Very OOB MkII Male - gone wrong already...

[boston1832]

I have to warn in advance that this probably isn’t going to be anything special. It’s the first military plastic I’ve built in a very long time and I’m very much feeling my way. As a modeller in other areas who’s quite well equipped with metalworking gear and the like, going over to plastic modelling has a subtlety to it that I’m not really used to - so I’m very much All The Gear And No Idea. I’ve had the Masterbox MkII on the shelf for a couple of years. I bought it for a bit of a change and relaxation during what I’d previously thought was a stressful time in my life - but that was before a global pandemic killed millions of people.

 

I don’t have a great deal of background in all things WWI, although I have spent a bit of time working on railway equipment from the trenches (full size, not model) but that obviously doesn't help in any way. I shook the bits out the box with high hopes of putting together a fairly accurate MkII, but then started to do some web research (mostly via the Landships II site) and quickly found that it’s not really that brilliant a representation. I’d worked out myself that the vinyl tracks might be a bit tricky to paint and the guns were not very gun-shaped, so resin and brass replacements for these have now arrived. So rather than carving into the kit and making extensive modifications based on not really knowing what I'm doing, I resolved to do a minimal amount of work on correcting errors - which I’m not at all qualified to comment on anyway - and try to concentrate on a decent finish. I do have the Osprey David Fletcher book but the photos are fairly small to take any meaningful detail from (especially in ebook format) and I suspect I need to invest in "Tanks 1915-1919".  

 

You might say I’m a bit squeamish to be a military modeller as I don’t have a great enthusiasm for barbed wire, mud-filled craters and shattered trees, so I ever do finish it I have a leaning towards doing it in “factory-fresh” finish and maybe displaying it in what might have been the works yard at Metropolitan or Fosters (I don’t think Metropolitan actually built any MkIIs, but as a railway modeller it does appeal to me as their main business was railway rolling stock). It also means I’ll hopefully not ruin it with over-enthusiastic weathering.

 

Anyway, down to some - but not much - modelling.

 

As is the way with many things (with me at least) it’s not taken long to go horribly wrong. For some reason I wanted the commander’s side main visor raised (maybe because that’s how it’s shown in the instructions?) and managed to make a total dog’s dinner of it and damage the visor and the front of the cab with solvent. So the top row of rivets had to go (to be replaced with Archer’s), and I decided that since I’d lost the visor detail I’d be clever about it, cut out the small visor and make a new one to have that raised instead. As you can see, that’s not gone well either, the aperture is drilled oversize and now I’ve got a damaged main visor which I can’t get out. Suggestions on a postcard please. Buying another kit for the bits seems like an option - but then I might as well just start again!

 

The observant among you may have also noticed that I'd damaged the towing bracket and had to fabricate a new bottom half, but at least that let me successfully drill out the moulded pin. Isn't this 1/72 stuff tiny?

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by boston1832

[europapete]

Hi Chris, Well.........my first suggestion would be to bin it and get yourself the 1/35th scale Takom or Meng kit of the Mk1 or 4. But, if you would prefere to continue with self masochism then continue to cut out the whole visor and make a new one from plastic sheet. Tiny blobs of PVA glue will replicate the rivets, and a bit of plastic rod or stretched sprue to make the hinge rod. Regards, Pete in RI.  ps, This should be in the Armour Section under work in progress. You are in the Aeroplane bit.

[SeaVenom]

I'd get the Meng or Takom kits too but you could always do a battle damaged version maybe?   Though it would probably be a good idea to do it in a way where you couldn't see the bare interior.

[Steben]

Scratchbuild!  Yeah I know. Like I am a master in it.