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Bronco A13 MkIVa 1/35 scale OOTB


GRK

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Hi all

 

Just finished my latest AFV, 3rd to date, and went for Bronco's 1/35th A13 MkIVa, continuing my early war theme. 

 

After the last two Tamiya kits I must admit I found this build a bit challenging and found the fit of certain parts needed a bit of forcing or having to resort to scoring out chunks and then filling back in. Most of the problems seemed to arise attaching the upper hull to the bottom, probably after I hadn't got the fit right on the suspension covers on the bottom hull but with very little to go in terms of the instructions or guiding tabs on the hull I'm going a bit easy on myself! :)  The only thing I've added was a commanders seat which I hadn't used on my Panzer II, in fact there were several parts of PE in the box that had no reference in the instructions so I didn't use them.

 

The tracks also took a while and it took a bit of juggling putting them together so I could still paint them separately to the wheels and lower hull- the result meant that I haven't got the fit right over a few of the wheels unfortunately but hey ho it's a learning experience.

 

Where I think I have definitely improved over my last builds is the painting and the weathering. I've got the caunter schemes colours right this time after my blue Matilda build :doh: after I was pointed in the right direction by Jack G on this site to the Mike Starmer mixes. I've used his mix to get the Portland stone colour using Tamiya paints but then went for MRP for the silver grey and slate (I had tried to get the portland stone from mrp but they'd sold out). 

 

In terms of the weathering I've used oil paints for the streaking fuel/oil spills and then several hairspray method layers for scuffed dust and dirt. I had used a filter on one of the main engine covers but its a bit to subtle to notice after the weathering, but I know its there!

 

Overall I'm pleased with this one and feel like I'm making good modelling progress! What do next- Panzer III or go back and try the newly learnt skills on a few aircraft, I've got Eduard Bf-109e 1/48 which has been on the shelf for a few years now, maybe its time!

 

Thanks

Graeme

 

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Great to see you persevered with it Graeme, it's turned out really well.

I don't recall having the issues that you have had with the fit but as others have mentioned it as well maybe I had forgotten about them. I have another one of the same kit to build but as a Mk.III so I will see if I get problems this time.

The tracks are definitely tedious which is kind of putting me off starting another one. The only other thing I thought about that kit was Bronco's choice of colour for the 7th armoured division emblem, I should have given you a heads up

when you commented on my build.

Your execution of the caunter scheme and the weathering is spot on.

 

Regards 

Wayne   

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5 minutes ago, diablo rsv said:

Great to see you persevered with it Graeme, it's turned out really well.

Thanks Wayne, your build definitely inspired me to get past the build stage and onto the painting! :)  On a side note, did you end up with lots of PE too or did you figure out where it all went?

Edited by GRK
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16 minutes ago, Shashman said:

That's some very well executed weathering. Really looks dusty.

Thanks, really enjoyed the weathering part-it was over too quickly really. Feel like I've got to grips with the hairspray technique now

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11 hours ago, GRK said:

Thanks Wayne, your build definitely inspired me to get past the build stage and onto the painting! :)  On a side note, did you end up with lots of PE too or did you figure out where it all went?

Nice to think I helped!😁

 

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This is what I had left over, but bear in mind this boxing allows you to make the earlier marks but without the errors from the earlier boxing's so there will be a lot of leftover parts.

 

Wayne  

Edited by diablo rsv
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Brilliant,  just brilliant! Just reading about these A13 and the A9s at the moment so quite inspired to have a pop at one and yours looks great.

 

Paint work and weathering are excellent, particularly like the way you've finished the exhaust too.

 

That said wouldn't have fancied my chances against a Panzer III never mind an 88mm! :huh:

 

Great work

Darryl 

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30 minutes ago, diablo rsv said:

This is what I had left over

Phew, ok looks very similar to what I had leftover too. I was wondering if I should have fitted those grills over the engine covers or not. I couldn't find any pictures of an A13 which showed the top of the tank very well so I wasn't sure

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5 minutes ago, GRK said:

Phew, ok looks very similar to what I had leftover too. I was wondering if I should have fitted those grills over the engine covers or not. I couldn't find any pictures of an A13 which showed the top of the tank very well so I wasn't sure

I found pictures of earlier Mk's with them on but not as you say on this one. Maybe they were to stop mud getting in which wasn't much of in issue in the desert where as cooling was.  

