Renault UE2

[Mike]

After reviewing this little chap from Mirage Hobby the other day here, I decided to use it as a quick fun build as a break from the upgrading of the forum software   The build progressed quickly in between sessions on the site, and apart from altering the seams along the hull edges so that they were on the sides, rather than the tops, there were a few seams to fill, all of which were fairly drama-free.  It helped to have some references, and I still have a few rivets here & there to reinstate, plus an L-pprofile strengthening plate to add to the front mudguards, and a few little touch-ups here & there.

 

The tracks were a bit tricky, and with only three links left over, you need to keep the carpet monster away from them at all costs.  The vinyl tracks were actually easy to do, as you just cut them to length and join them with a drop of CA.  I also stuck them to the wheels to get the characteristic sag you see on the photos, which worked quite well.  The main tracks were of course link & length in styrene, so the sag was added by wedging them in position and softening the links with a bit of liquid glue, enough to lock-in the sag.  One thing worth of mention is that throughout the model the sprue gates were very short, making for a small gap between parts and their runners. This made it difficult to use side-cutters, which tended to deform the parts, so I used a CMK razor saw blade for the most part, held between my fingers for better control of the pressure used.  it led to much less damage, and was a surprisingly easy way of getting the parts free

 

The side seams were designed to fit with the side plates added outside the deck, but on the real thing this is reversed, so when I had glued them together, I filled the seams and scribed in some new ones on the sides, and even though most of them are now hidden by fenders & such, I'm glad I did it.  The exhaust shroud was thinned down extensively, as it is little more than steel sheeting, so it was generally thinned by sanding the inside, then the edges were bevelled to give a greater impression of thinness. The cart needed similar seam-filling work on the apron around the top plus some sizeable ejector pin marks needing removing, and the mudguards were also blended into the side fairings for a bit of extra finesse.  There doesn't seem to be any texture to the main surfaces, partly because the steel is quite thin, but I added a little texture to the exhaust silencer and drilled out the exhaust pipe, which will get a bit of a rusted up look during painting.  Here she is with a bit of primer squirted on last night:

 

 

[wyverns4]

Sweet!

 

and at the ready.

 

Christian, still in kenya awaiting the movers; only 6 weeks now...

[celt]

Th French had some interesting designs,looking forward to this.

[Mike]

Cheers chaps   I've picked out Gunze H64 RLM71 as the base colour for the main colour, which I'm going to alter with some H70 RLM02, which I believe are close enough for me

[beefy66]

This looks very well detailed for such a small model  

 

Beefy

[Mike]

I like it, although it is by no means a shake-and-bake kit.  It's worth putting in the effort though, and just so you know I've not stalled on yet another project, here's a quick pic of it as it stands today, half way through the weathering process.  I'm also painting up a couple of bits of stowage for the trailer, which I got years ago from GNR I think? They're cast in white dental plaster, which is their stock-in-trade.  There are a few aspects that need tidying up, such as more weathering on the sponsons, a bit of tidying up of the pigment on the tracks, and the addition of the metal gleaming through the mud on the contact patches, which I'll do at the end and seal with some matt varnish to take the sheen off.

 

 

Looks like the dust-coat also needs a bit of work too.  It's amazing what your eye misses when you see your work at 4x its real size!

[FrancisGL]

You're right, what the objective is able to see, it can make you "depressed", but anyway. even with 4x I suppose, it is magnificent for now., cheers Mike

[Mike]

Thanks fella

 

I managed to finish off an oil drum and a big wooden crate, plus a bit of weathering, using some of the LifeColor sets I've reviewed in the past, such as Mud (SPG05), Weathered Wood (CS20), Rain & Dust (LP03).  Still plenty to do, but we're getting there

 

 

[Billydick]

Nice work Mike. Particularly like the finish on the tracks.... what's in the crate ! 

 

BillyD

[Mike]

58 minutes ago, Billydick said:

what's in the crate !

 

Dental plaster... a much needed supply at the front-line, as how else are they going to make all those battle-ground dioramas?

[Mike]

Blimmin' 'eck!   I've only gawn and finished it!

 

Lots of weathering later, I polished off all the small bits and bobs that I could be bothered with this avo, and took a few photos.

 

 

 

You can see the rest of the pics here, along with a brief summary of the build. :)

 

many thanks to  for the kit, and don't forget to have a read of my In Box Review if you haven't already