alanbeeb

My first model for 2 years.... just not had time. I started building the RFM Challenger 2 but its over-surfeit of tiny parts broke my will and its having a rest..... decided to do this "Sanity Build" Tamiya M60 instead. Couldn't believe it when I saw "Tamiya c. 1970" printed on some of the sprues! - must be even older than the Panther A I made 2 years ago! But never mind that it went together very easily and it only took me 8 days start to finish which is lightning quick for me! Major inaccuracy alert - I did manage to mess up the gun barrel so this one has the heat-jacketed gun from an M60A3 instead (the parts were there in the box already). I'm not too bothered about accuracy myself - just makes it look meaner! I'll get round to the crew figures later.... One tip request please - is there a trick to making string look like cable?

I made that Challenger 1 kit back in the 1980s when it was brand new - I was just a teenager, but I was quite happy with it! It probably got skipped when my folks moved house after I'd left.

I am currently trying to build the RFM Challenger 2..... I'm not a very experienced modeller and I am really struggling with this kit because of the huge number of tiny parts - and I don't mean the tracks (which I got the hang of quite quickly), but all the detailed bits to be added to the hull and turret. Why use one part when you can have six seems to be the RFM philosophy! My mid-50s eyes and fingers simply cannot manage them, with all kinds of pliers, grips, tweezers and a loupe. I haven't dared to touch the PE parts yet.... but the thought of trying to fold such tiny pieces is putting me right off. Anyway, I just want to get onto the painting which is the bit I really enjoy, but at current rate that could be weeks away. Thinking of jacking it in - is the Tamiya model any easier? I've made the Tamiya old-skool Panther A and M-26 Pershing kits and was happy with the outcomes, they were straightforward assembly-wise.... are their modern kits much more complex? thanks.

Right enough - not sure how I missed those before! first step on the instruction sheet too.

I have one of these waiting to be built. Does anyone know of any crew figures for it? I will be building "in flight" once I get round to it.

What kind is the allied tank on the right of the picture? Thanks.

Must still be around... Saw one about 2 hours ago as I was driving on the A702 about 10 miles south of Edinburgh, flying fairly low over Pentland hills towards Penicuick. Never seen one before, at first I thought someone was flying a large drone until I realised it was further away.

Very nice. How have you achieved the blurry propellers effect?

I was googling for pics of how the boxes would be secured but what I found showed ration boxes just piled up higgeldy piggeldy on the rear of the tank. I'm a bit casual about these things I'm afraid!

Lovely models! Didn't even know there was an airfix kit - I have loved this aircraft since I saw one flying at the East Fortune Air Show back in 2002 - a big yellow bat machine, like something out of a Dan Dare comic. The kit seems to be rare, but found one on Ebay.

Yes Ikea Billy - but the shelves below hold a stash of LP records, which overhang the shelves by an inch - so couldn't fit doors!

But they are getting on very well together... (its surprising how much bigger the Panther seems, but I suppose it was 50 tons compared to the Pershing's 38 tons. Must do something about the tracks on the Panther one day!)

Finally.... only took me two months but serious illness in the family took me out of things for 6 weeks and was nearly finished then. Fairly pleased with this as a follow on from the old-skool tamiya Panther I built in March. Some of the decals are not quite right but something that I like on the shelf is more important than accuracy for me. Going contemporary with next build.... RFM Challenger 2 or Trumpeter T-14 Armata are waiting, but they might not get done until after summer when outdoors hopefully beckons. Straight out of box, no changes, painted with Vallejo acrylics and varnishes (which I am finally beginning to appreciate now I am learning how to use the airbrush). Mostly US Army Olive Drab 71.043

What was the "combat roller skate"?

Very nice! I made this model when it was new in the 1980s, can't remember how good or bad the fit was but I was happy with result then.... except the commander figure who I thought was very undersized - compared to the figures that came with the Merkava mk1 that was released about the same time he was tiny! And looks like he's in a painting by Munch, poor chap. It didn't come with any stowage or fuel cans in the 1980s IIRC.

M26 Pershing coming up in next few days and I'm even happier with it so far....

