Maddoxx77 Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 (edited) I've decided on this kit to be the next project on the bench. ( sorry @Stef N. no StuG 😉 ) The Crusader MK.III from border model. @Bullbasket you've convinced me 😁👍 kit comes with a decent amount of sprues, some PE, a metal gunbarrel, workable tracklinks, some clear parts and a nice cutting mat. the workable tracklinks are somewhat intimidating, they are really small. here you see 4 sausage fingers and 2 very small track links. i bought 2 figures from a certain webshop in the far east. They look very good. Nice crisp detail. I think i'll only use one. So i have a spare for the next British tank ( really liking that Tamiya Comet ) Overall this looks like an interesting build. Everyone is welcome to follow, comment etc. All your time and efford is much appriciated as always. I'll keep you guys posted. Cheers! 👍👍👍 Edited February 7, 2023 by Maddoxx77 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 John's a bad influence.😂 That looks a very nice kit in fairness with a good amount of stuff. The tracks look a bit scary but most are a bit of a pain. Will follow along gladly.👍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 8 hours ago, Stef N. said: John's a bad influence.😂 That looks a very nice kit in fairness with a good amount of stuff. The tracks look a bit scary but most are a bit of a pain. Will follow along gladly.👍 Always great to have you around @Stef N. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 9 hours ago, Maddoxx77 said: @Bullbasket you've convinced me 8 hours ago, Stef N. said: John's a bad influence Glad to hear it Maddoxx. At least I won't have an allergic reaction. As I said, I'll be following along. John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Room for one more? Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 2 hours ago, Bullbasket said: Glad to hear it Maddoxx. At least I won't have an allergic reaction. As I said, I'll be following along. John. 2 hours ago, Hamden said: Room for one more? Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one Stay safe Roger Welcome guys. I think this will be a much slower build. A bit more complex and also real life stuff like work, judotraining and higher education. However, i'm looking foreward to start the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonL Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Oh this will be fun. After completing the Mark II I’m considering getting this one at some point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Hi Maddoxx, A nice choice, I wouldn't have minded a Stug, but it would be the 2nd you make, so this is a whole new challenge. It is one of my favorite tanks, with 2pdr, I like the 6pdr less, I think that the counterweight in the barrel ruins its elegant figure... It is a kit far superior to Italeri's offer, which until not long ago was the only one possible. I have one on the display, from years ago, I hope to post it later maybe... Cheers and TC Francis.👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 You can't go wrong with a Crusader, personally I think it's one of the better looking tanks. I built this kit a little while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. The only disappointment was the amount of ejector pin marks on the track links that need to be removed and the metal barrel is completely the wrong profile but the plastic one is fine. Wayne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Built this one some time ago. It's a great kit, enjoyed it a lot. Which markings are you going for? Nenad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Nenad Ilijic said: Built this one some time ago. It's a great kit, enjoyed it a lot. Which markings are you going for? Nenad Haven't decided yet, altough i really like this one: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 The build has begun. First impressions: great crisp detail on the parts. There is almost no flash or excess sprue. The plastic is a bit soft and thin so i have to be very carefull when cleaning parts. The overall fit so far is good. the lower hull was pretty easy to assemble. worked on the airfilters. There was some PE involved. And after glueing several parts together i started assembling the upper hull. I'm thinking about leaving one or two stowage boxes open but not shure yet. That's it for now. I'll keep you guys posted. cheers! 👍👍👍 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Hi Maddoxx, I see that the kit is being fun, for not being too complicated so far and for being something of quality. I think that this kit by giving the opportunity to make the boxes in O/C position, without having the extra work of making the opening by scratch, it could be interesting to leave at least one open, and put some kind of tool and cloth... Once again, I see that both the materials and the tools you use, almost all of them are the same ones that I use...🙃 Cheers and TC Francis.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Share Posted January 11, 2023 Time for an update..... Managed to finish assembly on the hull. Had my first try at the tracks. I needed 2 parts of spare track and..... i know now that building the entire track itself will be a visit to hell..... again ( M4 tracks still haunt me in my dreams 😵 ) the problem is: first of all the parts are really small. The casting isn't really good so it needs a lot of cleanup. The holes for the pins are often blocked or too small. So i need to drill them out to clean them up. For now i managed to assemble 2 pieces of spare track and after that i poured a glass of wine and went on with other fun stuff. PE was one of them. The parts provided in this kit aren't too complicated so a nice bit of practice for me. It maybe is not as clean as some of you guys can achieve ( @Patrykd i'm looking at you ) but i'm happy with it. I also finished the front end of the hull. I will paint the clear parts seperatly. And when all that was done i started with the turret. The metal barrel is useless. It does not fit. So i used the plastic one. As mentioned before i will leave one storagebox open and add some tools and/or tarps. I also want to add some stowage at the front so i cleaned the workbench, poured another glass and after i finish this post i will nose around on the interwebs for some aftermarket stowage. This is it for now. Maybe tomorow some weels. Cheers guys!!! 