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Evening Gentlemen, After finishing my Autoblinda AB41 from the same unit, I ended up building a Panzer III Ausf J used by the Carpathian Lancers as well. What really caught my interest was the idea that this tank, once captured, appears to have been repainted in Light Stone, which is not something you commonly see on a Panzer III. I was curious to see how this iconic German silhouette would look in desert British-style colors. Also, for some reason, I find myself coming back to Panzer III kits more than any other, this one makes it my fifth so far (G, H, J, L, and N). Maybe I'll make it a personal mission to make all variants 🤔 The Panzer III Ausf J was introduced in 1941. It featured upgraded armor, up to 50 mm on the front hull and turret. Early in production cycle it was equipped with a 50 mm KwK 38 L/42 main gun (this model included) which was later changed for longer 5 cm KwK 39 L/60. This model depicts one of three Panzer III tanks captured during the North African campaign, most likely during the battles around El Alamein in 1942, and handed over to Polish Carpathian Lancers. These tanks were not used in combat roles after capture but were instead repurposed for training exercises, and demonstration purposes. Reference material I was using includes photographs showing these captured vehicles lined up with Polish crews at the Middle East School of Artillery at El Maʽza near Cairo. These tanks bear red-white-red Allied recognition stripes and appear to be in freshly repainted condition. Some additional photos show these tanks used in a filming session for propaganda purposes. The Carpathian Lancers were part of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade, a Polish unit formed in the Middle East by soldiers evacuated after the fall of Poland. The brigade fought in the Siege of Tobruk and became part of the Polish II Corps, later seeing action in Italy. While primarily an infantry formation, certain elements like the Lancers performed reconnaissance duties. One of the biggest challenges with this build was making it visually interesting, since I wanted to stay faithful to the reference photos. Those show the vehicle as freshly painted, with no external stowage or battle damage, essentially a clean, factory-like appearance. That made it tricky to avoid a "boring" look. I tried to remedy that by experimenting with washes, using them more liberally than I normally do, in order to bring out as much detail as possible. Not the most interesting looking model I built, but at least not a plain yellow brick. The kit is Academy No. 13531, a very nice model with a Tamiya-like quality. The tracks are 3D-printed T-Rex versions, incredibly detailed but also quite fiddly to work with. The kit-supplied tracks look good too, being link-and-length types, but unfortunately, they feature solid guide horns, which were never used on the Panzer III J. Aside from that, the only additions are a few replacement clamps, a combination of 3D-printed and photo-etched (PE). The jerrycan rack was scratch-built from leftover PE pieces. Model was painted with MRP Light Stone, and combination of Vallejo and Gunze for details. Decals are Echelon, although I had a lot of problems with them (disintegrated completely) so it would probably be much easier to just paint the markings. Weathering was a bit different compared from what I usually do. I usually avoid washes, or use them very sparingly, because I'm a bit afraid that the result will not be realistic. In this case I used them quite a lot. Several different brownish washes. Other than that, I used pigments, first sprayed over the whole model to bland everything together, and then rubbed here and there. And these are the reference photos I used. Cheers and have a great weekend! Nenad

On a break from Lusty at the moment so a quick and fun build of one of nicer looking tank destroyers from WWII. Its the newish Tamiya kit with a few additions, I bought the Tamiya turned Gun and breech set, one of the Eduard PE sets and a few other Brassin items to help detail it all up. 1 week into the build. Enjoy

Hello everyone, I'm venturing into uncharted waters in this area of the site, but have finally plucked up the courage to have a go at this diorama lark. I mean, how hard can it be? It's likely to be a slow burn as my build speed is glacial at best. The plan is to create a base for a Mercedes-Benz L4500A truck, the build for which has been running for several years and is just approaching the chassis complete stage. Did I mention that my build speed is very slow? Here's the truck in question, currently mounted on a movable platform which has been a godsend during the build. Eventually it will need to be mounted on a proper base, which is why we are here: There's still lots of work to do on the truck, but the catalyst for work to start on the base was a chance find in a charity shop. I'd been searching for a picture frame of a suitable size and aspect ratio for some time but without much joy. Then eventually we struck lucky with this little beauty, water stains and all: There was no excuse now, we're off and running. Never having created a diorama before it was probably wise not to be too ambitious. Most of the base will therefore be provided by Mr MiniArt in the form of this: A review of the product can be found elsewhere on our favorite modelling site... To bling things up a touch we also be making use of this (which roots us in Italy, for a reason which will be explained as we go): We'll also be using lashings of Evergreen's finest: The aim is to produce a scene similar to this, but with a mahoosive truck rather than cute little cars: No buildings though, the goal being a nice and simple street scene with roadside fuel pumps: Finally, why the topic title? Well it was inspired by the glorious period advertising: Isn't it lovely stuff?: Cheers, and thanks for looking, Paul.

