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Before I start on a new project, I thought I would finish off a couple of projects that have been gathering dust. I have always liked the look of the Crusader tank and likewise the Caunter scheme so I thought this would be the perfect combination. The build was progressing nicely until I reached the painting stage and did a little research. It appears that only a few of the very first Crusaders to arrive in Africa did so in time to receive the Caunter scheme and the only images that I could find of these vehicles showed that a number of changes would have to be made to the Italeri kit. The first thing I did was to remove the rear stowage boxes from the track guards. It seems that these vehicles used a different type of air filter and they seem to be an oil bath type. I scratched something from plastic card and adapted some kit parts to replicate them. It also meant that the track guards in that area would have to be replaced as there was now some missing detail. The sand shields are from Eduard and didn't take too kindly to being removed and refitted. The auxiliary fuel tank was also removed and replaced with a rack that I pinched from a Bronco A13 kit. There is a rack on the front track guard that I presume was for spare track and this needed a few bits of rod adding. Talking of tracks, I had planned to replace the kit vinyl tracks with Bronco's A13 separate track links. They had been quite successful on my A13 build but on this build they just disintegrated, probably due to the enamel washes that I used. Lesson learnt but I couldn't face doing another set of those links and I really didn't want to splash out on some Friuls. So I have gone with the vinyl tracks, hopefully they won't look too bad once painted but if the model turns out well enough I may invest in some better ones. All of the lights in the kit are just solid plastic, so I bored them out with dental burrs. I added bulbs from stretched clear sprue and painted the reflectors chrome. For the glass I used some UV adhesive. Unfortunately I don't think I waited long enough for the chrome to dry as I have lost some of the reflectiveness. Another lesson learnt. All of the gun barrels have been replaced with metal ones from RB Model. The rear turret tool box wasn't carried on these tanks so I removed it from the kit and replaced the missing bolt heads. On the kit the bolt heads are depicted as round but I think in reality they would be hexagonal but I didn't fancy replacing all of those. It will be interesting to see how Border Models have done theirs. There is also some sort of air vent? on the back of the turret so this was made from scrap plastic. Looking at the photo I appear to have a bit of cleaning up to do. Mr Surfacer to the rescue I hope. On the left side of the turret there is some kind of mounting and I made this from cooper sheet that was shaped and soldered together. It has taken me around 3 years to get to this point but I think I can finally think about getting some primer and paint put on. Hopefully I can get painting tomorrow. Wayne

I’ll be joining in with this classic armoured car. I’ve already built one earlier this year so know the pitfalls.

Moving on to planning my next project while the paint drys on my A9, I picked this up as a semi-impulse buy recently: I’ve been keen to build one since reading Robert Crisp’s amazing personal story of his experiences in the desert in WW II in his book Brazen Chariots. I suspect many on this site will be familiar with his life story (which is altogether extraordinary - see for example https://www.badassoftheweek.com/crisp). I am going to finish it in the other Caunter Scheme tank in the box (not Bellman!). I have Tamiya mixes for the silver-grey and slate from when I built the Tamiya 1:48 Matilda and Tilly a few years ago. I’m also going to use Vallejo ModelAir Portland Stone. As you can see I have the appropriate reading material to hand!

I’ve been keen to build a Stuart in British colours since reading “Brazen Chariots” by Robert Crisp. My local hobby store has a restock and I managed to grab the Academy kit at a good price. Here is my attempt, pretty much out of the box other than a go a making more of rack for the cans at the back. I also had a go at brush painting a Caunter Scheme using some Tamiya mixes I made awhile ago and Vallejo acrylics. Weathered (a little too much) with Vallejo Model Washes. Build thread can be found here: According to the box the markings are for the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars, 7 Armoured Division, Sidi Rezegh, Libya, November 1941. Thanks for looking.

Kicking the next one down the road. This time it is British Matilda II. Even though I don't have fond memories of Tamiya, it is the only manufacturer that makes Matilda, so no choice there. I have a lots of goodies to add to this one though, many of them TMD resin add-ons. These aren't outright necessity but I guess provide some variation of other Matilda builds out there. There are also a Voyager PE set, a MasterClub track set, an Aber barrel and an Echelon decals to get the markings correct. And it will be painted in Caunter scheme of course. So far the running gear is completed, hull has been glued together and both tracks have been assembled as well. Cheers! Kristjan

