Frank Lanchester's speedy and reliable land ironclad; Lanchester Armoured Car, Copper State Models 1/35

[Maginot]

Immobilised for a few days after some deft work in the gifted hands of the plastics unit (how appropriate) at the local horsepiddle, all I'm good for is clipping bits of placcy off the sprue, cleaning 'em up, building some sub-assemblies, then sleeping. So, I set aside the Fairey Swordfish, which is at the painting stage, to take up construction of Frank Lanchester's speedy and reliable land ironclad, the Lanchester Armoured Car by Copper State Models in 1/35 scale.

 

 

Getting into this kit is a sensual experience. For this humble modeller, there's nothing more alluring than a well-illustrated box with subject dominating the lid. Opening up to assess the contents, checking the parts and pouring over the instructions is made all the more pleasurable by thoughtful and creative design elements. In this case, the lid graphics, the swing-top inner white box with line drawing and luxurious instruction booklet are of outstanding quality and the plastic fantastic looks... fantastic! How things have changed since the 1960s.  

 

 

 

So what's the way ahead? Looks like straight-forward construction with not too many parts. Being still without airbrush and reliant upon aerosols, I'll probably plumb for one of the two easy-to-paint 6 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Division 1916 versions because I like the grey, or the version that patrolled Persia as my Grandfather served next door in Mesopotamia (tenuous link, I know).

 

To be continued...

[Pig of the Week]

Glad they managed to sew your leg back on mate !

They seem to be doing a decent amount of WW1 stuff these days, which is good, at one point pretty much all you could get was the Airfix Ole' Bill bus, and their 1/72 lozenge tank !... be interesting to see what you make of the car.

My own grandpa was "out that way" for some of his time in WW1 too.

[Kingsman]

Actually the Lanchesters with RNAS ACEF never made it to Persia as we would understand it today, or indeed at any time in the 20th century.  They got as far SE as Armenia fighting against Turkish forces.  However there are historic reasons for considering Armenia as part of the larger "Persia" of olden times.  I found a map kept by one of the Force members online and saved it but of course I now can't find it again.  Many ACEF personnel were Ulstermen.

 

I was trying to establish whether any Lanchesters ever served in Persia - now Iran and Azerbaijan - with Dunsterforce in their aborted mission to secure the Baku oilfields from Turkish control.  But all the evidence says not:  they had R-Rs and Ford Ts.  The ACEF cars were abandoned to the Russians at their Kursk depot before the personnel were evacuated via Murmansk after the Revolution.  There is a discrepancy of 3 Lanchesters between the total number and those sold to Russia and then later taken there by ACEF.  But 2 or 3 turned up in Italian service in N Africa, which probably explains it.

 

Some RNAS ACEF personnel were then seconded to the Army's Motor Machine Gun Service and were sent out to join Dunsterforce, but did not go as a formed unit or with any equipment.  They thus ended up only a few hundred miles from where they started after a very long circuitous journey of some thousands of miles.

 

The colour of ACEF cars remains an enigma.  They could still have been grey but it is equally likely that they were repainted in Service  Colour, a brownish green somewhat like the WW2 SCC2 but with a touch more green.  Or perhaps Khaki Green 3 with a touch more brown.  Somewhere between SCC2 and KG3.  The AK Interactive KG3 might be a good match OOB as it is far too brown to really be KG3.  Monochrome photos don't really help here.

 

This is a known surviving original sample of Service Colour, although now weathered indoors for 103 years and the photo taken through glass in dim lighting.

[Milan Mynar]

Few years ago I built  that model. You will definitely not be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

[Model Mate]

Bad luck with the leg, I hope it doesn’t hold you up for too long. 
This looks like a nice project; from what I’ve seen, it’s a lovely kit and I’m sure you’ll do a great job of it.

[Maginot]

[Maginot]

Addendum

 

Some of the best threads I’ve read on WWBM (wonderful world of BritModeller) have significant off-topic rants and excursions, so here goes...

 

Is it just me that's disappointed by the generally poor state of kit boxes? After all, we expect the dust jackets of new hard-cover books to be free of damage when we buy them, don't we?

