TAMIYA-CENTAUR C.S. MKIV(CRUISER MKVIII A27L)

[Bullbasket]

3 hours ago, Redcoat2966 said:

John

 

What are you using as regards varnish......I mix mine roughly 70/30.....70 being alcohol. I use the Windsor & Mewton Galleria. I find even with my very fine AB it passes through great. I prefer 2 to 3 coats of this ration than one thicker mix.

I believe what I have is the Daler Rowney equivalent, but I'm not sure if the make up is the same. I mixed it 50/50 with isopropanol, but maybe I should try the 70/30 mix. I'll be using the matt soon, so will give that combination a try. If it fails, I'll get some W&N when I'm back in Blighty in a fortnight's time.

 

John.

[Redcoat2966]

Try it out on an old hulk that’s hanging around.......you may have to do 2 to three coats very thin; allowing 20 mins to dry between coats. One coat suits me sometimes as an intermediate gloss coat to fix down decals. With pigments etc,,,,I do a single fixing coat of matte,,,the final finish is usually 2 coats.

 

On my next build though I am going to experiment with satin coats throughout the build to fix pigments, wash’s and filters etc, but the final matte coat I intend to only spray from directly above. This will leave the original satin paint finish, (which tanks are actually in) visible on the less dusty vertical plains.......I noticed this on areas of the Wespe and Gesschutzwagen.....looked more lifelike with subtle sheen in places

 

Simon

[WelshZeCorgi]

Redcoat, how do you have such good control of the airbrush spray pattern? I get a lot of overspray but yours have really clean edges, especially noticeable in the pre-shading effect.

Edited October 26, 2018 by WelshZeCorgi

[Redcoat2966]

13 minutes ago, WelshZeCorgi said:

Redcoat, how do you have such good control of the airbrush spray pattern? I get a lot of overspray but yours have really clean edges, especially noticeable in the pre-shading effect.

Thanks WelshZeCorgi........I got myself a Harder & Steenbeck with, if I can remember a .02 needle. The white, or what ever colour I am pushing through it is no thicker than milk.....sometime a little thinner actually......better to do more coats than one thick.

 

There is a additional edge in the form of my previous career in design as a designer and renderer in 3D advertising at retail. I use to use an airbrush in the rendering of the retail designs and POS in NYC up 2014.......basically I'm a artist designer by trade. Nothing that practice can't achieve though mate. I practice first on old hulks I have knocking around though. Just to get a handle on the speed of flow.

 

I clean the needle every two shots with a cotton bud.......and have it at the smallest setting....really tiny line width and build the area up like that.

 

We should all organise a Skype circuit and be able to call each other etc.....might help with questions like this.

 

Regards

 

Simon.

[Redcoat2966]

EVENING ALL....hope you all had a good week.......a quick update set to show progress on what is become a challenge of a vehicle......first the decals, and now weathering a wear.......

 

As Das Abteilung has mentioned, they were only in the field a few weeks - 2 if I remember. So.....I took it as far as I thought best without going too far, but remaining interesting to look at.....

The lower hull awaits some new product I picked up from VMS. Some corse pigments and Alkyd binder to make European mud. So none of the wheels have any weathering as it will all I think be covered by mud deposits. Well, here she is for tonight.......

 

I fancy looking at another build......bored with painting for now.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kingsman]

The Star decal set has the turret markings but no perforations for rivets.

 

I recall a Sherman or Centaur by a Japanese modeller where the markings were all hand-painted - and fantastic.

[Soeren]

Nice paint job so far. The weathering merges quite nicely with the paint, it isn't too obvious in the first place.

[Bullbasket]

10 hours ago, Das Abteilung said:

The Star decal set has the turret markings but no perforations for rivets.

Ah, so Johan has obviously upgraded the old Bison set.

That's looking really good Simon. The edges of the decals seem to have disappeared with the matt coat. Hope I have the same success. I'm going o give it another go later today.

 

John.

[WelshZeCorgi]

It looks really nice! What did you do on the upper hull to give it that nice light weathering?

[Bullbasket]

On 26/10/2018 at 16:50, Redcoat2966 said:

Try it out on an old hulk that’s hanging around.......you may have to do 2 to three coats very thin; allowing 20 mins to dry between coats. One coat suits me sometimes as an intermediate gloss coat to fix down decals. With pigments etc,,,,I do a single fixing coat of matte,,,the final finish is usually 2 coats.

Followed  your advice Simon and sprayed a matt coat and I'm pleased with the results. On the bottle of iso that I have, it says to mix it 90/10 with demineralised water (90 being the water) when thinning acrylic paint. I didn't go there as the varnish does not mix with water. I'm running low on the stuff now, so I'll have to pick up some more when I'm back in the UK. Thanks for the advice. I'll try and put some photos on tomorrow to show where I am now.

 

John.

[Kingsman]

Are we all missing something about the turret markings?  Against what were they actually lined-up?  I might have expected something behind the turret to line them up on.  Behind because that's where the 0 mark is.  But the graduations are round the turret top and a mark on the hull top would still require lining-up by eye down the height of the turret.  1 degree out at 5 miles range is over 150 yards wide of target.  Was there some sort of indicator post (that no-one has ever seen) placed behind the turret when firing from static positions?

[Redcoat2966]

14 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Followed  your advice Simon and sprayed a matt coat and I'm pleased with the results. On the bottle of iso that I have, it says to mix it 90/10 with demineralised water (90 being the water) when thinning acrylic paint. I didn't go there as the varnish does not mix with water. I'm running low on the stuff now, so I'll have to pick up some more when I'm back in the UK. Thanks for the advice. I'll try and put some photos on tomorrow to show where I am now.