I'm on a BT-7 kick at the moment. I tend to often build several of one type of vehicle at a time, probably because I have reference materials together and get additional inspiration from that. Here's Tamiya's 1935 Model in 1/35. This is a project that I started in 2016 and shelved. Time to finish it.

Hi folks, I'm looking to model the Cromwell Mk VII on this Star Decals sheet in 1/35. I don't normally do AFVs so I'm looking for some guidance on how best to go about this. From what I can gather from the web, the Mk VII was essentially a Mk IV with extra armour, 15.5" wide tracks (although not certain this applies to all Mk VII?), and some gearbox changes. My choice of kits appears to be either Tamiya and Airfix, both offering Mk IV and VI variants. Is one or the other better as a starting point for this project? Is there any indication from the sprues that a Mk VII might be released later? Accurate Armour set C047 includes extra armour - is this the full extent of the modifications required to the hull and turret? They also do some alternative hull top parts, not sure if these would also be required? I see AA also do a set of 15.5" tracks. The fact that new sprockets are included suggests they are wider than the tracks provided in the Tamiya kit. Are the Airfix tracks also the narrower type? Comments appreciated! Mike

Another piece for my project of 6th South African Armoured Division in Italy. I scored this old kit for a few bucks and decided to update it with spare parts from newer kits and 3D prints. It has some well known mistakes I'd like to adress so lets see where it goes. With RFM Sherrman V late configuration on the way, it makes sense to use Dragon kit for early build rather than backdate well produced RFM late version. Artillery observation tank of 22nd Fd Artillery unit is well documented one from 3 sides rolling throught streets of Florence (Firenze) on 16th August 1944. That's great for spotting the correct details for propper date of pruduction identification. This tank being one of an early production ones equipped with M34 gun mount, smoke dischargers on side of a turret and T54E2 tracks. Boxart Some of the spare parts that I'm willing to use

Here's my contribution to the fun. Given the detail and complexity of the kit I'll be building it pretty much clean and OOB and try to avoid rabbit holes and dilatory faffing.

I have the oldie kit that Tamiya released a few years ago, I know it’s not the most accurate but can anyone recommend a decent set of tracks for it? Hobbyboss did a cheap set but they now look like they are out of production? Cheers

Hi This my place saver. I've made a start on the running gear and I'll take a photo or two tomorrow.

First a short explanation. The British MK I to MKV heavy tanks came two main varieties depending on the armament in the sponsons. Male tanks had a single cannon in each sponson, female had two machine guns in both. For a number of reasons tanks were manufactured with a combination of sponsons which as having make and female characteristics, hermaphrodites. Just had to be this colour scheme. I will be going for more of a lived in look not the pristine museum look here. The Kit Sprues, not too bad a decal sheet. Initial assembly. Molded detail is nice, engineering is not. A bit of cutting require D.C. and a lot of fitting. I also made life harder for myself by using Tamiya extra thin areas of my usual Revell Contacta. Fiddly, lots of tape needed and a bit of filling will be required. One of each sponson. Again same as the hull. Looks well but fiddly overall. .

My entry is Tamiya’s Churchill Crocodile, the 2023 re-release. Hoping for a relatively quick build. It will be out of the box bar some aftermarket tracks and figures. Will look for some stowage from the spares box.

My current build in this GB, the AFV Club Churchill Mk.III, is proceeding far more quickly than I expected. Gideon is also telling me that the number of in-progress builds will shortly fall off a precipice. It currently stands at eight, which is the least number of concurrent projects that I have had for at least ten years. So what to do? Why... start another Churchill of course! So this is the venerable Tamiya Churchill Mk.VII in 1/35. This appeals to be as it is quite different to the Mk.III that I am building. The kit is nearly fifty years old! It doesn't look it... It was originally issued in 1977 as a Churchill Crocodile. This boxing is from 1996 with extra parts to build a normal gun tank and four new figures.

