunter' scheme was gone by early 1942: photos taken before Crusader show a very 'diagonal' cut between the sand (lower) and the 'silver', as viewed from the side. Most 1942 photos show either a single colour overall, or a scheme such as the kit suggests, in which the upper colour 'stays up', with the blotches applied over both. A very similar scheme appeared a little later on some Grants, and photos show tanks being brought up for the Gazala battles in these more elaborate patterns. But I could be entirely wrong, I have my own thread to wrestle with these considerations, and I don't want to hamper this project!

"In May 1945, after a year of being outgunned by the enemy, the lads wrote to the top brass requesting they give them one of those new Centurions...."

Engine then refitted while your mate got the mounts lined up by use of a long pipe. . .

In the last months of the war the Luftwaffe were sending kids up in these things, and judging by the size of the pilot, Airfix have captured that accurately.

I (90%) built one of these a few years ago, I was very happy with it. It's an important tank and it took a long time for a kit of it to appear.

This is a placeholder and intro, it will take me a while to get to this. But it should build pretty easily as most of the model is 3D printed. I saw these start appearing on one o fthe auction sites about six months ago. As I've always wanted a 1/72 Valentine with the 'big gun', I couldn't resist getting that offering and on inspection it made me suspect my entire collection of injection moulded AFVs might be obsolete: the finesse and detail were staggering. And being 3D printed you don't have the usual downside of having to assemble minute parts that disappear into the wilderness. I do not know much about the company that makes these, but they have a huge range and being 3D printed they can scale them up or down so almost any possible scale is offered for a given subject. If anyone can suggest the correct glue to use I would appreciate it, I want to avoid cyanoacrylate/super glue if possible. Detail is lovely but despite excellent packaging my tank lost its mudguard. The plastic is very brittle and I will have to be careful: the razor saw will get a workout. The sand shields required for a desert Stuart are not there. The rivet detail on the track guard tops is overdone and misplaced. But overall it looks very good on first glance. The instructions do not tell you anything about the examples depicted on the decal sheet, no doubt the internet will help. I think one is from southern Russia 1942 and another may be an Indian Army Stuart from 1944/45. I want to do this kit in perhaps the best-known Stuart scheme, the Caunter camouflage associated with the early phase of the long-running campaign against the Axis in North Africa.

Well the floodgates have opened on this Group Build... so many entries already. My first will be the S-Model "M3A3 United Kingdom Army Stuart". Just the description on the box should get the mob pretty angry! The M3A3 was slightly modified to become the Stuart V, and became the ultimate M3 Stuart. Too late for North Africa, they were extensively used in British reconnaissance units in Italy and France, especially in armoured divisions. British recce involved so many different vehicles and various sub-units with different affiliations, you really need to check tables of equipment to work out who had what. This little kit would also be ideal to depict a turretless Stuart or "jalopy": in both France and Italy many units removed the turret to make a stealthier machine: but some "kept the lid on" so to speak, so check references (11th Armoured seemed to like the jalopy and had such conversions in Normandy, 43rd Infantry Division's recce regiment retained turrets until at least Market-Garden and probably beyond). S-Model kits come 'two in a box' and I have already built the first. I don't build much armour but I like the S-Model kits: in terms of parts count they are simplified 'wargame' models. But the detail is very fine and crisp. The kit comes with some photoetch for the rear basket, and a comprehensive decal sheet allowing different units to be depicted (decal sheet lost but I hope to find it later). I do not mind 'moulded on' tools in 1/72: if done well they look just as accurate as separate tools, which are rarely done with enough finesse anyway. The headlight frames and track grousers are really well done, but unfortunately you need more grousers for the glacis plate and they are not there. As for the detail, judge for yourself: I am going to use these 3D printed suspension/track units from SSModel (which I assume to be a related company). SSModel make entire models from 3D printing, in various scales (I will build the Stuart I elsewhere). The track upgrade seems to depict a tank with a rubber-tyred idler wheel. The original kit parts have the track guide horns moulded full width (the main real compromise on the kit and unavoidable in this format). The 3D printed tracks do not have that issue. I will be on holiday soon (I can't work on the kit then) so this will take a while.

The frame in the Tamiya model is actually stiffer than the Honda original. Nice improvements here. Figuring out the engine/frame/carburettor relationship reminds me of skinned knuckles and swearing in the shed during my mis-spent youth. Sure, you might get them on, but you will never tighten up those clamp bands. . .

You are right on all counts, the Ki-44 is a very distinctive and odd-looking fighter. I'm sure Allied pilots still usually called them 'Zeroes', though.