Wondering into the blue-1/48 diorama, tomahawk, crusader & dingo ****Finished

[Muchmirth]

Hello to all.

  I know I’m going to be really late for this one but really want to finish my entrophy build before I begin properly (this build it’s a bit ambitious and not sure if I’ll finish but have been looking forwards this for a long time). 
   Anyhow… here’s what I’m approaching:

  

 Similar to John masters diorama in that it has several figures and vehicles. Hoping it’s ok to have all three in one thread as they will be appearing all in the one very small simple dessert base. 
  Shot with instructions and still unopened sprues: the tomahawk 2b from academy: the open box to the right is the aml resin/pe set I got from a fellow Brit modeller; 

   Im really really not a plane guy. As I’ve said before I know next to nothing about them just like the way other modellers make them. So I’ll probably lean on the knowledge bank within this gb quite heavily. I’ve only done a couple 1/72 planes before… but will give it a try.

   This will be a shark mouth, box art colours from 112 sqn.

  Then it’s something I’m a bit more familiar with: Tamiya damiler dingo mk2:

Should be a bit of a quick one. Going to do this in the Mike Starmer guided light stone and dark brown wave pattern. I’ll post up refs a little later.

   This one comes with two figures but on top of this I’ve gone and got two absolutely stunningly crafted white metal figures from David Parkins:

It’s really hard to track down British desert figures in 1/48 but they are beyond beautiful for their scale. 
   Lastly the Tamiya crusader. I’ll be doing the light stone and black pattern in a mk1: I like the mk1 with its funky little mg mini turret, you don’t tend to see to many:

  I have a wardrawings camo plan which I’ll follow. 
  
   I’m actually away at a show and brought this kit with me as theirs no tv In the hotel room 😱 so I made a start below:

The wheel made up and tidied. The lower cast metal hull screwed to the the part sone upper hull. And that’s it so far. I like the weight the metal base gives and this time will make it hard for me to screw up the running gear alignment… something I’m magnetically drawn to do… I just love it, I mean I can’t actually build something without a wonky wheel or track hanging loose somewhere…. Maybe I should trade mark that? 😉
 Anyway it’s called wondering into the blue as that’s what the raf used to call the desert, the blue. The idea is of a pilot who has had some sort of mechanical issues which has caused him to land in the desert. The dingo and crusader were out looking for the pilot (crusader their for extra protection and to possibly tow the plane back to base?). They come across the plane but no pilot. He has left a note, which I have mocked up on the pc and will stick to the side of the base. The note will give very British cryptic clues as to his journey back to base, figuring if he stays with the plane he’ll die without trying to get home. 
    Thanks all,

Paul

Edited February 15, 2024 by Muchmirth
Change title to finished

[modelling minion]

Thats quite the project you have given yourself there Paul, should keep you very busy!

I like everything that you are building for it and I'm particularly interested to see the Dingo in a desert scheme.

A couple of points for you with the Tomahawk (I'm also building one but the AIrfix kit). the cockpit looks like it should be in the standard RAF cockpit colour with the exception of the rear armour plate and seat, the area behind the rear glazing is in the original Dark Earth/ Dark Green colour, and when the undersides were repainted in Azure Blue the undercarriage legs and wheel well were also painted in the same colour.

Good luck with your project.

[Dansk]

Awesome project Paul that's right online with the desert gb.

I think it's a great idea to keep them all in one thread for this. 

Good luck it promises to be a fun multi dimensional build.

[Muchmirth]

On 01/10/2023 at 15:13, modelling minion said:

Thats quite the project you have given yourself there Paul, should keep you very busy!

I like everything that you are building for it and I'm particularly interested to see the Dingo in a desert scheme.

A couple of points for you with the Tomahawk (I'm also building one but the AIrfix kit). the cockpit looks like it should be in the standard RAF cockpit colour with the exception of the rear armour plate and seat, the area behind the rear glazing is in the original Dark Earth/ Dark Green colour, and when the undersides were repainted in Azure Blue the undercarriage legs and wheel well were also painted in the same colour.

Good luck with your project.

That’s actually a massive help Craig, thanks for that. I was going to ask about cockpit colours, what would you say was standard raf colours for the cockpit (bar the items you have listed above which are the exceptions), is it sort of dark green?

thanks 

Paul

Edited October 2, 2023 by Muchmirth
Typos

[modelling minion]

7 minutes ago, Muchmirth said:

is it sort of dark green?

Its a sort of light grey/green colour Paul, here's a couple of pics of the cockpit of my Tomahawk;

 

 

You can also see that I did the seat and armour plate in different  colours, this was all based on research. The seats were also very often just bare metal.

Humbrol and many others do RAF cockpit green in both enamel or acrylic, and if you type RAF cockpit green into the Googlle machine you will get better images than mine.