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Hi,

Your build looks great.  I enjoy seeing early war stuff, and think that I may have this same kit stored somewhere, that I hope to eventually build, so its interesting to here your experiences with it.

Pat

Edited by PF Naughton
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I'm just building one of these at the moment, the only fit problems I've had are around the drivers hatch area when joining the uppper and lower hull, I ended up using some lengths of sprue to act as "pit-props" inside the hull. I think the problem is the plastic of the upper hull is so thin its easily warped (probably on removal from the mould).

 

On the plus side my kit came without the sprue containing the sandshields, but I'm pleased to say that Bronco's spare parts service is second to none, I fired off an e-mail (together with a request to purchase some etch parts for another kit) and had the parts within a week or so, had to pay a small postage fee but exemplerary service.

 

I love the finish on your build, I was toying with the idea of the Caunter Scheme for mine, but already have plans for an A10 and a Crusader in that scheme so may opt for something else.

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3 hours ago, AntPhillips said:

I think the problem is the plastic of the upper hull is so thin its easily warped (

Definitely agree. It's not Tamiya thickness. My one stalled at an early stage, but might get revived in this current lockdown.

Nice work, especially the Caunter sscheme and the weathering. I made up  jig for the tracks and it helped a lot.

 

John.

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On 4/22/2020 at 3:57 PM, GRK said:

Phew, ok looks very similar to what I had leftover too. I was wondering if I should have fitted those grills over the engine covers or not. I couldn't find any pictures of an A13 which showed the top of the tank very well so I wasn't sure

You are correct to leave the screens off.  They were not used until very late apparently (they were definitely not on the earlier Battle of France marks).  I finished my build of the Bronco A13 Mk1 earlier this year.  I replaced the rear deck with the corrected one from TMD.  Attaching the upper and lower hulls can be a challenge, but I followed Terry Ashley’s advice on his PMMS review that suggests starting at the rear and working forward.  The pieces pull together nicely.

Your Caunter scheme is fantastically executed.  I’m hoping to build this version, but the paint has me intimidated!

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21 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Definitely agree. It's not Tamiya thickness. My one stalled at an early stage, but might get revived in this current lockdown.

Nice work, especially the Caunter sscheme and the weathering. I made up  jig for the tracks and it helped a lot.

 

John.

 

1 hour ago, Ernst said:

What a beauty, very subtle. These caunter schemes are awesome.

Thanks both. It will be back to Panzer grey for the next AFV build so nothing as exciting! 

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8 hours ago, f matthews said:

You are correct to leave the screens off.  They were not used until very late apparently

Thanks for the info-good to know! 

 

Again I'm no expert as this is my second attempt at a caunter but i'd say it looks harder than it is. I didn't spend ages masking, maybe about 20min per side. It's a little tricky when trying to mask over the raised details but a few nicks with a scalpel here and there to get the tape to conform and you're away. 

 

I really liked your A13 MkI build and scene on Calais beach, it made me ponder for quite a while whether to do this one as 1st Armoured 

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15 hours ago, GRK said:

Thanks for the info-good to know! 

 

Again I'm no expert as this is my second attempt at a caunter but i'd say it looks harder than it is. I didn't spend ages masking, maybe about 20min per side. It's a little tricky when trying to mask over the raised details but a few nicks with a scalpel here and there to get the tape to conform and you're away. 

 

I really liked your A13 MkI build and scene on Calais beach, it made me ponder for quite a while whether to do this one as 1st Armoured 

Love your Caunter. I need to get up the stones to try one.  I hear Tamiya tape is good for masking?

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14 hours ago, f matthews said:

 I hear Tamiya tape is good for masking?

Yes I used Tamiya masking tape, seems to be the right amount of stickiness- stays stuck but not enough to pull off your previous layers!

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Great job on getting the kit finished and to such a stunning finish. I started this kit a few years ago and gave up when I got to the tracks. What a nightmare they were!!

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11 hours ago, Gordon J said:

I started this kit a few years ago and gave up when I got to the tracks. What a nightmare they were!!

Thanks Gordon, yes you’ve got to be in the right mood to get the tracks done, I think I did them over  2 or 3 sessions. My partner was sewing on the bench next door so helped it tick along 

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