The last armour model I made was in the 1980s when I was in my teens. Wanted to try my hand in again so chose Tamiya's cheap original Panther A as a tryout. Very simple construction, the major thing for me was that this is first time I've painted camouflage with an airbrush. Lots to learn, I know the tracks are wrong, and there's a bit of silvering on one of the decals...but as a returnee I'm quite pleased with it! I didn't bother with the supplied crew figures as they were a bit caricature. Next up will be an M-26 Pershing so I can re-enact February 1945 on the living room floor.

∆ I thought we gave that up after 1956! Time to stop pretending to be exceptional. Our best hope is cooperation and collaboration with our neighbours and develop the technologies to be ready for the next war, not the previous wars. The Challenger should be the last manned tank and the F35 the last manned combat fighter.

If there is another high intensity land war between wealthy nations.... I suspect any large slow moving object will be toast very quickly. There will be nowhere to hide. Semi autonomous fast unmanned AI systems will dominate. For actions against low-tech and non-state actors, I suspect smaller faster lighter vehicles that can be quickly deployed and with low logistical dependencies will be a better bet.

What a monster. What are the spinning things on top of the turrets?

The surface is quite rough - but the plastic underneath has quite a rough surface too. But I think I've found a way forward, using acrylic gloss black with a bit of fairy liquid as a wash, I've been able to pin wash it and then brush off the excess with a dry brush. So I'm getting there. For the decals I've basically hand brushed gloss varnish over the whole panel where the decal will be applied - still not getting a uniform gloss surface, then I will brush matt varnish over that once the decal fully dried, using setting solution to pull it down.

I'm making myself a very nice Tamiya 1/35 Panther, using some Revell enamels which were obtained by mistake (long story). And very happy with my pre-shading using humbrol matt black and matt white, with Revell Afrikabraun and Dunkelgraun for the camouflage - coming up very nicely. BUT.... now I want to apply the decals and a pin wash, and I just cannot get a gloss coat applied at all! I've tried spraying with Tamiya TS-13 clear (decanted into my airbrush with 1:1 thinners) - and the matt camouflage paint just completely absorbs it and stays matt! That having failed, I've now tried Revell's enamel gloss varnish...... same result! I just can't get this thing to take a gloss coat..... its like pouring water into the desert sand and watching it dry up. Anybody seen anything like this before? I'll not be able to use a wash of any kind until I can find a way past this. thanks.

So tried painting wheels while on the hull... Nah I'm going to have take them off and paint them individually. But on the hull and bodyshell... Wow pre shading is working well here.... Painted the hull black, then white in the middle of "open" panel areas, away from edges....then base colour coat (dull desert tan) and already it looks like it's been in the field for months. 🙂

Hi folks, as returnee after several decades I've decide to try some armour, based on my naive thinking that armour is more forgiving than aviation. In last couple of months I've made a Airfix 1/48 Spitfire mk14 and an Eduard 1/48 Mig-21MFN - fairly pleased with the results (the Spit went in the aircraft ready for inspection forum) but the Mig-21 was a bit messy and I found it a real struggle, both construction wise and paintwork. But it seems to me that tanks get bashed about, covered in mud and generally abused so should be more forgiving when it comes paintwork quality and getting weathering looking convincing? I'm probably still being naive.... I'm less interested in accuracy than trying things out, so I've decided to have a go at the venerable Tamiya 1/35 Panther Aufs A... its a cheap model and very easy to construct - low parts count, but still seems to be generally regarded as a good kit. (Even though it has huge gaps in the body where the hull is wide open above the tracks! I'll use thick card to fill that space I reckon). I have been watching some Youtube videos on its construction, and for several other tanks too, and am very surprised to see that almost all of them almost fully construct the model prior to getting their airbrush out. So they are painting the wheels and running gear in place - surely it must be very difficult to get proper coverage once the wheels are all attached? Especially with a tank like the Panther where there is a lot of overlap between the road wheels. Also, where wheels have rubber rims, it must be very difficult to paint the rims in once they are in place. What's the general approach here? thanks.

Any chance of some underside shots of your amazing MiG? I'm making the weekend edition MFN at the moment and am also opting for wheels up so any pointers on how the closed undercarriage covers should look would be great.