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This arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago and I have been chomping at the bit to get started on it. So whilst I'm deciding on how to tackle the weathering on my Valentine Mk.III I thought I would get this one underway. The kit comes packaged in a nice sturdy box and for change there is plenty of room inside for everything, plus all of the sprues are individually wrapped in their polythene bags. I wish Miniart would follow suit. There are only five main sprues and the instructions booklet only runs to nine pages, the first page is blank and the second has a couple of photos and a little history. With only seventeen stages I'm hoping for a nice easy build.🤞 After first glancing in the box I thought the £55.00 that UK retailers are asking for it seemed a little steep but I guess as long as no aftermarket is required the price reflects the quality of the kit and it seems to be on a par with other new releases. The moulding on this kit at first glance does seem to be first class with no flash or awkwardly placed sprue gates. The weld beads and bolt head detail on the turret are nicely reproduced and its nice to see that the bolt heads are actually hexagonal, although I wouldn't fancy trying to get a socket to fit with those tapered edges. I guess that's a limitation of the moulding technology and to be fair at normal viewing distances they look excellent. There is only a little bit of photo etch, which suits me, and a nice metal barrel. The tracks may well slow down the build though. Border have supplied them as separate links with small plastic pins to be inserted if you want them to be workable, 117 links and 234 pins per side. That could well test my eyesight, dexterity and patience. The are two solid lengths of track provided for the bottom run which could save a bit of time. Three marking choices are provided, two are from the 6th Armoured Division. Tunisia 1943 and the one that is depicted on the box art from the 1st Armoured division. El Alamein 1942. @Mike Starmer pointed out that the box artwork is incorrect, although the painting guide does have the gloss white undercuts shown. One little bonus that comes with the early releases is a nice little cutting mat with the Crusader depicted on it. Hopefully I can get cracking on this in the next couple of days.

Hi all 😎 Started in the mid 1990's but never finished, the build was resurrected summer 2020 and the first full kit completed since returning to the hobby after a break of 23 years. This is also the first kit I've completed using the airbrush and acrylics, having previously used only enamels and brush painting for projects at home, the first attempt at weathering a proper military land vehicle, and the first proper attempt at painting detailed figures. The kit had previously been part painted and built, so needed completely dismantling and stripping (see the photos in the WiP thread). Paint is Tamiya acrylics, with matt clear coat. Weathering and chipping on the vehicle and jerrycans using a mix of hairspray technique, sponge and finished off with Tamiya weathering powders. The jeep was painted in US Army olive drab with desert yellow over the top for chipping. Figures painted with Tamiya acrylics, skin tones are Citadel Miniatures. Kit is built out of the box with a couple of scratch-built extras: condenser tank pipe made from a piece of electrical wire; bags, water canteens and goggle straps made from paper; jerrycan racks make from thin brass sheet. All other accessories are from the kit. Comments always welcome! 😊👍 Cheers!

Hi all 😎 Started in the mid 1990's but never finished, the build was resurrected summer 2020 and is destined to be the first full kit completed since returning to the hobby after a break of 23 years. This is also the first kit I've have completed using the airbrush and acrylics, having previously used only enamels and brush painting for projects at home, the first attempt at weathering a proper military land vehicle, and the first proper attempt at painting detailed figures. The kit had been part painted and built, so needed completely dismantling and stripping. This took a couple of weeks on and off, as 23 year old enamel proved a bit stubborn to remove. Paint is Tamiya acrylics, with matt clear coat. Weathering and chipping on the vehicle and jerrycans using a mix of hairspray technique, sponge and finished off with Tamiya weathering powders. The jeep was painted in US Army olive drab with desert yellow over the top for chipping. Figures painted with Tamiya acrylics, skin tones are Citadel Miniatures. Kit is built out of the box with a couple of scratch-built extras: condenser tank pipe made from a piece of electrical wire; bags, water canteens and goggle straps made from paper; jerrycan racks make from thin brass sheet. All other accessories are from the kit (I'm a predominantly out-the-box type of builder). The jeep after stripping and rebuilding ready for painting. Still got the jerry cans and a few accessories to go. The underside still shows evidence of the original enamel paints, however for the underside of the chassis, I wasn't too concerned with getting the strip pristine. The first results of airbrushing bodywork with acrylics and doing chipping. The jeep was sprayed in olive drab overall, sealed with a satin coat, then hair-sprayed before adding the desert yellow. Most of the chipping was done with a very worn out, short bristled old flat brush (from the days when I used to do a lot of watercolour painting). Accidentally broke the drivers seat backrest in the process, but no drama. First go at painting detailed figures (stock crew from the kit) - all Tamiya acrylics, with skin tones using Citadel Miniatures. The base colour of the uniforms was airbrushed, but the rest hand painted/brush. A minor bit of scratch-building - jerry can racks from a bit of brass shim. Nothing measured just cut and built by eye..... good enough for effect and government work! Racks fixed in place and painted/weathered. Other accessories starting to come together - all acrylics and apart from the sand channel boards, all hand/brush painted. Onto the final stages of fitting the various bits of kit and touches of weathering. Straps for the bags are made from paper (normal inkjet paper). Comments and suggestions always welcome! Photos of the completed build will follow 😀