sunray

Thanks Clive and I enjoyed your build to mate.

Thanks mate. For the decals, if you click on the build link at the start of the thread approx half way down the first page I give a step by step description of what I did, used, where I got it from and cost. I have just had a quick look at your diorama's which are very impressive and I think making your own decals will help with scale posters, adverts, signs, etc. Believe it or not they are not hard to do. If I can help just let me know. As for the rust patches I think I will just leave it alone as I have started my next kit but thanks anyway.

Well its finished and the final reveal photo's are here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235028887-132-revell-lee-tank-m3/

Thanks chaps. I agree about the rust. When I finished adding the rust spots I realised I hadn't any thinner and as I was going out on the town with the lads, I thought I would sort it another day. I proceeded to forget about it and remembered after I had given it a few coats of Klear. In a word, bugger. I think there is a lesson there somewhere. Oh well never mind. On a positive note the brush I used which was one of my favourites, went solid due to the lack of thinners. So I borrowed a bar of artists soap off the wife and found that it was easy to bring it back to life as good as new. Its good for enamels, oils and acrylics. The kit only cost a few pounds off ebay. I would of preferred the Airfix one as the tracks are nearer the mark than the Revell one plus the Revell decals on this kit are naff. The "Stars & Stripes" and the tank serial numbers decals are homemade as the kit decals just would not settle and eventfully fell apart but its all part of the fun.

Here is my go at this old kit. The decals aren't the best so I made some myself just have a look at the build thread to see how I got on. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235021293-132-revell-lee-tank-m3/ Anyway here are a few photo's.

The last few things that need to be done are the lights to be painted, a bit more weathering, a coat of flat varnish and the antenna to make and attach. The lights were straight forward and were quickly done. Next I added Sand Florymodels Wash to my airbrush and thinned it with tap water. I then preceded to lightly spray the lower hull, tracks, etc. Once happy I gave the whole tank a coat of flat varnish to seal in the wash and flatten the shiny finish.To make the antenna I used a thin piece of copper wire rolled with a metal rule to flatten and straighten the wire. It was then cut to size and attached using CA glue then painted. Now the tank itself is finished and all I have to do is make the stand from wood. So here are a few more photo's of the finished tank minus stand.

Thanks Clive. Kris I did know about the track pads and I thought of a few options. I looked around for replacements but couldn't find any in 1/32. On ebay someone was selling an Airfix 1/32 Grant and I know that track would of been nearer the mark but then if I used the track off that, I am left in the same position on the Grant. I thought about modifying them but I hate working with the vinyl. As I have mentioned before I am allergic to CA glue and my nose would be running for England for weeks. So I had to bit the bullet or track and admit defeat on that one. Anyway thanks Kris for taking the time to keep me on the "right track" (if you pardon the pun). Hopefully I will finish it in the next few days and then on to the next one.

So now for the tracks. Doing Vinyl tracks are definitely not my favourite pastime but here we go. Normally I attach the tracks using CA glue but the problem I have is that I am allergic to the stuff so I would have to do it outside. As in was nighttime and a touch windy outside I thought I would try something different. I asked a few people if they Knew of any new types of glue for vinyl but no. The answers I was getting were the old methods, a hot screw driver tip or staples. So I asked my kids if I could borrow their stapler and I put two staples in each track and I test fitted to see what they looked like on the tank.I primed the tracks and I sprayed the track pads black. Then once dry I masked the pads with Tamiya masking tape. As with most things in life the width of the pads didn't correspond with the width of the tape. So first the tools.I measured the width required with a set of calipers. I then stuck a length of 18mm tape on an old CD case. Using a steel set square and modelling knife I squared off the edge of the tape with the CD case.Now I marked the tape with the calipers.Then using a modelling knife and set square I cut the tape to the required width.Its just a case of attaching the tape.I then sprayed the edges of the tracks with Vallejo Model Air Rust and removed the tape.And on the tank they went ensuring that the staples were hidden as best as possible under a track wheel.There was one small problem with the tracks and that was one was slightly longer then required so I would have to add a bit of sag to the track. I have looked at reference photo's and I didn't see much track sag but I had no choice. So I had to get out the CA glue anyway and wait for day light. I added drops of glue on the upper roller wheels and the lower track wheel. To keep the track shape while the CA glue cured I used wooden ice lolly sticks and cocktail sticks as wedges. With that done I started doing the weathering. I gave the tank another coat of Klear mainly to seal the paint on the tracks. I used a black Vallejo wash on the rust coloured track links to bring out any detail and then Florymodels Sand wash all over the tracks and then wiped it off with a just damp towel and cotton bud. To bring out the track teeth, bolt heads, metal edges I used a graphite pencil. The other thing I did was to make a small crate out of scrap plastic and tin foil and I added a funnel from my spares box. I have still a bit to do but here are a few more photo's to show you how I am getting on.

