Sgt.Squarehead

In a word.....No! SCW tracked AFV choices are pretty limited (Manufacturers of 1/72 injection kits): BT-5 1935 (UM) CV-33 (DOC) CV-35 (DOC) FT-17 (RPM) PzI Ausf A (Attack) PzI Ausf B (Italeri) T-26 1933 (Mirage/UM) However both sides used a fairly wide variety of armoured cars, many of them improvised. HTH & All the best

I dunno how the price works out with the exchange rate and all that, but MFS have it: http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/produ...ducts_id=316173 HTH & All the best Andy Smith

Would anyone have, or know where I can get, a replacement prop for the Supermodel 1/72 CR.32.....My kit got a bit crushed and the original did not survive the experience. (Sorry for veering OT!) All the best Sgt.S

I'd like to join in! Plenty of suitable 'Wingy Things' to choose from in my stash and one or two possible armour subjects too. The Mirage 1/72 T-26 and Italeri 1/72 Panzer I Ausf B are distinct possibilities.....The new Attack Hobby 1/72 Panzer I Ausf A might be more suitable, but I have a feeling I'll wind up pulling my hair out if I mess with that one! For what it's worth & all the best Andy Smith

Having just posted that.....I proceeded to open these: 3x Airfix M3 Lee/Grant (Marked price: 45p).....Nice tracks: Despite the very obvious 'track-melt' on the middle set, there is no sign of 'leeching' or any obvious damage to any of the other parts.....This is in stark contrast to my experience with Unimodel's horrendous vinyl T-34 tyres, which will eat their way straight through all the sprues of the kit while it's still in the box! Why anyone thought it would be a good idea to put vinyl tyres on a 1/72 tank that comes with 'L&L' tracks, I'll just never be able to comprehend.....It's not like it makes moulding the kit any easier! For what it's worth, all the best Andy Smith PS - The decals have seen better days too!

While this is certainly true of some types of track, I'm not sure that it is universally so.....Only time will tell I suppose and I still prefer 'L&L' anyway! :shithappens: All the best Andy Smith

The MB/Revell 1/76 AVRE is a good kit.....The forthcoming Airfix MkVII bridgelayer is a postwar version.....But the bridge could be fitted to a turretless MB/Revell AVRE to give the correct MkIV based wartime variant. The 'Airfix Sherman Crab' should have the 'b' in its name replaced with a 'p'.....It's the wrong type of tank for a Crab and the flail parts are useless! You could just about bash a decent 1/76 Crab out of the basic Airfix framework with new flails made from fine chain with little solder balls on the end. This could then be grafted onto a MB/Revell Firefly, with its turret remodelled to a 75mm.....It would be some serious work and it might be easier just to scratch a Crab onto a Dragon 1/72 M4A4. All this talk of Funnies has reminded me that I have the Modelltrans Modellbau 1/72 MkIV AVRE conversion set sat near to hand and a whole host of Italeri 1/72 Churchill IIIs! All the best Andy Smith

Cheers for the tips Steve! All the best Andy Smith

What a lovely build.....I thought it looked a little dark in the first picture but the depth of colour in your paintwork really shows up in the latter pictures. Really nice work on the weathering too! I've picked up one each of the RPM Staghound Is and had a cursory peep in the boxes.....They look very involved to say the least and I get the impression you had some issues with your kit. Would you have any advice for a comparative novice building these for gaming purposes.....I had already decided to leave out the engine for the sake of a quicker and easier build. TIA & All the best Andy Smith

Of course.....My idea would only have had any relevance to the ground fighting in any case! I just thought it sounded cool and would give a little more flexibitity to us 'tanky-types'. There are only so many Shermans and Churchills with wading stacks available and many of them are either a bit pants or quite expensive, often both! All the best Andy Smith

How about 'Fifty Days In France' as a provisional subtitle to the GB?

Mish, Why not set the GB dates from D-Day (and various preceding nocturnal activities) to Operation Cobra and the breakout.....This would certainly allow a wider variety of armour for the Yanks, as they didn't receive any 76mm armed Shermans until around the latter date. I'd be happy to give what pointers I can regarding the armour used in this period, on both sides of the lines.....1/72 late war armour is my preferred modelling field and I have a reasonable grasp of what is out there kitwise. HTH & All the best Andy Smith

Thats a nice looking model. You could perhaps enhance the appearance of your your surface detail slightly with pinwashes and filters.....I or one of the other 'track-heads' would no doubt be quite happy to advise you on the use of these 'thinned-paint' techniques. As you rightly point out however, the biggest problem with this kit is the tracks.....But fear not, if you want to rebuild it, there are a now a few options for improving the running gear: Firstly Modelltrans Modellbau make complete resin running gear sets for the Italeri M13/41 and Semovente.....Simply strip off the old parts, paint the new ones and slot 'em on. The downside is that these things ain't cheap and can be quite hard to come by.....Demand for Modelltrans goodies seems to outstrip supply, especially in the UK. Secondly Unimodel make a range of seperately available L&L tracks for their 1/72 T-26 range.....The design and link size is similar enough that you can get away with using them on the Italeri M13/41 and Semovente. Unfortunately you need about one and a half sets for each Italian vehicle you want to upgrade and they are some right puny fiddly little things. The third option is a full etched-brass set from OKB Grigorov.....But, in my opinion, that way madness lies! I'll be building an M13/41 in German service at some point, using the UM T-26 L&L tracks to replace the ESCI/Italeri monstrosities.....I will try to remember to post my progress hereabouts, but I'm still finding my way around the forum, so I'll no doubt put it in totally the wrong place! HTH & All the best Andy Smith