 

I hand picked the Lanchester kit from the shelf of my favourite supplier, wrapped in cellophane, apparently mint. It was the first model I had bought from a shop since my return to modelling, so perhaps I can be excused some naivety. After peeling off the cellophane, I noticed some blunt object trauma to the lid and when I opened the box, a badly creased swing-top.

 

As few as one-in-ten of the kits I have looked over in shops or purchased online have boxes that are mint or near mint condition. The best condition box arrived beautifully packaged from one of the Japanese online emporiums. Many, perhaps the majority of boxes sitting on shelves in local suppliers are damaged, some so badly that I wouldn't bother purchasing them (without a significant sconto). Damage in the post aside, something that is not a frequent issue with parcels in my experience, there seems to be a general lack of good packaging, careful handling and appropriate storage of these delicate items in their journey from manufacturer to modeller.

 

The most poorly packaged model yet received. Needless to say, it was not respected by the postal services and the kit box was stoved in. Would you respect this disgraceful parcel?

 

 

This is how parcel should look. Mind you, the kit box within had a nasty ding in it, damaged prior to shipping.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Meanwhile, back at the bed-bench, making good progress on the Lanchester. Today I was struck by the urge to personalise the kit by doing some scratch building. I would like to leave the front visor and rear doors open, so I’m toying with the idea of fabricating a very basic interior before I put the lid on and a few petrol cans and buckets. There! I’ve written it on WWBM and so it shall come to pass. Will update you with pics soon.

 

Cheers very much.

[Maginot]

Quote

Glad they managed to sew your leg back on mate !

They seem to be doing a decent amount of WW1 stuff these days.

My own grandpa was "out that way" for some of his time in WW1 too.

 

Thanks @Pig of the Week. Still largely immobilised but slowly coming good. Gagging for a walk in the bush.

Yes, there is some mouth watering WW1 stuff. I hope the next step is to produce some interwar armoured cars. The Skoda is a start, but a late 20s Lanchester 6x4 would be terrific.

I believe my Grandad also served with Kings African Rifles, so he must have got around, too. Alas, the details are lost to time.

 

Quote

This is a known surviving original sample of Service Colour, although now weathered indoors for 103 years and the photo taken through glass in dim lighting.

 

Thanks @Das Abteilung. Your research sure has thrown up some interesting info. Greatly appreciate you sharing these insights. 

I'm wondering if the pic of the model tank with the period paint is a large makers model held by the Bovington Tank Museum? Is it a model Tank Mark VIII, Liberty or International?

 

Quote

I hope it doesn’t hold you up for too long

from what I’ve seen, it’s a lovely kit

 

I'm quite enjoying the bedroom time, reading and modelling, though starting to climb the walls on occasion and desperate for a walk.

Yes, @Model Mate. I'm taken by the way the kit is engineered. It goes together really well and looks, dare I say it... cute?

[Pig of the Week]

On 25/09/2021 at 05:53, Maginot said:

I read Schweik as a kid...just got a copy to read it again 👍

[Kingsman]

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

I'm wondering if the pic of the model tank with the period paint is a large makers model held by the Bovington Tank Museum? Is it a model Tank Mark VIII, Liberty or International?

Yes it is Bovington's builder's model of the MkVIII made by a Glasgow company - whose name I forget - for North British Locomotive, the builders of the MkVIII "International".  The US V12 Liberty and (Crossley-made) UK V12 Ricardo-engined versions were the same on the outside.  Bovington believe that the paint used on this model was the Service Colour used by NBL, and it has not been touched in 103 years - although it has weathered.  Which makes it rare and valuable indeed.

[Ned]

8 hours ago, Maginot said:

Addendum

 

Some of the best threads I’ve read on WWBM (wonderful world of BritModeller) have significant off-topic rants and excursions, so here goes...

 

Is it just me that's disappointed by the generally poor state of kit boxes? After all, we expect the dust jackets of new hard-cover books to be free of damage when we buy them, don't we?