My entry is AK’s Breuer IV Rail Shunter. I had never heard of this locomotive, but its quirky looks captured my attention. Being a shunter, you need something to shunt, so will include AK’s G10 Wagon in this build. Hopefully come up with something that looks like the box art. Won’t be able to start immediately, have ongoing projects in 4 other Groupbuilds, need to finish these first.

Hi guys, I hope you are well and I wish you all the best in 2022. I didn't plan to do RFI on this one initially, so this thread will begin at the point when the assembly is almost complete. However, I think that Kingforce Churchills had some field modification and also some changes are needed that I spent quite some time to figure out, so I guess it might be useful info to put it here in case someone else needs it. The kit I am building is AFV club No. AF35153,wit an addition of E.T. Model No. C35-006 PE set. Even though the box art shows Kingforce Churchill, kit itself need some changes in order to represent this particular tanks accurately. Here's some history about the subject. It is 6 pdr armed Churchill Mk.III tank, member of the experimental "Kingforce" unit, named by its commander, Major King. The decision was taken to send a small number of Mk.III Churchills to the Middle East for trials. Six reworked Mk.IIIs were shipped to Egypt where they arrived on 1 October 1942. They were dispatched by rail to the Mechanisation Experimental Establishment at Cairo where they were immediately prepared for service. Some field modifications were applied: side rails to carry ‘Sunshield’ frames were fitted, stowage bins fitted to the rear of the turret, canvas screen known as a ‘dodger’ was fitted between the front track-guards, and the tanks were then painted with a disruptive camouflage pattern. Tanks arrived painted in Lightstone No.61, while the disruptive camouflage was orange/chocolate paint (from witness accounts), probably locally produced Camcolour, A/19 Chocolate Brown. Special Tank Squadron to operate these Churchills was formed on 14 October 1942, commanded by Major Norris King M.C. with Lt. Deans as 2IC of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars whose administration the unit came under. The unit was known as ‘Kingforce’. Most of the men newly arrived from the U.K. with very little experience of Churchills. There was now time for any rehearsal and very few 6 pdr rounds were fired before the unit was deployed. The unit left Cairo by rail to Burg El Arab by the 20 October, then by tank transporter to Tel El Aisa, then on their tracks forward to the HQ of 7th Motor Brigade to which it was attached arriving by the 23 rd October when the battle started. The 7th Motor Brigade was at this time part of the 1st Armoured Division. Thank I am building is representing one of them, commanded by 2/ Lt. Appleby, T31665R. On 26 October, three tanks, T68189R, T31665R, and T68186R moved forward in support of the Queens Bay’s Shermans assaulting Kidney Ridge and they soon came under fire. T31665R under 2/ Lt. Appleby advanced over a ridge and immediately came under intense enemy fire. The tank then reversed smoking slightly, stopped, and then burned intensely with only one wounded crewman surviving. Later examination revealed 38 frontal hits, some from 75mm, one of which had penetrated the turret front. This had done the main damage, with two 50mm penetrating hits elsewhere. There were 8 hits on the rear of the tank from British 6 pdr guns, 4 of which had penetrated, as a result of the Australian anti-tank gunners not recognising an unfamiliar tank approaching them covered in smoke. On the other hand, Major King’s tank had more luck. It took 8 non-penetrating hits and claimed 4 hits on enemy tanks with 45 rounds expended. The objective was not taken and during the night of 26/27 October, the Motor Brigade including ‘Kingforce’ was withdrawn into reserve for a week. The unit participated in one more action, 3 rd November to support the 2nd Armoured Brigade Shermans. After this action, tanks returned to Alexandria, and the unit was disbanded. The test showed that Churchills IIIs were formidable and reliable tanks, able to take a tremendous amount of punishment, and at that point in time, they were the safest Allied tanks to be in. It is not known what happened with Kingforce Churchills after the Second El Alamein battle, but additional Churchill IIIs were deployed later during Tunisian Campaign. Here are few reference photos of 2/ Lt. Appleby's tank. Now, the build. I hate vinyl tracks, but in this case they will be covered by mudguards almost completely, so it would be quite a waste to use indy tracks. Haven't been dealing with vinyl tracks for quite some time, and I can confirm that all of the reasons why I hate them are still here They refuse to glue together, paint does not stick, there are seam lines and molding residue everywhere that is impossible to remove. And here's my approach how to deal with glue that does not stick. Hot steel road through the track and plastic below. I cut it once it's cold so mudguard can fit over it. This only makes sense it tracks are covered by mudguards of course. Notice how paint is already pealing off. And on top of that, I attached one track in wrong direction, so had to remove it and attach it again, which caused more pilling I tried to summarize the changes on this photo: 1 - Rails to attach sunshield to camouflage the tank as heavy lorry. Scratched from plastic and PE strips. 2 - Protectors scratched from beer can. 3 - I am not 100% sure, but it may be possible that these headlights should be removed on Kingforce Churchills. I decided to keep them, because I already built them when I figured that out 4 - Also not sure if periscope covers should be there or not. I think that only some Kingforce Chirchills have them. 5 - Auxiliary fuel tank, not included in this kit. I used TMD Matilda one, and added copper wire as a fuel line. 6 - Exhausts are different on Kingforce Churchills. I think that they should be longer than I made them. 7 - Turret bin is different on these tanks than the one included in the kit. I just redid it with plastic sheets. 8 - Air intake is not covered as it should if you follow the instructions. I just didn't use the lids. 9 - Spot lamp is not there on any reference photos, so I didn't use it as instructions suggested. Here are some detail shots: Attached between mudguards at the front should be canvas apron. I'll try to build one with VMS paper shaper. Will see how it will turn out. That's all for now. Cheers, Nenad

