AccsGB 1/72nd scale White M3A1 Scout Car, Free French, 1944...with extras...

[John Masters]

This'll be fun.  This is nice looking little kit with good detail and minuscule decals.  I will be adding some BlackDog resin bits from his line...I am off island when this GB starts and will be home in time to reopen the box. 😄

 

 

Not sure which French one I'll build.

 

 

Sprue, decals, PE...

 

 

Blackdog extras.  One thing I like about vehicles is you can load them up with stuff.

 

 

See you all Saturday!

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Stuart]

This looks fun, it'll be a busy little vehicle by the time you finish.
 

[CliffB]

Nice one John.  Having grown up with the Airfix halftrack, I still find it strange to see these with wheels!

[John Masters]

8 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

it'll be a busy little vehicle by the time you finish.
 

Thanks Robert.  I hope so!

 

1 hour ago, CliffB said:

Nice one John. 

Thank you Cliff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

I do like a well dressed waggon. This will be one to watch.

[John Masters]

37 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

I do like a well dressed waggon.

Me too!  Thank you.  I am humbled.

[Marklo]

Interesting build. This keeps reminding me of a Churchill quote I came across recently they during WW2 ‘ the heaviest cross I had to bear was the cross of Lorraine !’, he didn’t like Charles De Gaulle all that much..,

[John Masters]

 

On 10/24/2022 at 5:37 PM, Marklo said:

he didn’t like Charles De Gaulle all that much..,

I think the feeling was mutual...

 

Got this one in the pipe tonight.  It's a very nice little kit.  Very precise fit, not much to clean up except for the occasional bit of sprue gate. Lovely detail.

I am using a razor saw to remove some of the smaller, finer parts.  Highly recommended for this of us who like wee models.

 

Wheels and roller thingy...

 

 

 

Seating arrangement...

 

 

 

 

I assembled the headlamps on the sprue.  Yes...I see one is skewed.  No one will see it anyway once it is behind the grill.

 

 

Only part of the chassis will be worked on tonight--fenders, tow hooks...

 

 

And there I leave it until next time...

 

 

--John

[Robert Stuart]

That looks like good start.

 

 

[John Masters]

1 hour ago, Robert Stuart said:

That looks like good start.

 

Famous last words.  In attaching the headlamps and the protective grills I noticed that on elf the grills was already off the sprue...and gone.  So I searched high and low, all around the town, and finally decided to scratch build a replacement.  Not perfect, but it will have to do.  

 

 

I'm thinking I might remove it because these things happen occasionally in real life, right?  Part of wear-and-tear?  

 

--John

[Trevor L]

Whatever you do, you know the part will magically reappear after you've finished the build.

[Robert Stuart]

Looking at images of the car on WikiPedia, I feel the kit grills are a bit heavy anyway.

See what you think.

[John Masters]

On 11/3/2022 at 6:11 PM, Trevor L said:

Whatever you do, you know the part will magically reappear after you've finished the build.

 

Fresh eyes this afternoon and all that...I looked over, there it was!

 

 

23 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

I feel the kit grills are a bit heavy anyway.

See what you think.

I think some PE would have been better.  I'll work with what I have.

 

--John

[John Masters]

 

The option of open doors excites me, so they will go on last.  The open windscreen will be used since it is necessary for on elf the BlackDog resin pieces.

 

I have attached some of the small pieces on the sides and rear and will let them set up before continuing.  I've also masked the clear part for the windscreen.

 

 

-John

 

 

[Courageous]

4 hours ago, John Masters said:

The option of open doors excites me

As it does me. Any build I do ideally should have doors/engine hoods or canopy to open to add interest. Looking great so far.

 

Stuart

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, Courageous said:

As it does me.

I must say, that this is one of the nicest little kits I've built in a long time.  Superb engineering went in to the design.  Really.  Everything fits with little or no adjustments needed.  Just pops right together.  

 

It has been a rainy and chilly autumn day here so I have been busy at the bench, practicing piano, etc...A fine day for modelling.  I've done a lot on several fronts, and the scout car is no exception.

 

Sides, dash, windscreen...

 

 

 

 

I worked on the Meteor in that other GB while this set up.  Then I returned  to take care of the drive train, leaf springs, etc...it looks a confusing mess, but it all comes together without any issues whatsoever.

 

 

It's kits like this that prove to me that given the right parts, the correct tools, I could probably assemble the real thing.  I guess they were actually shipped like that, parts packed in cosmoline and meant to be assembled in the field, if need be, by non-mechanics.

 

 

This has been my saviour...

 

 

I'll let that set up overnight and look in tomorrow.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

[edjbartos]

Sorry, just caught up on this, It's looking absolutely superb, the construction is very neat. I do like this a lot...

 

Ed

[John Masters]

6 minutes ago, edjbartos said:

Sorry, just caught up on this

Welcome Ed, and thank you.  It's a nice little kit for sure.

 

--John

[Bullbasket]

There's a surprising amount of detail in a kit this small. Nice work so far.

 

John.

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

There's a surprising amount of detail in a kit this small. Nice work so far.

 

Thank you and I agree.  The moulding is very precise.  So much so that I will use the kit machine guns rather than those supplied by BlackDog.  

[John Masters]

Time for primer.  I am using the Vallejo Primer Grey which means it really needs to sit for 24 hours before any paint goes on.  I have sorted all the resin bits, cleaned them off with rubbing alcohol and have primed them as well.

 

 

 

Once again, I am amazed at the level of detail on the BlackDog resin.  Even at 1/72nd scale the mouldings are precise.  

 

 

--John

[Ted]

This is shaping up to be a detailed little gem.

[Bertie McBoatface]

So many parts on something so tiny. I admire your patience

 

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, Ted said:

This is shaping up to be a detailed little gem.

Thank you!  I can only hope.

 

Just now, Bertie McBoatface said:

So many parts on something so tiny. I admire your patience

 

It keeps my mind from wandering.  Thank you!

[John Masters]

US Dark Green all over.  I'll pick out some other colours later...

 

 

And the resin extras have their paint.  I used a mix of greens, tans, khakis...a bit of aluminum and red thrown in...some pin washing will bring out more detail.

 

 

--John