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

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Well, this is your chance 🙂

 

Yep. I can see no alternative to getting myself a static grass applicator, at last.

 

31 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

He's got to be a 2nd Louie then. The figures are very nice Bertie. I've got the same set.

 

John.

 

Ha!

 

There are actually two boxes of figures in play here. I'm using a Bronco guy but the rejected one was from a Miniart set. All Miniart soldiers have received orders to report back to Ukraine immediately and the box is suddenly empty...

[Model Mate]

The figure’s looking great Bertie - sitting nicely in his seat. I think what you’ve got in your drill is a dental burr. eBay should be able to source some replacements. I bought a pack of all sorts of shapes and sizes years ago and while I don’t find much use for them at the moment, they are a very versatile alternative to drills and scrapers/knives etc. 
For the static applicator, a simple and effective diy route is to use a tea strainer and a “tennis racquet” bug zapper. They work really well.

[edjbartos]

It looks really good Bertie the figures look great with the work that you have done on them. It's also nice to see what you have had to do to get them to this stage...

 

Ed

[Bertie McBoatface]

6 minutes ago, Model Mate said:

The figure’s looking great Bertie - sitting nicely in his seat. I think what you’ve got in your drill is a dental burr. eBay should be able to source some replacements. I bought a pack of all sorts of shapes and sizes years ago and while I don’t find much use for them at the moment, they are a very versatile alternative to drills and scrapers/knives etc. 
For the static applicator, a simple and effective diy route is to use a tea strainer and a “tennis racquet” bug zapper. They work really well.

Thanks Mate

 

I already own a bug zapper like that. How would you use it?

[Bertie McBoatface]

4 minutes ago, edjbartos said:

It looks really good Bertie the figures look great with the work that you have done on them. It's also nice to see what you have had to do to get them to this stage...

 

Ed

 

Thanks Ed

 

My figure work is another area that I want to improve with this build so I'm enjoying the process and don't mind spending a lot of time on it. In fact "spending a lot of time on it" is yet another area that I really need to work on. I can't tell you how many times I mess things up right at the end through rushing to finish. 😠

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

8 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

a dental burr.

 

That was the search term I was looking for. Thanks @Model Mate, life will be easier when I have some different shapes and sizes to play with.

[Model Mate]

From what I remember, you take off the head of the “racquet” and you’re left with two wires. Connect one of them to the tea strainer which you should be able to fit into the space vacated by the head. The other wire needs extending and a nail adding - you’ll end up with a lead say a foot long coming out of the handle with its nail on the end. This nail gets poked into your ground work to complete the circuit back to the tea strainer end. I think I found a video on YouTube…..

[Bertie McBoatface]

9 minutes ago, Model Mate said:

From what I remember, you take off the head of the “racquet” and you’re left with two wires. Connect one of them to the tea strainer which you should be able to fit into the space vacated by the head. The other wire needs extending and a nail adding - you’ll end up with a lead say a foot long coming out of the handle with its nail on the end. This nail gets poked into your ground work to complete the circuit back to the tea strainer end. I think I found a video on YouTube…..

 

Thanks Mate,

 

I don't want to destroy my zapper, so I'll still be buying one, but thanks for troubling to reply. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

The diorama is taking shape, in my head at least. To the Archer and the range shelter already mentioned I'm adding a Tamiya Tilly for the range staff transport, and a flagpole flying a red flag. And most importantly in a British Army scene - a tea urn!

[Lazy Modeller]

That will be a nice build, of a very nice tank, I hope you're in good humor and don't crash it!

Cheers

Lazy modeler was here!

[ColonelKrypton]

3 hours ago, Model Mate said:

I think what you’ve got in your drill is a dental burr

 

Really just a burr.  Dental burrs are burrs but sized and shaped to use with dental tools and for working on dental stuff.

 

Available in all sorts of sizes and shapes with small 1/16" size shank with 3/32 and 1/8 being common for hand held rotary tools but so are 1/4" and even larger burrs.

 

While eBay and even Amazon have lots to choose from, my choice these days is to find a good jewellers supply and there are plenty around. They will have burrs of many sizes and shapes suitable for model making.  Look for Busch or Fox brand and you can get round burrs in sizes as small as 0.30mm  ( yes 0.3mm diameter ) up to 8 to 10mm.

 

In one of Model Mate's threads I mentioned that I had been experimenting with nail caviar ( tiny tiny balls ) for adding rivets. I have found that rather than using a small diameter drill to make a shallow hole or dimple into which the tiny tiny ball can be glued, I find it easier and can get better consistency using one of these tiny tiny round burrs in a pin vise that make a better shaped dimple for my tiny tiny balls.

 

Cooksongold is one such supplier in the UK https://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/-Range=Burrs/-Size=0/-Type=0/-Brand=0/-Font=0/&prdsearch=y  will take you right to displaying burrs.

 

Cooksongold is not the only one, just the first one that popped into my fuzzy morning brain, HSWalsh is another.  In Canada I goto https://www.gessweincanada.com/ 

 

I like to support my local hobby store but when it comes to tools like files, drills, burrs, piercing saws, and the like I prefere the better quality kit I can get from these jewellers suppliers.  

