Search the Community

Now I've finally put the McLaren MP4/4 to bed, time to devote my attention to this GB. Throwing my hat in the ring with my LGOC-B type lorry. During WW1 a lot of London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) buses and chassis were converted into lorries and sent to move supplies and troops to the front After the war a lot of them ended up in civilian hands. Rugged and reliable, around 14,000 were produced and utilised. Top speed was a heady 14mph with the power provided by a 5.3 litre 4 cyl engine producing 30 to 40 BHP in it's various forms at 5 to 6 miles per gallon. 1/35 is not my usual scale, but I just thought it was an interesting looking kit and bought it on a whim a couple of years ago, and it is well suited for this GB. There are 3 different colour schemes to choose from, not decided on which one yet though. Just a preview pic and I'll hopefully start sticking bits together tonight

THis is my attempt at the excellent Tamiya Panzerkampfwagen IV Asf G early production kit. Superb value at around £35 and includes the tank + 6 figures and a motorcycle (used already elsewhere by me!). Usual Tamiya brilliant fit etc, although on the fence with their link and length tracks that just make painting a bit more difficult. Depicted in an eastern front autumn just as the Rasputitsa season starts (season of mud), I have shown it with an early grey turret and later camo chassis to show it was put together from parts in a field workshop to get it back in the fight. It may be historically incorrect by I liked the idea). I also added most of the extra stowage supplied by Tamiya designed for their other variants, as well as a large oil drum and unditching log with field made brackets. Figures are as supplied by Tamiya and unusually didn't feel the need to swap heads for a change!

I thought I’d put a placeholder thread up ( lead by example and all that) I shall be building four ( possibly five) Tiger variants. My four definites. The possible fifth, which if I build it will be a combination of resin copies from the four kits and scratch built bits….

I’m currently fiddling around with a few projects at the same time – not like me, but it’s all in the name of procrastination regarding my 1/16 Italian tank crew which I’m STILL putting off. I’ve got an ancient SMER Alfa Romeo Racing car underway over in the vehicle section, and as a foil to that very old and basic kit, I thought I’d make a start on another birthday pressie – this one a HobbyBoss Beutepanzer oddity from my girlfriend. It’s a beauty – fantastic interior detail, crisp mouldings, a good PE fret and nice, hard plastic. My recent armour builds have all been vintage Tamiya; great kits, but not up to the level of detail included in a lot of more current offerings and I’d forgotten just how good many newer products are. That said, the cover art is a travesty, and doesn’t look much like the actual vehicle at all. As with the Alfa Romeo, I made a start with the engine. Both kits seem to devote around half their parts count to the engine, but where the Alfa engine comprises 12 parts, this one is at least 50! Actually, before I did tuck into this miniature feast, I concluded that it would be a crying shame to end up hiding it all, so I plan to have as many hatches open as possible. There are a few provided as separate hatches, but not the main engine cover, so the first job was to carefully cut it out, taking care to save the upper moulded louvre for later. The inside louvre was unsalvageable unfortunately, so there’ll be a bit of scratchbuilding to come for that. I found some good interior photos of the parent Renault R35 online and as a result added a line of bolt heads and strip to the internal “shelves”, whilst shaving off the moulded cables/wires etc. I should really have done this before fixing the tub together, but it wasn’t too tricky with a curved No. 10 blade. On reflection, the bolt heads are too big, so I’ll shave them off and redo with smaller versions. I’m not too sure about interior colours – the instructions indicate that the interior should mostly be Panzer grey, but whilst It’s sort-of open topped, there wouldn’t be much to see from outside, and I can’t see the German army bothering to repaint everything inside, though I could be wrong of course. Either way, I’m happy to go with the rather more colourful interior scheme that the original French tank carried. I glued together the gear lever and drive shaft construction and added a sprue “foot” that should be hidden to support it – I’m not confident that the PE legs will stand up to it otherwise. I annealed them to assist in bending and they’re pretty floppy as a result. Putting the engine together was great fun; good fit and amazing detail – it even comes with individual spark plugs, and this is a little engine; no V12 Tiger beast here, but more like a Renault 5 4 pot. I left a couple of parts off for now until the painting is done, but it’s mostly there. I painted the engine and other sub-assemblies with a highly thinned mix of Revell red-brown and silver rub’n buff. It’s a bit light for slightly corroded steel, but the subsequent oil washes etc. will darken it down and it’s only the lowest of undercoats – the engine will be painted green/black/steel and so on over a hairspray coat, so only a few glimpses of this base colour will eventually be visible.

