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AFV Club Matador - Early Type


Del Boy

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On 11/10/2020 at 1:39 PM, Del Boy said:

So this is my story based on my Father's WWII 'career' so to speak. He joined the BEF in early 1940 as a Driver. I only have these small photo's to share. I believed the truck to be a Matador (not so sure now though!) and no idea what the utility vehicle is, Humber maybe? Anyway, one long trip to Dunkirk later, rescue from Bray Dunes by HMS Halcyon and then a main stint in Radio and later Wireless or Radar as we know it today. My story is therefore  to model what I know of the various scenarios and would like to invite comments and insights from all the experienced modellers out there!

 

Stay safe and sane!

 

Derek

My father served with 1/7 Middlesex Regiment; they were on the perimeter at Dunkirk with their heavy machine guns until June 3rd. After evacuation he transferred and worked as a radar operator.

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1 hour ago, Del Boy said:

Thank Dan, I guess this means I had better start thinking about the Dio of Theatre of Operations and dig out the airbrush??? Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. Better make sure its rusty then so no Desert scenes eh 😉

 

 

Gotta keep the “Rust God” at bay mate or you’ll know he will nag ;)

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After some head scratching with a part that the kit only had two off and the diagrams called for three I used up A53 which looked right for the driveshaft dog so I just went for it! as that part is not mentioned anywhere I could see.

 

I have finished the last of the running gear now. As you can see there is a lot of kit under here, well done AFV Club! Only one niggle really and you cant see it in this shot deliberately but the leaf springs have a horrid deformation in the stack but I am just not good enough to fill and re scribe due to where they are so  ......... detention for me tonight please Miss Woods. Just a bit frustrated that I find handling the very small parts difficult and cannot always get them cleaned up well enough as a result but I guess that will come with practise. The front brake servo's were especially difficult!

 

 

IMG_5263

 

One or two parts had to be 'relieved' but other than that some excellent mouldings and I think this is a great kit to work on.

 

IMG_5265

 

I am unsure where these two loose actuator type arms are supposed to fit, not clear on the diagrams so does anyone have any suggestions???

 

IMG_5268

 

Steering arm, main front driveshaft and exhaust in place. Thanks to APA for the advice to fit the 'Hanger' at the last minute, otherwise it would have undoubtedly been broken off by my bananas!

 

Just noticed that right offside hub looks wonky, only just a push fit at this stage thank goodness!

 

Keep going and thanks for stopping by!

 

Derek

 

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Hi Delboy just PMed you about the missing parts. I counted 2 missing A28's only. In total it's 2x A26 and 2x A28 in the Dorchester, 2x A26 and 4x A28 in the Matador due to the winch.

 

These Kits, while very nice and detailed etc do seem to suffer from a lack of QA. 

 

 

A

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I too tend to paint in sub assemblies as I find it easier.  I also tend to avoid paint on known parts that will be glued to some surface . . . .

 

I'm not at home right now but I have converted my 4 x 4 into a 6 x6 so will post a couple of pics later this evening.

 

I did find that one has to study the diagrams to be sure where certain parts fit and already mentioned, the parts casting are great and overall the vehicle is well details . . . 

 

I look forward to seeing more, my 2nd build of this kit will be the lesser known RAF lorry as seen in the book  . . . . 'Rough with the smooth'

 

The AEC is my favourite Softskin vehicle 😎

 

The extended chassis

Scratch-AEC-Refueller-020.jpg

 

I also used two sets of DEF tyres  . . . tyre number 7 will be for the Spare carrier . . . 

Scratch-AEC-Refueller-028.jpg

 

AEC-Chassis-3.jpg

 

Ian

 

Edited by Mancunian airman
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Hi Vaoinas, thanks for the comment and no its as firmly stuck together as it needs to be! My hope is that with reasonable care I can airbrush in and around all the mechanicals. Watch this space to have a laugh!

 

WOW Mancunian! what a fantastic model, very creative I love it and will be following the build tout suite! Cant wait to see how you 'furnish' the topsides of this one, so many choices. Thanks for sharing.

 

Not much progress for me today, been researching and looking for suitable figures for the diorama, not found much so far but will keep looking.

 

Cheers both and thanks for looking in.

 

Derek

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On 24/11/2020 at 18:52, Del Boy said:

I am unsure where these two loose actuator type arms are supposed to fit, not clear on the diagrams so does anyone have any suggestions???

 

 

I think those are the actuator rods for the handbrake.  This photo might help.

