TeaWeasel

Looks good so far 👍

Thanks very much for the comments. I have since bought a few more tanks but decided to give 1/35 a go.

Haha pun was unintentional I assure you 😅 Thanks man, it's a little bit soured though as it was a "gold by default".

Apologies for not updating this in a while, since the last update I got married so been very busy with that, work and keeping the little one under control. The build is finished, and I also entered it in my first ever competition. Photos can be found here Thanks for all the advice along the way. Joe

Spent a while painting up this Challenger 2. My first go at anything non-aircraft and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to try out some new techniques, such as pigment weathering, post-shading and chipping. Build log can be found here. Overall it was an enjoyable build as expected from Tamiya. My only thought is maybe I should have gone for 1/35; when I bought it I wasn't aware 1/35 was the default so my aftermarket choices were rather limited. I found it a bit of a challenge to try to break up the monotone a bit, but I tried to keep the weathering subtle if possible as I assumed these would be in better nick than old German/Soviet models I've seen. Only major hiccup was losing the "B" decal on the side skirt above, so that had to be freehanded in and covered with weathering mud. I entered it in my first ever show, the Hailsham and District Scale Model Club down in Sussex and was very surprised at the result. I won't really be patting myself on the shoulder though as it was the only entry in the 1/48 category... Thanks all, comments appreciated Joe

Thanks, I saw them a while back but they were all sold out everywhere, managed to find a set in the end.

Thanks for that, I'm surprised that many Porsche ones were built, I thought it was just one or two prototypes. Have spent plenty of time browsing Scalemates, ended up getting the Eduard upgrades. I think this is what I had in mind when I said I wanted something less complex. I still don't know if it'll work with the brass Zimmerit panels, some more research needed.

Picked up a couple of Tamiya sets on a bit of an impulse a couple of weeks back, mainly the T-62 and the Tiger II, albeit the Porsche variant. I know they're rather old kits but they really haven't aged too badly IMO. However I would like to improve them somewhat so have been looking at various aftermarkets sets, but really can't decide on what to commit for before buying anything, so my thoughts are below: T-62 Obviously would go for a metal gun barrel, but the overall kit is very simplistic. Eduard appear to do an upgrade PE set which looks ok but is there anything else which I could consider to really make it pop? I'm also struggling to find any online resources on the particular textures I could recreate. I also really struggled to find some replacement tracks. The kit comes with the standard rubber-band tracks, but I'm thinking some replacement ones would produce some more realistic track-sag, particularly as the whole running gear would be visible. The only ones I can find which are available and within my budget are the Takom ones, but I'm not familiar with this brand at all, are they worth it or likely to be a headache? Tiger II Not sure if I've shot myself in the foot a bit going for the Porsche one. It was a good £15 cheaper than the Henshel so I thought why not? Zimmerit. Never had to deal with it before until now, what are my options? I can't stomach the idea of applying it myself as I doubt I'd get a decent effect, but luckily Tamiya and Eduard have both produced Zimmerit panels, which would make the job easier. Problem is, the end result is a brass-plated tank, is this likely to affect any other additions I may want to add? The Aber set looks a nice balance between complexity and simplicity but wouldn't want to have to start cutting up the Zimmerit sheets if possible. Tracks: similar to the T-62 I've really struggled to find anything for less than £40. Tamiya themselves have produced a set of individual links, but are these any good? Accuracy: Did any of the Porsche Tiger IIs actually see combat? I was under the impression that they were just prototypes. Apologies for the wall of text and links, but any tips would be appreciated. Will be the first attempt at armour aftermarket sets so any guidance would be great particularly as they're less common kits from what I've seen. Joe

Good point about the rotation, I hadn't considered that. I'm planning to have them at slight angles, but they're not particularly big (only BAE Hawks), so I'm hoping the magnet and friction of the rod will keep them steady. If it's a bit loose however I could use some Tamiya tape to increase the friction there.

