ColonelKrypton's Blitz Build 2022 attempt - 1915 Tracteur Blinde Filtz Scratchbuild - Finis!

[ColonelKrypton]

I am not a quick builder, quite the opposite. Typically I will spend two to three hours a day in the workshop but I tend fuss overly on small details and jump around from project to project. 

 

Having an itch for a quick build to get the creative juices flowing, I found the thought of jumping into this Blitz Group build might just be thing. 

 

As I see model making a venue for exploring and experimenting with model making and it's techniques I often seek out interesting and different subjects. With out further fanare this is the kit I will be attempting to build in the maximum of 24 hours over the three days of the group build following option three The Great Escape 

 

 

cheers, Graham

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by ColonelKrypton
update

[Bertie McBoatface]

How mysterious! 

[Marklo]

I am intrigued…

 

The thought of scratchbuilding anything for a blitzbuild is very brave  

Edited August 26, 2022 by Marklo

[JeroenS]

This should be interesting. 

[ColonelKrypton]

In preparation for this blitz group build I have been reviewing what little reference material I have for my chosen subject.

 

Hopefully I have chosen well and this will be a quick build. Thankfully there is very little in the way of reference material to be found that amounts to seven or eight photographs which should be a good thing as it will help keep me focused on just getting the build done rather than focusing too closely on small details.

 

My chosen subject is the Great War Tracteur Blinde Filtz - STG 

 

 

The Filtz armoured tractor was an adaptation of a French agricultural tractor having the addition of an armoured cab creating that odd looking vehicle. Production amounted to 10 vehicles after which production was stopped due to it proving to not be a very practical design. Armament was one machine gun and only a few of the photographs of the vehicle show one mounted.

 

Alexandar Bondar has created many paper card models of unusual vehicles and it just happens that the Filtz is one of them. His nice paper card model design will form the starting point of my build suitably scaled to 1/35 scale. You can find his model design on the Landships web site here http://www.landships.info/landships/models.html# - look under Alexander Bondar for Filtz Armoured Tractor. 

 

For those who might be interested in some information - https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1-france-filtz-armored-tractor/

 

I will be following Mr. Bondar's design as use for templates. The Filtz is a simple design, little more than a bunch of boxes with four wheels.  I had considered having a go at building it as a paper card model but I prefer styrene. As is, the paper card model design is somewhat simplified - the real vehicle has twin elliptical springs on the read steerable wheels and the main wheels themselves have a shallow conical shape whereas the card model design simply uses flat discs for wheels and no springs for the rear wheels.  I will be following a simplified path so as not to get lost in fussing over too many small details. 

 

But, it has lots of rivets - oh so many rivets. Rivets are not hard or difficult just time consuming. 

 

I am off to continue a bit more prep work.

 

cheers, Graham

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

That's a cool and unusual subject!

[Bertie McBoatface]

Well chosen Graham, that looks do-able, just about. Unless you over-think it.

[Marklo]

Ooh very nice, I could see at least one of those ending up in my WWI tank collection.

[Jinxman]

Great idea - good luck with it.

[81-er]

That's a very unique choice, Graham, I'll be looking forward to seeing the finished result

 

James

[ColonelKrypton]

good day all.

 

I am now about six hours time into my Great Escape attempt at a Blitz Group Build and work continues.

 

Note to self -> next time pick something a bit simpler  While I think a subject like this is doable for such a Blitz Group Build, the overall feeling of self imposed sense of rushing the job along makes it all a bit less pleasurable than what this should be. Live and learn.

 

Start ( no clocks on the workbench nor do I wear a watch )

 

 

First steps where to remove some of the parts from their sprues, here removing parts to help build the main wheels:

 

 

most of the parts for the main wheels. The brass rims were made from strips of 0.5mm x 10mm brass, annealed, formed into rings and then the ends but soldered together.  As an experiment I soft soldered one using StayBright solder bearing lead free solder which is much stronger than the usual lead / tin or lead free solders; the other was had soldered i.e. silver soldered or silver brazed for the purists. The idea was to see if a butt join of 0.5mm thick brass using soft solder would hold up - it didn't, after final assembly and much handling the soft soldered join eventually let go but I did manage to squeeze things into place well enough so that the gap is not too great. 

