Bullbasket

Having had to bail out of an STGB (yet again, sorry about that Stix) due to a number of reasons such as lack of time and a domestic disaster, I started looking around for a new build. I haven’t built anything new in 1/48th for several years, even though I have something around a dozen kits. Whilst rummaging through the stash, I came across an M4A2 resin conversion from Formations. Reading the instructions, it says that it has been designed to be used with Tamiya’s M4A1, which fortunately, I had tucked away in the cupboard. Checking what other bits and pieces that I had to hand, I came across several etched sheets for the Sherman, and a couple of sets of decals too. The conversion depicts an M4A2 with welded hoods, and that immediately counted out one of the sets as it was for a Sherman with cast hoods. Of the two remaining tanks that I had decals for, I couldn’t ascertain proof positive that they had welded hoods, but there’s a good chance that they did, which was good enough for me. So, what’s involved with this conversion. Formations include an upper hull, rear hull plate, exhaust, deflector and the two front track guard sections. The casting of all of these parts is superb. The rest of the build comes from the Tamiya kit, ie; lower hull with all of the running gear and tracks, but minus the rear hull plate, and the turret. As already stated, I have the decals (Bison) and several etched brass sheets for the Sherman. The Formations parts; ......and the Tamiya kit. Well, that's the project. As I said, it's a few years since I built anything in this scale, but I'm looking forward to the change. See you soon. John.

Brilliant model Jeroen, and the photos are fine. I love these Russian trucks. I have one of Miniart's Gaz AAA in the stash and have built Italeri's Ziz 5V. John.

.......such as Sauchiehall Street or Maryhill?

Have you heard some of the BBC accents recently?? Old aunty Beeb would turn in her grave. Noel Coward they ain't!!

Good to see some real modelling. It's looking good Ant. John.

Good progress so far Peter. You've taken on quite a package with these two. They would represent about eight months work for me. John.

It just gets better and better. I trust that the therapy is working. John.

Polygon - What happens when you leave the parrot's cage door open. Polyglot - The stuff at the bottom of a parrot's cage. Dumbfound - Oh look! There's Jeremy Vine.

Yep! My dear ol' Mum (gawd bless 'er) was married to my Dad, a Scot, for about 35 years until he passed away. When talking about her grand daughters, she always referred to them as "wee Jane" and "wee Diana" with an Ayrshire accent. We used to say to her "Mum, you're from Bethnal Green". John.

Welcome aboard Jozsef. John.

Excellent build, and very nice paint and weathering. John.

'Morning Ant. Interesting project and I'll follow your progress as I have the Dragon kit in the stash. There are quite a few sheets available for the 105, mostly from Bison/Star decals. Some of the most colourful markings are ones from Poland and France. BTW. A bit late now I know, but you could have just removed the engine deck and fitted one from the Tamiya kit. John.

Lovely job Simon. Great detail inside and out. John.

Lovely build Carius. Great paint job. John.

Turned out brilliant in the end. Nice one Mark. Oh, by the way. Did you know that Airfix are bring this out in 1/32nd next year? John.

Many thanks for that Peter. I have the Bison sheet for "Sheik" so will probably go with that one. John.

Shuffling through my spares boxes, I came across a 1/48th scale resin conversion from Tank Workshop for a Sherman lll with welded hoods. Now my question is, does anyone know of a lll that had welded hoods, and is available on a decal sheet. I've got a few sheets from Bison and Gaso.Line depicting British, French and New Zealand tanks, but it's difficult to ascertain from the drawings what kind of hood they had. On one sheet there are such gems as "Cocky" and "Sheik", but I have the feeling that these two might be direct vision. On the Kiwi sheet there are "Tiger Lil", "Queen of Beauty" and a couple of unnamed tanks. Any help you can give would be very much appreciated. Thanks. John.

They both turned out really well Darryl. In my opinion, and I stress that this is just my personal opinion, keep it simple. Unless I was going for a diorama, I don't see the need to spend a load of money on stuff for a base. You can achieve a dirt track with some basic household filler and paint it up and use pigments on it, then add some clumps of grass along the edges. John.

Nice work Dan. I like the galvanised chequer plates. Enjoy your snooze and take it easy. John.

D'ye no ken Stinky Wully? Jings!

...and William Smellie.

.....and the squadie on jankers will be given the chore of cleaning that! Nice work Simon. John.

....and that's why I don't do interiors. It's not like a cockpit where everything can be seen. But, that said, you've made a great job of it Darryl. John.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!! It's raining at last. It hasn't rained here for at least 4 hours!

I know it was, BUT, I didn't like to mention it (he said in a whisper).