 

I hand picked the Lanchester kit from the shelf of my favourite supplier, wrapped in cellophane, apparently mint. It was the first model I had bought from a shop since my return to modelling, so perhaps I can be excused some naivety. After peeling off the cellophane, I noticed some blunt object trauma to the lid and when I opened the box, a badly creased swing-top.

 

As few as one-in-ten of the kits I have looked over in shops or purchased online have boxes that are mint or near mint condition. The best condition box arrived beautifully packaged from one of the Japanese online emporiums. Many, perhaps the majority of boxes sitting on shelves in local suppliers are damaged, some so badly that I wouldn't bother purchasing them (without a significant sconto). Damage in the post aside, something that is not a frequent issue with parcels in my experience, there seems to be a general lack of good packaging, careful handling and appropriate storage of these delicate items in their journey from manufacturer to modeller.

 

The most poorly packaged model yet received. Needless to say, it was not respected by the postal services and the kit box was stoved in. Would you respect this disgraceful parcel?

 

 

This is how parcel should look. Mind you, the kit box within had a nasty ding in it, damaged prior to shipping.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Meanwhile, back at the bed-bench, making good progress on the Lanchester. Today I was struck by the urge to personalise the kit by doing some scratch building. I would like to leave the front visor and rear doors open, so I’m toying with the idea of fabricating a very basic interior before I put the lid on and a few petrol cans and buckets. There! I’ve written it on WWBM and so it shall come to pass. Will update you with pics soon.

 

Cheers very much.

Stuff I sell on eBay: Carefully packed in a decent cardboard box to protect the box that it came in (I've posted well over 100 of my sons old LEGO sets in their original boxes this way, there was a time when I had a loft full of saved cardboard boxes).

Stuff I buy on eBay: Wrapped in brown paper and sellotape by a bad-tempered chimpanzee and then kicked like a football to the nearest Post Office.

[Pig of the Week]

I got a guitar from ebay once, and the guy had sent it literally just wrapped in a bit of clear plastic builders type sheet and some tape !...you could see exactly what it was through the plastic, and it had absolutely no protection whatever, he may as well have just hung an address label round its neck and sent it unwrapped...incredibly it was undamaged, 

[sardaukar]

Nice looking model.

 

I'll join in with a quick rant. I've bought a kit from China that arrived looking like it was used as a seat cushion all the way on the flight, although most arrive a lot better than that. Worst bit of ebay packing was when I bought a couple of classic lead warhammer 40k commissars, they had just been thrown in a paper envelope, there was a chainsword poking out by the time I got it.

[Maginot]

 

Straight-forward construction I wrote. Yet, as soon as I tackled the first sub assembly, I was filled with doubts.

 

The instructions prompt caution in aligning the ends of the leaf springs and what are referred to as tie rods but are in fact strut rods. These provide the main mounting points for the whole front axle assembly, supporting armour plate, steering linkages (that's where the tie rod is) and wheels. They struck me as i) flimsy and ii) difficult to position so as to guarantee correct alignment of the axle assembly. So I left attaching the strut rods until I was ready to attach the axle.

 

I needn't have worried. Although a touch fiddly, the whole front end goes together beautifully, is pretty much self-jigging, and provides a very rigid assembly to carry the front wheels and half the weight of the model. I triple bonded all attachment points using two judicious applications of ETC then medium CA applied with a toothpick to make it extra durable.

 

Now why, I hear you ask, did this joker paint the radiator copper? Well, it's the nearest colour to brass that I had in the paint shop and I thought it was my only option. We've been in Covid hard lockdown since 6 August (10 long weeks) and I cannot just nip out to the local suppliers. In addition, I'm still semi-immobilised. And the post is getting slower and slower for parcel orders. So I made do. After I took these pics, I remembered a gold-metallic permanent marker secreted in the odds-and-ends drawer and applied it liberally over the copper. Wow! It worked a treat. The radiator now looks very brassy, but of course it's hidden under the armour. Which begs the question; "Why do we fuss so when it's going to be hidden anyway?"

