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Diamond 'T' tank transporter - FINISHED


specky

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Hi everyone

 

Although I'm a little late to the party, there are still plenty of empty slots for unspoken for kits & this seems to be one!

 

DSCN0617

 

I missed it first time around, since by the very late 70's I had moved on to 1/35 Tamiya, but I built the Revell re-box 5 or 6 years ago and found it to be pretty good, so lets try an original

 

DSCN0618

 

Its everything that made Matchbox, especially the military vehicles, so fresh & exciting - the multi-colour sprues & mini diorama base made contemporary Airfix seem. well..... 'old-hat', which in truth, most already were.

 

Updates to follow, as they occur!

 

Craig

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone

 

This has proven to be a bit more of a mission than I anticipated since the plastic is exceptionally brittle, which is not something I remember from any of these kits I built back in the day, so it must be a consequence of how and where its been stored for the last 30-odd years. The yellow sprue was fine, but the other 2 were a nightmare & no matter what I tried, the small parts literally shattered on removal, but I eventually got them all back together & reached this point....

 

DSCN0620

 

....a series of sub-assembles ready for paint

 

Sadly, and not for the first time, I massively misjudged the degree to which a gloss coat darkens 'olive drab' and although it may lighten a little after the matt coat. it'll still be way darker than I wanted....

 

DSCN0623

 

...but with Christmas just around the corner & snow forecast for next week, the chances of a re-paint anytime soon are slim, so I've cracked-on with the decals. You probably won't be surprised to hear that the left a lot to be desired - out of register, poor colour, really thick & buried in a mahosive amount of carrier film, but Tamiya acrylic thinner did its job & they have settled really well, so a :thumbsup2: for X-20A, :thumbsdown: for XF-62

 

Next job is to clean-up the multitude of wheels & tyres, paint and fit & try to get them all to touch the ground at the same time!

 

Cheers

 

Craig

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Hi everyone

 

So, after a few delays in updating due to the recent Flickr issues, the saga continues!

As anticipated, the wheels & tyres were a mission - partly because there are what seems like hundreds of them, but mainly because there is no clear divide between the two.  After a couple of failed attempts to free-hand brush paint similar diameter 'wheel rims', I gave up & 'fudged it' with a wash of a dried mud type colour, which in the end, doesn't look so bad.

After completing the decaling, I tried Tamiya 'Clear flat' to matt it all - which didn't go well! Its left a distinctly 'frosty' finish, but luckily its only really noticeable on the horizontal surfaces, so I'm trying to convince myself that its a bit of UV bleaching.

The sub-assembles were brought together and after a good bosh of weathering powders on the underside of the tractor & trailer, the wheels were added and again, as anticipated, they don't all touch the ground! Normally, I would use a little solvent adhesive to loosen a few joints and 'encourage' the axles or whatever into a more suitable position - but that's just not going to work here, the plastic is way too brittle - I've already had to scratch a new door mirror and trailer ramp hinge and drill, pin and glue the headlamp and one of the tractor axles.

So, before anything else breaks or falls off, this is how it looks, but paired with a Dragon, rather than Matchbox, 'Firefly'....

39194807611_6f129a22f2_b.jpg

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Its a shame that I seem to have picked a duff example of this kit, because even after all these years, it still looks the part and other than trying to get paint on the wheels, its not a difficult build. There will be a little more to come, but not until after the holidays

 

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you all

 

Craig

 

 

 

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Hi everyone

 

Very late in the day it's dawned on me, if that's not too much of a contradiction, that of all the projects started in 2017, this is the only one even remotely close to a finish - so best I get my finger out!

 

I tried this stuff for the first time...

DSCN0643

 

... rather than my more familiar Humbrol Clearfix to glaze the cab and although its much easier to use and if you apply it thin enough, will produce a remarkably clear window, even after 3 days, its still exceptionally vulnerable to marks from stray finger prints.

DSCN0642

So, lesson learnt - get it right first time and never, ever, touch it again!

 

In the excitement of trying something new, I totally forgot the misty coat of Tamiya 'Buff', so no dust coat :rage: -  some powders will have to do. A random selection of 'junk' from the spares box fills up the tractor load bed and in the spirit of the GB, the trailer is now loaded with a Revell re-box of the Matchbox M7 Priest.

DSCN0639DSCN0641

 

If the sun comes out again this side of the New Year, I will try for some better photos before adding to the gallery, but otherwise I'm calling this done

 

Thanks for your time

 

Craig

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  • specky changed the title to Diamond 'T' tank transporter - FINISHED

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