Every Vally Shall Be Exalted - The Valentine Tank Family Vol.1 - Finished

[Bertie McBoatface]

4 minutes ago, HAMP man said:

There's a phantom and a figure? 

The distressing of the crew compartment looks 1 to 1, top modelling fella. 

 

Box on

 

Strickers

 

A single F-4 in the Bomber GB and a series of figures in a WIP, a bit like this one.

 

Thanks for the comments, Strickers

[Courageous]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:18 PM, Bertie Psmith said:

It's very busy in there.

And very nicely done too.

 

Stuart

[Bertie McBoatface]

39 minutes ago, Courageous said:

And very nicely done too.

 

Stuart

 

Thanks Stuart. You know what? When I looked at it this evening, after some time away, I thought "Wow!. That looks really good!" Sometimes you need to stop looking at something in order to see it properly.

 

I've done a ton of good work play on the outside of the hull tonight but I'm too tired to do a proper update for you today. I'll get onto it in the morning with a bit of luck and following the wind. (I always have the wind in the mornings.)

 

'Night all.

[HAMP man]

4 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

Thanks Stuart. You know what? When I looked at it this evening, after some time away, I thought "Wow!. That looks really good!" Sometimes you need to stop looking at something in order to see it properly.

 

I've done a ton of good work play on the outside of the hull tonight but I'm too tired to do a proper update for you today. I'll get onto it in the morning with a bit of luck and following the wind. 

 

'Night all.

I find its the cheese on crackers before I go to bed that can produce the wind

Dragged a Sherman off the SoD and will be casting any weathering tips and photos to the tele for super size inspection.

 

Box on

 

Strickers

[APA]

Have to say it does look very nice indeed Bertie 👍

 

Andrew 

[Bertie McBoatface]

58 minutes ago, HAMP man said:

I find its the cheese on crackers before I go to bed that can produce the wind

Dragged a Sherman off the SoD and will be casting any weathering tips and photos to the tele for super size inspection.

 

Box on

 

Strickers

Ew, A Sherman. How common! 😂

 

Painting might be starting soon old chum. 

 

52 minutes ago, APA said:

Have to say it does look very nice indeed Bertie 👍

 

Andrew 

Thanks Andrew. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

I've made a start on the accessories to the outside of the vehicle now.

 

 

First up was the spare track section. The kit supplied piece was not as crisp as the kit supplied actual track and the bar that holds them on seemed to be a little different to my refs. Anyway, it was a simple and satisfying thing to use a section of the track saved from the last Vally and some plastic strip to run up a better one. At least it matches the track on the wheels.

 

 

The kit lacks the 2" mortar which was used for throwing smoke bombs for instant cover. The brackets were there though so it was easy to find something which could pass. I only had a rough drawing to go from, although I'm sure I could have found better pictures on line. It was enough for me to know that it was a tube with some bits and pieces making it interesting, so that's what I used. It was a 1/48 scale ejection gun, so actually, a mortar of a sort.

 

 

This was a little mystery. That large tube is the stowage for a big rangefinder which fits to the gun shield when in use. The small one is a stowage for the radio aerial and spares. Tamiya had them the other way round with the aerial tube outboard. Not only do my drawings say that is incorrect but it just didn't look right. It would be really awkward reaching over the rangefinder tube to get to the aerials. I just turned the whole thing over and put another handle on the top. Looking at this photo, I'll revisit this and make a better lid for both tubes with a bit of tape. And trim the aerial one square at the bottom too.

 

 

These odd things are smoke generators. I have no idea how they worked, can abyone enlighten me?

 

 

Not everything went smoothly. The spotlight included a reflector and even a bulb behind a crystal clear glass cover. I tried to be clever and used metal foil for the reflector but made a pig's ear of it, before fogging the glass completely. Ho hum. You can't win every time.

 

I'm experimenting a little bit with my sequence of operations. This time I'm assembling as much as possible of the outside equipment and tools before I paint the outside. I think I can paint the accessories reasonably well in situ and I hope that it will be more efficient that way. There's a risk of breaking stuff off again while I'm painting but the possible advantage is that the weathering will match on the tank and the tools. We'll see.

 

With luck I'll get paint on the outside today for another update tonight.

