badger

Just caught up with this - great outcome John and I'm really looking forward to seeing the paint go on. All the best Ben

Many thanks for looking in everyone and for the kind comments. Very much appreciated. All the best Ben

Many thanks. Yep - I'm modelling the famous NVA 843 from the fall of Saigon. It won't be an exact replica but will give a representation. https://images.app.goo.gl/3HXMEUpaCsg9aVaaA The NVA tanks were seriously battered with most missing mudguards and some with damage to engine decks etc. I've also removed the IR lights but left the fittings in place as per my photo. I knocked off a turret grab rail when putting the decals on so need to reattach that. The decals were surprisingly hard work to get to go on, and are very thick and gloss in finish. I suspect they may have silvered slightly but I'll give them some more microsol tomorrow and a coat of matt varnish. Weathering will be pretty extensive anyway so they'll get blended in a fair bit. I always add my decals before any washes, filters, pastels etc so they are subject to the same weathering as the paint work. Nothing worse than a filthy tank with nice clean markings in my opinion. More soon Ben

Thanks Chaps. Managed to pop out and get some primer sprayed earlier and have just got the green on. Cheated a bit and used a Tamiya rattle can of JSDF green as a nice base. More soon Ben

And the NVA T-54B is built and ready for paint. The headlight guard was an absolute bear to fold and fit as I found the supplied jig almost useless. Luckily I wanted a battered appearance so the fact its a bit warped adds to the overall effect. Fuel lines are added using 0.3mm copper wire which worked much better than my previous rod. I replaced the kit tow cables with some I made myself as I found the supplied ones a bit too thick. More soon Ben

Thanks for sharing - does look a bit rough and ready but I imagine with some care it would clean up ok. My biggest complaint with the set I purchased is that the commander figure is different than the one on the box art and won't actually fit. He is a simply a cut down version of the standing figure which is a real shame. On the other hand the stowage is pretty good. I've been a bit sporadic posting on this thread as life has got in the way the last few weeks, what with work, ofsted and to top it all I caught Covid which wiped me out for a couple of weeks. Whilst not entirely back to normal I am feeling much better and can now venture out and about again which is a relief. I've managed to get some time on the NVA T-54 this afternoon and have almost finished the build. I need to finish off the tow cables, add the headlight cage and the fuel lines and its about done. The figures are progressing but need a lot of cleaning up. Be good to get this one finished off as I've added another Trumpeter T-55 to the build plan which will be finished as a Yugoslav Army T-55A with BTU-5 dozer using the Star decals sheet for Cold War T-55s.

Sad to say they're Primaris. I subscribed to the Conquest partwork mag a couple of years ago as I wanted the Death Guard. I'm not over much for the Primaris myself having been a Dark Angels player for the last 25+ years. I cant abide the size discrepancy so have no intention of using them in any of my "proper" marine armies. Kill Team has meant I finally have a use for them as I can model them as some of the Primaris only chapters and actually get to game with them. I got into GW years ago when I ran out of 1/72 armour to build (this was the early 90s and the only real options were matchbox, airfix and hasegawa). I still dabble in it from time to time when I fancy a break from "real" subjects

Scratch that - the Blackdog set only gives the outer wheels and Merkava style tracks - it doesn't give the inner wheels or suspension mounts you'd need to correct the Italeri kit

Been doing this myself this week as I've been building some for the new edition of Kill Team Glad it was the fire extinguishers on the Italeri sprue - wonder if they plan on releasing a Tiran? Sounds like a fair haul you have on the way. Thats a very good price for the Dragon Sherman - they've been going for silly money on ebay. Tetra model works do an etch set for the Hemtt (it's actually for a different version) that gives the grille over the front. I can dig it out of the stash if you are interested and send some photo? With regards to the Esci M60 - the blackdog Magach conversion will fit this (it doesn't fit the Revell kit unless you trim the underside of the turret!) and provides new wheels and tracks. OKB Grigorov do a replacement set of hard plastic running gear and tracks for the Italeri kit - it was pretty cheap although sadly I think he has stopped posting to the UK. Alternatively your plan of kitbashing it onto a Revell one sounds good. The Croatian markings are very cool. Miniart do a Croatian T-55 kit in 1/35 and you can download the instructions from their website. As far as I understand it some were Soviet built, others were Czech or Polish. There's a thread here that explains how you can identify the variant by the ID number https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/balkan-marina-t-55-qs-t129729.html If the tank you want to build has the newer style of track the Revell kit would be the better starting point as it has the option of Soviet or Czech engine decks. If you need the older tracks go with Trumpeter and if need be I can send you a set of the Czech deck which can be made to fit with a bit of work. All the best Ben

Hi John Fantastic progress - really fascinating build. I have seen rumours on another forum RB may be restarting. I very much hope this is true All the best Ben

I'll give it a try - just waiting on some RTV rubber to arrive as my silicone putty keeps leaving small dimples in the mould (presumably from excess silicone that is trapped). Great progress on the Tiran - loving how this has come together as it's exactly my kind of kitbash build. As to the fire extinguishers I think these are also in the Italeri kit. I seem to remember having something that looked like them left over when I built mine. As for machine guns- do you have the Academy 2 1/2 6x6 US truck kit as this c9mes with a weapons set with some 30cals and 50cals? https://www.scalemates.com/kits/academy-13402-us-2-1-2-ton-6x6-cargo-truck-and-accessories--146992 An idea to balance the turret - could you fix some weights to the inside rear? Old fishing weights or a car tyre balancing weight would be ideal Overall a great job Ben

Thank you very much for sharing these. The Morris wheels in particular will be very useful. Now to find someone that can print them

Great job - like that a lot

Great job . I have a few of these and it has to rank as one of the best 1/72 armour kits around.

I won't mention the Takom Maz transporter and T-54 I've just won on ebay (for an absolute steal!) then