Nenad Ilijic

Thank you. I agree, although for me as a photography beginner, it's hit and miss to catch this angle

Thank you Pete. Thank you Ernst. One of my favorites as well, although I like all of British tanks due to their diversity.

Thank you Wayne. There's still a lot to improve, for example, photos are a bit overexposed, perspective is not perfect, focus is not perfect, etc. but you have to start somewhere I think that I should play around with some software as well. Thank you once again, this was great help. Cheers, Nenad

Everything on this model is simply superb! Tools, exhaust, and details in general are beautiful.... You mentioned that you will apply flat coat, but you already applied mud. Do you avoid areas where mud is applied? Because at least for me, flat coat completely changes mud and dust so I usually apply them at the end. Best, Nenad

Fantastic job Fabrice. Weathering is superb!

Thank you. Thank you Ian. Exactly as you said, it's a national identification. It was used occasionally (mostly on AFVs in North Africa), for the first time during Western Desert campaign during 1941.

Hi guys, I finished my AFVClub Valentine MK II build (kit No. AF35185). You can find WIP posts here. It's an OOB build except some wiring added here and there. It's not based on any particular contemporary photo, but on a combination of several photos from Operation Crusader period. Painted with AK Real Colors No. 61 Light Stone. I tried to keep weathering to minimum as this tanks were quite new at this period. I used combination of Mig's North Africa Dust nature effects and pigments. This is also my first attempt to do a bit more professional photos (with DSLR and light box instead of my mobile). @diablo rsv thank you so much for your photography advice, it was very helpful. Here it is: And a few with black background: And a few details: Cheers, Nenad

Great job so far Simon. I have a Border Model version of this that I plan to build soon. I like the chipping. I switched to this method some time ago and I am using it almost exclusively now... even though "dual color" chipping looks great, it's a bit unrealistic for this scale, at least IMO. Will definitely follow this. Cheers, Nenad

Hi guys, I had some time over the weekend, so I managed to finish this one (maybe?). I Apologize for skipping posts for some steps. I tried to take photos with the camera this time instead of my phone... being total beginner with photography (my experience is limited to taking pictures of kids ) I hope it's not that bad. Anyway... when wash was done, I applied flat coat of Mr.Hobby Premium. I did some light chipping with Tamiya Flat Brown and Dark Iron mix. I then applied some subtle dust/sand. I first applied chipping fluid and then some light coat of Mig's North Africa Dust (airbrushed). I removed it here and there, especially in the areas where crew would walk or touch surfaces frequently. That, I added some additional deposits of North Africa Dust pigment where it should naturally in the crevices etc. Here's the result: And some details: As you may notice the wire connecting Lakemann mount and Bren gun is missing (it's not mentioned in the instructions?). I tried to scrap build it, but after some frustration, decided to leave it and call it done So it this one will probably go to RFI as it is now. Cheers, Nenad

Hi guys, I managed to finish painting and applied gloss coat (Mr.Hobby Premium Clear). I am quite happy with the color, I think it will be ok, especially once I tone it down a bit after weathering. Added some tools as well. Started doing some pin wash... Will get back soon with an update. Best, Nenad

Great work! Is this Tamiya kit built OOB or you added some AM details? This is my first AFVClub kit, and I must say I like it very much. The level of detail and quality of molding is like the best Dragon kits, but's it much better engineered (not Tamiya level, but still) and instructions are not confusing like Dragon kits. If there were not these accuracy issues and horrible vinyl tracks (and maybe decals) it would be perfect.

Thank you Mike. Interesting indeed. It looks like that MRP version is definitely BS.381C No.361, not BS.381C No. 61 Light Stone. At least the one I used. Best, Nenad

Hi guys, I had some progress. Basically finished building the model. Mostly OOB, except some changes due too accuracy issues, but still with the parts provided in the kit. The only additional details I added is wiring here and there (aerials, headlight, etc.). I painted the running gear completely before everything else because it world be hard to do this once sand shields are glued to the hull. I also finished the tracks including some light weathering. I had sooooo many problems with vinyl tracks this time. Usually, I manage to tame them, but this time, they were simply horrible and I had every possible problem imaginable with them... the molding was not very good, had to clean them a lot (semi-successfully), they didn't want to glue together... and finally when I painted them, coated them, everything looked fine until I stared weathering with powders and enamel thinner. All the paint just started peeling... I managed to hide the damage to some extent, but I'll definitely have to do some more work on them later. I guess I should buy AFVClub plastic ones or Fruils, but know I am too stubborn to do that now Primed with Mr. Surfacer 1500. I never painted a subject in No. 61 Light Stone before, so I was struggling to choose which paint to use. Just for curiosity reasons, I checked several manufacturers (Real Colors, Mission Models, Lifecolor, MRP compared to Mike Starmer mix). I made a separate topic for this. You can find it here. At the end, I decided to use Real Colors Light Stone version... so far, I like it. More to come this weekend. Best, Nenad

Thanks for the heads up Darryl. Decals in my kit look a bit strange. There are spots of discoloration here are there, like they were sprinkled with water or something like that... we'll see what happens when I try to apply them. Cheers, Nenad That was my guess as well. Command thank with additional radio. Although, I didn't find an explanation anywhere.

Great job! I like the weathering. Chipping is spot on. Fenders are particularly well done. Cheers, Nenad