 

   

 

Dry fitting the armour plate and the diminutive ironclad takes shape. I'm afraid this fetching little kit prompts me to utter a word I don't normally like to use. Cute: charming and attractive: attractive in a pretty or endearing way... This model looks cute, as I suspect the original vehicle looked cute. The way the kit assembles is cute; it really is a nice model to put together. But I'm sure it wasn't cute negotiating sticky mud and soft sand, freezing cold winters and blazing hot sumers, stuck in this little steel box with adversaries lobbing whiz-bangs and pinging lead your way. You'd want a calm demeanour, a good brew and one of those naughty medical cases from Harrods handy at all times.

 

 

Wanting to position the driver's visor open and rear doors ajar, I thought it would be fun to fabricate a crude interior. It doesn't have to be comprehensive, for little will be seen in the dark recesses of the cab, even painted white, unless someone wants to get nosy with a fibre-optic camera. Just some basic kit and something to stop you seeing straight through to the light coming in the gaps at the front.

 

From the rear: two storage boxes come bench seats; commander's and driver's seats; transmission cover; steering wheel and column; firewall and instrument panel.

 

Yet to be fabricated: door handles; control levers; sliding visor covers for side ports; visor opening mechanism.

 

Fabrics used: tool boxes and seat bases from the spares box (Lucky! It's hard to have much in a spares box when you are only three kits into the modelling renaissance); tie wire; foam from a sushi pack; an O-ring; a toothpick; high-quality plastic-coated card from a discount promo included in parcels from my local model supplier flogging cheap Aussie wines.

 

   

 

I had a lot of fun making these bits and pieces from scrap materials. It's a very satisfying process, too. At a pinch, despite using all this plastic fantastic, I might even claim a bonus in terms of the ethics of counter-consumption and sustainable practice: repurpose, recycle, reuse, reclaim, restore.

[Maginot]

I took the plunge and upgraded the painting department this week. And upgrade it is! This is very nicely made gear indeed. I was going to wait until we came out of lockdown before taking this particular plunge as I didn't want to purchase a precision instrument sight unseen. But the lockdown just dragged on and on. Eleven weeks it is now, in this most lockedown city in the world. And when restrictions ease on Friday it will still be click and collect only, no face to face encounters for these kinds of non-essential goods. The Premier and his cronies are clearly no makers of models %~))

 

Goodness! There's so much choice. I must thank contributors to Britmodeller and other forums for posting such excellent information about the world of airbrushes. Combining copious amounts of reading, net surfing and a couple of communications with suppliers, it took me about a month to gather sufficient intel and a week to make an informed and confident decision. After a few checks and tests, I must say that I'm very happy with my choice of Iwata HP.CP and cannot wait to use it in anger. I have some models waiting in the painting queue and some paints in the post. At last it's time to get to know acrylics. 

 

It was the onset of sex and drugs and motorcycles over forty-seven years ago, a heady combination that led me to hang up my airbrush and abandon my models. That's ten Australian Prime Ministers we've been through, though it feels like some of them have been through us! I still have it, an old Badger 200 series, single action, siphon paint feed using an aerosol can or spare wheel for air supply. The seals perished long ago but I'm tempted to get it up and running again for old-times sake and I bet it would come in handy.

 

 

 

What's this? A second post within a week to report progress with a model? Who do you think you are, @Bertie Psmith or summat?

 

The rear suspension, final drive and rear axle went together as competently and easily as the front end. It's well engineered, aligns nicely and is a robust assembly, especially if you double up with CA.

 

The fabricated cab internals are completed and the rear hatches hung. Well... almost completed. There are a couple of barely visible moulding marks on the insides of the hatches so I thought I might fabricate a spade and an axe to mount there. It’s fussing and faffing... but you know how it is?

 

Which brings me to one of my few criticisms of the kit. What self-respecting land ironclad is going to leave the comforts of base without a spade, a pick and an axe? Although it's fun to fabricate these, it would have been nice to find them ready and waiting on the sprue.

 

The wooden rear deck was roughed up with a Dremel wire wheel dragged sideways. I'd hardly call it woodgrain, but it will do the job.

