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Tamiya 1/35 Achilles - Finished


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1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello Bertie, if built straight from the box this should go pretty quick. 

 

It's a newish Tamiya kit so I don't foresee any problems. Mostly I'm doing it to experiment with the exterior painting and weathering. There's been so much good work on display here in the last few months that I'm inspired to have a go.

 

 

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Good effort young Bertram, it's a really nice kit, one of the few I've completed. 

 

Enough turret detail to look busy but not complicated and a nice collection of figures to go with it.

 

Nice to have you back.

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43 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

Good effort young Bertram, it's a really nice kit, one of the few I've completed. 

 

Enough turret detail to look busy but not complicated and a nice collection of figures to go with it.

 

Nice to have you back.


Thank you 😊 I can’t stay away. 
 

I like the rubber band tracks!

 

And it kind of compliments my Archer diorama because it’s got the same gun, albeit held sideways, gangsta-style.

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y4mMeLx8jBxrXRboeh9IaPAdkwKcNgXrwx5P4C6K

 

I found this Osprey book  in the box. I can't remember buying it but It had to have been me so...

 

Thank you Earlier Me, that was very thoughtful of you.

 

y4mOlU8rec0A-SmPITSP_9WV62TuL4wAhScjMwdB

 

My rubberband tracks look pretty good to me. They glued well with CA and if paint will stick to them I'll be delighted.

 

y4m5YvVbglRovqjE93YZHCXaw-W0JFQEj5baSmDE

 

After a MiniArt interior kit (and a wooden boat) it was a pleasant change to crack on mindlessly with a Tamiya model. I couldn't settle for OOB though so I am pretending that the crew scrounged some armour/boilerplate from somewhere in Italy and attempted to reinforce the thin M10 armour. The earlier M10s had bosses all over them to accept applique armour but this was never manufactured and by the time the M10 MkIIC came along, the bosses were only fitted to the glacis. That wouldn't stop a resourceful welder though, and we see some additional protection on the sides too. 

 

y4m4qq3B83KFodSmtlgvIXCtrBty2wYOxlPqwLhX

 

There will be a lot of stowage/extra protection/loot decorating and improving this otherwise boring green lump.

 

y4mtsRcb9T3IAQ9Kv-bGauRFx1_OMEkVVWiZeKJS

 

If you are thinking the extra plating is a bit rough, you are right.

 

y4mAcPzhCVjSHY2Vk65-4YQdlY432zHv-LN8VRJ-

 

You'd be a bit rough if you'd been cut with an oxy-acetylene torch.

 

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I've roughed up the surface a bit to simulate rolled steel and make the painting a bit more interesting.

 

That's all I've managed on Day One, I do hope I'll finish on time.

 

 

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to Thirty-Seven Days? - Tamiya 1/35 Achilles? - Easy Peas

Just between us, I've used the rubber bands too!

Achillies and the, coughs and mutters under breath, current Sherman. :whistle:

 

Interesting idea with the add on armour, your story you tell it!

(Would all the rivets survive the transplant?)

Not to mention the pasta sacks, lovely touch

 

Been one of those days so resorting to Eurovision and strong continental lager! :beer:

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

(Would all the rivets survive the transplant?)

 

You will see how the rivets survived when the plates have been painted and weathered. I'm going to employ a little entropy.

 

Why the rivets remain is to make the plates a little more interesting.

 

Which reminds me of a brilliant Group Build proposal that I really must mention here just in case there are a few members who haven't yet heard about it. 😁

 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

You will see how the rivets survived when the plates have been painted and weathered. I'm going to employ a little entropy.

 

Why the rivets remain is to make the plates a little more interesting.

 

Which reminds me of a brilliant Group Build proposal that I really must mention here just in case there are a few members who haven't yet heard about it. 😁

 

I wait to be educated! :winkgrin:

 

A GB proposal,  prey tell us more young Bertie! :whistle:

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10 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I’ve been thinking about the rivets while tidying up and I have concluded that they make little sense. However, I’m leaving them in because it gives certain people something to count. 😂

Are you suggesting rivet counters arn't just mythical beasts! 

 

Apparently it manifests itself in many forms, don't mention shades of white in the car genre. Did once myself, think I got away with it! 

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29 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

Are you suggesting rivet counters arn't just mythical beasts! 

