Bullbasket Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 That's looking excellent Wayne. You can see the difference between it and the Revell/Italeri version. The detail is much more defined. Shame about the main barrel, but at least the plastic one was usable. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 I couldn't put them off any longer, I needed to tackle those tracks. First task was to clean up the links including removing those awful ejector pin marks. A few of scrapes with the edge of a scalpel blade did the trick, a some what tedious task but they would be quite visible on the completed track. At this point I decided I was going to cheat a little and not bother with the top run of the tracks as these would be hidden by the sand shields anyway. I also decided to follow the advice in the instructions as I did 'think WORKABLE TRUCK assembly very troublesome' and used the moulded section of track on the run at the bottom of the road wheels. This meant I would only need to assemble 80 or so links instead of the 234 for two complete runs. Border provide a jig to aid assembly, five links at a time, actually you get two gigs so I cut the ends off of one so that I could use it to join the sections of track. Once the links are placed in the jig and the top is put on the pins can be inserted into the holes in the links. I found out quite quickly that it is worth cleaning out the holes with a 0.5mm drill bit as the track pins bend very easily. Inserting the pins is a lot easier if you leave the pins on a small piece of sprue. Once the pins are inserted they can be trimmed off with sprue cutters, single bladed cutters work best. Once I was in a rhythm I didn't find them too bad but I really wouldn't fancy doing the complete runs. After all of the sections were assembled I found that they are quite fragile and I broke them in a couple of places so I decided to make them none workable with some TET. I have been also assembling some Friul Model tracks for my Mk.I Crusader so I thought a comparison would be interesting. Personally I think the Border Model tracks have crisper detail but they are quite fragile, the Friuls are much sturdier and have a nice weight to them plus assembly time is half that of the plastic ones. I don't think the expense of the Friuls would be justified for this kit if you fit the sand shields but without the shields it would be a tough choice. If you did decide to go Friuls one bonus is that the Border jig fits them perfectly cutting down assembly time by quite a bit. Once the glue had had a little time to set I fitted them to that tank. I think they will look absolutely fine once painted and weathered. Just a couple of small details to be added and a little tidying up and it will be ready for some paint. Wayne 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Great work Wayne and I don't blame you one bit for making the tracks easier on yourself they look really good to me 🙂👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APA Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 That looks a cracking kit to build and your doing a cracking job. I'm very tempted myself Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Looking very neat, this is top-notch work, Wayne! I am really enjoying following your thread. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Well.......tracks don't you just love 'em! Whatever happened to those lovely tactile lengths of black rubber, just the dab of a hot screwdriver and sorted.....😉 Lovely neat construction too btw. Atb Darryl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Nice bit of track bashing going on - are you sure the top run will be hidden by the sand shields as I didn't think they were that deep? Stay safe Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Good job Wayne, tracks look great, interesting the comparison that you made between the two types of tracks, the Border tracks definitely have crisper detail... well done so far, build is going along great... Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Like everyone else has said, the tracks do look good. It's a shame that Fruil don't do a jig, similar to the one that Border Models do. It would make life so much easier. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 On 17/03/2021 at 21:34, Andy J said: Great work Wayne and I don't blame you one bit for making the tracks easier on yourself they look really good to me 🙂👍 On 17/03/2021 at 21:53, APA said: That looks a cracking kit to build and your doing a cracking job. I'm very tempted myself Andrew On 18/03/2021 at 06:31, vytautas said: Looking very neat, this is top-notch work, Wayne! I am really enjoying following your thread. Vytautas On 18/03/2021 at 07:15, Jasper dog said: Well.......tracks don't you just love 'em! Whatever happened to those lovely tactile lengths of black rubber, just the dab of a hot screwdriver and sorted.....😉 Lovely neat construction too btw. Atb Darryl On 18/03/2021 at 07:34, Hamden said: Nice bit of track bashing going on - are you sure the top run will be hidden by the sand shields as I didn't think they were that deep? Stay safe Roger 22 hours ago, edjbartos said: Good job Wayne, tracks look great, interesting the comparison that you made between the two types of tracks, the Border tracks definitely have crisper detail... well done so far, build is going along great... Ed 21 hours ago, Bullbasket said: Like everyone else has said, the tracks do look good. It's a shame that Fruil don't do a jig, similar to the one that Border Models do. It would make life so much easier. John. Thanks Guys Having completed the build stage I can say that I highly recommend this kit. It's detail is much crisper than the Italeri ones and it goes together with no problems. I think the metal barrel is a bit of a sales gimmick for the early orders but it can be chucked in the bin, the plastic one provided is good enough. As with any kit there are areas that can be improved on and I imagine after market will become available