I will build the Polish armoured car of WZ.34 - II . The model of firm Mirage has bad quality. I will try to build quickly.🙂

Well, I signed up for this one before it made it through so I had better at least try! I've been itching to get started on this for a good few months now so let's see if life can keep out of the way and I may actually complete something... I bought this kit a long time ago, when it was arguably the best on the market, initially to put it on a SSYMS flatcar (I have one from Ironside, again bought a very long time ago) but I've decided I like the look of the late June-July 1944 camo applied to s.SS-Pz.Abt.102 Tigers making their way to Normandy. There are some nice inspirational photos taken while they were on the road march which will hopefully spur me on. Anyway, the obligatory box, kit and accessories shot. I bought Eduard's photoetch set designed for the Tamiya Late Tiger I kit for the fenders, skirts, exhaust shrouds and tool clamps, completely forgetting I already have AllianceModelWorks lovely workable tool clamp set. As it stands I'll use AFV Club's late Tiger workable tracks (I have thier transport tracks too). I think the only item I have left to get is some epoxy putty for the dreaded zimmerit. All the best, Si

Placeholder: Time to get my big boy pants on and pretend I’m a proper grown up…it’s my first dragon kit: Theirs so much…. Stuff in the box and the part count terrifies me. The detailing is awesome and why I chose it is because David Bryden advised dragon on its design. I’d say it looks to be a seriously accurate early from a fair bit of research. Despite the upgrade of magic tracks I’m not not going to wait for the “Paul Daniel’s moment” to occur and got some early production metal tracks from sanxin. I’ll be going with the scheme for gd in Kharkov (turret number 7). I like the panzer grey turret bin and gun. Looks a bit mismatched. I’ll be using, the guided, mr hobby aqueous for its colours and pose with hatches open. I’ll be trying hard to keep the weathering more light than my usual style of nearly at the knackers yard. I’m thinking that maybe this will be the first of two builds for this gb, my second, on the other hand, will be an almost destroyed kt. No dio or figures for this one… not yet anyway as want to try concentrate on the build itself. Paul

In December my son was away for the weekend, so I used his bedroom for a bit of a stash stocktake. I came to the conclusion that I've perhaps bought a few too many and should try building a few of them: But where to start? Too much choice! Oh, buy something new instead! - NO! Then, when I finished a 1/16 Renault FT for the "Go Large or Go Home GB" I hit upon the idea of continuing through my stash in the chronological order that the tanks went into production. This will put a much-needed structure around what I'm doing, and force me to tackle a few kits that are a bit daunting and would just never get built. I'm hoping to get through six kits in 2024, which sounds a bit unambitious, but 2/3 of them will have full interiors that grind me to a halt. Six kits will get me from 1927 to the end of 1933. 1934 can be a thread all of its own in 2025. Who knows, I might even make it to 1939 one day! Look at all those Panzer III's, I'll get to them eventually. They'll all be OOTB, and done to my usual no-prize-winning "looks OK from 6 feet away" standard, and I've gone off weathering completely because I just seem to end up with models that look the same when I've finished. Maybe building more will give me the chance to improve my skills, who knows? So - as long as the admins are ok with me having one thread for more than one build - off we go.

As my grandpa on my father's side fought as an artilleryman in North Africa, WW2 British AFVs, especially the early types, have been my primary interest since returning to the hobby in 2022. In that time I've completed 16 1/35 AFV kits (see some of them on my scalemates wall https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=123123&p=albums) but only one has actually been artillery, the Dragon 25-pdr and limber. As an expat in the US it's a bit prohibitive to get accurate armour resin kits shipped over, so I was glad to see Thunder Model re-released their 7.2" Howitzer alongside the Scammell Pioneer R100. After a careful watch of Nigel's Modelling Bench build of the howitzer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QsmMZuON6Y), I've started on it in earnest. So far I've run into much the same issues as he did. The instructions are mediocre at best. The parts are generally okay, but some of the locating pins do not fit their supposed locating holes. There is indeed a seam between the rivets of the gun mount, but frankly I do not have the patience to tackle that, so I will just try to avoid it when it comes to weathering. The chassis doesn't have a great fit. The photoetch is quite thick in parts and honestly if I had not recently bought a bender, I would not have bothered with the parts that have plastic alternates. The wheels are good enough for my purposes. The barrel also cleaned up reasonably well. Currently the kit is in reality in 5 parts (limber, gun mount, gun, 2x wheels) for painting. I expect some filler will be needed on the chassis after priming shows gaps. Thanks to Nigel's video I managed to get the gunsight mounted without fouling the left wheel (I hope). Planned paint scheme is desert, so Light Stone overall. I may add some black, olive or slate colours that were often used in a ripple effect on barrels. I don't have any photographic reference for a 7.2" in Africa though, so it will mostly be artistic license. If anybody does have such a reference, it would be most welcome.