The main manufacturers I remember from my youth were Airfix, Hasegawa, Matchbox and Tamiya. Generally purchased from Beatties in Portsmouth when visiting my Gran. The first three were usually for aircraft subjects and Tamiya for armour. My first Tamiya kit being the 1/35 Motorised Saladin armour car. The Saladin now seems to be as rare as hens teeth, so will pick another armour subject for this GB. My choice is the 1/35 Valentine, new tool from 2017, recently purchased as part of my growing fascination in British manufactured WW2 tanks.

This was/is a demonstrator vehicle built by Lockheed Martin in the 80's to test the XM291 140mm / 120mm Advanced TAnk Cannon (ATAC) system. It was tested for a few years before the program ended, seemingly having served its purpose, only to re-appear re-painted in the 2010s on a Train in Ohio and later at Sierra Army Depot. I modeled it in SolidWorks and painted it in the later (modern) colors, though the turret bustle appears to have changed shape between the 90's and 10's, and I modeled the old version's geometry. The WIP is here: The reference: The build:

This was collecting dust for quite some while, but yesterday I finally finished it. Thanks for looking.

Hello, this here is a vehicle whose concept I really like. Oto Melara once tried to put their 76/62 Super Rapid naval autocannon on a tracked OF-40 chassis, creating the Otomatic self-propelled anti-aircraft gun in 1981. Nobody bought it and It never went into mass production. The kit was 3D printed by Banana Tank and I added a few details, including as 3D printed (higher detail) smoke grenades, frontal lights and rooftop optic, scratch-built details such as the radar struts and horn, and aftermarket details such as photo-etched weld lines. I tried to keep the dirt minimal on this one, the idea is that she's been sitting around for a good while. I am entering this into a competition soon, so if there is anything that I can improve, please do tell me.

