Rats! It's Another Grant - MiniArt 1/35 Grant Mk.I - ***FINISHED***

[Mike Starmer]

I am late picking up on this one.  The Grant pictured is one of 4th Armoured Brigade tanks lost at Gazala battles.  The kit artwork is misleading by showing brown spots.  This Grant, like the others and Stuarts of the unit carried a brigade scheme using two additional colours over the workshops applied Light Stone No.61.  When deployed prior to action the Brigade had the top surfaces of the tanks coated with what on other pictures may be the obsolete Silver Grey No.28 no longer in use and spots of Light Purple Brown No.49, again obsolete.  I have images of the unit's tank being painted thus.   The old Osprey artwork showed the scheme but stated the top surfaces to be US Olive Drab but the authors were not aware that all US vehicles went though Tel-el Kebir depot for total repaint and desert mods before issue.  This tank certainly did not carry this scheme at Alamein later that year.    Modellers should be aware that these all these kit manufacturers do not use the results of up to date research where colour schemes are concerned.  They rely heavily on old artworks and a large dose of hearsay and assumptions. 

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Mike Starmer said:

I am late picking up on this one. 

 

Thanks Mike. Appreciate the comments. I had some fun trying to pick the scheme and then mix the paint, thanks in large part to your great work. It certainly added to my knowledge on a subject I know very little. A very enjoyable build and a nice kit now for the display cabinet. 

 

Ray

 

[tonyot]

You`ve done a gorgeous job,..... I`ve bought one myself but the tracks are really putting me off!! 

[Ray_W]

6 hours ago, tonyot said:

You`ve done a gorgeous job,..... I`ve bought one myself but the tracks are really putting me off!! 

 

Thanks Tony,

 

I found the tracks quite OK. Made myself a small styrene jig, put something on to listen to and did not do them in one session. Jumping in and out through the build and before you know it they were done. No tedium and the final result looks great and easy to paint and install being workable.  I do prefer single link tracks - currently assembling my Dragon Magic Tracks on the current StuG III build - and thought the MiniArt method very good. 

 

Hope it works out well for you. An excellent kit.

 

Ray

[tonyot]

4 hours ago, Ray_W said:

 

Thanks Tony,

 

I found the tracks quite OK. Made myself a small styrene jig, put something on to listen to and did not do them in one session. Jumping in and out through the build and before you know it they were done. No tedium and the final result looks great and easy to paint and install being workable.  I do prefer single link tracks - currently assembling my Dragon Magic Tracks on the current StuG III build - and thought the MiniArt method very good. 

 

Hope it works out well for you. An excellent kit.

 

Ray

Thanks Ray,..... I admire your tenacity mate,...... separate track links really put me off a kit,..... especially the early Cruisers and the Tetrarch,..... arghhh!! Ft fingers and going blind doesn`t help LOL! Mind you,... I hated doing it on the real thing too,..... 432`s.... track bash! 

Edited April 30, 2021 by tonyot