 

 

 

The main part of the wheels are made of laminations of one 2mm plastic plus two times 1mm plastic.  The card model design has a very simplified wheel design that is a flat plate. The real wheels have a center section which is conical and I could not just use a flat plate hence the reason for laminating the discs. This all takes time of course so in the interest of keeping the build moving along I laminated on wheel together using medium viscosity CA and the other with Tamiya quick dry extra thin cement. I wasn't sure if the Tamiya cement would dry fast enough that I could work it further so soon.  The wheel laminated with the CA was shaped ( about 15 of work ) and then the wheel laminated with the Tamiya cement.

 

 

The rear wheels are made from rings cut from a 5/8" brass tube with plastic inners - much simpler compared to the front wheels. Once the wheels were assembled I could start cutting sheet plastic from the card model design used as templates. The vehicle is little more than a bunch of boxes so this work and assembly should move along more quickly than making those wheels. ( Note to self - pick something a bit simpler next time ! )

 

And so ends the first session:

 

 

 

Session number two starts ( Note to self: start limiting the amount of content of my updates - too much detail and time consuming  )

 

 

Cut, test fit, fuss, file, (repeat) and repeat - even after adjusting the size of parts to compensate for card thickness, I found that the pieces didn't always line up as needed; some needed to be remade several times. And,  I seem to have worked myself into a corner which will require a bit of fussing to straighten out. This time I was working directly from the car model templates as printed out ( enlarged, printed on multiple pieces of paper and taped together ). The printing, taping, and cutting process has introduced some distortion which is what was causing me some grief.

 

Note to self: next time use the printed copy as a plan and lay out your work properly on the sheet of plastic BEFORE you start hacking away at it

 

 

End of session two, total time so far is just over six hours ( Another note to self: next time pick something simpler  )

 

 

It's time to get back to the workshop...

 

cheers, Graham

 

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by ColonelKrypton
tinger frouble

[Jinxman]

Magnificent work in a blitzbuild, (or any other time for that matter.)

[JeroenS]

Nothing wrong with a bit of Blitz Build challenge, you seem to be doing quite well! I always find it fun to see how much one can achieve with some proper focus! Your work so far is amazing!

[ColonelKrypton]

Morning dawned bright, cool, birds were singing, and the cows were mooing.  I got started after a quick bite just after 09:30

 

 

Cutting, fitting, fussin, ( repeat ) continued in quick order with some the plastic yielding to my will and before long it was starting to look like it should - sorry no picture.  Took a break just after 1pm as I was suffering hunched shoulders and a bad case of NBS ( numb bumm syndrome )

 

Back to it just after 5pm

 

 

Wheels have been fitted, front and rear and the riveting has begun - Soooooo many rivets, so many  After an hour and half NBS was back and I had to finish for the day. 

 

 

 

Yesterday's time was just about six hours and today's total time about five hours. I figure another two hours of riveting remaining and then I get on with painting. The paint scheme is going to be very simple and basic - there are no decals and it will be all one colour. I will be using spray can lacquers. 

 

I have had to make some simplifications.  The paper card model design got some things right and some things no quite right. There is resin model available ( Yellow House Models I think ) that is quite nice - it has got a lot right but also some things not quite quite. The more I look at the few photographs I have found I not sure either design has gotten all of the body panel shapes and angles correct but that is the nature of photo interpretation. And, given that there were 10 vehicles reported to have been made, there is a fair bit of variation to be seen in the those few photos I have found. I think what I have managed to quickly put together looks the part even though there are a number of simplifications and compromises.

 

Soooo many rivets - I hope I don't have riveting nightmares !!!

 

cheers, Graham

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by ColonelKrypton
tinger frouble

[JeroenS]

Yep, that's a lot of rivets. Good luck!

[Hockeyboy76]

Impressive work, especially for a Blitzbuild. Great work. 

[ColonelKrypton]

Monday morning - another bright sunny but today is going to be HOT and HUMID, already at 8am it's 23C.

 

Started a bit later this morning

 

 

A riveting I will go, a riveting I will go. So many rivets, I didn't count might just later on. I was worried about runny out of rivets so I used a bit of artistic license in laying them out. All rivet was done by eye - no using dividers to mark each precise location and while I did a cursory look and estimate on one of my reference photos, I tossed the notion of detailed out the door in essence of just getting on with the job an not getting lost in too many details as I oft do.

 

Two and half hours later all the riveting is done and a few other bits added and the build portion is now complete, I think.

 

Riveting was not really difficult, just time consuming and fiddly - drill a 0.5mm for each rivet using a pin vice, cut off a bunch of rivets from their sprue, pick up each rivet with a pair of tweezers, put in place, and then apply cement after a bunch are in their place. Actually quite Zen like when you get in the zone.

