Nenad Ilijic Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Hello everyone, Here's the kit for the true masochists. The model itself is quite nice actually, nice details, molding is fine, PE included is great, but the kit is engineered that way that it sucks all the fun from the building process. Especially the suspension. Anyway, the model I built should represent the tank belonging to 1st RTR, as photographed on 2 August 1940. It is still wearing the markings from the time before reorganization, when 1st RTR was part of the Heavy Armoured Brigade. However, at this point, 1st RTR was already a part of the 7th Armoured Brigade. The photo was taken during one of the initial raids against the Italians. Following initial skirmishes, 1st RTR participated in Operation Compass as a part of the 7th Armoured Brigade, and it was one of the units that were engaged in the chase across the desert to cut off the retreating Italians. It participated in the battle of Beda Fomm, suffering only light casualties. I don't know what exactly happened to this tank and its crew afterwards, but it probably ended up in Tobruk during the siege. When Rommel joined NA theatre with Afrika Corps, 'B' and 'C' Squadrons of 1st RTR were moved to Tobruk. They were there during the whole siege as a part of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade. The regiment broke out of Tobruk with the rest of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade and 70th Infantry Division, in November 1941 during the Operation Crusader battles. It was until mid-February 1942 that 1st RTR used their old and worn Vickers Lights and Cruiser tanks that they had from the beginning of the campaign. They were replaced in february with Honey and Grant Tanks, when 1st RTR joined 1st Armoured Brigade. You may notice that this is not the standard Caunter camouflage. The scheme itself is standard Caunter scheme for Vickers LT, but the paints are not. Instead of Portland Stone / Slate / Silver Grey combo that became standard later on, these tanks were painted in a higher contrast combination during Caunter scheme trials. It is not know which paints were used exactly, but the suggestion I got from @Mike Starmer is that it was Portland Stone, Green (for example No. 20 Olive Green) and very dark grey, almost black. This combination was not accepted because the contrast was too high. Model was mostly built out of the box. Spare wheel was not included in the box, so I used one from Universal Carrier Tamiya kit (not sure if it is exactly the same, but it is close enough). Also some stowage and POW canisters were added. Painted with a combination of MRP and Gunze and weathered with pigments and MIG's nature effects. And here's the real thing: And the replica my daughter built Thanks for watching and thanks for feedback. Cheers, Nenad 53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APA Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Lovely build and ni e detailing. 👌👍 These have to be the cutest AFV's ever. It's on my list of todo's. I do have a vague memory of one of my big brothers doing a scratch build of the mk VI. Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 That is fabulous Nenad, It looks amazing, such an unusual looking subject. I really like your painting and weathering , It really has brought out the detail well. It's the little things like the exhaust that stand out. Top job...👍 Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwitrogg Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Really, really good. Both yours and your daughter's Cheers Gaz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 I have always had a soft spot for these after a great article in Military Modelling back in the day. I also thought of scratch building one too. No chance of that. Anyway another brilliant model Nenad. Excellently painted, detailed and weathered. 👍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Mate Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Absolutely brilliant work - among the best I’ve seen. I can see your daughter is following your lead with a very imaginative build too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartH Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Beautiful model and brilliantly painted & weathered 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeM Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Nicely done. Well finished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Mynar Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Great building and brilliantly painted & weathered model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaoinas Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Adorable little beast. Very well done - both the modelling and the weathering. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted March 5, 2022 Author Share Posted March 5, 2022 3 hours ago, vaoinas said: Adorable little beast. Very well done - both the modelling and the weathering. Thank you Kristjan. 3 hours ago, Milan Mynar said: Great building and brilliantly painted & weathered model. Thank you Milan. 6 hours ago, LeeM said: Nicely done. Well finished. Thank you Lee. 7 hours ago, StuartH said: Beautiful model and brilliantly painted & weathered 👏 Thank you Stuart. 8 hours ago, Model Mate said: Absolutely brilliant work - among the best I’ve seen. I can see your daughter is following your lead with a very imaginative build too! Thank you for your kind words MM. 11 hours ago, Stef N. said: I have always had a soft spot for these after a great article in Military Modelling back in the day. I also thought of scratch building one too. No chance of that. Anyway another brilliant model Nenad. Excellently painted, detailed and weathered. 👍 Thank you Stef. It's definitely not the easy one to scratch build 11 hours ago, kiwitrogg said: Really, really good. Both yours and your daughter's Cheers Gaz Thank you Gaz 21 hours ago, edjbartos said: That is fabulous Nenad, It looks amazing, such an unusual looking subject. I really like your painting and weathering , It really has brought out the detail well. It's the little things like the exhaust that stand out. Top job...