[Muchmirth]

5 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Its a sort of light grey/green colour Paul, here's a couple of pics of the cockpit of my Tomahawk;

 

 

You can also see that I did the seat and armour plate in different  colours, this was all based on research. The seats were also very often just bare metal.

Humbrol and many others do RAF cockpit green in both enamel or acrylic, and if you type RAF cockpit green into the Googlle machine you will get better images than mine.

Brilliant Craig, thank you very much. I should thought to check out your build again for this.

   Big thanks,

Paul

[81-er]

That looks like quite an interesting project, Paul, I'll follow this with interest  We're somewhat opposites as well, I'm mostly a plane guy, but I've been dipping my toes into some armour lately (there's a link to my first completed build in my signature)

 

James

[Muchmirth]

52 minutes ago, 81-er said:

That looks like quite an interesting project, Paul, I'll follow this with interest  We're somewhat opposites as well, I'm mostly a plane guy, but I've been dipping my toes into some armour lately (there's a link to my first completed build in my signature)

 

James

Hi James, I tried your signature but couldn’t see the link. What did you build and is it in the armour rfi section? I’m interested to see.

Best,

Paul

[81-er]

It's an Airfix Cromwell IV, link below. I've actually got the Airfix VI in primer as well now, but no WIP for that. I've got something different in mind for the paint on that as I've now been schooled on the inaccuracies of the hull for a VI thanks to the many helpful comments on the IV build.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235130780-airfix’s-cromwell-iv/

 

James

 

[Muchmirth]

Im still working away on my other project at the moment but thought I’d post up the camo schemes I was proposing to do for the crusader mk1 and the damiler dingo mk2.

  For the crusader found this on war drawings, so I hope this the black and light stone option is ok, unless anyone else can correct it and say none of the mk1’s where done in this scheme?

In this pic below their is another ref to 3rd RTR. But couldn’t find any actual photos to back it up.

Also I’m not totally sure if this will look out of place or be 100 per cent accurate but I’m hoping to go with the below images for the dingo: (I’ve researched this as much as I can, going through some of Mike Starmers info but it’s hard to nail down).   

  

   And then a black and white which shows the the light stone and darker disruptive pattern (which I’m taking to be dark brown?). Not sure if I should do this or keep in just light stone?

 

 

I wanted to do the black and light stone for the crusader and the brown and stone for the dingo for a bit of contrast but not sure if they would be in too different colours? 
  If their are any desert armour experts about then I’d be glad of the input?

Thanks

Paul

[modelling minion]

Definitely not such an expert so unfortunately I can't help other than to say that I like the look of your choices Paul.

[Stef N.]

I'm afraid that I know nothing about British armour Paul so I am the same as Craig.😳👍

[Muchmirth]

It’s ok lads, thanks anyway. I think I have a solution. I’m going with early 1942 as a ballpark for the time frame. I have a shark mouth 112 sqn for the kitty hawk from this time frame with the kit. I’ll do the dingo in plain light stone (to avoid it looking odd or any inaccuracy’s) and I’ll do the crusader in the black and light stone as a late mk1. I went back over the Mike Starmer article a few times and this seem to be correct as far as I can tell (who said it was just the Germans who did complex camo schemes?).

  Best for now,

Paul

Edited October 20, 2023 by Muchmirth

[Muchmirth]

Movement…. The crusader is (mostly) built:

As you can see I’ve kept of the shovel the rear extra fuel can, spare track, the side skirts, tracks and wheels until I can get the hairy stick pumped up to full whack. Being tamiya everything went together with no issues. I should have probably gone and got the pe set for this kit though as the extra sharp detail might have been nicer. 
   I’ve cut off the faux handles (get as many fork Handel jokes out of this as you can) at the back and replaced with ones made from 0.4mm copper wire.
   

 Done a bit of bashing to the side skirts with a multi tool using the sander attachment then some engraving bits large to small size on the inside of the panel to make it thinner. Then used the back end of a file to push the dent in. That way it hides most of my rough fettling.

   It might seem a bit odd that I added mr surfacer 500 to the areas of damage but their is a good reason for this. On my last build I did this on a fender, more by accident that than design, and turned  out to a nice patina effect once painted with thin coats. Hopefully you’ll see later. 
   More fender bashing below. Plus a bit of armour texture mottled on, I’ve started to thin the surfacer with neat ethanol as it’s only 1/48 scale so didn’t want it to be over pronounced. I’ve done likewise with the turret. 
  Also I hollowed out the machine gun.

  I have one more quandary, I might have to consult John @Bullbasketon this one as he’s a man who knows a thing or two about the crusader:

   Basically theirs this nubbin which looks like it should have something fitted to it but can’t see anything in the kit/instructions (unless being daft) I had noticed on photos of early crusaders mk1 that their is something which looks like a coffee pot stuck to the side/rear of turret, but not sure if these went on the later mk1 or what they are?