 

 

 

 

Almost a shame to paint it.  I primed the wheels first thing this morning when I started, quick job; just to get a bit further along.

 

After a wee break I will paint. Simple paint scheme as I have no idea how the real vehicles would have been painted; probably some sort of greenish, brownish, pig swill sort of thing. My plan it is to use several lacquer spray cans and attempt to mottle a finish using a wet on wet spritzing technique. I will prime with Mr. Surfacer black on the lower surfaces and underneath, grey on the upper surfaces with a further spritz of black on the upper surfaces to try for that mottled appearance.  Doesn't always work as spray can paint is usually much too opaque and it takes a delicate touch. Colours of choice are based on what is on hand - Tamiya Olive Drab 2, Mr Colour Olive Drab 1, Mr. Colour Olive Drab 2, and Mr Colour Dark Yellow.  We will see how this all works out.  I like experimenting - always following the tried and true methods can be borrowing and limiting, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

 

Painting is now complete and I will let it dry for a couple of hours and then a quick weathering with some pigments/pastels and I will call it done.

 

Til then,

 

cheers, Graham

Edited August 29, 2022 by ColonelKrypton
tinger frouble

[JeroenS]

Should look nice when painted. You did a great job here, building this from scratch in a Blitz!

[Bertie McBoatface]

You display very tidy workmanship. It's all admirable stuff. 

 

I do like your mini bowl lathe.

[ColonelKrypton]

The paint has some time to dry and it is time to attempt a bit of weathering.

 

 

Done!

 

 

Tidy up the workbench a bit and collect all the paper bits, templates and left over sprue...

 

 

And while I am busy taking pictures of the left over bits, here is one of the finished Tracteur Blinde Filtz  ( more in the gallery )

 

 

Total time, start to class photos was just shy of 16 hours. And to think near the end I was rushing a bit just so that I could finish on time and wouldn't you know it, there was lots of time left and I could have fussed over some smaller details some more

 

Later on time permitting I may build a proper little base for it. 

 

cheers, Graham

 

[stevej60]

That's fantastic work Graham scratchbuilding in a blitzbuild GB! What's not to like?

[Marklo]

Very impressive. I think I might even attempt one for the armours cars GB. 1/24 I think.

[Jinxman]

Love the paint finish - do you have any tips to offer?

[ColonelKrypton]

4 hours ago, Marklo said:

I think I might even attempt one for the armours cars GB. 1/24 I think.

 

I had thought of this one for the Armoured Car and half track group build but when I stumbled over this Blitz Group Build and was scrambling for something to build this one reached out and said "Try me, Try me!"  ... so I did.  I have a few other interesting Great War period armoured car in mind so there will be lots of choice when the time for the other group build roles around. 

 

Let me know if you decide to build one. I can point out where the paper card model is off so you can tweak the design some.

 

cheers, Graham

 

[ColonelKrypton]

1 hour ago, Jinxman said:

Love the paint finish - do you have any tips to offer?

 

Paint was really quite simple.  Done entirely with spray cans and a few pigments/pastel chalks.  Lacquer was used for it's quick dry characteristic.

 

First using Mr Surfacer primers, black on the bottom, lower sides and front radiator grill area, grey one upper sides and top - I was trying to get a pre-shade sort of thing going.

 

After about 15 minutes when dry to the touch I started with the colours. Not knowing how the real vehicle would have been painted I aimed for a greenish, brownish, greyish, pig swill sort of thing. Using spray cans of Tamiya Olive Drab 2 ( quite green ), Mr Color Olive Drab 1 ( much more brown than the Tamiya ), Mr Color Olive Drab 2 ( lighter and a bit more sandy colour than Mr Color Olive Drab 1), and Mr. Colour Dark Yellow and in that order I misted on the colours through a Vallejo painting mask using a delicate so as not to over power the previous colour. I think of it as a spray can wet on wet lacquer technique or maybe it's wet on not yet quite dry technique. The final misting of dark yellow just to add some highlights and increase contrast.

 

After a good hour to hour and half I started with the pigments / pastel chalks. Starting with a dark red rust ( red oxide ) dusted and rubbed on with a brush and then the brownish red knocked back using a dark iron colour and finally an over dusting with a light grey colour.  No pin washes where used here as I usually would have - just trying to save some time.

 

Tips?  - experiment, allow yourself to play with different ideas and techniques; nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

 

 

cheers, Graham