diablo rsv Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Valentine Mk.IX, 50 RTR, 23rd Armoured Brigade, Tunisia 1943 The Mk.IX valentine was made in answer to the need of a more powerful gun than the 2pdr. To accommodate the 6pdr gun the turret needed to be redesigned. Vickers engineers freed up space for the new gun by reducing the turret crew to 2 men and the coaxial machinegun and smoke bomb launcher were removed. The removal of the machine gun meant that the tank couldn't defend itself against infantry and so was unpopular with its crews. The bomb launcher issue was partially resolved by mounting two grenade launchers externally. But in essence the Mk.IX had turned the Valentine into a tank destroyer. The Bronco kit itself is pretty comprehensive and the only aftermarket I used was the RB Models metal gun barrel and the front fenders were replaced with brass sheet to allow some damage to be added. The model was painted in the Desert Pink ZI / Dark Olive Green PFI scheme with MRP paints. The sand/dust weathering effects were created with a mix of pigments. The thumb print on the front fender in the above photo has since been removed. A few detail photos. And finally the photo I used as a reference. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the way this one has turned out but as always there are things that I felt that I could have done better. The urge to get this finished so that I can start a new project has meant that some additional stowage and crew will have to wait for another day. The work in progress for this build can be found here; Valentine Mk.IX work in progress. Thanks for taking the time to have a look and feel free to point out anything I may have missed or that could be improved upon. Wayne P.S. Some of the photos appear a little too warm on my screen but I haven't profiled this monitor and really don't want to edit them again. 36 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) Great job on another valentine. I don’t know what brings you back to do another one as I think it’s the ugliest tank ever made 🤪 but it’s an excellent model. The comparison shot to the original at the end shows what a good job you’ve done 👏 Edited October 12, 2021 by GRK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartH Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 What an excellent model and beautifully finished. I love the 4 detail photos...perfectly depicted colours and finishes. The comparison shot at the end is almost scary! Well done 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ade H Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, GRK said: I think it’s the ugliest tank ever made I don't think that tanks are meant to be aesthetically pleasing. 😉 Flippance aside, I've never quite understood the oft-stated criterion, even more common among aircraft modellers, that they want to build X because it looks good. I mostly see the engineering and the history in military equipment and leave aesthetics for my other interests and the day job. Anyhoo... Wayne, that's really quite a tidy job over all. If it was me, I'd have to touch up the tricky disruptive camo in one or two places and I'd have to stick some aerials on it (try DIY paintbrush hairs), but other than that, just keep progressing and experimenting, mate. Have fun. Also wanted to say that I really appreciate modellers who put some care into their photos. Shows pride in your work. I haven't built this kit, although I have built the Bishop which of course shares a lot with it, so I know how nice it is. I'd always recommend it over Tamiya, if only to annoy the fanboys. 😁 Actually, my Bish is still languishing in a draw waiting for me to figure out how to do convincing hand-painted mud camo... 🤔 Edited October 12, 2021 by Ade H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PF Naughton Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Hi, Your build looks great, especially seeing how close it looks to the comparison photo. PS. Its kind of funny but I actually always liked the looks of the Valentines 😬 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f matthews Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Excellent build and finish! The Bronco IX got me started a few years back on a bit of a Valentine/A9/A10 odyssey. I’m currently working on an AFV Club Mk. II (have Mks I, IV and IX finished as well as a few A10s). Ugly, but I like tgem!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Glad to see that you got around to finishing this one Wayne, as it's a real cracker. And well done for the excellent photo presentation. Great job all round. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autle Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I don't know much about this tank other than looking at the few pictures I've seen on the web, however, I know a good model when I see one and that's what we've got here. Well done and thanks for sharing. Trace 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Very nice work there. You really hit the mark when we compare your model to the real life photograph. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Lovely model of an interesting variant. The Valentine could never have been a successful tank if you had to ditch a turret crewman just to fit a bigger gun in. A problem that beset other British tanks. But of course, by 1942 and the arrival of the Sherman it didn't really matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Mate Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 what a beauty! excelllent work all round. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Everyone above has already written about how good your tank looks, I probably won't say anything new. It looks really incredible, the weathering is amazing. I especially liked the front fenders and muffler. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Beautiful model Wayne. Everything is just fantastic! Great job with the paintwork, Valentine is a bit tricky to mask properly. I like those detail shots very much. Have this one in my stash, now I know where to look for inspiration Cheers, Nenad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Again another beautifully finished model Wayne, a real smasher...