diablo rsv

I didn't get as much time at the bench as I was hoping for over the festive period but I have managed to get the painting process underway. First job was to strip it all down and give it a wash in some soapy water to get rid of all the greasy finger marks and dust. Once that was done I used VMS' Metal Prep on the barrel and once dry the model was primed with Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. I left the primer to dry for a couple of days before I gave the model a check for any flaws and these were dealt with before applying an under coat of gloss white. This was applied in thin coats sprayed mostly from above. The idea is to give the top coat a little depth and accentuate the shadows and highlights. The wheels were painted tyre black, I then cut some masks for the tyres and gave the hubs a light coat of white as well. I shall give it all a day or two to dry before I start applying the top coats. In the mean time I shall get the next project underway. Wayne

Thanks Roger, I try to not get too carried away with the details but once I spot something that needs adding or alterating I just can't help myself. Thanks John. Welcome along Bertie. I'm pleased with the resin tracks, when I first saw them I thought oh dear! but once cleaned up they look pretty good and they are actually quite simple to fit. Wayne

This is coming along very nicely Bertie, those tracks look excellent. I dug out my old Humbrol paints and found these. I presume they are what you mean. I used to use them on my aircraft builds for gun barrels, at the time I didn't build armour so never thought to try them on tracks but looking at yours I think I will give them a go. Wayne

That doesn't sound good John, hope it clears up soon. Nice to see some progress on the Cromwell though. Wayne

Nice progress Simon, welcome to the Centurion club, there are a few of us building Cents at the moment. Just one thing I've noticed on your build is that you have got the rear hull plate in the wrong position. The plate sits in slightly from the end of the sides so that there is no gap between itself and the radiator vents. It should took like more this. Hopefully it's not too late to alter it. I presume that you're aware that AFV do have a Mk.3 kit John, hopefully with the correct turret roof etc. Wayne

I feel your pain Bertie, unfortunately it doesn't get much easier with the Bronco kit tracks. It could get quite expensive if you have to rely on aftermarket tracks on all of your builds. Here's a link to my woes with the Bronco ones, if it works. Tracks Wayne

Nice work with those tracks Bertie, probably my least favourite part of building tanks. The barrel you need for the Mk.XI. is the OQFF 75mm. RB Model do one I believe but they are getting harder to find as RB Model seems to have ceased trading. Wayne

I found them to be quite straightforward really, there is enough interior to make it worth leaving the hatches open but nothing like your Mk.V. build. Wayne

I've spent the last few sessions on upgrading or replacing some of the smaller details. Unfortunately, after spending a few hours making tool clasps and brackets from strips of thin brass sheet I discovered, from period photos, that these early Cents didn't seem to carry any tools, at least not on the track guards. So I then spent time having to fill in holes where AFV would have you place them. The kit exhausts were drilled out and plastic strip was glued in to represent the supports/baffles. The AFV gun cradle seemed oversize so I scratched another one from plastic card. There were a few weld beads to add here and there and some metal plate edges were thinned down to give an illusion of scale thickness. I was going to use the Accurate Armour Bazooka plates but they are drilled for the grab handles and have the later attaching method so rather than filling the holes I decided to use the kit ones which once thinned down a bit are just fine. I did notice the way the plates are attached on the museum tank seem to be the later method and differed to period photos so I assume the Bovington tank has been altered at some point in its life. I managed to mess up the Accurate Armour towing cables by cutting them to short but it was the length suggested in the instructions, I guess they forgot it has an extended hull. That's pretty much it for the building stage. Next step will be to strip it down and give it a good clean ready for the painting stages. Wayne

Thanks Si, yes it really is a shame, I use them quite a lot so I hope they are just taking a break. I was so tempted to drive up there but I didn't think there was enough that I needed to make the journey worthwhile . Somehow I've managed to buy plenty since then on stuff I didn't know I needed. It would have been nice to see your builds, all worthy winners. Hopefully next year things will be closer to normal. Glad to hear it Enzo, it would be a shame to waste all that effort. Thanks Stix, I'm surprised that I can't find any completed builds on the internet, not sure what's putting people off, maybe because it's an odd looking Cent. It's a great photo, thank you.