 

The turret, comprising six pieces, went together well; no misalignments, no gaps, no dramas. I've since decided to close the rear turret hatch. It looked messy open. A touch of ETC on the hinges had them unstuck and re positioned without damage. It's very handy this ETC, innit?

 

       

    

 

Getting late. So off I go, to sleep perchance to dream, of beautifully prepared surfaces and beautifully applied paint... ORANGE PEEL VERBOTEN!

[Bertie McBoatface]

34 minutes ago, Maginot said:

What's this? A second post within a week to report progress with a model? Who do you think you are, @Bertie Psmith or summat?

 

When you get up to two updates per day on more than one project you can take my name in vain. 😉

[Maginot]

Last night, we came out of an accumulated 262 days in hard lockdown since the pandemic hit a year ago last February. What better way to celebrate than with a modelling marathon and a couple of hydraulic sandwiches?

 

Certainly got a move on overnight. Once the end of phase one was in sight, I just worked on into the wee early hours with rain beating a steady tattoo on the iron roof outside my bedroom window. It was pretty exciting as the final form took shape. What a smart looking land ironclad now graces the cabinet, waiting for some final fussing and faffing so the painting process can commence.

 

The headlamps are set aside, waiting for the epoxy resin to harden. There are no lenses supplied with the kit, so I painted the inside of the lamp housing silver to reproduce a reflector then filled the housing to the level of the brass (?) surround with epoxy resin to approximate a lens.

 

     

 

And how many times did I knock off one of the rear hatches while assembling the toolbox racks on the rear deck? I found this a bit fiddly and was certainly clumsy in the way I went about it. But it worked out well in the end.

 

 

I'll paint the wheels separately and mount them late in the finishing process.

 

It only remains to fit the headlamps and score the planks carried on the side to approximate wood grain. There's the spade and axe to make and mount. Also, I may fashion a few petrol tins and a rack for the LHS. A good wipe with isopropyl alcohol, a bit of masking then painting can commence. 

 

Well, I reckon I've earned a walk in the local bushland to see what the native birdies are up to. Cheers!

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, Maginot said:

Last night, we came out of an accumulated 262 days in hard lockdown since the pandemic hit a year ago last February. What better way to celebrate than with a modelling marathon and a couple of hydraulic sandwiches?

 

Certainly got a move on overnight. Once the end of phase one was in sight, I just worked on into the wee early hours with rain beating a steady tattoo on the iron roof outside my bedroom window. It was pretty exciting as the final form took shape. What a smart looking land ironclad now graces the cabinet, waiting for some final fussing and faffing so the painting process can commence.

 

The headlamps are set aside, waiting for the epoxy resin to harden. There are no lenses supplied with the kit, so I painted the inside of the lamp housing silver to reproduce a reflector then filled the housing to the level of the brass (?) surround with epoxy resin to approximate a lens.

 

     

 

And how many times did I knock off one of the rear hatches while assembling the toolbox racks on the rear deck? I found this a bit fiddly and was certainly clumsy in the way I went about it. But it worked out well in the end.

 

 

I'll paint the wheels separately and mount them late in the finishing process.

 

It only remains to fit the headlamps and score the planks carried on the side to approximate wood grain. There's the spade and axe to make and mount. Also, I may fashion a few petrol tins and a rack for the LHS. A good wipe with isopropyl alcohol, a bit of masking then painting can commence. 

 

Well, I reckon I've earned a walk in the local bushland to see what the native birdies are up to. Cheers!

It looks really good. I’m finding these old ACs very interesting. 
 

Enjoy your walk. 
 

and what’s a hydraulic sandwich?

[Maginot]

Quote

and what’s a hydraulic sandwich?

 

A beer.

 

Quote

I’m finding these old ACs very interesting. 

 

Yes; me too. Terrific old dunger. Wish I had one to do the shopping. I don't think other shoppers would be quite so rude in the car park and I could just chuck the shopping bags on the back deck. Which gives me an idea for a diorama... 