Currently working on a small project in which I'm planning to have a couple of small 1/72s on a single mount. I saw a base similar to what I'm looking for in the Airfix Dogfight Doubles set, only for mine I need 3 mounts. I did a rudimentary sketch on my phone of what I have in mind. Excuse the crappy handwriting, just the curse of being left-handed on a tiny phone screen. Mounting the planes to the stands doesn't seem like an issue, I'm thinking the rod will slot into the exhaust shaft, and I may add a small neodymium magnet to to be sure. I'm more unsure about the base/mount itself. The base could just be wood, I have in mind a nice piece, perhaps with a stylised edge like you'd mount a bust on, just painted up with a nice wood stain. For the rods though, you can see where I've scribbled "brass or acrylic", what would be preferable? Brass has the advantage of being easier to obtain and easier to shape, but if I could get clear acrylic it'd be less distracting. Only question is would I be able to shape acrylic with heat, and would it be worth the effort? Would be interested to hear from anyone else who's done anything similar, or if there are any existing builds with such an idea. Thanks, Joe

I've got the Porsche variant waiting to be started and looking at the instructions it may be a very tight gap to get a 90-degree screwdriver in there. What you could do is drill through the turret side and use a regular screwdriver, then cover up the hole. Cover it with putty first, then put some stowage or spare track links on top.

Fantastic build, looking forward to updates.

Thanks very much. The wash/thinner mix seems to have fixed the pigment, and didn't ruin the colour as I was imagining.

The rattle can seems to be giving me the most grief, that's the weird thing.

I posted a while back about using Mr Surfacer products, never heard of them until a couple of weeks ago but they seemed to have the impression that they were one of the holy grails of modelling. With that in mind I picked up a couple of them from the local shop, ended up getting a jar of 1500 Surfacer, and 1000 Primer. I'm having real trouble actually using them though. With the 1500 Surfacer, I've had some small successes applying it by brush, but in 9/10 cases the applied liquid simply shrinks as it's drying, so the area I want to fix looks exactly the same, just now with a thin layer over the top. The 1000 Primer is even worse. I've tried a couple of tests and it just goes on like very, very, diluted paint, just creating puddles. Yes, in both cases I've shaken the everloving-Jesus out of it. Is there something I'm doing wrong as so far I'm very disappointed with this product every modeller seems to praise. Thanks

Took a bit of a break on this while I worked on the Lanc and Stirling, but had a bit of real desire to get this finished. There's a show coming up a couple of towns over and I'd love to display this, if I can get it finished in time. I've finished the chipping but decided to keep it a bit more subtle in places. It's not ravaged as you'd expect from something more Soviet or German but it's definitely not factory-fresh either. I then had a look at the tracks; my previous 40k vehicles simply had grey tracks which I've drybrushed silver and brown over, for this I wanted to try something with a bit more texture. That's when I saw this at my local store: This seemed almost perfect. I know it's North African dust, not Arabian but who is honestly going to know? 🤫 I found the powder very nice to work with, easy and rather forgiving, but as for sealing it afterwards I tried using the Tracks Wash diluted with thinner. I think it seems to have done the job. And just a little bit on the front, accumulated dust and debris: I then decided to finish up the skirts when I ran into an issue: amongst all the kits I have I lost the other "B" transfer for the right-hand skirt!. Annoying but i thought I'd just make a template from the other one. Made worse when the Tamiya tape ripped half the "B" off the other side! Rather regrettably I had to freehand it. It's not the worst I've seen but it's definitely not the best either. Luckily I used the Dry Steppe from the weathering kit to hide it somewhat. Next steps will be to paint the commander and pintle mount. Never had to paint figures of this scale, so this'll be a challenge. Thanks, Joe

It's my first experience with Italeri and I'm impressed. If you consider yourself a newbie I'd recommend taking your time with it though. Like I said the orientation of some parts is very important, helps to double-check your instructions at every step. I'm also building the Airfix Lanc if that helps you at all. Thanks for the tip, I do have the masking set and I agree it's a lifesaver, wouldn't have considered painting the edging however 👍

The panel lines are rather deep but I personally prefer that over ones too shallow. Took a break from all the interior gubbins and had a look at the undercarriage, which I've heard multiple criticisms about. It's a very fiddly assembly that must be glued into the wing before the wing halves can be joined, so from then on you'll have to be extra careful when handling it. Parts for one landing gear laid out. Nice detail but they're very fiddly and the orientation of some of the parts is very important, which really isn't clear in the instructions at times. Here it is assembled. Again, very fiddly, the best tool for this would be a third hand. And just to strengthen it a bit I glued a bit of scrap brass to reinforce this joint. And finally installed within the wing. The brackets that hold the gear attach to both wing halves so placement is really crucial here, otherwise the brackets may foul the flanges on the inner wing halves. I was wracking my head trying to find a way to install the gear later on, but in hindsight I don't think it's as important as I thought. The overall assembly is pretty sturdy despite appearances; I've already dropped the wing twice by accident and no damage or warping has occurred, so that's definitely a relief. To save a headache later on I'm thinking of installing the wing bomb bay doors now, but I've heard conflicting ideas on their placement; the instructions hint that they should just open like the fuselage doors, but I've heard other say the doors actually retract into the wing and wouldn't be that visible. Anyone have some good photos of the wing bomb bays to settle this? Thanks, Joe

