IanW

Hey, looking good Adam! I've finished painting and washes on my Matilda - will post some photos before weathering. I suspect this build will be full of things I should have done, so you are a little late with your timing!

Looking good Adam - time to break out the kak-y?

Nice one - like the battle damage!

Love it simm - almost as pretty as a Stolly! Your figure painting is superb too - I have the guys in jumpers from Firing Lina about to start, hope I can do half as good a job!

That is simply awesome!

Looks awesome Roman!

That's awesome, Raymond, thanks for posting!

Great work on the Stolly!

Just a couple more pics... have updated the rego as per Raymond's comments above - still need to weather in though. And have added the spikey bits beneath the gate locks... barely visible in these pics! Cheers, Ian

That's just great Raymond! Nice, subtle weathering and I particularly like the tow cables - what did you use for them, please? And the mud flaps look great! How did you paint the Alvis logo on the front? - I ended up making a decal for mine. I've just add the ER decals to mine and the pointy ends to the gate locks (?)... need to weather them all in and then will post on my Stalwart thread.

Cheers Raymond - looks like FL for me then... and not only don't I mind, I am itching to flick this page and go see your build!

Simm, hijack away! Been following your builds on the Landy thread and Mil Modelling - great stuff! Takes me back to building my first military dio with the Tamiya Ambulance back when I was 15 - didn't know then I'd be driving a real Landrover myself within a couple of years! And Mr Grumpy, yep I remember the bruised shoulder too! Happy days... Simm, I seem to recall you mentioned something about the Saracen tyres being undersize or something too?

Wow, great attention to detail as usual Adam! My Vally is on hold while I await the AFV Club Mk.III for the wheels! Still working on the Matilda though,...

Thanks guys. Raymond - that's a great idea re the mudflaps. If I break another one off when I alter the number plate's rego today, I might try that method as well. Really looking forward to seeing your Stolly up too! The Foden is awesome. Simm - yes, I'm really keen on the Saracen and Saladin... not sure whether to use the Firing Line or AA model. Your comments above lean me toward the Firing Line kit. How accurate is the Tamiya Saladin or shouldn't I go there? I received my two wee guys in jumpers from FL to paint up and put with the Stolly yesterday... hope I can do as good a job as you! I like how this thread is becoming more of a 'Stalwart appreciation' thread! Would love to see more pictures of 1960s-80s British vehicles in service! Cheers for now, Ian

Thanks again for all the kind comments. Raymond, the number of times I knocked off the right mudguard, I wish I had known they were detachable! I have also stared at that top photo a lot as it was one of the few I found circa the right time - don't tell me that's you on the photo!? Will change the rego letters thanks. This build was my first all-resin vehicle kit - like I just read on your Foden build thread, several resin parts needed re-making, fixing or were better off made from plastic card, etc, but I thought the fit overall was excellent and found the kit very well-engineered.I've been building it on and off for about 6 months. The major part I think I would have done differently was the windows - rather than using PVA (white) glue to fix them in (and then pushing them out a dozen times and trying to refix with the cab in place!), I would have coated the transperencies in Future and then super-glued them into place while the cab was still not attached. They may have been more hard-wearing that way. And have just received the AA Ferret Mk.2/3, so will start a Queen Alexandra's version soon! Cheers, Ian

Very nice build!

And the above leads me to ask - has anyone got any in-service pics around they could share, please? There seem to be very few available on the internet. Thanks, Ian

Thanks again guys - and I just realised I need to replace the thin bottoms of the gate locks (?) which stick out beneath the bed and seem to be red in some photos... they do look kind of stabby!

I understand completely! I used Tamiya Nato Green (XF-67) at first and then I read a recommended mix of 50/50 XF-62 and XF-67 as being closer to the original, so I oversprayed with that in places. I then lightened the mix with a bit of white (yellow might have been better) and sprayed top surfaces. To be honest, i did so many oil washes of black/white/ochre that I'm not sure what the resultant colour really is! Cheers, Ian

Thanks guys! Adam, there is more of a connection between the Stolly and the E-Type than just good looks... I want one of each! Funny all the comments about the SLR - I put them in because I really enjoyed that rifle too during my time in the Army (NZ). Way better than an M-16, which seemed light and plasticy, with no punch, compared to the heft of the SLR (mind you, I know which I'd rather carry on a forced march!) And I guess I'll leave the weathering alone too. Cheers for now, Ian

Very nice!

Love it - looks like quite a project!

Here's some pics of the AA Stalwart I've been working on for a while. First attempt at an all-resin kit, but the engineering is superb - once the pieces are cleaned up, the fit is excellent. Thanks to Dereck too from AA for supplying me with a few parts I was missing (or put aside somewhere and lost!). Still got the cab searchlight to add (waiting for some Little Lenses) and might dial back the weathering a bit. My first use of pastel chalks to weather - went a bit overboard, as when wet, they are quite hard to see (a bit like real mud!) Didn't want to obscure the lines of the Stolly too much, as they are fascinating subjects - so futuristic and 'Thunderbirds'-looking! Couple of SLRs in the rifle-racks if you look closely! I really think Britain reached the pinnacle of engineering in the 50s-60s, with machines like this, E-Type, Concord, the TSR-2, hovercraft and Harrier!

Made the decals on my Canon MX895 - the inks for this seem better than ever before, with no bleeding when I spray coated the decals with fixer, so pretty happy. Here's the practice piece of A4 and the decal sheet printed in front... And the Matilda with the Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles insignia attached. Can't make out the T-serial in the photo I have, so just chopped about the Tamiya kit's decals a bit! She's thrown a track, so a bit of track-pulling for the crew to do! Next up is to continue detail painting... Cheers for now, Ian

Cheers guys!