Waltzing again

[bull-nut]

So it turns out that trying to get a build done in a short period of time, over the festive period, when you have young children in the house doesn't work too well, who would have guessed?

Instead I will transfer my Matilda II to this GB and see if I can get it done by the end of the month. For reference, the original build thread is Here

 

With the new year out of the way, and work calming down after the festive rush, I drilled out the hole in the mantlet too 2.5mm, and inserted a length of plastic tube to serve as the 3" Howitzer barrel, I think I got the length right, but it may be a little off.

 

 

After priming with Army Painter Desert Yellow, I gave the top of the side armour panels a coat of Tamiya Red, This serves as the base colour of the fording lines, which I masked with narrow strips of Tamiya tape:

 

 

The rest of the model, including the big, cast track guards, were sprayed with a Tamiya mix of SCC13, mix ratios courtesy of Mike Starmer.

 

 

I also sprayed the resin track links with a mix of Tamiya Dark Iron and Brown in roughly 1-1. Assembly of the track runs has commenced, I'll try to get more done/updated tomorrow.

[bull-nut]

Sorry for the lack of updates, January seems to be busier than planned. I have however managed to get some detail painting done, using hairy sticks and a variety of acrylic colours, Mostly Citadel, with a little Vallejo, finished fitting the tracks and sprayed and mounted the tow cables over the right side of the hull. Sorry about the terrible lighting.

 

 

Also, browsing the Australian Archive website, it seems that 2-4 AAR didn't fit the large track shields to the front of their Matildas, at least every pic I've found shows them not fitted, so I'll be leaving them off. However, in the archive, I found this image of BEAUGUEST IV

 

Which seems to show simple squared off steel channel section welded to the engine deck louvres, presumably to support the steel mesh, so I'll be fitting them next. Lesson learned, more research needed in future. Decals design is underway, and I hope to get them printed today.