APA

Good point Pete and that's exactly what I'm going for with variation from matte to shiny depending on ware etc 👍 Are you suggesting I go for a pimped up sparkling example from an over zealous petrol head pre greaser dispatch rider? 😎 Minty fresh and looking more like a bad build than most real builds 😂🤔 Cheers all Andrew

Thanks Ed really glad your liking the build 👍 Cheers Keith 😀 still plenty to go wrong 😂 Cheers all Andrew

Excellent result Keith. Big scale done very well. I'm impressed 😁👍🏻👍🏻 ANdrew

Very impressive Ned. You have mastered subtle weathering to an art👍🏻. Andrew

Flippin' 'eck!! thats a bit detailed for a 1/72!! Better than some 1/35 and so many sprues!! Great start and good luck 😁 Andrew

Nice one John 👍🏻 Should be a cool build. Hours of fun working out the correct bits for a Mk1 🙄 and that paint scheme looks damn cool. Good luck with it! As for the spare tracks. Who knows! Could be welded but more likely a field bracket of some sort as with a Matilda? Andrew

Wiring and a few odds and sods this weekend. Done the loom and all the wiring I can do without the engine in place. Horn cable Seat springs and brackets sorted (Springs just placed hence wonkyness) Cable for rear light First cable to the regulator and the dangling cable is for the battery positive. Also added a rubber boot on the alternator. All the restored versions have bare wires going in but they originally had this boot. Loom and additional wiring coming out of the headlight where most of the electrics are. I do believe that the next step is to crack out the airbrush!! 🫣 Cheers all Andrew

That is a pretty good chart to show off the various sheens. Egg shell or maybe between eggshell and Satin is where I'm aiming at the mo. Thanks for this. Ah is that unconscious bias? 😉 I was collating the raw data to be analysed. 🧐 And it looks like Mike was indeed listening 😁👍🏻 I am indeed mostly using Vallejo which does give an almost Matte finish. If you apply it thick it then gives an almost eggshell but it does have to be very thick which would flood the detail. I will indeed be mixing vallejo matt and satin to get that soft eggshell sheen. Interesting that you should mentio0n buffing because I am intending to buff the sides of the petrol tank where the legs would rub and give a slight shine. At 1/9th it should be effective. Thanks for those other tips btw. Will be noted for future reference 😊👍🏻 Hi Mike 😁. Been a while, hope you're well? Thank you for the confirmation on the sheen. It does point me more to a sheen between eggshell and satin. I have Matte and Satin varnishes so a play with various blends should bet me to where I need to be. Interesting that you say it is a very smooth finish. I often find an airprush can give a textured finish so I'll have to watch out for that! While your here.............. The colour has been troubling me. These bikes where made between '41 and '45 so, reading your book for France & NW Europe 1936 - 45 SCC2 became the official base coat for all vehicles in May '42 and SCC15 being introduced in April '44 therefore I would assume that the vast majority would have been in SCC2 and unlikely to have ever been repainted unless needed since they were class B vehicles. Would that be a fair assumption? 🤣👏👍🏻 Depends if easter is early or late in which case it may be Khaki Green No3 or SCC2 😁 Cheers all Andrew

Big day today. First full dry fit of almost everything. Suffice to say, and you won't be suprised, there are a lot of fit issues. I'm going to have a lot of problems with this and it may turn out a bit bent! I wrapped the seats with some tin foil from an easter egg which had some very subtle texture which hopefully will look a little like the leatherette type material used. I also added a bit of sag to the main seat. (See above pic) Apologies for the gratuitous knee 😳 Still got a few kit parts to add and a few scratch bits before I start painting. Probably more than I think 🫣 Cheers all Andrew