 

[HAMP man]

As to the commonality of Shermans m'laud I would argue you have to be able to paint grass beofre doing the flowers

Edited February 11, 2022 by HAMP man
reflection

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

Remember that stowage for the wooden jacking blocks? I included it on the prototype just to add a different coloured highlight to the otherwise overall grey colour. I wished I'd saved it today when I wanted one for the Archer. I had two options, I could rob one from another of my Vally family kits or make one. I don't like robbing as it just puts off the problem so I got out the plastic card and tried to copy this one.

 

 

It's overscale and not square either, but I love it to bits. These tiny attempts at scratching something from nothing are so rewarding. I think I need a guillotine now...

 

 

The next thing missing was the cable reel. I think this carried telephone line to securely and reliably connect all the guns in a battery to the battery commander. It's a very distinctive feature and had to be made. Tamiya give us the support brackets and slots to mount them in which was a huge help. All I had to find was something round. I found some small aircraft wheels in the spares box.

 

 

I stuck the two halves of an Airacobra mainwheel together, back to back with a bit of a hub form something else as a spacer. Then drilled a hole through the lot and fitted an axle which I made from stretched sprue. It only took three tries to get the correct diameter! That was the drum sorted, now for the cable.

 

 

Fishing line. I have two calibers of fishing line and this is the thick one 0.2mm. The thin one at 0.1mm would have been more to scale but it's almost invisible to me and I can't feel it either so wrapping multiple turns around the drum just wasn't feasible. And it wouldn't have been easy to see in the finished model either.

 

 

With the addition of a rewinding handle, it was done. Again, clunky work but all mine own. 

 

 

Ready to paint? Er, not quite. Every time I reach for the airbrush I notice or think of something else. There's a rain cover that could be drawn over the crew compartment and was otherwise stowed rolled up and strapped to the top of the gun shield. It's almost as though it was meant to keep the rain off the gun, not the crew... I did a canvas roll for my Grant in the desert last year and that was well received here in RFI, so I'll have a crack at that next.

 

(And then the camouflage net and the tow cable, but they can both go on after the painting.)

 

I'm enjoying this build just as much now as when I opened the box. Had it been an aeroplane I'd be wishing it was done by now and having to drag my sorry carcase to the bench to finish it. Military modelling give us so much more scope to be creative, especially in 1/35. It's making my mojo very powerful!

 

 

 

[HAMP man]

very nice greebling there ol chap, it all looks brill on a 42 incher

 

I've got a chopper too

 

https://nwsl.com/products/the-chopper-ii

 

maybe worth a dabble

 

On refletion (see what i did there) all cosumables had to be man handled into the firing area, as far as I am aware tank operations ceased at night during the warwah so anything not in regular use if chipped dinked or damaged would be a long way down on the to-do list. Sticky out bits like lamps and such might get broken in normal wear and tear, a couple of crack lines painted on the spot-lamp and roberts you anutie;s brother. but your house your rules.

 

Box On

 

Strickers

Edited February 11, 2022 by HAMP man
I had a thought

[ColonelKrypton]

3 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

Military modelling give us so much more scope to be creative, especially in 1/35. It's making my mojo very powerful!

 

Very nicely done all those scratch bits and I couldn't agree more.

 

I have been having an itch to try something in 1/72 but I just haven't spied a subject which has caught my interest - Another armoured car perhaps ?

 

Christmas and birthdays are an enjoyable time, I get much pleasure from playing with wrappings and imagining what interesting bits they could be used to make. Family thinks I am bit weird.

 

I treated myself to a good "chopper" this year. I splurged and got one of the RP Toolz  miter cutters http://www.rptoolz.com/?page_id=170

 

Fabulous bit of kit, very well made and a real step above the NWSL Chopper II ( which is also a nice capable tool ) but for double the price.

 

As for those wooden blocks, I might have tried stir sticks or some pieces of basswood from the Dollar store.  The local Dollar store and it's craft and gift isles is one of my favourite hobby stores.

 

cheers, Graham

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

10 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

 

Very nicely done all those scratch bits and I couldn't agree more.

 

I have been having an itch to try something in 1/72 but I just haven't spied a subject which has caught my interest - Another armoured car perhaps ?

 

Christmas and birthdays are an enjoyable time, I get much pleasure from playing with wrappings and imagining what interesting bits they could be used to make. Family thinks I am bit weird.