Excellent choice John and very timely for me. My next project is going to be the Accurate Armour Charioteer conversion and as a side project I intend to use the spare parts of the Tamiya donor kit to finish the Airfix Cromwell that I started so that I could give some measurements to a guy over on Missing Links that was making replacement parts for it. So now I get to use your expertise on the subject for those little details that I normally miss. Wayne

Nearly there then? I find this part the most difficult to keep going on. I'm having similar issues getting mine to the paint stage. Just when I think I'm there I find another little detail that needs sorting out. Nicely done with the photoetch, although I didn't go down that route I can see where it's made a difference to yours. Looking forwards to seeing some paint going on. Wayne

Looking forwards to this thread Bertie, what's not to like about the Valentine? and with your presentation style it will make for a very enjoyable read. I have built the AFV club Mk.I and the Bronco Mk.IX and thoroughly enjoyed both kits, I still have a couple to add to the collection and could really do with the 'Into the Valley' book but its hard to find at a reasonable price so I will be dipping into this thread when I get round to building them. Wayne

Excellent work John, looks like you have another competition winner with this one. Wayne

Nice to see your progressing with this one. I wouldn't worry about the angle of the periscopes as they rotate I guess they could be left at different angles. Wayne

I have managed to find the time to do some more detailing work, mostly around the turret and with varying degrees of success. To start with, the turret bins had moulded on tie downs, which are fine if you don't want to add any stowage. I decided to remove them and replace the handles. The straps will be added later. There should also be a weld seam around the edges of the bins which I created with stretched sprue. The bins need a spacer fitting behind them as there should be a gap between the turret and the bins. Apart from one or two, most images of the prototype Cents don't show them with a mantlet cover, however most of the Mk.1 images do and I would have thought that those prototypes that were involved in Operation Sentry would most likely have had them. As AFV don't provide one and there is no after market available, yet, I decided to make one. Using what photos I could find I masked of the area of the cover and sculpted one from Fine Milliput. I also added some cast texture to the turret front as AFV's was a little too uniform and didn't look quite right. The reinforcing ribs are made from Tamiya masking tape and I have given it all a coat of Mr Surfacer 1000. There is still a little tiding up to do but overall I'm happy with how it's turned out. Another detail AFV has missed are the casting symbols just above the mantlet. I struggled to find a clear view of the exact detail. If I ever get to Bovington I must remember to take a selfie stick and try to get reference shots of the top of the turrets. I did manage to find a build on this forum of @Enzo Matrix's where he has used the Accurate Armour conversion and I copied their symbols on the assumption that they had done some research. ( Did you ever complete it Enzo?) The symbols were added with Archer transfers. I didn't have enough 2's so the numbers are not quite right but who's to know. The 20mm Polston supplied in the kit is a little basic and I was hoping to replace it with the RB Model 20mm Oerlikon L/70, which is similar to the Polston. Sadly it seems RB have ceased trading and trying to find one in the UK is proving impossible. I have found a couple in European shops but they are quoting 15 Euros postage for a 3 Euro item. So I had ago at improving what I had by drilling out the barrel and adding a spring. Unfortunately my ambition outweighed my abilities this time and it's not a great result. Looks like I will have to make up an order from one of those European suppliers to make the postage worth while, every cloud....eh! My next challenge is what to do with the kits very basic tool clamps. I don't want to buy a complete etched detail set just for a few clamps so it looks like I will have to attempt some more scratch building. Wayne

That's great John! Must have been lovely to spend some time with him. Congratulations on the competition results, what did you enter? I take it you belong to the IPMS then or can anyone enter? Wayne

Shame your progress is being hindered by these little hiccups, I'm surprised that Amusing Hobby didn't take the opportunity to improve upon what is really quite an old AFV kit. I may well have a look at my AVRE kit and see if it's worth the effort. I really can't see any reason to go with their Mk.5 over the AFV Club ones. It looks like you are beginning to get the better of this one though. Wayne

Very nicely done Ian, the painting, weathering and figures are top drawer. I like the bit of history that you have include albeit a sad story of many lost lives. Wayne

That's an interesting vehicle and very nicely modelled. Wayne

Nice find. I don't think they come up too often. It's a lovely little kit but it does benefit from an extra bit of work. Frank @Bughunter has done a more recent build than mine and is well worth checking out. He made a much better job of the metal panels on his by using actual aluminium and he also spotted a couple of details that I missed on mine. You can find his build HERE or his more detailed work in progress over on the WW1 Aircraft modellers forum HERE, again well worth a read.

That is an excellent piece of work Steve, I love the way you have studied the extra little details and recreated them on the model. The finish and paint work is spot on and seems very authentic. I think you must be the Tiger King. Wayne

That's an interesting and unusual subject Nenad, very nicely built, the painting and weathering is also top notch. Wayne

I saw somebody else's and thought it was a good idea. You have some excellent work there Frank. I also have the new Eduard Camels but I really must finish off some of the stalled builds before I start on them, at least this time I will be able see what details and alterations you make first.

That paint work looks superb Vytautas. Wayne