 

Quote

V12 Ricardo-engined versions

 

That would be the work of Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo, a genius of 20th century internal combustion engine design and development. Among other things, he worked on powerful two-stroke aero engines in the 1930s and had much to do with the success of highly-tuned piston engines that won the air war for the allies in WW2. See The Secret Horsepower Race, The Western Fighter Engine Development by Douglas E. Calum (2020). Highly recommended @Das Abteilung

 

Quote

Wrapped in brown paper and sellotape by a bad-tempered chimpanzee and then kicked like a football to the nearest Post Office

 

We must buy stuff from the same chimp, @Ned.

 

Quote

he may as well have just hung an address label round its neck and sent it unwrapped...incredibly it was undamaged

 

Due care and attention by the postal people. They usually do a great job in my experience, @Pig of the Week.

 

Quote

I've bought a kit from China that arrived looking like it was used as a seat cushion

 

I've been lucky with the condition of my parcels from China, @sardaukar. But so far, the slowest package came from there, at 59days one day short of the feedback cutoff on ebay.

[Maginot]

Just a quickie to record a minor win.

 

I read somewhere that you can fabricate aircraft seat harnesses out of the metal used to seal corks on wine bottles. I wanted some petrol tins for the land ironclad, so I thought I'd have a bash at fabricating them from this material. First step was to pour a glass of wine to prep the bottle. Second, figure out what a WW1 petrol tin in 1/35 measures. After reference to several pics and rounding out for simplicity, I settled on 3x5.5x8mm. These blokes pictured clearly had the same idea and are wondering if they got the dimensions right in 1/1 imperial units:

 

 

This seems horrifically small and fiddly, doesn't it? Could I do it? Drawing inspiration from the ship modellers, who competently fashion components the size of bee appendages, I had a good practice on paper prototypes, starting big and working smaller. This helped me determine the appropriate size of the tinlets and informed the fabrication procedure. As many of you have no doubt discovered, it's really hard to accurately mark out a work of such small dimensions, especially in fractions of millimetres. When it came to using the metal, I soon ditched the pencil and used an old kiddies compass point as a scribe. This made all the difference in accuracy, as did donning a second pair of reading glasses. Working out the order of making the folds using a pair of long-nosed pliers as a former was tricky; start with the first 3mm fold so there is enough room in the pliers to ensure a firm grip for parallel folding. The first tinlet wasn't bad, the second was spot on. By this stage I was tired from the heady concentration required and a little tipsy from one glass of wine too many, so I set the work aside for completion tomorrow. The plan is to make several more tinlets, fill them with epoxy resin, fabricate handles from the same metal and spouts from poly rod made from stretched sprue then sliced to size. 

 

A note on what to use for accurate tin snips. Why, a pair of tough scissors used to cut wound dressings that I was given following the recent surgical procedure (I asked nicely, of course). They’re disposable after one use so get chucked away anyway.

 

 

And very pleased (relieved) with the way the headlamp reflectors and lenses turned out. Looking closely at the historic photo, the nearside headlamp body appears to be shiny. Does this mean I get to paint the headlamps shiny brass? Can I, can I, can I?

[Maginot]

Oh my goodness! The human condition does get in the way of modelling sometimes...

 

So, the petrol tins are finished. These were very fiddly and took an inordinate amount of time. But in the end, I'm pleased with the result.

 

                 

 

 

The interior is finished and painted... just white primer for walls and floor. This was toned down and soiled with shaved charcoal dust applied with a cotton bud and a stiff brush, then washed over with water. It is fairly crude but effective. After all, little will be seen through the rear doors with the lid on. Speaking of which, it felt like a milestone to finally glue on the lid and seal the interior compartment. The mating surfaces were covered in a masking liquid before painting. This peeled off easily revealing virgin plastic when it came time to glue the bits together. Splendid stuff!

 

Discovery! The morning after applying the primer, I noted the fabricated wire seat backs had rusted. RUSTED. Of course! The acrylc primer is water based. Self-weathering components. Cool! Except of course, I didn't want rusty seat backs. Stop faffing! Nobody will see it and no one will know... unless YOU tell them.