👍 Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Hi Wayne. WOW! That's a really impressive model! Beautifully detailed and your finish is superb!! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Looks great, superb build and finish, I built a couple of Maquette Valentines years ago and still like the look of them, though it was not the greatest WW2 tank the Soviets who knew a few things about tanks really rated them and actually asked for more of them. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 20:41, GRK said: Great job on another valentine. I don’t know what brings you back to do another one as I think it’s the ugliest tank ever made 🤪 but it’s an excellent model. The comparison shot to the original at the end shows what a good job you’ve done 👏 On 12/10/2021 at 22:52, StuartH said: What an excellent model and beautifully finished. I love the 4 detail photos...perfectly depicted colours and finishes. The comparison shot at the end is almost scary! Well done 👏 On 13/10/2021 at 03:17, PF Naughton said: Hi, Your build looks great, especially seeing how close it looks to the comparison photo. PS. Its kind of funny but I actually always liked the looks of the Valentines 😬 On 13/10/2021 at 12:58, Bertie Psmith said: Very nice work there. You really hit the mark when we compare your model to the real life photograph. Well done. On 13/10/2021 at 09:04, Autle said: I don't know much about this tank other than looking at the few pictures I've seen on the web, however, I know a good model when I see one and that's what we've got here. Well done and thanks for sharing. Trace On 13/10/2021 at 15:24, Model Mate said: what a beauty! excelllent work all round. On 13/10/2021 at 15:42, vytautas said: Everyone above has already written about how good your tank looks, I probably won't say anything new. It looks really incredible, the weathering is amazing. I especially liked the front fenders and muffler. Vytautas On 14/10/2021 at 13:26, Nenad Ilijic said: Beautiful model Wayne. Everything is just fantastic! Great job with the paintwork, Valentine is a bit tricky to mask properly. I like those detail shots very much. Have this one in my stash, now I know where to look for inspiration Cheers, Nenad On 14/10/2021 at 19:21, edjbartos said: Again another beautifully finished model Wayne, a real smasher...👍 Ed On 15/10/2021 at 16:07, PlaStix said: Hi Wayne. WOW! That's a really impressive model! Beautifully detailed and your finish is superb!! Kind regards, Stix On 15/10/2021 at 16:30, spitfire said: Looks great, superb build and finish, I built a couple of Maquette Valentines years ago and still like the look of them, though it was not the greatest WW2 tank the Soviets who knew a few things about tanks really rated them and actually asked for more of them. Cheers Dennis On 13/10/2021 at 14:15, IanC said: Lovely model of an interesting variant. The Valentine could never have been a successful tank if you had to ditch a turret crewman just to fit a bigger gun in. A problem that beset other British tanks. But of course, by 1942 and the arrival of the Sherman it didn't really matter. On 13/10/2021 at 08:23, Bullbasket said: Glad to see that you got around to finishing this one Wayne, as it's a real cracker. And well done for the excellent photo presentation. Great job all round. John. On 13/10/2021 at 03:38, f matthews said: Excellent build and finish! The Bronco IX got me started a few years back on a bit of a Valentine/A9/A10 odyssey. I’m currently working on an AFV Club Mk. II (have Mks I, IV and IX finished as well as a few A10s). Ugly, but I like tgem!! On 12/10/2021 at 23:56, Ade H said: I don't think that tanks are meant to be aesthetically pleasing. 😉 Flippance aside, I've never quite understood the oft-stated criterion, even more common among aircraft modellers, that they want to build X because it looks good. I mostly see the engineering and the history in military equipment and leave aesthetics for my other interests and the day job. Anyhoo... Wayne, that's really quite a tidy job over all. If it was me, I'd have to touch up the tricky disruptive camo in one or two places and I'd have to stick some aerials on it (try DIY paintbrush hairs), but other than that, just keep progressing and experimenting, mate. Have fun. Also wanted to say that I really appreciate modellers who put some care into their photos. Shows pride in your work. I haven't built this kit, although I have built the Bishop which of course shares a lot with it, so I know how nice it is. I'd always recommend it over Tamiya, if only to annoy the fanboys. 😁 Actually, my Bish is still languishing in a draw waiting for me to figure out how to do convincing hand-painted mud camo... 🤔 Thank you all very much for the kind words, your feedback is very much appreciated. @f matthews I did refer to your Mk.IX build a couple of times and like you I do enjoy building the Valentine/A9/A10 series of tanks, I still have a couple more to build. I'm not so sure about them being ugly @GRK, maybe they are not aesthetically pleasing but I agree with @PF Naughton, there is something about their look that is appealing. I did um and ah about the aerials @Ade H as it doesn't look quite right without them but as I couldn't see them in my reference photo I assumed they weren't fitted for the parade. I will need to add the Bishop to my collection at some point and I shall look forward to seeing yours.( hopefully I will be able to pinch some ideas). I did a Tunisian Churchill with what I believed to be a hand painted mud camo. I used the hairspray technique on it to show some wear and was reasonably happy with the outcome, I could have possibly taken it a bit further but if you're interested it can be seen here. Churchill Mk.III Tunisia I'm glad you all like the photos, it's nice to be able to combine hobbies. Wayne. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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