metadyne

Decals fitted, they need some dirt and dust to help them blend in with their surroundings.

that's all the parts from the kit fitted, now after a general clean up time for some general views of it in a fresh coat of base green. next step a pinch of salt here and there....

range finder bulges either side of the commanders sub turret. the cage brackets underneath comms line made of thread.

the tow cable stowage is interesting, though this close up I am all over the faults.

the commanders vision devices are in clear plastic, only the upper exterior portion, typical of black label, not even a nod toward the interior. the turret basket/cage on the bustle, put up a fight, got it together, then applied a second application of cement to add strength. not as fine as the real at Bovington. Thing I'll cover it with a canvass and cam netting.

first mud effects on the lower surfaces, I'm counting on this drying and cracking like the mud on an autumn ex on Soltau. there's more subtle layers to go on the track. the long exercises on the Soltau Luneburg extension could go from this.... (taken by me in 1981) to this back of the throat dust that gets into everything. taken in 1987 back to the model, and more subtle applications of mud to go on the track.

base green coat for the lower hull and running gear, first of many paint effects on this area.

The Black Label is a side line of specialist armour kits from DML, They're neither better nor worse than any any other DML kit, it's only the subject matter that is so specialist. Post war/cold war armour for the particular taste of the specialist armour fan. No Interior though, not even inside surfaces of hatches. of course ignoring my own reference photo, I mounted the lock the wrong way around, corrected now, the head adjusts/swivels to meet the barrel and avoid catching the rear track guard.

Road Wheels, track adjuster/idler wheels, return rollers and sprockets all fitted up in line.

track painting over a spray cost of Halfords plastic primer. the primer stops any degrading of the tracks when the enamel paint effects them. scrub in track tones by lifecolour. a dry cloth helps to take the heavy tone down leaving the previous colour in the recesses. all the way through a test around the sprocket check it won't crack.

how the breech block should look. Except this is inverted, the handle should be on the right, but the recooperator lug prevented Bovington displaying it the right way up.

peek down the unmade turret interior, nothing glued down yet, loads more to build inside, including the commanders turret basket turret horizontal cables, breech face ect.

the bogies fit to the hull with a shallow shaped stud. Then individual bump stops fit between like webs

Yes, it's the one at the Tank Museum in Dorset, The Aber gun needs assembling early so I can do A comparison with the kit barrel before it gets cut up and used inside against the breech. quickly and simply makes up into a nice piece. but those of you, with a keen eye for detail will notice I've assembled the muzzle end about face. It shouldn't flair like a shotgun barrel. that's why trial fitting ids so important to me. it should look like this.

another handy shot showing track colour, it's crazy painting tank track from imagination, as there is little rust, no silver, but what there is, a multitude of subtle shades. there is a renewed track link in here that has a differing shade due to not having run with the rest of the track life. An interesting observation none the less.