 

http://files.site-fusion.co.uk/webfusion154885/image/w3aecmatador.jpg

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Hi Six97s, what a cracking photo thank you so much. Brake actuator arms now in place, this has been really helpful. Also explains why I have such a bad fit on the rear wheels, the hubs do extend a significant amount. Good job its just a dry fit at this stage.

 

Cheers

 

Derek

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On 11/26/2020 at 8:21 PM, Del Boy said:

 

 

WOW Mancunian! what a fantastic model, very creative I love it and will be following the build tout suite! Cant wait to see how you 'furnish' the topsides of this one, so many choices. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

This is the intended body .. . .  still got a bit to do yet before its ready for service  . . . . 

Scratch-AEC-Tank.jpg

 

I'll let you get on with your build and take less space on your topic 🙂

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So I cleaned, washed and dried the chassis this weekend and elected for a change and gave the finished rear end a thin primer coat. I hope to avoid loosing lots of detail by being sparing with the coats, I made errors with my Tiger 1 and trying to learn from that!

 

IMG_5301

 

Also had a shot at the wheels, not so sure how I should have held these for better coverage??

 

IMG_5302

 

And finally some detail to see if it was all OK. The camera doesn't lie does it! Will have to try and clean-up methinks!

 

P1030142

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Derek

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13 hours ago, Del Boy said:

Also had a shot at the wheels, not so sure how I should have held these for better coverage??

I keep a large selection of sprues which I cut the end down, so that the diameter will allow it to be pressed into the wheel (where it would attach to the axle). They can then either be held for spraying or inserted into a piece of expanded polystyrene or polyurethane foam.

 

John.

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Thanks for the tips APA and Bullbasket, as you can see from this first attempt at the wheel centre's I have used the cocktail stick suggestion and from now on will start to save the sprues! Just not happy with my airbrush control so going to take some time out for a full clean down and some back to basic practise!

 

P1030147

 

Will also take some time to repair some obvious mistakes! Will tackle the springs, silencer and fuel tank...........

 

P1030145

 

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

 

Derek

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So little or no progress for a while cos we have taken a break for a week or so but did manage to do a bit of modelling in between stops. More later .......

 

First mistake / learning of the day, I used far too much Putty trying to fill the gaps in Silencer and Fuel tank. First pass at rubbing down, looked OK in the workshop but now on the screen  clearly needs doing again 🙁 Please don't look to closely!!!! I have certainly learnt to get these parts right long before assembly.

 

P1030148

 

Yuk, a definite O dear moment.

 

Next up the Road Springs as suggested by my 'learned colleagues'! I do appreciate the feedback and so I am attempting a clean up, did not see these until I had posted the pic, Red Face Dept on full alert.

 

This is a sort of before (RH) and after (LH) shot. Not perfect but a bit better, paint and subsequent pic will tell!

 

P1030152

 

The tops were in need too, did not finish them today.

 

Whilst away I did have a go at the Loading Floor and the Sides. Gosh those Cleats but did feel I managed to a little better cementing them, thanks for the tip Kev!

 

P1030156

 

P1030157

 

Now its fingers crossed we don't go into Tier 3 here!

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Derek

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So trying to clean up after making such a mess of the Silencer, Air Tank (and Fuel on t'other side). Also attempted to make amends and clean up the springs, not too bad but ................the positive is I have learnt a good lesson here. Clean up before assembly, ten times easier. I have ended up breaking / bending many of the delicate parts whilst doing this on the model, wont forget that for a while. I have had a go at all those I could get access to but have had to draw stumps on others where it would just result in more damage, will just have to add more dust and weathering in those areas and improve next time.

 

So seeking some sort of forgiveness .............

 

P1030160

 

Primer on and a bit of light colour, second blow over tomorrow. Also want to paint the wheels, I have been experimenting with colours so we will see how that goes 🙃

 

Thanks for looking in!

 

Derek

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All looks good to me Derek. A bit of greasy dirt along the propshafts etc and no one will know (unless of course you tell everyone on the uk's largest modelling forum 😉

You've tidied up the leafsprings nicely 👍

 

Crack on 😊

 

A

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As @Dads203 suggests keep the rust gods at bay. Lives depended on these lorries working so they were well maintained despite having a tough life. Rust would be limited to those area's of steel that lost their protective paint. It's very often overdone.

 

Heat affected area's are those that would most likely suffer heavy rust where as areas subject to regular rubbing would tarnish & polish but would not be subject to the heavy rust often seen modelled.

 

Dirt on the other hand would be variable, from little on vehicles fresh from overhaul to heavily covered in mud.

 

Check the photo's in the AEC Matador book to see what's typical.

 

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