 

I treated myself to a good "chopper" this year. I splurged and got one of the RP Toolz  miter cutters http://www.rptoolz.com/?page_id=170

 

Fabulous bit of kit, very well made and a real step above the NWSL Chopper II ( which is also a nice capable tool ) but for double the price.

 

As for those wooden blocks, I might have tried stir sticks or some pieces of basswood from the Dollar store.  The local Dollar store and it's craft and gift isles is one of my favourite hobby stores.

 

cheers, Graham

 

 

I actually have thin basswood on hand but I really don't like modelling wood with wood. The grain is so out of scale.

[Bertie McBoatface]

NOW, I'm ready to paint.

 

 

With the regulationn five straps, actually wires, the tonneau is rolled and stowed for action.

 

 

It's two layers of toilet roll soaked in diluted PVA glue. A single layer was too weak and fell apart and the kitchen roll was too thick. I dried it with a hairdryer at first and then hung it over the radiator, but not touching the radiator, obviously, until it dried into a thin flexible textured sheet of fibre reinforced PVA plastic.

 

 

Cut to a precise fit. Then rolled tightly. Then a third of the length was chopped off to more accurately match the drawing in ITV. The wires were wrapped around the roll and twisted tight to make those 'billows' in the tarpaulin. Finally I made a crease along the length with a rule to make it sit nicely along the edge of the gun shield and superglued it in place.

 

 

When painted that will look just the job. You can see the rolled-up-ness of it at both ends if I can avoid filling them up with paint.

 

Next we paint!

 

I'm going to skip priming because masking is impossible and I need to be using a small nozzle on the airbrush to have enough control. None of my primers will go through a 0.15mm hole.

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

The base coat(s) has been applied. 

 

 

This was what I expecterd to use but I made some changes on the hoof.

 

 

The Panzer grey wasn't dark enough for the deepest  shadows so I adjusted it with black. And the dark green was tooo dark and had to be brightened with zinc chromate. I added the clear when the glazes were getting so dilute that I thought the paint might 'split' for lack of binder. I didn't use the IJN green.

 

The aim was to get a good range of shades from black green under the fenders to a bright green on the highlights on deck. (I'll brush paint some highest lights in enamels tomorrow.) The range of colours on the outside of the tank on this bright autumn day in Wiltshire was to be a little brighter throughout than the range of colours on the inside.

 

I'm happy with the result so far but I'll need to see it in daylight to be sure. Remember, this should be a bit exaggerated because there's washes and stuff yet to come.

 

 

Panzer grey. Photographed in the spray booth the lighting is even but very bright so the colours are a bit darker than they appear.

 

 

Panzer grey and black for some shadows. I was also doing the wheels and the gun barrel by the way. 

 

 

First olive green layer.

 

 

I think this is another olive green coat. I was trying to be patchy and diffuse with every coat to get a weatherworn effect. 

 

 

Surely I'm onto the dark green by now! I didn't realise I took so many photos!

 

 

And by now there's some zinc chromate in the mix. I would have used yellow if I had any but the ZC worked ok and was a bit less risky than using a bright yellow.

 

 

The final effect. It looks better to the eye than the camera as I hope to show you when I take some daylight pictures.

 

 

And as it appears on a roadwheel.

 

I have a feeling that I could have done this in fewer stages by changing the amount of paint I was laying down rather than the mixture. I also think I could have been braver and made the contrast more intense. However, baby steps are ok for a newbie to the wonderful world of armour. I'll consider myself a newbie for the rest of this year at least and then I'll just be a 'learner' for the rest of my life!

 

I can hardly wait to get some decals on and start weathering this thing!!

 

[edjbartos]

 Very good Bertie, painting looks great, should look even better when you have done some weathering....

 

Ed

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 minute ago, edjbartos said:

 Very good Bertie, painting looks great, should look even better when you have done some weathering....

 

Ed

 

Thanks Ed. I'm renouncing any false modesty here and saying it looks great to me too! I got exactly the result I was chasing, and enjoyed every minute of it (apart from cleaning up and putting away. 😄)

[ColonelKrypton]

4 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

It's two layers of toilet roll soaked in diluted PVA glue.

 

Hmmm, I will have to give that a try.  I have always used tissue paper - the gift wrapping kind, from the Dollar Store.  One package lasts a very long time. 

