Matt182

Cheers guys, Phil, I'm only using acrylics for this build. For the red oxide I'm using vallejo cavalry brown (70.982). It's a very good match straight from the bottle. Looking forward to seeing your build. Have you decided how far your going to go detail wise?

Very nice build, looking forward to seeing this fully weathered and the planned dio.

Cheers guys The engine and fan boxes were painted with a mixture of vallejo and revell acrylics. They were given a coat of gloss varnish, some heavy washes of burnt umber oils and then finished with matt/satin varnish. Finally, they were guled in place into the engine bay. With the hull top on. Cheers Matt

Thanks for your comments guys I've made some more progress. The lower hull painting is complete. The detail painting took me longer than I expected! I did some basic washes with burnt sienna oil paint but I can't seem to get it to show well in these photos, this kit is way too big for my photo both. Anyway, it is there, just not that obvious. So now I have a box full of components to paint. I think I will start with the engine bay and work forward. Cheers Matt

Hi guys, Well, it's been a few months since i've done any work on this one. I suppose I'm at the point where I can't just carry on building parts, I needed to start painting so I decided to change my approach from building everything first to paint as I build. I started off with the red oxide primer which covers most off the lower hull. This was followed by quite an awkward masking session. Finally, on went the ivory. The ivory looks like white in the photos but it is more of a cream colour in person. Just got some touching up to do then I can start the detailing. Cheers Matt

It should of come with side skirts but for some reason Dragon decided not to include them. I'm planning to buy the Eduard set for mine too, which would be preferable to plastic parts, even if they were included! Cant really fault anything else in the kit except the missing side skirts

I would recommend Kit 6384 - Panther ausf G with zimmerit. http://www.dragon-models.com/d-m-item.asp?pid=DRA6384 I have this in my stash and it is a superb kit. Dragon do a late ausf A but you will need to make your own zimmerit. Tamiya's kits are nice but Dragon really is the top dog when it comes to Panthers

Sorry Jack, I have to disagree with you regarding detail. The AFV Club kit is far superior in this respect. It has much finer moulding, seperate tools, photo etch grills and, on the late version, moulded on zimmerit. Also the fit of the AFV Club kits is brilliant. The only pros I can give for Tamiya is the link and length tracks, but even then they are not that much better. Heres an AFV Club late I made a few years ago. Totally oob except the barrel, decals and head light cable. I would recommend the AFV club kits every time. Matt

Cheers guys, A little confession though. I started painting the camo scheme last night and made a real hash of it I'm going to give it a new coat of paint, hopfully I can save it!

Thanks for the positive comments guys, much appreciated I've now finished construction. Adding all those extra welds was rather time consuming! I decided I wanted to add a little battle damage to this one. Not something I've done before but I thought I'd give it a try. First I added some sharpnel damage by the grills I then had a go at adding a small caliber deflected shell impact. I also added some light flame cut texture to the edges of the armour plate. Also added was some cast texture using mister surfacer 500 I added a figure I had in the spares box, MK35 productions I think. I'm pretty happy with the overall build. I've noticed a couple of bits in the photos that need a little clean up but I'd say it's ready for some paint. Cheers Matt

Nice start on the tracks. Watching with interest. What's your plan for the zimmiert?

Great work Phil, looks the part.

Great job Oz!

Looking very nice Oz

Hi guys, Just thought I would share with you what I'm working on at the moment. I'm taking a break from the Trumpy KT so I thought I'd get this smaller one finished. I've made a few changes to the kit, mainly the fruil tracks and voyager barrel but I've also replaced a fair few parts with superior parts from the spares box. I've tried to keep photo etch to minimum for an easier build. The build is nearly complete, just a few parts, weld seams and a little clean up left to go. I'm going to paint this in the 'ambush' camo scheme as it will be good practise for when I come to paint the big KT. Cheers Matt

Nice start to an interesting conversion, i'll be following along

Excellent work on both Oz. I'm really liking the finish on the T34. Did you use the Humburol washes straight from the jar or were they thinned out? How would you rate them? Cheers Matt

Hi all, Some of you might be interested in these muzzle brakes from Aber. I have the early version for a future Tiger 1 build and all I can say is what an excellent piece of work they are. Early version http://www.aber.net.pl/detal,1189.html Late version - Only just annouced so not available just yet http://www.aber.net.pl/detal,1210.html They are quite pricey (around £35) but there is nothing else readily available on the market that is even close to the quality of these muzzle brakes. Cheers Matt

Short answer is yes, the Porsche turrets did carry the the mount. Long anwswer: The mount was usually stored in the turret, in one of the large stowage bins. It would usually only be fitted to the cupola when behind the front lines or during transport. Photos of the Porsche turreted Tiger IIs are limited (only 50 were built, along with 3 prototypes) and most were taken near the front line or at firing ranges / training grounds. It's worth also bearing in mind that pretty much all these tanks were sent to France where the allies had almost complete air superiority. Many were destroyed or broke down before seeing any action. The crews would of been far more concerned with getting the tanks out of the open and into cover as soon as possible. The AA mg was pretty much useless for air defence and the crews were well aware of this.

Fantastic! I really like that diorama, what a brilliant idea and the workmanship is top notch.

Guys, Thanks very much for the quick and informative replies. I had a quick look at the SAC set and I think I will get a set, just for peace of mind. Regarding the colours, guess I was thinking I could weather flat black for better scale effect but as pointed out, Nato black will do that straight out the jar. Are there any simple mixes for dark earth that can be made from the Tamiya colours? I'd prefer to not have to order paint online if possible. As for the exhausts, I've learnt something new today Cheers Matt

Hi all, I recently picked up Revell's 1/72 Lancaster MkI/III after being inspired by the BBMF and getting up close to the Lancasters a couple of weeks ago. I've already purchased some PE parts for the cockpit, replacement .303 brownings, replacement resin wheels and some canopy masks. I just have a few questions about the kit and the Lancasters themselves. 1. While searching for info on the kit I came across some threads that mention the kit landing gear is weak and tends to wilt over time or even collapse. Has anyone encountered this? I had a look at the kit parts and they do like quite flimsy for such a large model. Is it worth replacing them with metal parts? 2. I fancy using Tamiya paints for this one. Can anyone recommend which colours to use? I've seen suggestions of using Nato Black but that is surely a little grey in appearance. I'm thinking just straight flat black. 3. Finally a question about the real aircraft. Why do the exhausts leave so much 'crap' over the wings and nacelles? Is it to do with the type of fuel? When I saw the BBMF Lancaster the no. 2 & 3 engines nacelles were filthy. Would it be the same case during wartime? Sorry for all the questions. Any anwsers would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Matt

looking good, the camo has come out really well

Smart move by Italeri and i'm sure it will be a good earner for them. Personally, I'm a little surprised it isn't Tamiya doing this though. I think their kits are better suited to the traget audience.

Hi Mick, I used Loctite super glue. The vinyl seems to retard the drying time but it will glue together eventually. Normal styrene glue has no effect on these parts what so ever. 2 part epoxy may work but i'm not sure how it would react with the vinyl. These parts really are a low point in this kit, why Trumpeter didn't just provide styrene parts is beyond me. I'm hoping to have an update soon, just doing some final prep work on the turret before painting begins at last