The XM291 Advanced Tank Cannon (ATAC) was an American experimental 120 mm / 140 mm smoothbore gun trialed on various testbeds, including the CATTB, an M1A2, a (X)M8 thunderbolt, and a testbed built by Lockheed Martin in the late 1980s on an M1 Abrams chassis, called the "Thumper". The vehicle also incorporated a 17-round 120mm / 140mm autoloader (XM91) designed by Benet Laboratory. Thumper (or ATAC Sytem Demonstrator) was built to test XM291, XM91 and the supporting systems required to operate the weapon. The program concluded in the 90's, having ostensibly served its purpose of testing XM291 and XM91, although the story apparently did not end there; in 2010, a train spotter filmed a vehicle that looks very similar to Thumper being transported in Ohio. Around a year ago, more pictures surfaced of the vehicle. At some point since the 80's, it has been re-painted in NATO colors - though the pattern is slightly different from the standard M1 Abrams pattern. Interestingly, the rear of the turret also appears to have changed shape, though this is hard to verify given a great lack of camera angles. Often mentioned alongside Thumper is the CATTB; from what I can gather, CATTB post-dated Thumper by a few years and was used to demonstrate a larger variety of advanced technologies, though it seems both were trialed in a similar time. Sources differ on whether it mounted the 140mm or 120mm bore - both versions are very similar in appearance. Apparently this forum is popular enough to be crawled by Google's AI bots and I do not wish to be the source of potentially incorrect information, so I will point readers to... anywhere else. This is one part of a TTB/ATAC-Thumper dual build. The other one, the TTB, is here: I am planning to re-create this image and enter a competition in early November. I have never made a diorama before, and I have never participated in a modeling competition before, so follow along to watch me fail miserably. The 3D model of the turret was made in Solidworks - I am familiar with the program and I do not know Blender. It will go on a Rye-Field Model M1A1 chassis. Most of the geometry was referenced from the first picture. I had very few images to work with with the nature of the vehicle program, especially around the gun mantlet. Holes for handles are pre-marked with small holes, I will drill them out and insert handles made from bent wires. I also took inspiration from other people's renditions of the vehicle, including 3D models made by various people, a video from the developers of a Roblox game called "Steel Titans", and whatever other information I could scrounge up (not a lot). Now, everything is sent to a 3D printing service. The price exchanges to, at time of writing, around 60 USD or 45 Pounds.

Another classic this one cost €24.99 apparently as Tamiya amortise the cost of the molds they don’t increase the prices of kits after release so each generation of kit stays at the a as me price more or less. As I’m an inverterate cheapskate I only buy the older kits as I can’t bring myself to pay €50 for a kit😀 Bits in the box, actually one of the most complex Tamiya kits I’ve built. Unfortunately it’s missing the mesh for the rear section not a biggie but I’ll have to improvise… It comes with four figures I normally take the BMW approach but I’m toying with building them as they do add a bit to the overall look of the model.

Greetings! I present to you my latest build which was completed as part of the Tamiya Group build. A lovely kit to build, finished with Vallejo and Ammo paints, the canvas and wooden floor are oils and weathered with pigments and airbrush techniques. The build log: And the pictures: Thank you for looking in, and comments are welcome. Keith ☺️

Greetings all! I'm taking a punt here, but thought I'd share my Austin 'Tilly' 10 hp utility truck, built for the current Tamiya Group Bulld. While mainly seen in a military guise, many were put to civilian use post war, but the original War Dept. requirement was for a vehicle based on an existing civilian chassis. The build log is here: And the pictures: Thank you for taking the time to look and comments are welcome. Keith ☺️

Picked this up from Plaza Japan for about 1/3 the price of my local shop. It was a fun build, and typical Tamiya quality. I opted for the Vercingetorix scheme. I tried to mimic the camo so that it was the same as the Tamiya booklet, but a few happy accidents resulted in a bit of difference here and there. I used black vallejo primer followed by an ivory base coat. I hand painted the green and brown camo and used a AK real marker for the lines . All in all I am quite happy with how it turned out. I would have liked to add some mud to the lower half but I wasn't sure what was best for that effect, so I held off. Any suggestions would be appreciated. This was also my first attempt at paint one of the miniatures that came with the kit. Despite the resemblance to Freddy Kreuger, im pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for checking it out! Scott

So, after braving the furnace that is my loft, I've decided that this will be my contribution based on space to put it and other kits on the bench: Not too many parts, nice and easy assembly and small enough to have in the cabinet with some other completed builds. Keith ☺️

........... "and the Regiment always keeps it's appointments." spoken by Gunner Milligans comanding officer on the eve of the Battery's embarkation to the Middle East,if you ever get a chance read Spike's war memoirs do they will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Anyway often mentioned are the "Mediums" which were the home of the 25 pounder's which served the RA from Dunkirk to Korea and beyond so as both a tribute to Tamiya and the Royal artillery this will be my armour build for the GB.