 

I chose to prime in white rather than grey so that I could see what I was doing on a grey plastic subject. The process of applying acrylic primer was my first experience with an airbrush since... since er... about 1975. That was a single action syphon with air supply from a Propel can back then. A dual action, gravity fed airbrush drawing air from a compressor introduces another level of complexity. Whatever skerrick of technique the muscle memory had remembered, using the new flash equipment was not as I expected. The brain department was full of paint mixing, airflow adjustments, airbrush operation and cleaning. Nevertheless, after a quick practice, off I went and applied paint to the model. Hmm... too much machine operation going on to concentrate on painting. Rather than being pleased with doing a good job, I'm pleased that I got away with doing an ordinary job. As many a pundit has noted in these pages, weathering and battle damage will hide a multitude of sins on the finished model %~))

 

    

 

    

I decided to model the rear deck as unpainted wood, as I have seen it depicted in David Fletcher's excellent Rolls Royce Armoured Car Owners' Workshop Manual. I thought to try brushing Tamiya acrylic Buff as an undercoat. I can only describe the experience as disgusting. It spreads like water on a duck’s back and if you go back over a bit you get a chunky custard finish. This is probably quite good for a weathered timber look but I'll be sticking to good old Humbrol enamel for brushwork in future.

 

So what have I learned so far? Fabricating petrol tins and interiors is all very well, but it takes time and effort away from the focus of finishing the model. Apparently minor changes like leaving the front visor and rear doors open led to unforeseen complications; the need for a basic interior, masking difficulties and painting challenges. And how many times did I knock off that front visor? Thank goodness for cyanoacrylate is all I'm saying. For someone on only the 3rd attempt in his mudelling renaissance, these may have been over ambitious additions to the project that risked delayed development of basic skills, initiating bog down and bringing on madelling. On the other hand, I do feel a sense of achievement now that it's done and some more advanced skills are nascent. Oh, and I have a unique Lanchester land ironclad.

 

[Milan Mynar]

Great build.

[vytautas]

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

I thought to try brushing Tamiya acrylic Buff as an undercoat. I can only describe the experience as disgusting. It spreads like water on a duck’s back

It’s a little weird. Tamiya acrylic usually adheres to the surface better than any primer.

Ever since I accidentally spilled Tamiya acrylic on the plastic chair seat a few years ago, and the stain is clearly visible to this day, I haven’t used any primer before painting anymore.

 

If paint spreads like water on a duck’s back, probably the surface of the model is not clean enough.

In this case, you can add a microscopic quantity of dishwasher detergent to your paint. It will remove the surface tense, and the paint will cover the surface evenly.

 

Vytautas
 

[Bullbasket]

7 hours ago, Maginot said:

I thought to try brushing Tamiya acrylic Buff as an undercoat.

I have always found Tamiya acrylics to be brilliant for spraying, but not so good for brushing. It tends to lift off of the surface if you try to brush over it again before it has dried thoroughly.

 

John.

[Maginot]

Thanks, @Milan Mynar. Doing my best. Gotta get it done before the silly season hits (Christmas).

 

Quote

If paint spreads like water on a duck’s back, probably the surface of the model is not clean enough.

In this case, you can add a microscopic quantity of dishwasher detergent to your paint. It will remove the surface tense, and the paint will cover the surface evenly.

 

Thanks, Vytautas. I was brushing the acrylic buff (not spraying) onto acrylic primer, the latter having been sprayed the day before. I had carefully cleaned the model with a mild solution of dish-washing liquid and isopropyl alcohol in warm water prior to applying the primer. I was careful to mix the buff thoroughly before use.

 

That's a good hint about using dishwashing liquid as a surfactant. Pity I chucked out (of course I mean disposed of responsibly %~)) all my B&W film processing chemicals years ago. The wetting agent would have done the same job without risking bubbles.

 

Quote

It tends to lift off of the surface if you try to brush over it again before it has dried thoroughly.

 

Thanks John. Although it didn't feel sticky, maybe the acrylic primer wasn't quite dry, even though I brushed the buff over it probably 18 hours later the following day. We are having some humid days of late, with relative humidity over 80%, not ideal conditions for painting. I do remember sweating profusely while applying the primer. I'll watch that in future.