Hammasphee Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Was hoping to start this today, but alas time has worked against me. So just to start things off, the obligatory box and sprue shots of the Airifix Churchill Mk VII tank I picked up from Modelzone just after Christmas for the princely sum of £3.20. Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I don't think I have ever seen vinyl tracks on anything this scale. But then it isn't my scale so what do I know. Nice choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paganpete Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Looking forward to seeing this progress, love the Churchill* (in all it's guises). Pete *But I still love Matilda too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Progress has been a little slow, a combination of work and the horrible number of small parts in stage one... 22 springs and 44 little wheels to create the track wheels, with a fair amount of flash and some horrible mould lines means I'm just picking at them bit by bit. Progress will speed up once these are finally done, I promise! Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Finally, some real progress! All twenty two bogies are now cleaned and assembled, and the basics of the body is now setting; hoping by getting this together first I can keep the wheels level and sitting flat. I've attemped to fuse the vinyl tracks together, but I'm not too certain about the final outcome - will have to see how it sits once everything is in place. Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I remember all those tiny wheels when I built this one as a kid many years ago. I think I never got it to "sit" right on all those wheels and the vinyl tracks. I probably never quite understood how much cleaning work of the parts I should have done... Will be good to see this one taking shape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The dragonborn Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Dem wheels ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Progress has been a little slow, a combination of work and the horrible number of small parts in stage one... 22 springs and 44 little wheels to create the track wheels, with a fair amount of flash and some horrible mould lines means I'm just picking at them bit by bit. Progress will speed up once these are finally done, I promise! Struts, thanks for the reminder of why I stopped doing armoured kits ! I take my hat off to you, look forward to you showing this one whose boss. Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I think I cheated when I made this kit. If I remember correctly,I didn't put the tracks all the way around so that it would sit properly. The track guard running along the top hid the fact the track wasn't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwh Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 If I may, could I pass on a little tip I used when building my Churchill tank treads, use a couple of small paper staples and use these across the joins, I used two per track, works a treat and if when you place tracks over wheels/bogies place the join at the top,under the bodywork, it cannot be seen. Also before you install tracks paint the inside of the tracks. Derek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Cheers for all the comments and tips, really appreaciate it. Little update before I take a break for a bit (got a column to write, still not started...) - all the little sub-assemblies put together ready for spraying. The plan is to paint the tracks and the wheels, then add the outer covering to the tracks. Having dry-fitted them, I am worried about how well they will go together and all line up, doesn't look good... Quick question to those that have done this kit, do these outer parts sit on top of the inner wheel support, or butt up against? One side fits better one way, the other the second. On the turret I've drilled out the holes at the end of the barrel, and added a lip with liquid green stuff. More progress next week! I hope... Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jockster Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I used to hate joining vinyl track when I was a kid, it just never looked right. I too cheated when building this one in my yoof, I quickly got bored sanding the tags of the wheels and only did the outer ones. I also remember breaking a couple of wheels off while being too enthusiastic about putting the tracks on. Nice to see it properly built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Oh yes, joining vinyl tracks was a nightmare. I built most of the Airfix tank range, and some Matchbox and others, all those years ago and I don't think I ever got it it right... I did use the staple trick and at least that prevented them from separating - mostly - but the tanks were still sitting "tip toe" on a rounded loop of vinyl. While vinyl tracks can't be ideal, the problems were probably more caused by the (over)enthusiastic kid than the tracks themselves... Those were good years none the less. It feels good to see this being built today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Right, managed to get a bit done yesterday. Painted the insides, with a bit of silver drybushing and a brown wash to add some depth. I then closed up the tracks, and my fears over the fit proved well founded. I think they are both slightly warped, and neither fitted wither properly nor symmetrically, so a fair amount of filler has been used to try and tidy the hull up. Next steps will be to clean up the filler (and reapply where necessary), masking the tracks and repriming ready for the final paint. Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) And it is done! A day and a half off work injured and bored of unpacking boxes, so all is finished. Edited June 2, 2014 by Hammasphee 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Gordon Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I like that,well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Szczudlyk Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Iam not a big tank fan but I like yoyr work nice job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murdo Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Certainly can't fault you on that one! Lovely job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Great job. The dirt looks really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraxinus Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 That is an incredible finish on that old beast.there is far to much inspiring stuff on Britmodeller at the moment !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thanks for all the kind words folks, very much appreciated. I am happy with how the weathering and mud came out, surprised me when it dried and it looked pretty good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 That came out well. Good to see that it can be built to sit right on its tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Hi None of your pictures seem to be working.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammasphee Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 Ah crap, forgot about them - had them hosted on my site, but let the domain expire last week as I have no idea if/what I'm going to with the front end of it. Might renew for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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