  See red circled ‘nubbin’ below: I might have to scratch something up.

 

Also not an option with this kit is what looks like a light at the front centre of the glacis: housed in a protected box: again I could mock this up no problem just not sure if I should? Would this be more accurate?

 

With the tracks I’m only making up the two lengths, in the pic at the top, with no top half as you won’t see it with the side skirts on.

   Also I’ll be ordering some stowage from red dog on eBay. 
   The tow rope (not pictured) will be a copper one robbed from a kv-2 which I didn’t end up using. I’ll leave this off the tank as I want to have a figured posed holding one end, if I can. To help tell the dio story.

   Next up I’ll probably start the dingo. For efficiency sake I’d rather have both built as the base coat is the same colour and because I’ll brush coat the two at the same time. That way when I’m waiting for the coats to dry I can move onto the figs or kitty. 
  Thanks all for looking in,

 

Paul.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Muchmirth
Added question

[Bullbasket]

28 minutes ago, Muchmirth said:

I have one more quandary, I might have to consult John @Bullbasketon this one as he’s a man who knows a thing or two about the crusader:

   Basically theirs this nubbin which looks like it should have something fitted to it but can’t see anything in the kit/instructions (unless being daft) I had noticed on photos of early crusaders mk1 that their is something which looks like a coffee pot stuck to the side/rear of turret, but not sure if these went on the later mk1 or what they are?

Hi Paul. I've only just seen your thread on the Crusader. To answer your questions. I believe that the front headlamp only appeared on the later Mk.lll, so not on the one that you're building. And the "Nubbin" which you circled in red is where an aerial base should go. I don't think that it's included in the kit, but if you look at the profiles that you posted back on the 18th of this month, it's shown in the second and third profile. Give me some time and I'll see if I can drag out some decent photos or drawings.

 

John.

[Muchmirth]

1 minute ago, Bullbasket said:

Hi Paul. I've only just seen your thread on the Crusader. To answer your questions. I believe that the front headlamp only appeared on the later Mk.lll, so not on the one that you're building. And the "Nubbin" which you circled in red is where an aerial base should go. I don't think that it's included in the kit, but if you look at the profiles that you posted back on the 18th of this month, it's shown in the second and third profile. Give me some time and I'll see if I can drag out some decent photos or drawings.

 

John.

That’s brilliant John thank you. An aerial base should be easy enough knock up. 
Cheers,

Paul

[modelling minion]

Thats very nice work Paul, I like the texture you're giving to the armour and the damaged sections and imagine they will look very good with a coat of paint on them. A missing aerial mount makes sense for the circled area and as you say shouldn't be too tricky to fabricate.

Keep up the excellent work.

[Bullbasket]

1 hour ago, Muchmirth said:

That’s brilliant John thank you. An aerial base should be easy enough knock up. 
Cheers,

Paul

Hi Paul. I think the phrase that I'm looking for is that I put you on a bum steer!! It's actually the other way around. The single headlamp was only on Mk.1's and apparently, only on the early ones, so not all Mk.1's. You'll have to check photos to see if the one that you are modelling carried one. 

And I've got some bad news for you. The aerial base is one of the most difficult that I've seen. Here are some photos of the early Mk.1 that I built some years ago in 1/35th. I think that I scratched most of it. If you want, I can PM you some 1/35th drawings of the aerial base.

First, the headlamp.

 

And now the aerial base.

 

 

 

HTH.

 

John.

[Muchmirth]

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Hi Paul. I think the phrase that I'm looking for is that I put you on a bum steer!! It's actually the other way around. The single headlamp was only on Mk.1's and apparently, only on the early ones, so not all Mk.1's. You'll have to check photos to see if the one that you are modelling carried one. 

And I've got some bad news for you. The aerial base is one of the most difficult that I've seen. Here are some photos of the early Mk.1 that I built some years ago in 1/35th. I think that I scratched most of it. If you want, I can PM you some 1/35th drawings of the aerial base.

First, the headlamp.

 

And now the aerial base.

 

 

 

HTH.

 

John.

Cheers John. That no worries and actually saved me making a headlamp. I’m doing a late mk1 so that should fit perfectly. 
   I might be ok with the aerial base and give you a shout if I get stuck.

   Really appreciate the help though!

Meant to ask are you going to Telford this year? I’m not unfortunately, can’t get the tome off work but like checking out the photos of the models after. Maybe next year. 

 

All the best,

 

 

Paul
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

 

[Bullbasket]

12 hours ago, Muchmirth said:

Meant to ask are you going to Telford this year?