 

And to get back on track, your build is starting to move along nicely - lots of food for thought.

 

cheers, Graham 

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, ColonelKrypton said:

better shaped dimple for my tiny tiny balls.

 

I am very happy for you.

 

Yes the word that I've known for decades, but which was marked 'not known here' in the old memory banks was burr. You'd think I'd be able to recall it in January, or was that Brrrrrr?

 

Thanks for all the info Colonel, especially the nail caviar. Very interesting. I was surprised to find that it isn't made out of iron nails, as I had assumed. A similar product can be found inside water filter cartridges, millions of ceramic beads of varying sizes from dust to about 3mm. I had some once but I don't anymore. Puzzling, I surely didn't use them all up...

[Bertie McBoatface]

My wee doggie and I have tramped the hills for hours today, and are just about to fall asleep together until one of us gets hungry, I rather doubt that there will be any moddelling done today. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

[Bertie McBoatface]

After my nap, I just couldn't stay away. I had to get that driver fitted properly. He was like something stuck in my teeth, that had to be sorted before the new week begins tomorrow. Well, he turned out to be quite a reckless driver - in fact, he'd completely lost his head! Fortunately I found a replacement in my spares collection, sadly without a beret, but he's a Canadian and the colonials are always a little ... undisciplined independent minded, aren't they?

 

 

He had to lose quite a lot of his arm to fit on top of the locker and then an inch or two of elbow, to clear the radio. I nearly forgot about the radio and had I painted the driver before I fitted the radio, and found they wouldn't both fit the space, I would have been very dischuffed.

 

 

He's turning his head round as much as humans can, to look at his commander. This photo was taken from the commander's point of view.

 

 

And from the front. He still seems to be within human proportions when he's in his seat. That cut throat might be bothering him though. I'll fill that when the neck joint has set hard.

 

I made life easier for myself today by blu-tacking the tank walls etc so they wouldn't keep collapsing like yesterday's house of cards.

 

 

And just to complete the set, this is the view that tells us he needs a haircut!

 

[Gondor44]

You could always sculpt a beret for him.

 

Gondor

[Bertie McBoatface]

11 minutes ago, Gondor44 said:

You could always sculpt a beret for him.

 

Gondor

 

I thought about it but then I decided to go with the Elvis look. 💇‍♂️

[Bullbasket]

12 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

Good grief! It's Dan Dare!! Watch out for the Mekon.

Great pose Bertie.

 

John.

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

Good grief! It's Dan Dare!! Watch out for the Mekon.

Great pose Bertie.

 

John.

I am a fan of twisted figures. They are more interesting as we try to work out what they are doing. This guy is waiting for orders in case he has to turn the vehicle onto a new target.

[PlaStix]

Another interesting update Bertie. Your project looks to be progressing rather well! I do like what you are doing with the figure. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[Bertie McBoatface]

5 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Good grief! It's Dan Dare!!

 

I shall paint his hair blue and black!

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Another interesting update Bertie. Your project looks to be progressing rather well! I do like what you are doing with the figure. 

Kind regards,

Stix

Thank you. I’m enjoying taking it slowly for once. I’m only moddelling when I really feel in the mood. Admittedly, that’s every day, but not ALL of it. 

[Lazy Modeller]

6 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I’m enjoying taking it slowly for once

Yeah! Sure! I be-leave in you! Of course!

Cheers

Lazy modeler was here!

[Bertie McBoatface]

After the headless driver incident, I decided that something had to be done about the various figures with their tiny parts which I have been keeping in their quite large and leaky boxes.

 

 

Little plastic bags are my answer. 

 

 

And as well as being safer, the overall effect is a big reduction in the physical space taken up by the figure 'stash'.

 

 

This is just the remnants of two boxes of figures. I'll be decanting lots more over the coming days. The bags came from China/Amazon at 5p each.

 

 

And these BURRS were about 50p each, also from China via Amazon (which does seem the long way round...). They aren't carbide tipped or anything and some of them appear too large to get much use but the majority are fine for me and tough enough for plastic.

 

 

It's been a good day for post. The grass for the diorama base also arrived and strange stuff it is, the applicator will be here soon too.

 

I have done some moddelling today too.

 

 

While I'm pondering how to arrange assembly and painting sequences, I turned my attentin to the gun. This was the first component off the sprues and I wondered what a fire hydrant hitching a lift has to do with a 17 pounder artillery piece. I still don't know but it's in there somewhere.

 

                

 

The gunner's seat from above is quite nice but from below it includes the springs and chassis of the old-fashioned bike seat. Will Tamiya go in the direction that Miniart have taken by supplying us with ten parts where one would have been fine?

 

 

This is as far as I got by teatime. I love the complexity of AFVs and SPGs are even better than tanks for this. I can't wait to get to the painting stages.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lazy Modeller]

Nice work!| You're going to make some tea?

Cheers

Lazy modeler was here!

[Bertie McBoatface]

I was just looking at the Archer bits and pieces. I tried dry-fitting the gun mount from last night and it just wouldn't fit! Not even close! It took me far too long to realise I was trying to mount it backwards, I mean the right way round, which is wrong of course. Silly bass-ackwards creature.