The last radio message sent by the survivors of Col John Frost's paras at the north end of Arnhem Bridge, just before they surrendered on 20th September 1944. This small diorama consists of a mixture of Miniart, Dragon and Tamiya figures. The Miniart ones were disappointingly poor and softly moulded, only saved by being supplied with resin heads(although still not as good as Hornet). The guy being searched had to have a hand transplant as the originals were like spades! Luckily I had a couple of Alpine ones in the spares box. The seated figure is an amalgam of bits from the box with a green stuff putty blanket. Road is made from individually cast and laid plaster cobbles, which took a while but I think looks better than moulded roads. Zen modelling at its best. Discarded webbing is made from masking tape and spares from the Miniart box. All comments welcome as usual

Here is my contribution to the group build, HobbyBoss's VK 45.02(P) "Vorne". The VK 45.02(P) was an improved version of Porsche's earlier VK 45.01(P) updating the hull with a new sloped armour layout and a new turret equipped with the larger 8.8cm L/71 gun. Development of the VK 45.02(P) didn't leave the drawing board and it was canceled in favor of Henschel's VK 45.03(H) design which went on to become the Tiger II. I had originally planed to 3D print a VK 45.02(H) for the group build but due to some technical problems I was unable design the 3D model in time. For now I'll build its brother/rival the VK 45.02(P) and the VK 45.02(H) can join it in the future. Here are the obligatory sprue shots The hull is made from two upper and lower parts and not much more... Four sprues for the running gear, along with the few tools and handles for the hull. Most of the plastic in the box is for the turret which comes with a fully detailed interior. The tracks are individual links with each sprue containing four tracks with six connection points each. They should keep me busy for a few days... The kit comes with some photo-etch for the engine grills and also includes a generic set of number decals. Curiously they suggest painting the tank in Dunkelgrau even tho it had been replaced with Dunkelgelb by the time development of the VK 45.02(P) had started. Looking at the kit there are a few issues that stand out. The weld seams are very messy and misaligned, the ones on the side of the hull are ridiculously over sized too so I'll need to fill and re-scribe them all. The tank is also missing fenders over the tracks, I'll try to scratch build some from metal but I might also design and 3D print them instead.

Hi All Started yesterday, Trailer first as I think a bit more leeway for poor fitting parts, get a feel for assembly for the Scammell itself, so far so good, gooseneck a bit of a tight fit to get the deck plate in, might not take too long, as the whole thing is just Green all over. Cheers All any tips on this would be appreciated if you have done one Mark

Well, here's my choice .... the Airfix 1/35 Tiger 1 early .... nothing complicated and something I have half a chance of finishing! Ill fitting parts, inaccurate and vynil tracks .... what could possibly go wrong? 😟 Keith 😁

Another "quick build" project that I went into hoping to wrap it up before year's end, the Bronco Panzer IID kit is a really nice one-very cleanly-molded and excellent parts fit. This one is pretty much finished at this point except for the tracks. The Bronco kit tracks have the wrong guide horns, so I have a set of correct SpadeAce ones inbound so I can finish this build up. I was doing another grey/brown early war scheme anyway, so figured I'd get this one painted at the same time since the Polish and French campaign paint schemes were the same.

It is my model. Some details are cut from a frame.

colourblind Middle aged beginner coming through. First stages down.

Hi guys, my local model club with the backing of the LMS have set a club group build of 1/35 AFVs and in case, I won the Cromwell Mk VI by Airfix in 1/35. I used to build in 1/35 some years ago but space forced me to now build in 1/72-1/76. The rules are to build using the parts in the box, no AM but you can do some limited scratch work or add figures. I'll be building this OOB with an addition of a couple of figures. The box. The box of bits. Lots of plastic, choice of hard or rubber tracks, decals and even a little PE. The first couple of stages were carried out, the only clean up required was getting rid of the sprue grates and I must admit I am quite impressed but then the kit is relatively new. Next, the swing arms(?) were cleaned up and fitted, followed by fitting the side plates and side vents. Catch you later. Stuart

This is the Airfix 1/35 new tool A1373 with minor conversion work to make a Mk F as used by the 2nd Northants Yeomanry from D-Day going forward.