 

Of late I have also been experimenting using using thinly rolled out epoxy putty as I have seen done in some youtube videos. Still not getting along with the technique but practice makes perfect.

 

Your greens look pretty good in your pictures. "The final effect" looks quite good and a bit of additional light weathering should bring it to life.

 

cheers, Graham

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

11 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

Of late I have also been experimenting using using thinly rolled out epoxy putty as I have seen done in some youtube videos. Still not getting along with the technique but practice makes perfect.

I think that makes good rolled sleeping bags but it’s too thick for rolled canvas. I do like it draped over things though. 

 

14 minutes ago, ColonelKrypton said:

bit of additional light weathering

A few scratches, an oily pin wash, and a sprinkle of that chalky mud from Salisbury Plain should do the trick. 

[HAMP man]

This is not a WIP but a tutorial for me, the penny is dropping on the colour saturation and tonal values,.

If you're a newbee, then I am a 'n'

 

really appreciate the time your taking to document this

 

Box On

 

Strickers

 

[Model Mate]

Nice work Bertie. I love the bog-roll tarp; very good. And the various scratch bits look really good. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

6 minutes ago, HAMP man said:

This is not a WIP but a tutorial for me, the penny is dropping on the colour saturation and tonal values,.

If you're a newbee, then I am a 'n'

 

really appreciate the time your taking to document this

 

Box On

 

Strickers

 

 

Yes, I overstated my newness.

 

It feels like a new hobby at the moment because of my change in attitude. Until quite recently, I thought of myself as an Aircraft Modeller who occasionally did a vehicle for a change. That described fifty years of my hobby so I have made quite a few armour subjects over the years. Since the New Year, my priorities have changed and I now want to be as good or better on the military side of the hobby as I ever was on the aircraft. So I'm a newbie at really working hard at tanks etc. I'm discovering techniques and possibilities in this genre that I'd never even considered before so it feels like there's a ton of new stuff to master. I'm forgetting all of the transferable skills that I've brought across from the aircraft and figure genres which are an enormous advantage to me. 

 

This hobby, in all of its subdivisions, is one that is easy to do, very difficult to do well and just about impossible to achieve perfection in. That's actually brilliant because it never stops challenging you. There's always something new to try. And every time you think you have it nailed, someone posts something astonishing on here, and you are reminded how many new worlds there are still to conquer.

 

Perhaps, in a way we are all newbies forever?

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

9 minutes ago, Model Mate said:

Nice work Bertie. I love the bog-roll tarp; very good. And the various scratch bits look really good. 

 

Thanks, Mate.

 

I learned something Important myself yesterday. I should get better quality bog-roll. Seeing the cheap stuff disintegrating like that explains a lot.

 

[Jasper dog]

Really like the result you've achieved with the OD Bertie, I'd be pretty darned pleased with that too!

As far as mixing and playing with it goes I've used AK or Mig OD (can't remember which) and added anything from a pale yellow to a "new wood" colour, basically anything reasonably just not white.

Some nice detail touches too, from the rolled up tarp to the cable reel etc, adds so much extra interest, great work. 

I can really see the progression in your work, these Valentine's are looking excellent so far. 

 

Darryl 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

4 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

Really like the result you've achieved with the OD Bertie, I'd be pretty darned pleased with that too!

As far as mixing and playing with it goes I've used AK or Mig OD (can't remember which) and added anything from a pale yellow to a "new wood" colour, basically anything reasonably just not white.

Some nice detail touches too, from the rolled up tarp to the cable reel etc, adds so much extra interest, great work. 

I can really see the progression in your work, these Valentine's are looking excellent so far. 

 

Darryl 

 

Thanks for that Darryl, yes adding white to anything is rarely a good idea, turning most colours chalky. I believe that you can make Olive Drab the same way they mixed it in the 40's with just black and yellow, but I've never actually tried that. 

 

 

And thanks for noticing the progression element, that's very encouraging.. This is the last of my Tamiya Valentines, for the next one I will have to step up in complexity with either a Bronco or a Minicraft kit. That will be quite a challenge, I think. 😱

[Bullbasket]

I's coming along really well Bertie. I like what you did with the tarp. I use a blue paper towel roll which I still have some of from when I used to work in the oil industry. It's double layered and peels apart easily. It's also very strong and I've used it for making tarps for a while now.

 

John.