Excellent finish Clive. Love all the detail.

Thanks Clive. I still have a bit to go and then the vinyl tracks to sort out which isn't my favourite of jobs.

I have given the tank a few extra coats of Klear, then the next little job is the weathering. The look I am after is a tank that has been worked hard and worn, so a bit of chipping, rust. I gave the tank a quick going over of dry brushing using Vallejo Model Air Steel to pick up edges, bolts, etc, and then on to the washes. The washes I have used so far are Vallejo, Humbrol and AK.The first wash I used was Vallejo which was applied basically all over the tank and then I used Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and water to push the wash around. Using the thinner you have to be careful not to work it in too much in case its starts eating into the base coat. Thats why I gave the tank a few extra coats of Klear to protect the base coat, but if this happens I just stop and add a bit of water to dilute the thinner. The paint turns a pale grey colour as it sometimes picks up a bit of the primer coat but once dry the area it changes to a paler shade of the base coat adding to the effect. I find this wash gives a dirty, grimy and worn look.With that done I moved on to the decals and I added a touch of chipping. All I used was a fine brush and the base colour Olive Drab.As the eye is drawn to the decals due to their shape or colour I think the chipping of the decal adds to the worn effect plus its a good way of hiding damage. In this case the Stars & Stripes had a very thin white line on the outside edge of the top and bottom red stripe when I cut the flag from the homemade decal sheet but now it just looks worn.When doing chipping I try to keep it as nonuniform as possible.The next wash I used was the Humbrol for the Rust. As the Vallejo was an acrylic wash the Humbrol is an enamel wash and I find it easier to control. So using a find brush I add a drop on a hinge or bolt and let capillary action do the work. If I have added too much I use a larger brush to draw the wash down as I have ran out of thinner. After the rust I used the AK Kerosene wash to an oil feel on wheel hubs, fuel spills, etc.

Thanks mate. I didn't know this was a re-issue and as for the decals you made the right decision. Apart from that I am enjoying the build.

Thanks Clive I have been busy doing other things but I have managed to do some work on the Lee. I decided to add some bags which are 1/32 I found in my spares box. They needed tiding up but that didn't take long. Once painted they didn't look too bad. Now I have come to the part of the build that requires the decals, so I proceeded to apply the kit decals. I used Micro Set and Sol without any issues but after the first application of Micro Sol I noticed the decals didn't crinkle up as normal. I have had this happen before so I waited over night. The following day I noticed a few bubbles and loads of silvering. So I popped the bubbles with a pin a gently tapped the silvering also with the pin and then I reapplied the Micro Sol but I had the same result. I even applied a coat of Tamiya X20 Thinner to the decals and again with the same result. Then when I had a closer look and you could see that decals had not adhered to the surface plus they were brittle. So I put this down to the age of the decals and I came to the conclusion they were unusable. So I decided to remove the decals and I will make my own, I have made them before on a RC 1/16 Walker Bulldog upgrade I did a few years ago and its not hard. First you have to get the special paper and that depends on what printer you are going to use. I have tried making the decals on an inkjet and a colour laser. Out of the two I find the colour laser the best and quickest to use. The reason being if you decide to use an inkjet printer, once you have printed the decal sheet you have to give it a coat of varnish to seal in the ink before you can use the decal sheet. With a laser you don't and you can use it almost straight from the printer. The other reason is that because the laser doesn't require a coat of varnish the decal itself is a lot thinner. In the photo below "Predator Sam" & "Uncle Sam" were printed using a inkjet printer and they were given coat of varnish before being cut to size and applied. As you can see the decals are quite thick so I removed them and printed new ones using a laser printer instead. The photo's below are the laser printed ones. So I am going to use a colour laser printer. For a laser printer (as the same for an inkjet printer) there are two types of paper, clear or transparent and white. The reason for this is that your printer doesn't print white so if your new decal has white in it, you can either paint the area where the decal is going to be placed white and use the clear paper or use the white paper. The problem with using the white paper is that you have to be really good with a modelling knife if your decal is say white lettering, etc. This is the only real draw back as I can see. The "white stars" were printed on white paper and what I did was to draw the stars with a very thin black hairline as a cutting guide in the software I was using (an old version of CorelDraw). So as I cut out the star it destroyed the thin black line.You can buy your paper on Ebay but I got mine from http://www.homecrafts.co.uk/laser-water-slide-decal-paper-a4-white http://www.homecrafts.co.uk/laser-water-slide-decal-paper-clear They also sell the inkjet version. It costs £8.99 for ten A4 sheets but on your first order you get 20% discount with a code. What I do is cut the A4 in half and then you have twenty sheets of A5.For the software I use CorelDraw but there are loads of free drawing apps available on the web or just use Windows Paint. The other thing you might require is the correct font which again can found in most cases free on the web.Now I am ready to go. What I need for my tank is the serial number which isn't a problem because the one I am after is in black and I also need a stars & stripes. So for the serial number I will use a clear sheet of decal paper and for the stars & stripes I will need the white paper. I also measured up the original decals so to get the correct size. What I also do is to print off a test sheet on normal white paper to check the decal size, etc before I use the decal paper.All you have to do now is print off the sheet. As to not waste the paper I have added one or two badges, etc that I might need on future builds and to practise on. At the minute I am not ready to apply the new decals as I have one or two things to do to my tank so I got my "Buster" out to give you a demo. I am going to use one of the "Killer" decals, so I cut it out as normal and placed it in the water. The water doesn't need to be warm as I used cold and it took less than 30 sec to slide off the backing sheet. I used some Micro Set and then applied the decal. The surface of my Buster isn't glossy at all and is more a matt finish. Then I removed the excess water and pushed out any bubbles with a soft brush and cotton bud. Then I applied the Micro Sol. As you can see from the photo below I added a bit too much Sol but it doesn't matter. The decal started crinkling almost straight away. And after ten minutes here is the result. Just to see what would happen I gave it another go with the Micro Sol. There is no silvering at all and thats on an uneven surface. So as I have said earlier I removed the old ones from the tank. It was only the transparent kit decals that needed replacing. The others were ok. I then resprayed the area again and made my decals on clear decal paper. I applied the home made decals using Microsol and Set. For the Stars & Stripes flag on the front of the hull I used white decal paper. As the sheet was A4 I added a few other things that I might use in future builds as with the transparent decal sheet. I cut out the flag with a knife. Then I applied as normal. The decals adhere extremely well. The film is very thin but for decals they are quite robust. The decals on the turret, the "L 3's" are from the kit and the rest are homemade. Then I gave everything a coat of Klear to seal.

