Valentine Mk.II "Ngara"

[Stef N.]

This will be my kit for this GB. I picked it up recently and after a bit of research realised that New Zealand's army bought a fair few of these tanks, mainly Mk2, Mk3 and Mk5 variants. Because the kit is a Mk2 this'll most likely be one that was used for training in New Zealand, (I'm waiting for some decals to turn up so I will be a bit more precise soon.)

I also bought a couple of books to help me on my way.👍

 

 

 

I am currently finishing off another project so once that is done I can get on with this. All the best.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to the build Stef another Valentine will make for a great build. 

[Milan Mynar]

That's an interesting topic, I'll follow it.

[Stef N.]

25 minutes ago, Milan Mynar said:

That's an interesting topic, I'll follow it.

Good to have you along Milan. I will get a proper WIP set up this evening and then the fun can start.

[Stef N.]

The sprue shots. Typical Tamiya in that it is well detailed but not overly busy. Should be a relatively straight forward build.

 

 

And some decals from Firestorm of Australia.

 

 

And a colour view of the tank which I will try to attempt.

 

 

There aren't many photos of this so its camouflage will have to be a rough guesstimate. It looks angular, similar to Caunter but with earthy colours. If anyone has a good knowledge of the colours the NZ Army used I am more than happy to hear your view.

 

Cheers all.

[Milan Mynar]

It looks very promising.

[Stef N.]

Well, this is going together with no problems whatsever. Tamiya the masters of model makers.

The shell is mostly complete.

 

 

 

More tomorrow hopefully. All the best.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

A Valentine!  Very attractive design, and under-appreciated in my view.  I had no idea anyone was still using them in 1960!

[Stef N.]

5 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

A Valentine!  Very attractive design, and under-appreciated in my view.  I had no idea anyone was still using them in 1960!

The more I study it the more I appreciate its design. A simple light tank that done its job (mostly). 👍

[Milan Mynar]

Your build looks very good, I will be following it closely. I have built Valentine tank models from various manufacturers, not from Tamiya yet. I expect the build to be a relaxing affair.

[szeregowy]

Plain sailing with Tamiya, as always.

[Muchmirth]

Looking forwards to see you do this! I like the look of the scheme. 

[Stef N.]

2 hours ago, Muchmirth said:

Looking forwards to see you do this! I like the look of the scheme. 

Cheers Paul. Thanks to the input of Kingsman I know what colours I will be using, with a help from Mike Starmer's paint mixes too, but I am hoping the NZ Army Museum get back to me about the camo pattern, or it's likely to be a rough guess.👍👍

[Stef N.]

A small update. I have the wheels and most of the body done. I need to paint the lower parts now as the link and length tracks will not fit if the mudguards are in place. Day off tomorrow so I will spend it painting.👍

 

Edited May 4 by Stef N.
Added photo.

[szeregowy]

All looks nice and tidy 👍

[Milan Mynar]

It looks nice.

[Stef N.]

Thanks lads. I got the base coat down, using Mike Starmer's Tamiya mix for Khaki Green G3. A nice mix and good colour. The tracks have been base coated with a mix of Dark Iron, NATO Brown, Satin Black and a dash of red. It works rather well.

 

 

Cheers all and have a great week.

[Milan Mynar]

You're going full throttle.

[Stef N.]

1 minute ago, Milan Mynar said:

You're going full throttle.

No messing about Milan. I couldn't finish my last GB so I am making sure I get one in the gallery this time. 😁👍

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Excellent work so far!  How did you accomplish such a neat paint job on the rubber road wheel treads?

[Stef N.]

5 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Excellent work so far!  How did you accomplish such a neat paint job on the rubber road wheel treads?

Thank you. I paint the rubber black first and then use a Helix Circle Template as a mask and paint the interior. Quite a cheap piece of kit and effective.👍👍

[szeregowy]

Finally Valentine got some colour, very neat job @Stef N.

[Stef N.]

Cheers lads and good evening. Body now built and ready to paint. The wheels and tracks have already been painted and will need careful masking before any paint is sloshed around. I'll have to remind you all that this kit is ace. Absolutely no problems whatsoever (except me putting the periscopes the wrong way round😳).

 

 

 

Anyway all the best and I hope all your projects are going to plan.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

1 hour ago, Stef N. said:

Cheers lads and good evening. Body now built and ready to paint. The wheels and tracks have already been painted and will need careful masking before any paint is sloshed around. I'll have to remind you all that this kit is ace. Absolutely no problems whatsoever (except me putting the periscopes the wrong way round😳).

 

 

 

Anyway all the best and I hope all your projects are going to plan.

I have had good results with index card and tale for masking tank tracks that are already painted. 

[Stef N.]

52 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I have had good results with index card and tale for masking tank tracks that are already painted. 

Thanks for that. It should be a reasonably straightforward masking job, probably. 😁👍