I've not been active on my WIP's for a while, largely due to other projects, one being this little one. This is my S-Model Light Tank MK VI with Dan Taylor Modelworks etched brass add ons, to turret and side skirts. In 1/72 this is very small! The Caunter scheme was applied with lots of masking using AK paints from their Caunter scheme set. The three colours used (from six in the set) are Slate, Portland Stone and Silver Grey. I did find that straight from the bottle, the silver grey was not dissimilar to the Portland stone, so I darkened it slightly with some Russian Cockpit turquoise! Decals are a mixed bag from the spares box. I applied some light washes and weathering with artists oils and various AK and MIG products. The S-Model kits are quite basic but do seem accurate and have a lot of fine detail. Tracks are not separate, being moulded integral with the wheels. And it seems every S-Model 1/72 AFV kit contains two complete kits, so I have a second to build. I fancied an all sand earlier version without the side skirts, or possibly a green/black example from the BEF in France. I have a full size prototype for reference just 20 minutes up the road in Bovington. The Caunter scheme, photographs quite differently in some lights: A couple of shots to show it's size, taken during construction/painting: This one shows S-Model attention to fine detail. And this shot was taken with a same scale Scimitar (by ACE) which is also close to finishing (will do an RFI for that also) And finally these shots show what to me is quite a significant difference between 1/76 and 1/72 scale. My two MB models MK VI's (1/76) with the S-Model (1/72) for comparison. I've heard people suggest that the two scales are so similar, the differences do not matter but to me they do, certainly if they were being displayed together in some sort of diorama. Comments and questions, good, bad or indifferent welcome! Thanks for looking Terry

I am not usually an armour modeller. This was a quickie OOB for light relief around building a Wingnut Wings Camel. Thats in an Aircraft RFI but here is my early desert war armoured car. The kit went together very simply with virtually no filler, the main challenge was the Caunter Scheme. I used Mike Starmer's Tamiya mixes, though not sure I got them completely accurate. This photo shows the colours as I saw them in my workroom but the black background ones may show how the Caunter scheme appeared in the desert? Anyway it was a fun and fairly easy build. I would be happy to build more Roden; luckily as I have a few of their planes in the stash! Cheers Will

Hi guys, Started this build some time ago, but unfortunately didn't take any photos so far. Nothing exciting till now anyway, built OOB. Perfect fit Tamiya kit (I find this one even better than other Tamiya kits I built so far). I'll go with vinyl tracks as they will be mostly covered by sidescirts anyway. Primed with grey Mr. Surfacer 1500 (I love this stuff, creates perfectly smooth finish) and painted with AK Real Colors. Not sure how accurate they are, but you can see yourself. Painted with 2:1 (thinner:paint) ratio, in three passes. This was my first time using AK Real Colors (usually using Mr.Color and Hataka), so actually, there was something exciting at this point. First Portland Stone layer went crap, gritty like a sandpaper. So I had to sand everything and repeat. Had to do some practice to figure out how to use this AK Real Color stuff successfully and ended up with really nice smooth and flat finish. I am starting to like them, although they do perform a bit more unpredictable compared to Mr.Color. I used AK High Compatibility thinner, but then switched to Mr Leveling Thinner as it's easier to work with it, at least for me. Masking it was quite fun actually. It's like unwrapping the gift And here's the result. Will hopefully continue this weekend. Cheers!

Evenin’ All Hot on the heels of my Panther last month, here’s my second big armour thingy! The kit - Tamiya’s 1/35 Matilda Mk II/IV (35300). An example from the 42nd Royal Tank Regiment, which formed part of the 1st Army Tank Brigade, and served in the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa in 1941-2. Built OOB, it virtually fell together, except for the link’n’length track, sections of which kept falling off ! Paint – Tamiya acrylics mixed to Mr Mike Starmers’s recipies for the Caunter scheme. Weathering – A lumpy, sludge mix of Humbrol weathering powder for the mud. Tamiya Weathering Master set A (mostly) and (a bit of) D, and a lot of use of watercolour pencils, especially for the dust and sand deposits on the decks and turret. A light dusting of XF57 Buff to finish off. Distractions – Tank Chats. In my research I discovered the The Tank Museum’s Tank Chats on Youtube. Really good watching for a tank noob like myself. I’m on #80 Black Prince as I write this. Here it is, I hope you like it. Apologies for the use of my phone camera. I wasn't too happy with the indoor photos for showing a true colours so I took some outdoors in the desert-like sunshine to see how they'd turn out. One more for luck. So, I’m still enjoying my foray into armour subjects, they’re certainly different to what I’m used to. My next big decision will be, do I stick with 1/35 or do I swap to 1/48 so that they’ll sit comfortably among my aircraft models ? While I ponder that, I’ve placed an order with my local for a Tamiya 1:35th scale - Panzer Mk.III Ausf.L – 35215…….meanwhile my stash is bulging with neglected aircraft projects. Ah well. Thanks for looking Cheers Gaz