What a beauty!

Excellent result. I build one a few years ago and though not the best kit it gave a lot of fun.

Thanks mate. Thanks mate. The stands are easy & cheap to make plus I agree adds a bit of action. Its just a personal thing but I think they look better wheels up.

Thanks mate. I have got another one to make, but this time in the Red Arrows livery.

Thanks again for the kind comments chaps.

And one or two more....

Here are a few more...

Thanks chaps for the kind comments. Thanks Paul. I might use that idea about the Mach Loop on my next attempt. As for the 1/72 Gnat, I have made one of them a few years ago and they are cracking little kits in fact I am thinking of making a few of them in the near future. Good luck with yours. Dave I know what you mean. When I was a kid we used to go to North Wales for our holidays. I can remember watching these and then the Hawks flying pass us on the hills. I wish I had my DSLR camera then instead of my Kodak Instamatic. As kits go this one is a little gem and so is the photo etch set, so good luck with yours and I look forward in seeing the photo's.

Thanks again everyone for the kind comments. Thanks Horatio. As for the Blenhiem that's the real I am. I took the photo at Sunderland Air Show a few weeks ago while it was doing its display. Its already a film star as it was in the new Dunkirk film which was released in the UK on the same weekend.

Thanks Pete. Andy all the flying display photo's are taken with a Nikon D7200 set to "S" (speed priority) with ISO set at around 200 asa. I have the speed for props around 1/320 sec and jet above 1/800 sec but if I can get away with it I try to go as low as I can. The camera is set to take RAW images and not jpg. The weather as being mostly cloudy, so I set the exposure settings to over expose the photo about +2 clicks so you get the detail of the aircraft and not a silhouette but this is checked and changed as the light changes. The lens is a 55mm - 300mm zoom as it is light to carry and use all day. Once I get home I transfer all the photo's to my PC which can take a few hours. Then I use Photoshop's Camera RAW image tool to crop and adjust the image. For the B-17 all I did was ran the "clarity tool" from the Camera RAW tool over the image and drop the exposure a bit then saved it. Then I ran the Clarity Tool over it again. Then I saved it as a jpg. If the image is too blur to use I then use Corel Painter to produce things like this, I hope this helps and makes sense. If you have any more questions please let me know.

Noelh I did one sort of about three years but did it in 1/72 with Hawks. Most of my builds are done "in-flight" as I think they look more alive if you know what I mean. Have a look at my flickr page as I think you might enjoy it. All the photo's of my builds, airshows, etc. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecirpnai/albums

Thanks mate. Its a gem of a kit as is the photo etch set and I can't recommend this kit highly enough. I am thinking about building another one in the near future but of the Red Arrows next time.