I always liked the look of this rather battered old Tiger I at Aberdeen Proving Ground: So I built this as a tribute: The lighting in the pictures is horribly yellow and the model is much closer to the true colour than it appears. The 'White 712' decals were very kindly made for me by Peter Toth and are based on scans of the real thing. The kit is a rebuild of a Revell 1/72 Tiger I Ausf H that was built a couple of years ago. I corrected the height of the cupola and did my best to improve the awful job I had done on the L&L tracks, but these still look a bit rough. Various other bits were rebuilt, removed or just plain hacked off, to better represent 'White 712' as she appeared in the pictures that made me fall in love with her.....One day I may add all the missing tool clamps and tie-downs too.....But not just yet! For what it's worth & all the best Andy Smith

The LCM-3 was not used to carry armour on D-Day.....As has already been said infantry, Jeeps and similar light vehicles would be more normal cargos. For what it's worth & all the best Andy Smith PS - IIRC LCM-3s were used to carry armour accross the Rhine.

I had to search to find it, but it was well worth the effort.....Bravo! Nice job on the vehicles and your composition is good.....I really like your rebuild and reuse of the kit diorama components too. All the best Andy Smith

Unless of course you are sat in a pillbox looking down the muzzle! All the best Sgt.S

Hi Dave, The problem with painting the tracks and then adding them tends to be that superglue likes the paint more than the paint likes the tracks. The glue sticks to the paint which then peels away from the vinyl of the tracks, leaving a nasty gluey build up on your carefully painted running gear.....This is the single most common cause of 'floating-tracks' on small AFV models in my experience. Perhaps you could roll the tracks up, paint them and then place them on the truck or trailer as a seperate load.....Damaged tanks were often hauled around in this fashon, if I'm not mistaken. Sorry I can't be more helpful than this.....Band tracks were the bane of my modelling existence, until I switched to the build 'em first technique.....Since then I've actually started to quite like some of them. HTH & All the best PS - I forgot to mention that the Airfix 1/76 Sherman lacks return skids on its bogeys.....This reduces the available contact area on the upper run, making 'floating-tracks' even more likely where you want it least. I'd recommend also adding some return skids if you really must fit the tracks. http://www.afrikakorps.org/_photos/US/BogeyTypesWheels.jpg PPS - I also forgot to mention.....Lovely paintjob and weathering! PPPS - The Airfix tracks are nasty.....I have spare ESCI/Italeri bands which will apparently fit the Airfix kit.....I've never tried it! These might look better rolled up too, as they do at least have some chevron detail. Send me an e-mail or PM if you want them.

Hi Dave, I'd recommend assembling the whole model, tracks and all before any painting or even undercoating takes place.....If the model permits you may be OK with large subassemblies. The only way I have found to get paint to stay on these tracks is to paint them in situ. I would recommend using only acrylic paint and undercoat on band style tracks, as many band tracks begin to disintegrate after painting with oil based paints. Oil washes seem to flake the paint straight off certain band style tracks.....Notably the nasty new grey things Airfix are using! HTH & All the best Sgt.S

Looks fantastic to me too! All the best Sgt.S

Did you paint the tracks with enamels? If so you may be in for an awful lot of breakages over time. I always recommend fitting band style tracks before any painting or even undercoating has taken place. I use CA glue and work in small sections starting from the sprocket. Once they are well stuck down I undercoat the lot in black acrylic and only then start to build up the colours. For what it's worth & all the best Andy Smith

Nice to see you too Daz! All the best Andy Smith

Is that you young Hawk.....I get everywhere, me! All the best Andy Smith

I'd be inclined to avoid the Academy Kubels, unless you are prepared to use the Italeri wheels on them.....The Academy wheels are way too small! I think the Italeri kit is still probably the most accurate in 1/72, even if it is a little clunky and lacking in detail. For something a bit different, you could try one of the Military Wheels VWs: http://henk.fox3000.com/MilitaryWheels.htm Their VW Type 97 has an extra set of DAK balloon tyres.....Ideal for tarting up at least one Academy Kubelwagen kit! HTH & All the best Andy Smith

Brilliant stuff Keith! I have to admit I've been wondering why you have used the 1/76 Airfix Opel with all those lovely 1/72 kits? Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful model and it looks good, but it is noticably small in comparison with the Kubelwagens.....Might I suggest the Roden 1/72 kit as an option? I think the new widened lower portion of your base was a very sound idea, as the original looked a little crowded. Now you have plenty of space to build in some little cameos around the vehicles and to place an infantry section to hide the 250's tracks.....I cannot imagine why ACE think they will sell more of these models with etched tracks than they would with plastic L&L! Great work so far.....I look forward to seeing the finish! All the best Andy Smith