Sgt.Squarehead

Same here.

I built that one, based on an another, presumably later 'post-restoration' image, the green appeared much deeper & bluer (closer to a Russian base colour) in the image I worked from.....Most of the hull fittings were missing, as were the 'skirts'. I used the Revel 1/72 Ausf.H for my build.....It may or may not make @echen feel better to know that the tracks were a bloody nightmare (hence me having all those spares).....Have a feeling I may join this thread with a Revell/Dragon kit-bash, see if I can conquer those bloody awful tracks once & for all.

Man was one hell of a performer.....I worked at one of his shows in the UK (sadly the rest of the tour was cancelled) at the end of the nineties and it was really, really good fun, especially 'Flying The Bat'! Truly an amazing showman.

He seems to be very upset about very little.....Maybe he should try building the ACE T-90? Sympathise slightly with his comments about the non-bendy tracks.....L&L would have been a better bet. I absolutely sympathise with his comments about Revell's instructions, but they are very far from the only culprit. He does a fine job of adding scratch-built detail, but there's plenty of aftermarket options (ie: every single item he complains about, including the bolts) for those without his obvious expertise, skill & patience (I love the texturing on the skirts). His comments about S-Model's tracks seem very out of place as they are usually by far the weakest features of those kits.....This is what they did for their Panther: Here's their M3A3 Stuart: Quality stuff! AFAIK they've made one vaguely decent set of tracks, for their Type 99: Nice(ish) tracks, but the rest of the kit is wrong (or redundant as a Type-99 at least, it's an older prototype). He also sings the praises of Trumpeter, another Chinese company who managed to get their own Type-99A even more wrong than S-Model did (S-Model is a mostly accurate model of largely non-existent vehicle and Trumpeter's is an utterly horrendous rendition of the actual production variant)! I could go on (& on & on & on). PS - So I will: Trumpeter managed to put the ammo feed of the DShK on their IS-3 on the wrong side of the gun! The turret hatches of their Shermans look more like ballistic missile launch silos. Their FAMO, one of the few truly magnificent kits in their 1/72 range, came with instructions that ensured 8 out of 10 modellers messed up the front suspension and with indy-link tracks (ie: just links, no lengths), but apparently it was deemed equally suitable for children as Revell's T-90A. Then there's Trumpeter's box-art for their current 1/72 kits, which invariably features a photograph of a nicely built and well painted example of their 1/35 kit.

Ow wow.....You really couldn't have picked a more difficult kit to try this with, as it appears you have discovered. It looks like you are on the right track (excuse the pun), but it's going to be a challenge! As it appears that I am largely responsible for getting you into this project, please be assured that I have your back (15 sets of track & 10 sets of wheels are at your diposal & on standby for immediate deployment).

I do exactly the same.....I have countless wonderful Heller & Dragon 1/72 Shermans. Which ones do I actually build? Unimodel, Italeri, Extratech & Trumpeter. IMHO it's a combination of the challenge of making something better than it probably should be and the risk of doing a less than perfect job on a kit that deserves better.....I don't much care if I mess up kits that were poor to start with.

Hi Bjorn.....I didn't realise you were a member here. Very glad that you are. All the best Andy S.

That ET Models etch looks very nice: http://www.etmodeller.com/product/277979829 It was made for Revell 03105, which is a much older kit based on the ancient, but reasonably accurate Matcbox Leopard 2A4, with the addition a new turret sprue: https://www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/RevellAG/Leopard2A5prev.htm Your kit 03180 is a 2011 new tool, much more detailed than its predecessor: https://www-modellversium-de.translate.goog/kit/artikel.php?id=13094&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB Not confident how well the parts will fit, but at least some of the smaller items should be useable.

These really are very cool. Iit's a bit of a shame that they didn't go to more effort to integrate figure and base (as Zvezda have with their 'Art of Tactic' range), but they still make a very striking set...What's the game like to play?

For a bit of inspiration, here's an experienced brailler 'going to town' on another Strelets 1/72 artillery piece: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/8-inch-mk-ll-howitzer-t329870.html It can be done.

IIRC Revell did more than one kit of both the 2A5 and the 2A6 and there were various etch sets for both.....A bit more info is needed (kit # & etch set #).

Love your flag bases, but I reckon they'd look even better painted black around the edges.

The absence of decent Challenger 2 & Warrior kits in 1/72 is a continued irritation. Wonder if Takom might follow up on their Chieftains? Hope so!

Blimey!

Double-Plus-Gonktastic! There's something wonderfully 'pantomime-horse' about the pose of the double-gonk.....It really suits it. Blimey! I was originally thinking of a whopping double-barreled blaster pintled off the Gonk, with a seat hanging off the back, so that the gunnery Jawa swings around with it. Of course @Pete in Lincs suggestion of an MRL Light-Artillery Gonk is also extremely cool, although I feel it would need a few more tubes or maybe a (Hell-Cannon style) barrel-bomb? Perhaps you should do both!