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Sgt.Squarehead's SCW Armour


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I am finally underway! :yahoo:

The first new project on my oh so spacious (compared to a mousemat) modelling desk is a kit-bash of the essentially identical SKIF & UM 1/72 T-26 kits.....Unsurprisingly I'll be building a 1933 model:

[image Deleted]

The reason I chose to go for a kit-bash was to try to avoid using too much photo-etch as TBH I hate the stuff! The SKIF kit only has etch fenders, but the UM has plastic.....Guess which I'll be using? However I still can't completely avoid using photo-etch as most of the details and more importantly, the drive sprockets, are made of it:

[image Deleted]

I cannot imagine what possesed SKIF/UM to combine plastic & photo-etch sprockets with true rubber band style tracks.....It seems like a recipe for disaster to me:

[image Deleted]

Fortunately I will be using UM's aftermarket injection plastic T-26 'link and length' track.....I hope it fits round the sprockets OK, as trimming the teeth off will be a real pain in the rear! :wall:

All the best

Andy S.

PS - Sorry the pics are so poor! :blush:

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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Cheers guys.....I've had guests over today, so no progress yet, but I intend to get the bulk of the running gear done tonight as I want to check how well the L&L fits ASAP. The sprockets seem reasonably sturdy after a coat of paint, but I'm still not 100% convinced. :fraidnot:

I've got a few Mirage 1/72 Vickers 6ton variants, so I can plunder them for spares in the event of disaster.....Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I've got an almost complete set of Mirage T-26 running gear spare, without breaking into a fresh kit. :pray:

Right I'm off to glue millions of tiny wheels and have a rootle in me spares box! ;)

All the best

Andy S.

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It's taken me a while to get round to posting this.....I've been having problems with my digi-cam refusing to focus on anything smaller than a dog! It seems that I have now sorted the problem somehow, but I've no idea how I did it!

For a tiny little tank this thing sure does have a lot of wheels:

[image Deleted]

The assembly of the running gear in the SKIF/Unimodel kits is very slightly more complex than that of the Mirage Hobby version (still on the sprues above) and allows the modeller to fully articulate the suspension.....I shall not be taking advantage of this feature:

[image Deleted]

I have however taken advantage of the UM L&L track to help to get everything aligned with all of the roadwheels in contact.....Quite how you were supposed to achieve this with such fragile bogeys and the original SKIF/UM rubber band track I really cannot imagine. :confused:

All the best

Andy S.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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I'm having big problems with the tiny individual UM track links.....They are breaking ridiculously easily, either when they come off the sprue or go onto the sprocket! I've used almost half a set attempting to do the wrap around one of the sprockets and I have now completely had enough of the stupid bloody things! :chair:

I'm not a happy rabbit at all.....I've built an awful lot of L&L tracks in my time and have never, ever failed to get an at least moderately acceptable track run.....But these things are just madness and I've got at least three more kits that I have to use them on! :wall:

I've fitted some Mirage sprockets from the spares box and will allempt to use the Mirage band tracks on the model. There is a good chance that these will cause some significant problems for the slightly too complex and really rather fragile bogeys. Consequently I am going to reinforce everything with CA and hope for the best.....TBH expectations of a satisfactory result are not high. :suicide:

All the best

Andy S.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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Rubber band tracks and copious CA have saved the day:

[image Deleted]

It's not pretty in places, but at least it's not in imminent danger of being thrown out of the window anymore.....I'm really glad that I had a few Mirage bits in the spares bin. :nerd:

All the best

Andy S.

PS - Looks like the camera's on the blink again though! :wall:

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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shame about the tracks andy , but that's a great save . well done . as for the macro , it is working - the piccies are bigger than the real thing :P

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Cheers guys.....Yup, on my monitor the picture is about one and a half times the size of the model, it was loaded with 10x1p pieces in an effort to avoid banana bogeys! ;)

Here is where it's at now:

[image Deleted]

As you can see, I've pretty much broken the back of this one, so I'm turning my attention to other potential victims.....First on the list is the UM 1/72 BA-6 armoured car given to me by Blimp, In addition to this I have several Italeri 1/72 PzI Ausf Bs and a Mirage 1/72 T-26 M1933 in the stash, but for some reason I really don't fancy the latter one right now. :undecided:

To give me a few more options I've just ordered a UM 1/72 BT-5 and am bidding on an Attack Hobby 1/72 PzI Ausf A.....I'm also on the hunt for a DOC Models 1/72 CV-35. :P

For what it's worth, all the best

Andy S.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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The UM 1/72 BA-6 is now underway, with the suspension jigged up in the vain hope I can get all the wheels pointing in the same direction. ;)

I'm a bit worried that the vinyl tyres will attack the plastic wheels, there have been horror stories on ML Braille DG and my UM 1/72 SU-100s suffered minor damage from their vinyl road-wheel tyres while still in the box, so I want to undercoat everything.....Just to be on the safe side. :nerd:

All the best

Andy S.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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Based on other comments from 'ML Braille DG' I've had the tyres soaking in soapy water for four weeks (Not the same water I hasten to add! :sick: ).....Allegedly this should remove whatever it is that eats plastic! :pray:

All the best

Andy S.