I'm afraid not. Because my medical regime means that I have to self inject everyday, and it has to be kept in a fridge, it's not possible. I think that this is the first time that I will have missed since 1986.

 

John.

[Muchmirth]

1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

I'm afraid not. Because my medical regime means that I have to self inject everyday, and it has to be kept in a fridge, it's not possible. I think that this is the first time that I will have missed since 1986.

 

John.

Ah man, that’s a shame and from ‘86 is quite some dedication.
Paul.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Muchmirth
Typo

[Muchmirth]

Update:

First up the Dingo is nearly done; I should have taken more pictures during construction but to be fair theirs only two sprues and was built and painted in two nights. 
   As mentioned before I’m following them Mike Starmer guide for light stone and used the below for it:

It’s 1 drop humbrol Khaki to 8 drops humbrol linen. I added about 3 drops of water, one drop of w&n flow improver and 0.5 drop of Vallejo retarder. Applied with my 10mm flat bright rosemary and Co brush.

As you can see I’m still playing with my mid shading technique. I lay down a coat or two of the base colour (all layers are very thin) then mix up three drops of khaki to two drops linen then applied with pointed brush to panel lines and recessed areas (not very neatly here though). Then put another layer on to blend the shading to the base coat. Similar to the way aircraft modellers do it.
   As a final coat I’ll do sone highlights to raised areas with base coat plus one drop of humbrol bright yellow (can’t remember it’s proper name) and one drop of Vallejo white. Then dry brush on Vallejo Iraqi sands.

  I will fully ignored or just didn’t spot the four or five ejector pin marks just inside the cab. So after it had been painted, assembled and the driver installed I awkwardly  filled them in and repainted.

  I’m fairly happy with the driver but made a mess of the commander/radio man:

 

 I over painted the face til he got some bad skin. 
  These tamiya figures are nice but on the smaller side of the 1/48 scale. I’ll show a comparison to the David parkins figures latter so you can see the difference. 
   I added a copper wire (0.3mm) to his head phones but then realised tamiya don’t supply a radio to plug it into. So I’ll make one next week to sit behind the passenger seat. 
  Wheels are also done, I just sanded them roughly to add wear and tear and will keep them off til I’ve weathered it. 
   I did the same shading technique with the crusader using the same mix again:

I think it needs one more thin base coat to blend the panel lines then move on to highlights with the same colours as the dingo mentioned above.

   Tracks got black Vallejo then a rust brown wash of burnt siennna oils:

I’ve mocked up the titles and pilots note which go along with the dio and cut out some insulation foam for the base.

 

Just a quick composition check here to see it will fit where I want it.

   The kitty hawk I’ve made a really small start with; the kit is lovely, really simple and clear instructions fit so far is very good. The Aml pe set… well not so easy: the instructions are mental,

I’m gonna be honest here… I’m not gonna add all the bits I have in the extras kit, as it’s just beyond me. The cockpit panels, dial films, the wheel struts and cowlings etc are grand but the resin cockpit I’m gonna leave out. It’s the right shape as it has the curved floor unlike the kit which is flat but theirs a massive lump of resin at the bottom which I’d struggle to cut out neatly and the inside of the kit would need some butchering to make fit. If I had more patience, knowledge and skill it would look banging but I don’t… so I won’t!
   I’m also gonna leave of the resin  cockpit side panels for the same  reason. They’re more detailed but I’ve have to do a good job getting it to sit right and theirs enough detail  with the kit to look ok. 
   The resin aml wheels (green coloured) are smaller than the grey plastic kit ones, but the kit ones already have a small dent/weighted look at the bottom. Not sure if the small ones are more accurate but think I’ll stick with the kit option.

   I’m not being lazy just got pe/resin/extras Phobia!! It’s funny I should have got the extras for the crusader and not the kitty. Oh well.

  Thanks for looking in, all comments welcome.

Paul

  
   

Edited November 24, 2023 by Muchmirth

[modelling minion]

This is coming together very nicely Paul.

Both the Dingo and the Crusader are looking really good and your explanation of the painting process is great, thank you for sharing it with us. The figure of the commander looks very good to me, I would be very happy if I could get figures to look that good.

Good to see the Tomahawk getting started too, and don't worry about what you do or don't want to add to it as it is your model so build it how you want.

I really like how this is looking.

[81-er]

I'd be very happy if I could get my figures to look like that as well!

 

James

[Muchmirth]

5 hours ago, 81-er said:

I'd be very happy if I could get my figures to look like that as well!

 

James

 

5 hours ago, modelling minion said:

This is coming together very nicely The figure of the commander looks very good to me, I would be very happy if I could get figures to look that good.

 

Thanks chaps, but you’ll see what mean  when I add better photos. Enjoying the builds so far despite a few bumps!

Appreciate the positive comments though! 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Muchmirth
Typo