LankyPanky

Showing us how its done Ed! JC

Paint job is looking excellent Ed! JC

Yes there is a lot of wok that needs doing you're certainly not wrong there, makes you wonder whether Tamiya used references or just drew it from memory Yes it is one of the many parts that need to be added ono the turret, the pistol port itself has some good recessed location points whereas others just have what look like scores with a hobby blade. was the pistol port made of cast metal too then? Yes this is what I'm toying with, I think I will use the advice that you and bullbasket have given with detailing the bogies but just add this to a couple and have the planks broken at some point so that this shows through. I'm fairly certain that there is options for the cupolas so i imagine this is the case. thanks for he information on the tank battalions, I have been struggling to preen this off of the internet at present. As for this I have seen people scoring plastic card and then sanding it back or using thin glue to take it back a bit, but seeing a I will need sandbags of some sort, so it will be debateable as to what to do so it might just end up being what is in the modelling coffers at the time of order. JC

Thanks Keith. JC

Yes I'm aware it is perhaps a bit on the Soviet side at the moment, going to see if sanding it back slightly helps. and no I hadn't even noticed being honest, with most of the work being at the top but I will get round to it soon, thanks for pointing it out! JC

The internet has certainly helped out here Bob! And yes its a good kit as its not too expensive so any mistakes aren't anything to worry about too much. The wooden planks will also help with where I got a bit carried away with the sanding on one of the skid plates haha. I'm currently reading Crucible of Hell which is about the invasion of Okinawa and has some excerpts in it about the tanks but is god for representing what was going on for both sides in the battle and leading up to it too. Thanks for the heads up here Pete! will probably consult to instructions and see whether i can get it glued together tonight or if its best to leave it until the end. that tip on the bogies is very much appreciated. JC

After far too much time playing Wold of Tanks I have finally made some progress on this model worth documenting! The bogies are all detailed up, by thinning down the top skid plate and adding on some bolt details from a Meng bolt set. Thankfully i kept losses of these parts to a minimum by investing in some wax pencils which have absolutely changed my life! No longer does my heart drop after I hear the Ping of some tiny piece of plastic flying out of my tweezers! I'm pretty pleased with how these little fellas turned out considering its my first bit of detailing in a kit. Will probably go back later with some super glue de-bonder to take away the excess glue that's spilled out, but don't see any point in doing this until the etch is attached so I can do this all at once. I have purchased a set of aftermarket tracks from Panda Plastics who bought their moulds off of RHPS. After a few nights of easy working I have managed to get all of the track pads cleaned up. I'm trying to pace myself with this as is not the most stimulating work so doing a bit on the tank and then a bit on the tracks to help break things up a bit. Most recently I have been adding cast steel texture to the turret and the Differential cover. I am doing this following the tutorial by Nightshift on YouTube using a cheap brush I cut down a bit to be a bit more rigid and dipping it into some Mr cement s. this was then stippled over the plastic and after a few seconds the plastic melts and the brush starts pushing the texture in. I'm going to wait and see how this looks once fully dry and taken down a bit with a 1000 grit sanding sponge as in these photos its still pretty fresh. If i'm not happy with the resul i will move onto using some tamiya paste and mr cement to add texture on physically instead of modifyig the finish of the plastic itself. Before and after pictures for the texturing. Many thanks for stopping by and happy modelling JC

Have you got a scheme in mind for painting this one up? JC

Really nice work on this on Dmitry JC

Really liking this and can definitely see where your inspiration came from on this one. Loving the base too JC

Liking this one a lot, the accessories really add to it JC

Liking this one a lot! JC

Enjoying seeing this one come along Ed JC

Interior is really coming together with this one. Are you going to leave the hatches open to display all this goodness? JC

The mini art plastic is a bit softer, the quick drying tamiya stuff tends to help with this JC