Search the Community

Hi gentlemens!) My new job. Paints - Tamiya. Some weathering: rust - Choma pigments. Thanks for watching!) Konstantin

The build. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235017273-135-takom-t29e3-what-if/& Despite time becoming my enemy with this one, I managed to get it done in time for ValourCon 8 hosted by IPMS Winnipeg (Canada). Here she is. 20170422-MJS_0158 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0150 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Takom's new 1/35th scale T29E3. An American heavy tank which was conceived in 1944 but a prototype wasn't completed until after the end of the Second World War. The vehicle has since gained popularity among the online gaming community. It is featured in both War Thunder and World of Tanks games. After acquiring a T29E3 in World of Tanks (and falling in love with it's performance and imposing looks) I was thrilled to discover Takom had released a new series of kits based on the T29. I decided to build the model to represent the tank I own in the game. A big thank you to Tiger Model Designs for supplying a large number of brand new resin upgrade parts. The replacement parts really took the model to the next level replacing many of the smaller and less refined kit parts. 20170422-MJS_0108 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0110 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0117 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The model was painted primarily in Tamiya and some Vallejo. Oils, acrylics and enamels were used for detail painting and weathering. A variety of Mig pigments were used for dust and rust.The pigments were applied over several applications. Some wet, some dry. 20170422-MJS_0126 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr This was my first ever attempt at using the hairspray technique. And I absolutely love it. The hairspray was decanted from the bottle and sprayed on via airbrush. 20170422-MJS_0127 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The figure is from Alpine with a blanket that was sculpted from Milliput. My T29 commander in World of Tanks is presently at the rank of First Sergeant, hence the rank on his sleeve. The decals on the figure are both from Alliance Modelworks. All the markings on the tank (well, all six) were airbrushed on using stencils. The national insignia stencils used on the turret are from DNmodels. 20170422-MJS_0133 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr In the game World of Tanks each nation has a different way of showing off how proficient the player is in each of their tanks. Players driving American tanks can earn up to three stars (called marks of excellence) based on the average amount of damage they cause. I've currently earned two marks of excellence and I made my own paint stencils to represent this. Since it takes a while to earn each star I weathered the stars differently to indicate passage of time. I still have the stencil so if I do earn that third and final star you better believe I'll be adding it to my 1/35th scale T29! 20170422-MJS_0141 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Virtually all of the smaller detail parts (including hatches) on the turret were supplied by Tiger Model Designs. The two coax .50cal MG barrels were replaced with fine brass tube. 20170422-MJS_0142 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The commander was painted using Vallejo and oils. The German looking medal on his chest is another nod to the game. Any significant achievements in the game (like a high number of kills in one match for example) are represented by medals that are based off of German medals from WWII. I had some photo etch medals left over from a Dragon Gen2 figure set. 20170422-MJS_0145 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr In the game the tank is most famous for it's extremely thick mantlet and frontal turret armour. If you can get it hull down with the enemy ahead, you can have enemy shells bouncing off you all day long. I sculpted four shell impacts. Two direct but non penetrating hits on the mantlet. And two ricochet off the turret top and side. The silver is good ol Testors silver. 20170422-MJS_0148 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0157 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0163 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr According to wiki the T29 could weigh around 64 tons. I think at this angle it certainly appears possible! She's a big girl! 20170422-MJS_0174 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Tiger Model Designs also supplied a new .30cal MG for the hull. 20170422-MJS_0176 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0181 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr One headlight lens is missing from battle damage. It certainly IS NOT missing because of the mad dash to get it all done and I dropped it on the floor somewhere. Nope, definitely battle damage. 20170422-MJS_0184 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr In the game each tank can carry three "consumables" which can be used during battle. Examples are tool kits to repair damaged track or a first aid kit to heal wounded crew. Here you can see a fire extinguisher (great as American tanks in game have a habit of brewing up). And a case of Cola which for one mission can increase crew skills by 5%. I scratch built the case myself and my wonderfully talented mother painted the Cola text. 20170422-MJS_0186 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The tarps on either side of the hull also match in game stowage. These were made of rolled up lead foil and the straps are photo etch and Tamiya tape. 20170422-MJS_0188 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The antennas are carbon fibre and were sourced from Accurate Armor. I bought these probably over ten years ago. Totally forgot I had them. Yes, it is good I've tidied up my work bench! I've no idea if the antennas are the correct length and happily I don't care! 20170422-MJS_0189 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Some of you may be wondering why there are no tow cables present. Well the in game model from WoT doesn't have them so neither does mine. Good thing as I didn't have time to add them anyway! 20170422-MJS_0190 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The mufflers stained in rust and small tears in the rubber side skirts were also modelled after how the tank looks in game. 20170422-MJS_0197 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr A graphite pencil was rubbed along various edges and surfaces to give a metallic sheen. 20170422-MJS_0198 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0204 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20170422-MJS_0205 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The model has it's flaws (99% caused by me). And rushing to get the kit done for the contest didn't help. But overall I'm satisfied-ish with the overall appearance. 20170422-MJS_0211 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I think it's a pretty neat looking vehicle. Like a Pershing on steroids! And I'm glad to have been able to build the tank I adore so much in the game. 20170423-MJS_0215 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Here it is on the base I cobbled together. I'm already contemplating building another World of Tanks T29 or T30 only in the equally neat looking winter camo. 20170423-MJS_0219 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr How'd she do at the contest which I worked so hard to enter in time? FYI there were only 30 minutes left to register when I showed up. Well, that's a lovely gold medal awarded to me from the fine judges at IPMS Winnipeg. That was a great surprise and the icing on the cake! 20170423-MJS_0230 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr A little background into the medal design. "IPMS Winnipeg adopted the name, THE VALOUR ROAD CHAPTER. The significance of this name is related to the street in Winnipeg called VALOUR ROAD, a street located close to the club's headquarters at the St. James Legion. In the British Commonwealth, the highest medal awarded for bravery in combat is the Victoria Cross. Winnipeg has the unique distinction of having the highest number of Victoria Crosses awarded to men from one city outside Great Britain proper. Valour Road, which used to be called Pine Street, had three soldiers from the same street awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War. Other Manitoba servicemen honoured with the Victoria Cross were Col Billy Barker, a First World War flying ace and Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski, a Second World War Lancaster crewman. IPMS Winnipeg recognizes this outstanding service by honouring these brave men with reference to Valour Road." -Courtesy the IPMS Winnipeg home page. http://www.ipmswinnipeg.ca/index.htm The three names on the outer ring of the medal are men who all lived on Pine Street and were awarded the Victoria Cross during World War I. Thanks for looking! -matt