Hi Colin, Thanks for that, no worries about the email issue I understand how finniky tech can be sometimes. If you do happen to have more of the whole Halifax set cast please do let me know. Joe

Good thing I went back and checked the instructions, didn't realise the turrets have to be secured before you close the fuselage! Nose turret went first, just gave it a coat of NATO Black and a light drybrush of generic grey, doubt much will be visible anyway. Mounting the turret was a real headache and I wish Italeri went the way of Airfix; attach the turret later on and a collar to keep it all in place. I eventually found the best way to go about it: Use one hand to hold the turret in the cradle Use your other hand to hold the cradle to the fuselage. Use your third hand to apply glue. I also decided to mask up the turret beforehand, would save a bit of hassle later on having to apply the tape to the fully-built thing. In hindsight perhaps it was a waste painting the guns now. The fit on this kit is a bit of a curse as well as a blessing; once the fuselage is shut it's so tight the turret will have real difficulty turning. In another hindsight, maybe I should have just glued it after all... Thanks all, next steps will be finishing the rear interior as well as the tail turret. Joe

Got a pretty decent deal from what I can see; the Revell Halifax I've seen go for £80+ but managed to pick this up for £20 The issue I have however is determining the actual variant. No problem with the Lanc and Stirling, but a brief look on Wikipedia lists quite a few Halifax variants over the years. I'm going for the Mk I/II version, the other I believe is a Coastal Command aircraft, but what were the main differences between the MK I and II, and which areas will I need to consider when building this? Other main query is on the engine nacelles. I've heard many stories about these and will be picking up some resin AML upgrades to rectify this, but which one is correct? There are two sets available, the Gallay and Morris Block radiators, no idea which one is appropriate. Lastly, does anyone know if Freightdog are still in business, and if so do they still produce their Halifax correction set? I emailed them a couple of weeks ago and haven't heard anything, was hoping to find out if they plan to produce more. Failing that, anyone know anywhere which may have a set in stock? Thanks all, Joe

If you're looking at getting back into the larger kits, I think it's a decent starting point. Had some real trouble with the Humbrol "Matt" Varnish, for some reason it was leaving white spots over the model, almost like rain marks. Not sure why I thought of trying this but I brush-painted the varnish medium over these areas in the hope of clearing it, just waited until the varnish had separated in the bottle. That got rid of most of it but still left a glossy finish. Decided to try Army Painter instead, used this for years but had to settle for a dropper bottle over a rattle can. Bit weird at first, it had the consistency of golden syrup (probably far less delicious), but when airbrushed on more spots came back. It was thinned down pretty well so I doubt the issue is too thick a layer. Have run into another issue though in that it appears some of the decals are starting to lift off a bit. You can see on the upper walkway marking the film is more visible in the panel lines now. You can also see this white residue in towards the bottom there. Any tips on rectifying these?

Bit more of the rear fuselage completed, various bits here and there. I'm making assumptions on the colours, mainly to save time, but also it'll barely be visible once completed. After this I will never ever complain about a toilet again, so long as I don't have to poo in a bucket at 20,000ft without so much as a curtain for privacy. Jokes aside, I wasn't too happy with the silver once I'd applied a wash, so went back over just pure silver with a brush. The finish isn't as good as the initial basecoat which is a shame. While that was drying I started on the nose and tail turrets. They went together nicely and the guns are far more detailed than those on the Airfix Lanc, will save the brass replacements for the Halifax I have arriving. The PE is maybe a little unnecessary though, makes the whole assembly too fiddly. The mounting lugs on the gun assembly needs to be a mm or so longer so they properly fit into the PE parts. Overall easy enough, and easier in general than the Airfix ones.

First props finished. Just a coat of NATO Black, tips based in white before a coat of yellow. So close to finishing, then I can really crack on with the Stirling on my bench. Also managed to snag the Revell Halifax for a bargain price, my model schedule for the next few months is pretty full 😀

Don't think I'll be able to get the Haynes manual anytime soon