Airfix Churchill VII

[ModelMinutes]

Hello everyone!

 

It's been a long time since I managed to post a build, life gets in the way like that occasionally. I thought I would do this one "out of the box" to try and get some mojo back so it might be a little rough around the edges in places. It's mostly hand painted (with the odd spray can) and I didn't find it to be too difficult to do, just a bit . .well . . dull. So not really the best one to do to get my mojo back it turns out!

 

Anyway, let me know what you think of this one! Full build steps is in the video here:

 

 

Thanks everyone!

[Troy Smith]

Very Interesting.

 

I liked the video, I'd be interested in how you do those, and what you use.

 

That you have documented this has made me think of some deatils and techniques that may be of use and hopefully of interest.

 

The kit markings have been these forever,  google implies that this is the answer

APOLLO 1st Royal Tank Regiment, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division A ... T 173147 H

but not coming up with any images. (which I'm surprised about)  

 

If you use black or dark grey sprue for the attenna, you don't need to paint them, and a fine drill bit can make a pilot hole.   

 

Airfix specify 159 Field Drab,  which is OK for the canavs tilts on vehicles finished in SCC 15 Olive Drab, but a  Vallejo mix for  SCC 15 (Olive Drab) is 1pt 70888 Olive Grey [92] + 1pt 70924 Russian Uniform WWII [094].

Not an uncommon question asked is "what are Humbrol matches for the Revell paints in my revell kit", when the better question is, what the right colour for a later war Churchill tank, nit what is the closest in the Humbrol range...

(as an aside, they do put little pots of 159 their Cromwell starter kit..)

 

As for washes,  I find oil paint diluted in lighter fuel makes for a very thin and seeking wash,  but black is too stark, burnt umber with a little black is good.   

this darken down the paint, so a hard drybrush with the base colour and a light dry brush over that with a lightened version of the base colour to catch the highlights.

 

I did a Airfix Cromwell here, and described the techniques used, and you can see the Vallejo mix

 

 

for the wheel alignment, I'd have suggested dry fitting first, and if the fit worked, then use the capillary action of TET to fix.   Given the many hints and tips,  I'd also be suggesting ways to fix the TET bottle,  as you really don't want to know if over! 

 

 

For track colour,  please see the post in my Cromwell thread, as it links to a discussion on what racks are made of, and how they appear. 

For joining tracks with a concealed join, an classic is to use a stapler.

 

As an instructional video,  one thing that is really worth emphasising is to test fit main parts to check alignment, and make sure they fit, and that often minor trimming and scraping can eliminate gaps.

 

 I'd suggest that the construction sequence laid in the plans could be improved on, for example, assembling the main hull, and the adding the wheels.

Painting the assembled wheels/spring  on the sprue is worth suggesting.

 

As for the misalignment of the wheels,  you could use the other side as a jig, dry assemble, and the flip over an use tiny amounts of TET to fix to one side, and the let dry, and the you can take apart and add the tracks.   

 

This is a really handy way of ensuring alignment on many kits,  especially new tooling with very precise tolerances. 

 

Crikey,  this is sounding like a lecture, and nit picky, but these are little tips and techniques I have found useful and make for easier construction and I was suggesting how the could apply  for the build  you posted,  as overall you explain and illustrate your methods very clearly, and,  importantly, show you do not need a mass of tool and materials to make a decent model.

 

I only came to apply these ideas as an adult after having done some pretty advanced DIY building jobs, and learned the hard way about dry fitting and checking alignment and thinking about construction sequences, which have really helped in modelling.

 

I'm writing this reply as   that you have taken the time to show how you did your build is great,   (which is why I asked how you did this....I know, I'm sure there are vids on how to make vids...)  but I enjoyed your presentation, so I'm asking how you did that,  as in camera, lighting, editing, overlay titles.

I've not run across a thread on how this is done here, so I'm sure that would be of wider interest

 

Finally, in short  

 

cheers

T

 

 

[ModelMinutes]

Thanks Troy!

 

I'll have to make sure i take some notes and then use them for my next build!

 

As far as your question regarding how I made my videos, here is a summary:

 

I use a DSLR camera to record the build - planning the shot occasionally before I complete the step. If I want shots of the sprues etc before the build then I need to make sure I do it, otherwise I can't include that sort of thing when I get to the end. When that's all done I do a bit of photo editing to get suitable thumbnails and the slides with text on.

 

I'll then write a script so I don't forget what I want to cover in the video, which also helps to format it. Then I record myself reading the script.

 

At this point i'm ready to bring it all together in my video editing software. I'm using an older version of Sony Vegas so it's not too powerful but it suits my needs for the moment. I'll match up the audio, music, clips and trim it all down to the "good stuff" leaving out anything dull. This is one of the most time consuming processes. A 20 minute video can take a number of hours to edit.

 

Then, when i'm happy, I render the video and upload.

 

If you have any more questions i'd be happy to answer!