AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Oh, go on then. One to keep @JOCKNEY company, from one who also suffers from cold sweats if he can’t find the propeller on the sprue. Anyone who wants a proper Grant tank is strongly advised to head off to Mr. Matrix’s build. What can I say? Airfix kit, been around since the 1970s at least. New red box-ing, bought from Modelzone a while ago, with a really dull “all sand” scheme. I will be pinching a more interesting scheme from the web. Bits: Box: Now, where’s that tin of sand paint?? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Good show Adrian, it's always nice to do something different looks a nice little kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Welcome to the madness Adrain, With all these wheels the Carpet Monster in my house is likely to get indigestion from the deluge of parts ! Best of luck. Cheers Pat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Have fun Adrian. It is actually a 1969 release and was the first tank model I ever made in the early Seventies. Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Well I have had fun. To celebrate bending some brass wire to the right shape elsewhere on the forum I pitched in here: Lots of trimming but no real gaps. Brush painting hides a lot! I think the chassis sides are slightly closer together at the top, especially on the (driver’s) RHS, which caused the side plate next to the gun to lean outwards a bit until I applied a bit of brute strength to the still-soft joints to get it all right angles and vertical again: Come on Airfix. That turret moulding is a disgrace! This isn’t even a classic: Still having fun though...! 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Bit of paint: Hu 94, which looks like it’s being arbitrarily dropped from the acrylic range, along with Hu79, another of my staples... No point in painting the turret yet because that’s going to be 99% Milliput soon. Right, so now this build is well under way, time to do some research! I wonder what obvious faults there are in the kit that I’ve missed? Time to start googling while the paint dries. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 hour ago, davecov said: 1969 release Thanks for that Dave. I remember it came in a red stripe baggie, and I’m pretty sure I built one back in the day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Hmm, the turret is too small, it seems, good time to find that out before I get the Milliput out. I might have to look at a plan. This is where is stops being OOB. Again. As usual! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Put down the Milliput and slowly step back from the bench. Resist the temptation! Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 7 hours ago, davecov said: Put down the Milliput Er, too late: The turret is actually very undersized so I’m going to smother the Lee turret with a skirt in Milliput and get the file out. I will also strengthen the sprocket and idler bearings with Milliput. Also the storage boxes at the back were aligned with the decking on the Grant, rather than with the ground.The plastic on this kit is very soft so it was easy to cut them off. This feels more like a proper build now... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 Turret filled and sprockets/idlers reinforced: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 Couldn’t sleep so got up and did some filing: The turret is quite a bit bigger! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Now that looks like a grant turret. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 11 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Hu 94, which looks like it’s being arbitrarily dropped from the acrylic range, along with Hu79, another of my staples... Is that a pot of notorious 'Made in China' Humbrol, Adrian? In desperation, I ended up throwing all mine away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 5 hours ago, CliffB said: notorious They are variable - I throw away about one in twenty on opening I guess, mainly for grittiness or inability to brush smoothly with my usual tricks. But if they are start OK, they stay OK. I gave up on the enamels altogether several years ago, after they reformulated, and I have to say that once I got used to the change, I haven't looked back. I do use some Revell and Vallejo colours, and Halford's primer and metallic rattle cans, but my Humbrol habit is too deep to kick. Using water instead of white spirit also meant that I am now allowed to model upstairs! Regards, Adrian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 9 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Couldn’t sleep so got up and did some filing: The turret is quite a bit bigger! I never realised just how small the original Airfix turret was. Now where did I put MY Milliput? Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin @ Freightdog Models Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 1 hour ago, davecov said: I never realised just how small the original Airfix turret was. Now where did I put MY Milliput? Dave That turret is tiny! Good to see another Airfix classic getting the Adrian treatment, I think its one of the few Airfix 1/76 kits I didn't build as a kid. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 3 hours ago, davecov said: I never realised just how small the original Airfix turret was. 2 hours ago, Colin @ Freightdog Models said: That turret is tiny! Somewhere in the middle of that white lump is the whole Lee turret. It is a very complex shape! I think it will look OK once I've added the commander's hatch and other details to it. There is a masterwork on the M3 Grant here, and all that is only a prologue to talking about the Sherman, where they really go to town! The plans I used are here. I think I might add some side skirts if I can find a nice skirted scheme so that there's less track to deal with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Wow! The turret was far too small! Great work though. Don't forget the sand-shields! Davey. edit: and you mention them as I wrote this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Woohoo! Finally got some modelling time this evening: It must be forty-five years since I last made rivets using a pin and 10 thou plastic card... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 (edited) Looking good, Adrian. 👍 There is nothing wrong with using 45-year old techniques on a 51-year old tooling but you don't need to use cellulose dope and talcum powder for sealing the turret! Dave Edited September 17, 2020 by davecov Wrong number edited. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 49 minutes ago, davecov said: cellulose dope and talcum That reminds me, I must make some Jerry cans out of balsa... 49 minutes ago, davecov said: 41-year old 51! Gosh, time flies, doesn’t it? Thanks Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Whoops! Of course it is 51 years! No wonder I gave up maths at school! Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Someone was saying the other day how when Airfix and FROG were in their heyday it was only about 20 years since WWII and everyone above 30 would have very clear memories of it. Seems impossible to imagine now... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 Back at the bench this morning. The last comparison pic between kit Grant turret and the better-sized one made from the Lee turret: Also to the left, the two modified storage boxes. The one on the right side of the tank was noticeably lower than the other so I will have to cut one down before I stick them back on. Below the turrets, I’ve whittled out just the gun mounting and aiming window from the kit front plate, and above the turrets, I’m sure I can’t see a difference between parts 47 and 42! I suspect one wasn’t meant to have the compensating cylinder below the barrel, but it looks like someone forgot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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