👍 Ed Thank you Ed. 21 hours ago, APA said: Lovely build and ni e detailing. 👌👍 These have to be the cutest AFV's ever. It's on my list of todo's. I do have a vague memory of one of my big brothers doing a scratch build of the mk VI. Andrew Thank you Andrew. Hope there will be better choice of kits until you decide to build it So far, I think its either Vulcan or scratch. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 9 hours ago, Model Mate said: Absolutely brilliant work - among the best I’ve seen. I can see your daughter is following your lead with a very imaginative build too! Seconded, that's true. Your daughter's tank is great - we've finally seen something new! Tell her she's a great modeler! Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Brilliant, looks great with that big spot light on top too. Haven’t heard of this manufacturer, will have to check them out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Incredible model Nenad. Spot on in every way. But I have to say, your daughter's model is better.. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Hi Nenad, you have done a superb job mate. Love it Cesar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonL Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 That’s brilliant! Looks so strange - almost cyberpunk. And that searchlight! (And your daughter’s tank is pretty neat as well! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 This is beautifully painted and weathered. I'm very impressed with the exhaust in particular. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Super piece of modelling Nenad, Have I missed a work in progress somewhere on this one? I have one in the stash and after reading a few reviews of it I got some aftermarket running gear for it but it looks as though with some perseverance the kit suspension can be made up just fine. Nice job of the Caunter paint scheme, I quite like the high contrast version, I just need to find a subject to try it out on. Wayne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 21 hours ago, vytautas said: Seconded, that's true. Your daughter's tank is great - we've finally seen something new! Tell her she's a great modeler! Vytautas Thank you Vytautas. Will pass your kind words to her 20 hours ago, GRK said: Brilliant, looks great with that big spot light on top too. Haven’t heard of this manufacturer, will have to check them out Thank you. I think that Vulcan only made a few Vickers LT kits. Not sure if they are in business any more. 20 hours ago, IanC said: Incredible model Nenad. Spot on in every way. But I have to say, your daughter's model is better.. 😉 Thank you Ian. She will be happy to hear 17 hours ago, Carius said: Hi Nenad, you have done a superb job mate. Love it Cesar Thank you Cesar. 8 hours ago, SimonL said: That’s brilliant! Looks so strange - almost cyberpunk. And that searchlight! (And your daughter’s tank is pretty neat as well! Thank you for your kind words. Yeah, it is. Also kind of cute. And it looks like that it will tip over any time 4 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: This is beautifully painted and weathered. I'm very impressed with the exhaust in particular. Thank you Bertie. 3 hours ago, diablo rsv said: Super piece of modelling Nenad, Have I missed a work in progress somewhere on this one? I have one in the stash and after reading a few reviews of it I got some aftermarket running gear for it but it looks as though with some perseverance the kit suspension can be made up just fine. Nice job of the Caunter paint scheme, I quite like the high contrast version, I just need to find a subject to try it out on. Wayne Thank you Wayne. I thought that this will be a quickbuild, so I didn't plan to do WIP. I was very wrong The suspension actually looks great, its just PITA to build it. However, if you know what I didn't before you start, you can save yourself of a lot of trouble. First, you should replace brass rods that come with the kit with a longer ones. That will help a lot. Also, don't glue anything until you align the wheels. Here's the very useful material for this build: https://www.track-link.com/reviews/3090 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f matthews Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Superb work in both assembly and finish! Looks fantastic! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersonic Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Simply superb in all aspects! I predict your daughter a bright future in scale modeling her fathers talent shines through even in her first tender try...... Hans 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Hi Nenad, A beautiful little tank, how cute, it must have been difficult to mask something so small and with so many nooks and crannies to get that great camo. Perhaps a photo with some object next to it would come in handy to see how small it is... Cheers and TC Francis.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod484 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Hey, Nenad, that is a beauty. Hard to find kit these days. You certainly did it justice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Hi Nenad. That really is a stunningly built and finished project! Your weathering is absolutely top notch!! Very well done. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted March 12, 2022 Author Share Posted March 12, 2022 On 3/7/2022 at 6:23 PM, FrancisGL said: Hi Nenad, A beautiful little tank, how cute, it must have been difficult to mask something so small and with so many nooks and crannies to get that great camo. Perhaps a photo with some object next to it would come in handy to see how small it is... Cheers and TC Francis.👍 Thank you Francis. Yup, masking was quite tedious., especially around the turret. Here's the comparison to the Sherman and Churchill. It is quite small. Nenad 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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