but OOTB it is a perfectly good enough. The sand shields will cover the top run at normal viewing angles Roger. Wayne 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted April 3, 2021 Author Share Posted April 3, 2021 I managed to find some time to get started on the painting. Beginning with a primer coat of Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500. As the MRP base colour doesn't have high opacity the primer was followed by an undercoat of thinned white. To preserve some of the shadowed areas this was applied more on the upper surfaces. The wheels were then painted with a lightened Tamiya tyre black. I masked off the tyres and sprayed the inner faces of the wheels in Khaki Green No.3 on the assumption that they wouldn't have overpainted these areas with the desert camo. The base coat of MRP BSC No.61 Light Stone was applied and using some dark brown I started the post shading process. The post shading continued using thinned coat of Light Stone and a lightened Light Stone for the highlights. The effect is subtle and difficult to show on phone photos. The undercut on the turret, the hull front underside panel and bottom of the barrel were painted with an off white and the camouflage pattern was masked with silly putty. I then sprayed some decanted hairspray over the model before painting the camouflage colour to help with the chipping and paint wear effects. I chose to use SCC No.1A Very Dark Brown as the disruptive colour, I felt this was most likely given the terrain, green was probably used more as the fighting moved into Tunisia. I used the same technique as above for the post shading. The next job will be to tidy up the paint work and add a little wear and tear before I add some markings. Wayne 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Looking good in paint Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Great work with the airbrush and the masking. This is really looking the business. Check your emails later on Wayne. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Very meticulous and consistent work, as in a science lab! Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Great buiild and paint job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Browne Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Very nice indeed, I will be watching this one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 Thank you very much Roger @Hamden John @Bullbasket @vytautas @Carius @Peter Browne I have made a little progress before an eye infection curtailed my bench time. The markings were added using stencils and spraying apart from the WD numbers where I used the decals. I decided not to use the Division or Regiment/Unit signs as none of my reference photos show these applied. I have gone with the vehicle that Border has suggested in its instructions even though I don't have a reference photo for it so I have no idea if it's accurate, I do wish manufactures would supply a photo of the vehicle that they used as a reference. I gave the model a pin wash to pick out the details using dark brown oil paint. Once the wash was dry the paintwork was given some wear, scratches and chipping using various tools, brushes and some sponge work before spraying on the flat coat with Mr.Color GX113. I thin the clear coat with Mr Color Leveling Thinner to give a slight satin finish. Hopefully I will get this eye infection sorted soon and I can start putting on the dust effects and then I wont be far from getting this one finished. Wayne 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Sorry to hear of your eye infection, hopefully you'll soon recover! Crusader is looking great and the finish line is near Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonL Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Eye infections suck big time ☹️ Hope you are feeling better soon. Crusader looks great - great colour scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Great result Wayne! I like the subtle pin wash application that you've achieved. I am usually very reluctant when applying pin washes on light base paint bacause it is very easy to overdo the effect. I am also wandering why there's almost never reference photo included? Or at least the reference quoted where the photo was taken from. I am sure that would make many modellers happy Whish you quick recovery. Cheers, Nenad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 I was going to say, good luck threading those tracks through, but then I saw that you'd made the sand shields removable. The weathering affects have turned out really good. Hope the eye clears up soon. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Agree with others, a really great result, really like your chipping. Small note: it seems to me that there could be more dirt and damage at the hatch handles and at surfaces near them - the hands of the tankers were not always clean. Sorry to hear of your eye infection, hopefully, you'll soon recover! In such cases, chamomile compresses help me a lot. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Mynar Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Very nice kit. I like your building. I looked in the box with the old model from Italeri, closed the box again. I won't start another project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 15 hours ago, Milan Mynar said: Very nice kit. I like your building. I looked in the box with the old model from Italeri, closed the box again. I won't start another project. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it. The Italeri kit is a very good kit, considering it's age. If you're prepared to put some work into it, then a very nice model can result. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Mynar Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 I will return to this project one day. You are right Bullbasket, the models from Italeri are good and easy to assemble. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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