Having been hanging around in the group build section far too much lately, it’s time to get back to the armour building section. My next build is going to be this armoured bulldozer for my D Day sword beach project and part of some D Day group builds elsewhere. Kit is by mirror models and on first inspection is pretty good, mostly plastic with resin parts for the dozer blade assembly. The instructions would have you build the engine first which is quite detailed but give armoured sides you’re not going to see a lot of it. I skipped it initially and built the chassis first. The plastic is quite soft, detail Is good but a little on the soft side. Very few parts have positive fit locators and most joins are butt joints so it pays to take the time. The chassis arms in particular are quite flexible and I slowly worked my way along fitting and gluing. Tamiya extra thin works very well on this plastic so very few parts needed clamping, glue and hold for a few seconds and it stays solid. Despite the lack of locating tabs, the fit is surprisingly good. One part that didn’t fit well was the end plate for the drive box. It has bevelled edges but didn’t slide into the gap nicely so I had to shave ~0.5mm off each side to get the fit. With the chassis built I then built the superstructure so I could see how much of the engine would be visible. Again, despite all the plates being butt joints, it went together very well with only a couple of very minor gaps. I need to check my references to see where I need to add weld lines. Next I started work on the engine. With the superstructure and chassis dry fitted there is very little to see other than through the drivers area and a gap at the top above the radiator. Unfortunately, a fair amount of it is needed as it supports the exhaust stacks etc that poke up through the top of the armour. Part way through the build and there’s actually a few bits added that in hindsight aren’t needed but it’s hard to tell from the instructions. I’ve also picked up a few of Gecko’s new beach obstacles and an accurate armour driver to turn into a little diorama.

Gecko Morris Quad FAT and Bronco's No.27 Limber in North Africa-1942. Both are great kits with very fine detail.

After a few months of it dusting away in my spray booth, finally got around to finishing it up. Did end up being a lot simpler compared to my previous T-72m1 also from tamiya, but still fairly happy with the results Everything aside from the tracks came with the kit itself out of the box with the tracks themselves being the ones from MENG

Just finished this small diorama and am very pleased with the result. Tried some new techniques and scratch built everything except the figures for the first time. Depicts a group of weary and disconsolate German infantry trudging past the ruins of yet another burnt out Russian farm in winter of 1942. The NCO takes a peek into the 'privy' but decides not to bother using it! Figures are mostly Masterbox, with 2 Dragon figures added. Heads have been swapped on most of them for Hornet items (One is from Bodi I think). Some of the original heads included collars etc so needed to make new ones for using the Hornet heads. new collars & 'Private Pike's' scarf (the last guy in line) are from green stuff putty. First time I had used this so pretty happy with the results. House was built from kebab sticks, foam and lolly (craft) sticks. Privy and fence are from plasticard. Pine tree is from wire ad moss, and other tree is just a twig from the garden. Snow is made from a mixture of lightweight filler, acrylic modelling paste and baby powder for the roof dusting. Hope you like and all comments welcome

Hi All I'd like to present my first armor model. This particular model was a gift for a colleague originally from Poland. Initially, I contemplated creating a model of the PZL P.11 or a Polish destroyer. However, a fellow modeler from my local IPMS branch suggested this one. It's smaller, especially compared to the P.11, and holds a fascinating story. The kit was adequate, and I opted for rubber tracks as I lacked the patience to glue and position all those links on plastic ones. As for larger models, like tanks or SPAs, I'm uncertain if I'm prepared yet. However, I'm certainly intrigued by wheeled vehicles. The thought of dealing with all those tracks and wheels on a tank might be a bit overwhelming for me.

I'm building Gecko's very impressive Morris C8 Mk II Field Artillery Tractor (Quad). I've liked and wanted to build one of the Quad tractors since the 70s when I was a kid and Tamiya's kit with the 25 Pounder was newly out. I did build the 1/76 Airfix one, but that didn't last long. I picked up one of the Tamiya kits in the 90s when I returned to modeling and it was pretty bad even then-some of the thickest plastic ever-like tank armour plate thick, I traded or gave it away and picked up a Testors/Italeri boxing of the Peerless kit from the 70s and while it was far better than the clunky Tamiya one, I never got around to it. Gecko sent me this one to do a build log on before it was on the market and I will say-this is NOT the old Tamiya kit. Of course it is a different Quad (Morris C8, not CMP), but the detail and finesse is superb. The chassis is pretty complex, but everything fits nicely and looks great. Most truck kits take me a bit longer to build because subassemblies (chassis, cab, etc) have to be painted before putting them together. Here is the completed chassis:

Well it's finished. I've kept it new and shiny looking, well because they are mostly I think? I'd almost forgotten all this was in here - seems a long time ago! Thanks for looking! Nick