TonyW Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 (edited) Another for the GB, the Matchbox Char B1 bis and Reanault FT17 diorama kit. Matchbox certainly had a hit on their hands with the ingenious idea of adding mini dioramas to their AFV range. I built loads of them in the seventies. i didn't get to have a go at this particular set though. Time to rectify that omission! A start has been made. Some of the parts are tiny. It's amazing the amount of detail crammed into such little kits. I'm enjoying things so far, assembly completed in a couple of evenings, undercoats on, a bit of filling and rubbing down next in line. Right, I'm off into the garden to find a bit of brick to grind up. A bit of dirt and sand would help things along as well. Get me, gardening at the weekend. How very suburban. Tony. Edited November 20, 2017 by TonyW 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 This look's superb Tony,probably my favourite armour kit by Matchbox,I think coming near the end of the companies modelling arm,great work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Probably my favourite, too. Those sets were a great idea, and not surprisingly, they're very difficult to find nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 18, 2017 Author Share Posted November 18, 2017 (edited) My gardening efforts provided a bit of debris for the road section, plus a few bits of scenic materials added for good measure got me to here... Very enjoyable. The foliage should help unify the cammo colours on the tanks. more later... Tony. Edited November 18, 2017 by TonyW 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeoman1942 Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 What a blast from the past. I remember building this as a kid. Great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 What a choice! I loved building this when it came out and it was another topic that nobody but Matchbox would have tackled at the time. Great job on the diorama Tony, your extra work has really brought it to life. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old thumper Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Glad to see this kit turn up for the build, like others have already said it is a classic. I remember building this and the other double sets, Monty's caravan and scout car, LRDG set and the German one with the big half track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 These two kits would appear to be the first of Matchbox’s Orange Armour range to be entered into this GB - so well done Tony. I should’nt be surprised that we are seeing more aircraft than anything else, however these Armour models and bases, especially the duel builds in this Orange range are really quite unique and are an excellent example of what made Matchbox kits stand out in their day. It’ll be great to see a few others (as mentioned above) make it on here for they all deserve to be built and displayed. Cheers... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 The Base is a work of art in itself Tony,great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 I got a bit more done on the base. I thought the vehicles looked a bit crammed in on the base, everything looked a bit claustrophobic somehow. My solution was to add a strip of plasticard between the back of the base and the wall section. I then packed that area with miliput and then added scenic stuff to disguise the addition. Everything still looks the same but the vehicles and three bods have a bit of breathing space now. Next up, a bit of cammo on the tanks, followed by a spot of wear and tear. This one is coming together rather smoothly. I have a PzIII and a Humber Armoured Car that may well get started for the build. I'm starting to regret selling off the bulk of my Matchbox collection. Tony. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Annnnd coming round the bend, he's on the home straight, Blimey, the end is in sight! Camouflage paint applied in colours that looked about right to me. The cammo colours looked like something by Claris Cliff when they went on. I've dusted them right down to the point I'm now happy enough with them. Black lining was done with a fine tip felt pen, still way too thick for a proper replica but close enough for Government work. Both tanks have had powdered real rust brushed over the tracks and hulls, plus a load stuck to fresh paint on the Char exhaust. The rust was scraped off a real 1932 Ford front fender, so it's nearly period stuff. There's a few washes and dry brushings to be done yet and the three soldiers plus tank commander to paint. The road surface might get a drop of tea applied to bring the colour slightly closer to the tanks, we shall see. It's whole lot closer to being done than it was a week ago. Tony. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 There's a whole heap of ingenious products being applied to these models Tony - it sounds as if both Eduard and MIG could set up shop in your backyard and still make a handy profit! Loving the look of these two and also the old school approach to weathering. Cheers .. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 23 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: There's a whole heap of ingenious products being applied to these models Tony - it sounds as if both Eduard and MIG could set up shop in your backyard and still make a handy profit! Loving the look of these two and also the old school approach to weathering. Cheers .. Dave Old School is about right Dave, the Verlinden Way is high tech to me! Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 (edited) Just gone eleven, time to quit for today. A pleasant evenings work that's got me to here... The road section got toned down a bit and looks much better at this end. The model has very bright, rich colours to it and looks a bit cartoony. Not necessarily a bad thing in my book. This picture has a bit of flash used as well as my desklamp turned sideways on it. The other pictures from today have no flash used. Tomorrow I'll shoot a few pictures outdoors , if the weather co-operates, to see if things quieten down in natural light. More tomorrow with a bit of luck. Edited November 19, 2017 by TonyW 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Brilliant work on show Tony,this build has me itching to start my armour entries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Great work the scenic materials and the camouflage look really good to my eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Love the work you have done on this, simply superb. Your diorama work in particular is fantastic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 I'm calling this one done now. It's been a steep learning curve for me. All kinds of flaws are shouting out at me, although I'll forgive myself as it's the first AFV build I've done for years. The PzIII that followed this one has turned out better in my opinion, so I'm going in the right direction. A surprisingly difficult model to photograph, I tried all sorts of lighting settups and camera angles and lenses. None have worked to my satisfaction, the pictures just don't look like the model sat on my bench. Fortunately, there's only a couple of obvious viewing angles for it so there's not really too many that needed taking. Here's a cropped and tidied up shot from the series shot below. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Look's amazing Tony,love the textures achieved lifts the whole dio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Good afternoon Tony Very good job you have done Patrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arniec Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Great job Tony. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Fast and excellent work, and a great idea to add shoulder-room on the diorama. I remember as a lad being a little disappointed when the vehicles overhung the bases on some of these kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 As others have said, it looks great and the extension to the base is a great idea. I'm beginning to think I ought to get some of the Matchbox AFVs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelD Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 This kit has been re issued by revell this year. I think that the only change is in the decals and box art. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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