👍👍👍 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Nice quick progress on this one Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Nice work, do like the look of this, hope the tracks don't fight you too much 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 (edited) Tonight i spent some tome learning new curse words...... It all had to do with the search light. Since they didn't have led lights in WW2, i wanted to attach a wire to the search light so it looked a bit more realistic. Oh the joy of fat fingers and tiny parts 🤬 Anyway, after several attempts and one explaination session with my youngest son who wanted to know what all those words mean, i managed to pull it off. I'm happy. The turret is completed so i went on to the next thing that bothered me, the fuel hose going from the barrel to the tank. Maybe the guys from border model thought that petrol in WW2 flew through the air right in the fuel intake. And maybe that is why they made the fuel line a bit too short, leaving a gap between the line and the tank. I however decided that i would not have that. Fuel lines need to be attached so once again i became the cursing plastic/PE/copperwire surgeon. And it worked. However i don't like the result so that will be stowage and tarps again. You can see here how strange this line looks. I haven't got a photo of the end result but i trust you all now what a blob of superglue looks like. Was it all bad tonight you ask? No of course not. I managed to get all the weels on. And i did some testing with the figures. Personaly i like the one leaning to the side. I filled the ejector pinmarks on the turret hatches so that @Patrykd won't have to lecture me again. When dry i can sand it back. With all that done i think it's time for tracks. I hope i'll keep my sanity. That's it guys. See you all next time! 👍👍👍 Edited January 12, 2023 by Maddoxx77 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 I'm enjoying this, I've often started following armour builds but then got bogged down in detail I didn't understand & fallen by the wayside. I'm right up with the play on this one though, you make it easy to follow & entertaining. I have long been a fan of the Crusader, as @diablo rsv said above, a good looker & my Dad served through a fair part of the North African campaign. I'd love to do 1/35 armour but its too expensive & I'm not really a fine detail person. Is there a decent 1/72 Crusader? 'Xcuse my waffle, carry on. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddoxx77 Posted January 13, 2023 Author Share Posted January 13, 2023 1 hour ago, stevehnz said: I'm enjoying this, I've often started following armour builds but then got bogged down in detail I didn't understand & fallen by the wayside. I'm right up with the play on this one though, you make it easy to follow & entertaining. I have long been a fan of the Crusader, as @diablo rsv said above, a good looker & my Dad served through a fair part of the North African campaign. I'd love to do 1/35 armour but its too expensive & I'm not really a fine detail person. Is there a decent 1/72 Crusader? 'Xcuse my waffle, carry on. Steve. First of all thanks for your kind words. I know hasagawa has a 1:72 crusader. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 19 hours ago, Maddoxx77 said: I know hasagawa has a 1:72 crusader. Thanks, a bit of looking around see an IBG one in 1/72 which seems to review well, best to stop talking about it. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Hi Maddoxx, I think the Italeri kit also had the problem that the tube that joined the rear tank with the hull was a bit short, but it's something easy to fix. Good detail the light cable. Cheers and Tc Francis.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonL Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Looking great. I also noted the issue with the hose/pipe at the back. I used a bit of spare rod to fill the gap, here’s a close up on the finished article: @stevehnz I’ve built a few of the IBG Crusaders, obviously they at bit simplified but they are a lot of fun: 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 27 minutes ago, SimonL said: @stevehnz I’ve built a few of the IBG Crusaders, obviously they at bit simplified but they are a lot of fun: Simple is good when you build like me, I liked what I saw online. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1960 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Very nice and stimulating work! El Alamein afv's are always interesting to me A q: in which ratio do you use Outlaw Bourbon as a thinner?😄. Ciao Filippo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 That's progressing very nicely Maddox. Little quirks, such as the short fuel tube are easily fixed. At least you don't have to build completely new front track guards/fenders as you do with the Italeri version. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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