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Tortoise A39 (1/35 Meng) (If your going to do a tank, do a TANK)


APA

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Some good work completed today after the slight mishap with the thinners. I'm giving the paint and varnish a chance to harden properly until later in the week so concentrated on the cargo. 

 

 

Some Jerry Cans, some Flimsies, a box, some some sacks of stuff and a couple of rolls all covered in a selection of tarps and canvas. Oh and the handles of the spades etc sticking out from underneath. All nicely drying before painting later this week hopefully

20210405_164211

 

Excuse the thumb!

20210405_164217

 

 

I've added a plate with an identification number. 

20210405_164509

 

 

Ups and downs but I think I'm getting there 😁

 

Andrew

 

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36 minutes ago, APA said:

Excuse the thumb!

 Thumb excused! :) and nice save on the turret roof, and good progress.

 

 A quick question, that vent/grill on the turret roof, between the two cupolas, that seems to have hinges on it, did it lift up/fold out on the real thing? Is there a large hole in the turret roof under that on the real tank?

 

 Matt

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1 hour ago, Cerberus said:

 Thumb excused! :) and nice save on the turret roof, and good progress.

 

 A quick question, that vent/grill on the turret roof, between the two cupolas, that seems to have hinges on it, did it lift up/fold out on the real thing? Is there a large hole in the turret roof under that on the real tank?

 

 Matt

I thoughts that but those 'hinges' are actually cleats to hang straps from. Just like on the rear. I've added the PE versions 

 

20210403_171431

 

 

You can see the matching lower ones on the back of the casement as well. 

 

Not sure what is under it but it is fixed. You can see a big box in the internal shots in the Inside the tank vid.(6:05) Probably a generator or some such

 

 

 

Andrew 

Edited by APA
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Rear cargo completed. My first tentative attempt with wet blending. I like it. I like it a lot. Something I will be using more in the future I think.

 

20210408_185132

 

 

20210408_184530

 

Bit more time tomorrow for decals and pin wash hopefully.

 

That is all

 

Andrew

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 That's some very colourful rear stowage, looks good with a mix of colours like that, the little id plate is cool as well  :thumbsup:

 

 I didn't realize that they only made six of these monsters until I watched that vid you posted, with only two left, one at the tank museum, and the other on a range in Scotland, reduced to a badly damaged and rusting wreck from looking at the pictures on the net.

 

 Matt

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All the baggage is scratch @ERK 😊

 

Here's another vid which goes into the development a bit more with some excellent rare pics @Cerberus if you like rare British stuff this a really good channel. 

 

 

Andrew 

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So if I've got my maths right this little cutie, now called "Tinkerbell', will have the following markings:

 

79th Armoured Division (I believe this was the intended allocation) I'm not putting the emblem on as it wasn't always.

1st Armoured Engineers Brigade, Royal Engineers (Previously 1st Assault Brigade, RE, HQ but renamed in 1946)

5th Assault Regiment (1233)

Vehicle WD No S353266 (Numbers were already assigned to intended vehicles. This is within the range. The 'S' indicates 'Special')

Call Sign 9th Vehicle of 12 (These were intended to be a squad of 12 allocated in groups of 3 to accompany Churchill Crocodiles etc)

80 Ton Bridge weight (Intended weight was 77 ton and couldn't be any more as our heaviest Bailey was 80 ton)

 

These are the intended decals:

121 grid

 

I've never investigated the structure of the British Army before and it does appear to be a little confusing to say the least. They kept chopping and changing all the time and markings seem to be almost random! If anyone has any alternatives or spots a mistake please feel free to chip in otherwise they're going on 😁

 

DID YOU KNOW................

 

The A39 development was part of a series of vehicles given the project name Tortoise. The A39 was only the first therefore it could be argued that the A39, if put into full production would not have been called Tortoise but given an appropriate "Cxxxxxxxx" name as it was classed as a Tank.

 

Andrew

 

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On 09/04/2021 at 07:55, APA said:

Here's another vid which goes into the development a bit more with some excellent rare pics

 

 That's a blinkin good video, some of the development designs are very interesting, especially the double gun setups with a 17 pounder on one side, and right at the very end of the video a Tortoise with a gun mantlet cover very much like yours ;)

 

 Matt

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21 minutes ago, Cerberus said:

 

 That's a blinkin good video, some of the development designs are very interesting, especially the double gun setups with a 17 pounder on one side, and right at the very end of the video a Tortoise with a gun mantlet cover very much like yours ;)

 

 Matt

Yes some of those iterations were rather bizarre to say the least! And yes I did notice that pic. 😉 I haven't seen that one before. I was basing my build on a similar pic. Have to say that channel is excellent with lots of not seen before pics. Really enjoying watching them all as they put a lot of otherwise derided developments into perspective.

 

E9q7omh

 

On another subject I am right royally Pee'd off with making my own Decals.

 

I've printed them on a new sheet of paper, left them to dry for 24hours then gave them a coat of Mr Color Decal fixer with this result!!

 

20210411_183932

 

The yellow has bled everywhere from the black but not yhe actual yellow circle!!. The blue looks a bit fuzzy as well. The letters are supposed to be white. Not happy at all.

 

Andrew

 

 

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I feel your pain, I've never had great success in printing decals either. I think it's probably because ink jet printers just aren't great for this sort of work. Laser printers are probably a better option. In the end I gave up and bought a vinyl cutting machine and make my own stencils. 

If you PM me your address I would be happy to make some stencils for you. I would just need to know the dimensions of the boxes and diameter of the circle.

 

Wayne

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Very generous of you Wayne 😊 cheers 👍 and I'll bare it in mind. I'm going to order some Archer sheets and make up my own. 

Out of interest what vinyl cutter did you get and how small it can it go? 

 

Andrew 

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6 hours ago, APA said:

Have to say that channel is excellent with lots of not seen before pics. Really enjoying watching them all as they put a lot of otherwise derided developments into perspective.

 I have to admit that I jumped straight to the Black Prince vid, and now I'm working through all the others, and some fantastic pictures yes :)

 

 Matt

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100% I am gunna be getting this kit, what you have done with it makes me want to have a go at it lol

 

I am lucky enough to know someone who drove one of these beasts, he says it was abit of a jump from driving a Cromwell to tortoise lol

Edited by WYATT
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8 hours ago, Cerberus said:

 I have to admit that I jumped straight to the Black Prince vid, and now I'm working through all the others, and some fantastic pictures yes :)

 

 Matt

 

Dreaming of the day one of the companies brings out a good 1/35 Black Prince 😊

 

2 hours ago, WYATT said:

100% I am gunna be getting this kit, what you have done with it makes me want to have a go at it lol

 

I am lucky enough to know someone who drove one of these beasts, he says it was abit of a jump from driving a Cromwell to tortoise lol

It's a nice kit with lots of options to play with. Not much to complain about. Tricky boggies that's all

 

Andrew 

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20 hours ago, APA said:

Out of interest what vinyl cutter did you get and how small it can it go? 

 

https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/featured-product/portrait

 

Mine is the Portrait 2, if you shop around there are usually some good deals but I think Covid may have pushed prices up. 

With the vinyl I use I have managed to get down to 1.25mm high but with some trial and error with the settings and maybe some different vinyl you could get smaller.

 

Wayne

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