Thank you fikolo Ha ha! appreciated FB Hi John, no I doubt it too. They gave it a half assed shot back in '72 😂 I agree echen. Imagine if Gecko, Riich or Miniart tried their hand. Now that I would definitely buy 😉 Thanks Rob. I wouldn't know one end from another on a real one 🤡 My big brother, on the other hand, used to have a couple of Trials Bikes back in the day. A lime green Kawasaki with a diamond shaped tank springs to mind but I was about 12 at the time 😊 The grips are wrapped with some random material I've picked up along the way. It's very elastic. I suggest you go rooting through Mrs robgizlu's sideboard draws with a pair of scissors for inspiration 😉😎😜 Cheers All Andrew

Cheers keith. There's not a lot of it left 😂 Andrew

Thank you all. In the real world a satin sounds like a good approximation and yes I understand about scale however the reason I'm asking is for my 1/9 scale triumph 3hw motorbike. I'm assuming at that scale I have the canvas to play with the sheen? Perhaps a satin varnish cut down with matt to just give a hint of "eggshell gloss" 😂😉 Andrew

For a change this isn't about the colour but about the finish. Pretty simple question, what was it? Matt, Satin or Gloss. I've seen various period photos which would suggest all three at some point! I would imagine true matt was pretty hard to do and there would be at least a bit of a sheen. Haven't seen him on here for a while but @Mike Starmer might be able to help? Cheers all Andrew

Great little build and well done on the early camo scheme. Andrew

Great build as always john 👌 just need the kitchen sink to go with pots and pans 😁 Andrew

Great work James 👍 Andrew

Always impressive Paul. Keep on keeping on ☺️👍 Andrew

First class work howard. Great detail which is showing the benefits now 👌 Andrew

Great stuff simon. Really enjoying following along. Looking cuter every day 😂 Andrew

Thanks Gogser. Really glad your enjoying it 😁👍 Cheers Stef, much appreciated and thanks for following along 😀👍 Cheers all Andrew

Finally!! Starting to see the end of the tunnel. Bit the bullet and powered through the front forks. All dry fitted for now. Actually starting to look like a motorbike now 😊 Started on a couple of cables Replaced the kit handlebar grips with more appropriate ones including the accelerator thingy. Also thinned out the brake and clutch handles. Cit version for comparison. The real things are quite long. New headlight blackout visor. The small round hole will have a white acrylic lens in it. Had a go ate weighting the tyres and it seems to have worked. I Proxxon'd out the solid inside and slipped in a piece of plasticard to spread the side out. And flattened the tyre bottom. Subtle but does the job I hope. Not a great deal to do now. I think it's just the wiring loom and cables. I need to put everything together just to make sure they all fit !! 🙄. Wish me luck!! 🤞🏻 Cheers all Andrew

Sorry for the delay! The most obvious and simple correction is the half circle on the front of the 'bonnet' should be a full circle. The example in Bovington, which this model is based on, has a simple plate put on which they didn't bother to cut the other circle half out. This hole is for a filler cap of come sort which should be easy to add. I didn't find this out until I'd finished mine 😁 The frames on the side and rear which hold the wooden block shoes for the tracks are a bit chunky and can be easily replaced with thin strips of copper if you have any around. Some additions which you can do to add some interest are: Storage boxes and hand rails were a common addition on the rear Handrails at rear They also came with canvas mudguards which weren't used much but still cool. You can just see them on the pic above with the storage boxes either side. Those metal angles sticking out on all 4 corners is where they were hung from by 3 springs each end Finally the exhaust silencers werre often wrapped in asbestos rope which can be easily replicated by good quality cotton thread. Hope this helps and happy building 😁👍🏻 Andrew

Love it. Great subject and excellent weathering 👌👏👍 Andrew

Well I can confirm it's green 😁👍 Great start to a great kit. You've got passed the hardest part of getting the top hull and 'cabin' square with no gaps, another 👍 There are a few easy fixes to make it a tad more accurate and a few additions to jazz it up if your that way inclined? Andrew

Hi, no I didn't mean this is a prototype I meant prototypes have the red triangle as well because they are not armoured. Andrew