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It's an odd one, but the UM vinyl really does attack the harder sprues.....It causes quite obvious melting in a short time. Apparently UM have taken to bagging the vinyl seperately these days (the BA-6 tyres were bagged), but my SU-100s came with two loose sprues of vinyl tyres that had left contact scarring on a fair few parts. :doh:

The suspension is built and can best be described as small and black at the moment.....Once the chassis is together I'll get some pictures, this will give me chance to bodge any wonky wheels into line before I embarass myself! ;)

All the best

Andy S.

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What godforsaken heresy is this.....BIG MODELS rank second only to 1/48 in Satan's evil plans for luring astray the pure of heart (ie: braillers)! :innocent:

I've got the chassis together and it is neither quite as good as I might have hoped nor as bad as I feared:

[image Deleted]

Vinyl has a bit too much play in it for Braille Scale tyres in my opinion.....It inevitably gets distorted in the fitting process and when this distortion is mentally magnified 72 times, it just looks wrong. :pipe:

All the best

Andy.S

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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This is probably a silly question Andy but why do they use vinyl- and what on earth are they putting in it?

re larger scales i am slighty amused that folks say that 1/72 is far too small, but then built a nicely detailed kit full of tiny parts and add a lot of fiddly PE bits :lol:

can't wait to see the body go on - keep up the good work :thumbsup:

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- ok andy ! i was only teasing . i'm trying to resist getting a pile of these myself . there is something so 'clockwork' about 1930's tanks etc , they're brilliant . :lol: - and long live the true scale !

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- ok andy ! i was only teasing . i'm trying to resist getting a pile of these myself . there is something so 'clockwork' about 1930's tanks etc , they're brilliant . - and long live the true scale !

were you were just trying to wind Andy up Blimp?

:coat:

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Cheers guys.....I Think! :lol:

walrus.....I have no idea why UM chose to include vinyl tyres, but they have done it with all of their Soviet trucks as far as I know. Apparently a 'plasticising agent' may be the cause of the problem which really came to light when, for some lunatic reason, UM included highly corrosive tyre rims for their T-34 range, which also feature superb L&L tracks.....The mind as they say 'boggles'! :wacko:

blimp.....You had a pile of these, but then you sent them to me! :shrug:

I certainly know what you mean about these late thirties tanks having a unique 'Heath Robinson' appeal.....I simply had to get the various bits for 1/72 German and Polish 1939 forces, so at some point I've got to build a whole platoon of five 7TPs from Mirage! :analintruder:

The Mirage kits are not much simpler to build than the SKIF/UM T-26 kits, they are just difficult in different places. The SKIF/UM kits have sturdy and easy to assemble hulls, whereas the Mirage hull is built up of flat panels and alignment (especially around the driver's hatch) can be a bit of a problem. The turrets of the Mirage kits are superior, having open hatches and better detail than the UM/SKIF offerings. The running gear is about equal; SKIF/UM's is more complex, however their bogeys at least can be made surprisingly sturdy, the sprockets on the other hand are a real pain in the neck. The Mirage running gear is quicker to build and the wheels are better detailed, but on previous builds I found the bogeys very prone to bowing under tension from the tracks. On the subject of tracks, the Mirage bands win hands down.....I had really high hopes for the UM L&L* (and bought quite a few packs), but it was ridiculously fragile and thus somewhat impractical for this build. Mirage's tracks, despite being superior, are (in my experience) an absolute swine to fit to their own kit, especially if you are so foolish as to follow the recommended build sequence (I did) and it is very easy to damage the running gear in the process. Strangely the Mirage tracks are an absolute doddle to fit to the SKIF/UM kit, provided you also swap out the sprockets. :doh:

In an ideal world you might well consider kit-bashing the UM/SKIF and Mirage 1/72 T-26s, to get the best out of each kit, but this is not without it's difficulties; the sprockets are mounted differently and are of a different guage, the turrets are fitted to the hulls very differently and so on. Thus it is worth planning in advance exactly which parts you are going to use from each kit and then test fitting everything as best you can.....I did exactly none of this and it is reflected in the quality of my build. :suicide:

The UM BA-6 is a lovely kit, marred only by the inclusion of gimmicky vinyl tyres.....I thought about picking up a set of resin replacement wheels, which would have looked better and would have made the painting process a whole load easier too, but I foolishly decided to go for an OOTB build as I've not tried this kit before. Allegedly the UM BA-6 is missing a fair few rivets**, but as I've never counted them, I wouldn't know.....Those who would have entirely too much time on their hands in my opinion! :poke:

More pics soon(ish).....I've got company again this evening. :D

All the best

Andy S.

PS - I'm awaiting news on the Attack 1/72 Pz.I Ausf A, but haven't had any luck getting a CV-35.....I have spotted an ACE 1/72 FAI though and am more than moderately tempted. :P

* I'm still planning to have a crack at an ESCI/Italeri 1/72 M14/41 tank using the remains of the pack of UM tracks that I opened for this build and another fresh one. I'm going to have to take it very slowly indeed and may have to resort to warming and bending the lengths of track around the sprocket and idler.....Hell, how bad can it be, Attack Hobby expect you to do this by default, although their tracks are just a little chunkier! :banghead:

** Actually it's missing almost all of the rivets.....But it was just too easy a gag! :sorry:

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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that's handy info sarge , btw what are the um/l&l tracks made of ? maybe a bit of hottish water'll help .(don't use boiling water , i nearly lost a whole victor that way . . . ) looking forward to these andy .

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