This is Takom's new kit, the T29E3. An American heavy tank that saw it's design begin in 1944 but a prototype wasn't completed until 1947. An evolution of the M26 Pershing, by the time the prototypes were built it was decided that the need had passed for such a heavy vehicle. As such, only a handful of vehicles were ever built. The T29E3 is also a popular machine in the online game "World of Tanks". Since I acquired a T29 of my own it quickly became a favorite and I've hardly played any other tank since. And when I discovered that Takom had a kit of this beast I knew I had to build my tank from the game. Here's a shot of my vehicle wearing the "summer" camouflage in World of Tanks. I plan on building my machine to closely replicate this image. The two stars on the barrel represent "marks of excellence" which are obtained by dealing statistically high amounts of damage in a game. IMG_8103 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I don't plan on this being a step by step blog of building the T29. More a record of simply where I am at with the build. So this is how far I've gotten after about a week of on and off building. There are some differences between the Takom model (which looks quite accurate) compared to the model in the game. My vehicle will likely blend details from the two together. 20170220-MJS_9747 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The road wheels and drive wheels have been built and cleaned up. I used a sharp x-acto knife and a coarse file to add some character to the rubber tires. 20170220-MJS_9758 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr In the game the tank is famous for having an extremely heavily armoured turret front and gun mantlet. In a hull down position with enemies ahead, she is a fearsome enemy! I wanted to help demonstrate that by modelling the affects of several armour piercing rounds that had hit but failed to penetrate the turret front. 20170220-MJS_9756 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I noticed on real tanks you could sometimes make out what appear to be rifling marks caused when a shell managed to ricochet. I replicated this using the tip of a hobby knife and various sharp dremel bits. 20170220-MJS_9754 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr To help determine how large the shell impacts should be I'm using some Tiger II shells as reference. I think I'm going to enlarge a couple of my shell impacts as they are starting to look a little under scale. Of course, in World of Tanks you meet a huge variety of vehicles in combat so I don't need to be super precise. I don't have to worry too much about historical accuracy! 20170220-MJS_9761 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The kit comes molded with a nice cast texture on certain parts. But it's a little too smooth for my taste so Mr Surfacer 1000 was stippled on with a brush. Tamiya epoxy putty was used to help build up the shape of the shell impacts.The shell impacts still need plenty of work. 20170220-MJS_9757 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Vehicles in WoT don't carry much stowage. But for the purposes of the game you can equip your tank with different types of "consumables". These can range from medical kits to treat injured crew. Repair kits to fix a damaged gun. And for American tanks you can even equip a "case of cola" to improve the performance of your entire crew for one battle. IMG_8236 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I thought it would be funny to have some Wot consumables as stowage on my tank. I don't use the case of cola myself but I just couldn't resist adding it. I'm terrible at scratch building and have almost zero experience. But I think I've managed to make something that will resemble close enough to the item in the game. 20170220-MJS_9764 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr So that's where I am at so far. It's very early days and there is a ton of work still to do. I will post again once I've made some more progress. Cheers and thanks for looking! -matt