BIG X Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 4 minutes ago, Mike said: You forgot to put the barrels in? ...and the winner is... MIKE ...Err yep - I forgot to actually put the barrels in I wouldn't mind but they arrived yesterday and I was busy asking my good mate Ben how to glue the brass muzzles on - but got so tied up with painting I completely forgot them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 So - moving swiftly along - as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened - did I tell you about my barrels??? No??? Well let me tell you now... When I decided on my latest project I actually thought a little bit ahead and ordered these little beauties... They are pretty tiny - compared to your average cocktail stick - but beautifully made... I was unsure how to go about gluing the brass muzzles on - so I asked @badger and he confirmed my suspicion that a small dab in cyano would be just the ticket... ...perfect... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Aha the mysterious missing barrels put in an appearance. Was going to mention it, but thought it must all be part of the plan. Glad you like them and the assembly tips were ok. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 swiftly playing catch up... prepped... primed... painted... I'll stick them to the turrets later I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 If I may - I have a question on behalf of myself and my good mate @Lawzer He recently built the Cromwell and was the main culprit who talked me into a triple build. He really enjoyed it and I have to say - so am I. So our question is... 'What 1/72 or 1/76 kits would you recommend to a pair of AFV newbies - who normally make wingy things AND are prone to the odd mishap'. We both especially like the idea of British or German vehicles used in the 'European Theatre'. Any suggestions - with a picture and a 'good sales pitch' - would be really appreciated. Remember - we are newbies to all this so we don't know the good from the bad - or indeed the ugly... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 (edited) I'd usually recommend Dragon 1/72 but their newer kits are quick builds with horrible tracks and wheels (all in one, moulded in softish rubber!),and the older, better releases are getting hard to find and expensive! I've got a few zvezda kits, they're sold as "snap together" but clever engineering means there's as much detail as a "proper" kit. They do a small range of soviet and german. Their latest release is a jagdpanther which looks rather nice. Heller do an M4 and M4A2 Sherman which were both used by the British (M4A2 was more common in Normandy). Straight out of the box they build US versions so you'll need Dan Taylors add on set (designed for this kit) to build a British one as we added extra stowage boxes and a few other changes. Revell kits build up nicely - their panzer iii and iv are nice (they do 2 versions of each), but they can be a bit tricky to find, although revell do periodically re-release them. I really recommend checking out henk of hollands website as he has photos and often reviews of just about every 1/72 / 1/76 afv release. Hope this helps Ben Edited February 3, 2018 by badger 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 On 01/02/2018 at 21:16, BIG X said: Wow, that ones got a BIG gun! (the turret looks a bit simplified though) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Saturday morning has nearly come and gone - the weekends go so fast. It's another manky winters day up here in the hills... ...perfect weather for modellers perhaps - but I've got an eagle eye out for the post lady... I am praying she will turn up with the PSC decals. If she doesn't arrive by about noon I can write them off until next week. C,mon Royal Mail - C'mon PSC - don't let me down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 RESULT!!! WOO - HOO - that lovely post lady has just been with these... 2 sets of decals - with the magic 'white 45 on green over blue - officially well pleased 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 A quick comparison between these and the Skytrex shows the blue is much more accurate - compared with internet images - more of a mid blue than a very dark navy. There is a size difference though - which adds up like this... Skytrex - 3mm x 76 = 228mm or 9“ PSC - 4mm x 76 = 304mm or 12“ ...you really wouldn't think 1mm would look so massive - but we are talking 'tiny scale' here... A quick check of the Cromwells shows they will fit OK - so I think they are a goer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 The only snag now is... Man City kick off in 15 minutes AND Mrs X is giving me dirty looks and pointing out that ASDA beckons... ...so much to do - so little time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 The arrival of the decals this morning has spurred me on this afternoon - that and the fact that I have no interest in the sick nations cup Painting straight lines has never been my strong point though - which can be a real put off - but the tyres on he road wheels MUST BE DONE With this in mind I came up with a plan - well sort of... The insides of the road wheels - the bits that need to stay green are 8.5mm diameter. So I considered cutting masking tape disks to cover them... However - the middle of the wheel stands proud - so if I press a masking tape disc onto it - it ripples all round the edge - like a swirly skirt... ...pretty - but not what I was looking for - for some reason I can't stop humming the tune to 'Living on the Ceiling' by Blancmange when I look at this picture 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 So plan B was to cut something thin but rigid to sit inside. I found an old plastic file floating around the office... got the right punch in the die... BANG - with the hammer... ...trouble was this was sitting proud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Plan C was the winner though... a 4mm hole in an 8.5mm disc - with white-tac in the hole to secure the disc to the wheel - genius... ...except I had to make 30 of them oh well - I must be the right kind of person for a quick mind numbing job eh... It has to be said - not all the jobs in this tank factory are very exciting 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 No rest for the wicked... Spray time... I'm happy enough with the result - but can't help wondering if just doing it slowly by hand may have been quicker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Anyway - the smaller front wheels needed doing AND I had forgotten one other small thing... ...well 30 other small things to be precise - the inner wheels on the hull so... I did these by hand - it's been another busy day at the tank factory... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Looking good! Very clever idea. Not to put a damper on it, but I have a sneaky feeling the smaller wheels didn't have a rubber surround. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 I stand corrected - a quick google shows they did. I'm going back to my corner ...... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 1 hour ago, badger said: Looking good! Very clever idea. Not to put a damper on it, but I have a sneaky feeling the smaller wheels didn't have a rubber surround. 1 hour ago, badger said: I stand corrected - a quick google shows they did. I'm going back to my corner ...... Hey Ben - you had me going there for a minute I should point out that I've done the 'tyres' in normal black for this build - rather than the normal 'tire black' I use. When covered in dust it actually looks too 'grey/green' and blends into the wheels too much - so this is a little experiment to see if they stand out better - without standing out too much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Question - Help Needed Please... Airfix Cromwell - what colour are the 'extinguishers' on the sides supposed to be. Thanks in advance - Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Hi Steve Sorry mate - didn't mean to cause a panic. This might help on colours; http://www.network54.com/Forum/47208/thread/1227128824/Color+of+British+Fire+Extinguisher I painted mine red for a spot of colour. All the best Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 17 minutes ago, badger said: Hi Steve Sorry mate - didn't mean to cause a panic. This might help on colours; http://www.network54.com/Forum/47208/thread/1227128824/Color+of+British+Fire+Extinguisher I painted mine red for a spot of colour. All the best Ben Wow - just had a quick look at the link - now what did I do with that can of worms - ah here it is... I think I'll have a tinker with the red paint - it never gets used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Pretty much what I figured after reading a few discussions. I did tone the red down slightly so it wasn't post box red in brightness. All the best Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 ugh - tone down with what... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 Time for more work on the turret - having done a bit of googling I can see that the spotlight is indeed a spotlight and not something that just looks like a spotlight. I am sure on larger scale kits this would come as a transparent piece - but at this scale it is just a solid piece of plastic. So I've just painted the front with a mix of these two... somebody on here told me it is more realistic for headlight type jobs than just a metallic on it's own - lets see... hmmm - I think I'm happy with that - could be a bit neater though... I did the unshielded headlight too - the other side has a shield. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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