 

John.

👍Glad to hear it improved the coverage John.....I get my iso off EBay, quite cheap if I remember. Three large bottles for under a tenner shipped. 

 

9 hours ago, Das Abteilung said:

Are we all missing something about the turret markings?  Against what were they actually lined-up?  I might have expected something behind the turret to line them up on.  Behind because that's where the 0 mark is.  But the graduations are round the turret top and a mark on the hull top would still require lining-up by eye down the height of the turret.  1 degree out at 5 miles range is over 150 yards wide of target.  Was there some sort of indicator post (that no-one has ever seen) placed behind the turret when firing from static positions?

You know DA, I was sitting at my bench looking at the Centaur think exactly that a few days ago. I ask the same question. I think you right, there had to be something on the exterior that’s been lost to time as what.....and the accuracy probably was extremely poor......I imagine it was probably used to get roughly in line of target and visually by the outside observer, walked on to target after a few more rounds...seems like a typical British committee decision “that’ll do”🤓......and figure it out on the day.

 

Simon

[Soeren]

Some tanks got these red/white striped poles right? For instance on the spgs. They could as well put me in front of the tank and look from behind?

[Redcoat2966]

1 hour ago, Soeren said:

Some tanks got these red/white striped poles right? For instance on the spgs. They could as well put me in front of the tank and look from behind?

Hi Soeren

 

yes, your right. The red and white poles were used in the same way for trajectory and distance etc......but in static gun positions. I think these white markings were for when the Centaur was in a landing craft on its way onto the beach and under fire.....on the move that is. As DA said.....accuracy would have been seriously diminished being on water and so rudimentary.

 

Simon

[Kingsman]

The aiming stakes were used in static positions to provide a constant sight alignment reference.  Once set out, IIRC at 50 and 100 yards from the centre of the battery position in the general direction of the bad guys, they provided the centre line of the battery's arc of fire.  Fire orders were given by the battery command post, or Sherman control tank in RMASG's case, in degrees left and right of that centre line rather than on specific compass bearings.  Not unlike the naval principle of using the ship's head as a constant zero reference regardless of which direction it was actually facing.  The battery CP would know the true bearing of the stakes in order to convert compass bearings and grid references from observers into fire orders for the guns.  See: all that trigonometry at school did have a practical use!

 

The zero line was also used for collimating: putting the sights and weapons back to a known alignment as they often became misaligned by the shock of prolonged firing.

 

Centaurs didn't seem to carry stakes externally, and they would have been a bit long for internal stowage.  But necessary in a static firing position, where many Centaurs ended up.  But if they joined a field battery, as some did, then they would use the battery's zero line.  Absolutely no use on an LCT.  Firing from a moving LCT would be little more than a Hail Mary, to use an American Football analogy.  Naval gunfire was seriously complicated and warships of that era had complex mechanical computers/predictors and optical rangefinders, if not radar ranging.  Firing from an LCT run ashore and static would be a better prospect.

 

Thinking about it, the compass markings were completely unnecessary ashore as the dial sight would provide the azimuth training information in exactly the same way that it did on a field gun, given a zero reference point.  A 25pdr, for example, didn't have compass bearings painted on its traversing platform.

 

So they must have been specifically intended for use on the LCT.  But we still come back to the question of how, or perhaps more correctly against what, the markings were lined-up.  What was the equivalent of the aiming stakes and zero line?  Fire corrections - "walking" the fire - would have been equally impossible without a constant reference point.  And utterly pointless from a moving ship as the firing point had moved as well as the target being missed.  But there must have been something.

 

But perhaps some of us are over-thinking this (I resemble that remark!) and we should concentrate on the excellent modelling.

[Kris B]

It is usual problem with chipping - when it is enough? Yours look good, and upper part of the model looks very good. Will see how the mud will go, but I think it gonna be a very nice Centaur. 

[Redcoat2966]

6 hours ago, Kris B said:

It is usual problem with chipping - when it is enough? Yours look good, and upper part of the model looks very good. Will see how the mud will go, but I think it gonna be a very nice Centaur. 

Thanks Kris.....I think sufficient for the short period of use.

 

And yes, mud and dust next. I’m giving the VMS alkyd binder and pigments a go......maybe next week. Got distracted and started a Stug Ausf G project 🤓. Decided on the Sturmhaubitz version with a 105mm. Probably put it in the progress thread mos week.

 

cheers

Simon

[Redcoat2966]

On 10/27/2018 at 5:30 PM, WelshZeCorgi said:

It looks really nice! What did you do on the upper hull to give it that nice light weathering?

Hi Corgi....thanks for taking a look......now, "what did  do on the upper hull?"

 

I take it you mean the engine deck area......that was a few layers. Now if I can remember I used a NATO tank wash. Allowed it to dry for 5 to 10 mins and with a larg soft natural bristle brush "wore" it off. This takes it off the main areas and leaves a nice tone around hinges etc. Once dry tapped off the main engine access hatch and chipped where most would occur on the adjacent areas. Then when dry (half an hour or so), worked over the area with various pigments from dark grey to rust red........then, this may sound crazy, is started wipe away with odourless thinners and water............. I found Vallejo can be removed for a couple of hours after application and this will soften brush or sponge applied chipping. Also, wiping off etc with cotton buds and stiff bristle brush's; allows you to create actual scratch's to the base colour.....actual real scratch's....😁....yo end up with a multi layer effect as in real life....created someway like it was.......

 

We should all start handing out our Skype address's.......could be col to chat and swap tips...real time.

 

Simon.