 

Apparently it manifests itself in many forms, don't mention shades of white in the car genre. Did once myself, think I got away with it! 

 

I have no objection to the most 'accuracy' obsessed rivet counters, so long as they confine themselves to counting their own rivets and leave mine alone. I only have the one anyway, a lovely golden one. Now where did I leave it?

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15 hours ago, Jasper dog said:

Just between us, I've used the rubber bands too!

Achillies and the, coughs and mutters under breath, current Sherman. :whistle:

 

 

 

Nowt wrong with the rubber bands. I wish more kits had them! Heresy, I know...😀

 

Good choice Bertie. You'll get it done in no time. I built one a few years back (OOB) and it's definitely one of my favourite Tamiya kits. The combination of typically good Tamiya engineering, a busy interior, realistic stowage and superb figures make it a winner. And it's got rubber band tracks!  

 

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to Tamiya 1/35 Achilles with a new approach to painting.

My last build in the GB was a full interior Lee with cutaways to reveal everything. One of the challenges that presented was the multiple assemble/paint/assemble/paint cycles and deciding how far I could go with the building of each sub-assembly before painting would become impossible. For the Achilles I'm taking the opposite approach and testing just how good a paint job I can do if I assemble almost everything before I paint anything. 

 

I put the 'almost' in as an escape clause but the more I think about it, the less I'm inclined to leave off before paint. The figures will definitely be painted separately both because of the usual difficulties of painting those very important parts of the whole and because they block paintbrush access to the turret which will be the place where I'll struggle the most with a brush.

 

Pictures to follow later today...

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On 14/05/2022 at 20:20, Bertie Psmith said:

y4mMeLx8jBxrXRboeh9IaPAdkwKcNgXrwx5P4C6K

 

I found this Osprey book  in the box. I can't remember buying it but It had to have been me so...

 

Thank you Earlier Me, that was very thoughtful of you.

 

y4mOlU8rec0A-SmPITSP_9WV62TuL4wAhScjMwdB

 

My rubberband tracks look pretty good to me. They glued well with CA and if paint will stick to them I'll be delighted.

 

y4m5YvVbglRovqjE93YZHCXaw-W0JFQEj5baSmDE

 

After a MiniArt interior kit (and a wooden boat) it was a pleasant change to crack on mindlessly with a Tamiya model. I couldn't settle for OOB though so I am pretending that the crew scrounged some armour/boilerplate from somewhere in Italy and attempted to reinforce the thin M10 armour. The earlier M10s had bosses all over them to accept applique armour but this was never manufactured and by the time the M10 MkIIC came along, the bosses were only fitted to the glacis. That wouldn't stop a resourceful welder though, and we see some additional protection on the sides too. 

 

y4m4qq3B83KFodSmtlgvIXCtrBty2wYOxlPqwLhX

 

There will be a lot of stowage/extra protection/loot decorating and improving this otherwise boring green lump.

 

y4mtsRcb9T3IAQ9Kv-bGauRFx1_OMEkVVWiZeKJS

 

If you are thinking the extra plating is a bit rough, you are right.

 

y4mAcPzhCVjSHY2Vk65-4YQdlY432zHv-LN8VRJ-

 

You'd be a bit rough if you'd been cut with an oxy-acetylene torch.

 

y4mGGX_oJVAX_q_16v-HTnxRuRN6aQAo5qiAEPX4

 

I've roughed up the surface a bit to simulate rolled steel and make the painting a bit more interesting.

 

That's all I've managed on Day One, I do hope I'll finish on time.

 

 

Hello Bertie

 

Nice idea with the additional armour 👍
Spontaneously I would say to give one or the other plate a splash of dirt, which still comes from the original tank, during the upcoming painting / weathering.
I don't think anyone would bother to clean the plates before assembly 😁
You might also be able to add the remnants of a white US star or similar insignia to a plate...
Or you turn a plate and you can see the remains of the interior painting...

Ok, lots of crazy thoughts 🤪
MD

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1 hour ago, THEscaleSHOW said:

Hello Bertie

 

Nice idea with the additional armour 👍
Spontaneously I would say to give one or the other plate a splash of dirt, which still comes from the original tank, during the upcoming painting / weathering.
I don't think anyone would bother to clean the plates before assembly 😁
You might also be able to add the remnants of a white US star or similar insignia to a plate...
Or you turn a plate and you can see the remains of the interior painting...

Ok, lots of crazy thoughts 🤪
MD


Some great ideas MD. Thanks 

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y4mtTTFHBNP63ueXSOB58oRUiSsQx0pdr-PNM6Wt

 

First thing was a little addition to the already busy interior. It's the only thing that seems to be missing from the Tamiya kit. That's apart from the driver's position which is completely absent, though almost completely hidden from view.

 

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My usual process would be to spray the wheels and bogie components, then hand paint the tyres, then assemble the bogies and touch up the joins. This was where the idea of assembling everything first started. I've done so many M3/4 suspensions in the last couple of years that I just wanted to make it all a bit more interesting. Looking at the other models, you can't tell the tyres were painted separately anyway, not once the weathering goes on.

 

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From that idea it was just another step into the unknown to fix the tracks on too. The rubber tracks went on very easily with the lower hull unencumbered by the upper portion. Glueing them to the wheels, top and bottom was a doddle. and I'm really pleased with the sag on the top run.

 

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The gun is a delightful piece of moulding and seems a little more complex than the version fitted to my Tamiya Archer. Paint it separately or fit it first? 

 

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The gun has to be fitted before the turret halves can be joined. I've put a lot of pieces into the turret already. Is this the last possible place to make the switch to painting?

 

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Well no, I don't think so. Gun in, turret closed up but still very accessible from above and below.

 

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I thought long and hard for a couple of seconds about putting the ammunition in there, unpainted. That's going to be the big test!

 

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With the turret off it looks a lot easier.

 

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And the hull can remain in two halves until the painting is done, giving me a lot more access.

 

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The turret from below is very open.

 

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It's all shaping up to be a three component and three figures painting session. There's just a few more parts left to go on...

 

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Moving along a pace!

Still not convinced of the sanity of the scheme but I shall live and learn. Just looks really awkward getting in to paint some of the smaller details.

 

Good luck

Darryl 

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11 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

Moving along a pace!

Still not convinced of the sanity of the scheme but I shall live and learn. Just looks really awkward getting in to paint some of the smaller details.

 

Good luck

Darryl 


There’s no doubt that I will be unable to paint the details as crisply as usual. The question I want answering is whether that will matter. 
 

When I look at wartime reference photos I can’t see crisply defined details. The shadows are very dark, everything is mucky, sometimes a tank looks like it’s a single object. Maybe this model will come out like that?

 

Even if it fails the painting stage it’s been a really fun couple of days just putting it all together with no stress about intermediate painting. I feel like a kid with this one, which is a much needed break from the boat’s demand for my utmost concentration. 
 

And sanity is in as short a supply at Bertie’s Bungalow as it is elsewhere in our crazy world. 🤪

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4 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:


There’s no doubt that I will be unable to paint the details as crisply as usual. The question I want answering is whether that will matter. 
 

When I look at wartime reference photos I can’t see crisply defined details. The shadows are very dark, everything is mucky, sometimes a tank looks like it’s a single object. Maybe this model will come out like that?

 

Even if it fails the painting stage it’s been a really fun couple of days just putting it all together with no stress about intermediate painting. I feel like a kid with this one, which is a much needed break from the boat’s demand for my utmost concentration. 

You A. could put a tarp over the compartment ? Or B. up armor the roof as some of these were. Thats what I did with my 1/48 kit. 

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Just now, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

You A. could put a tarp over the compartment ? Or B. up armor the roof as some of these were. Thats what I did with my 1/48 kit. 


It’s going to be full of people, equipment and personal gear. I think that I will like it exposed.
 

If it looks as awful as people seem to be expecting I might as well throw a big tarp over the whole thing and call it camouflage. 😁

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59 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

Even if it fails the painting stage it’s been a really fun couple of days just putting it all together with no stress about intermediate painting. I feel like a kid with this one, which is a much needed break from the boat’s demand for my utmost concentration. 
 

And sanity is in as short a supply at Bertie’s Bungalow as it is elsewhere in our crazy world. 🤪

That is so true, just building and having fun without fussing over detail painting is a real joy. Exactly the notion I came away with after doing the Ekranoplan earlier. 

 

Always good to try out a new technique or approach,  or so I've been told....

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