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Spudgun · Last edited by Spudgun on Tue 24 Feb 2009 20:35 pm; edited 1 time in total

Details of Spudgun's build will be found here.
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Spudgun · Posted: Fri 23 Jan 2009 16:44 pm Post subject:

I'll be building the Vickers Light tank and the Landrover Ambulance.
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Spudgun · Posted: Sun 01 Mar 2009 20:46 pm Post subject:

Day 1

Due to circumstances totally within my control, I'll be the Group Leader for this GB. Since this is my first time, I'll be gentle with you. During my previous participations in GB's, I've only ever built one kit. This time, I'll be building more than one (The second will be the FC Ambulance). So, without further ado, it's straight in with the first kit; The Vickers Light Tank.

There are three options for this kit. I'll be building the C option (9th Lancers) because a tank really needs an imposing gun on it. But firstly, a rummage through the box.

The kit itself is nicely moulded. There's very little in the way of flash, or mould half mis-match. This should go together well. I have a few issues with the instructions though. Although in the early assembly stages, the differing parts for differing versions are clearly called off, one pair of parts aren't (27 and 33). Even worse, neither of these parts are represented on the painting diagram. What do we want here, a fuel tank or a tool box? I'm opting for the fuel tank.

I think the paint call outs are below par. Part No 13 is the rear number plate. Does black for the plate and red for the lenses get a mention? Nope. Part No 28 appears to be a canvass sheet of some sort, Canvass is normally a slightly different colour than the tanks paintwork. Is another shade of green called off? Nope! The whole paint scheme suggests a factory fresh tank. Even the exhaust pipe isn't rusty. As for that painting diagram I mentioned earlier, the 'Disruptive Stripes' mentioned appear to be missing! Since I like my British armour to have a 'family' feel to it, I'll be using H86 instead of H102 for the overall finish. Anyway, enough of the talk, it's time to stick some plastic together.

As I've mentioned in previous GB's, I like to build kits in major sub-assemblies. This build is no different. The sub-assemblies here are the hull and the turret.

Of the 5 parts illustrated in stage 1, 4 were assembled. Part No 13 was left off so it could be painted seperatly. The parts filled well, but some filler was required where the bottom plate attached to the upper hull at the front and the back. There was a small gap at the top of the two side plates, but since much of this gap was going to be hidden by other parts, I didn't bother with any filler. I lept ahead to Stage 3 and attached the two mudguards and the right hand stowage box. I found the easiest way to attach the mudguards was to hold them in place with one hand and then drip a little Superglue into the joint in about 4 places. Once dry, I could run the glue along the entire joint. I now turned my attention to the turret.

The first part to be attached was part No 23 (I'm building the C option remember). Then it was on to the turret base. I found the best way to attach it was to push the base into position and then drip a little glue onto the joint. Putting glue around the edge of the base and then adding it was a no-brainer as if I didn't get it right within seconds, I'd be stuck as I wouldn't be able to get it apart again. I then went to attach part No 19. It was at this point that I noticed that I'd broken the gun I was going to use (I must've done that when I was holding the fret when cutting off other parts). Since I'd already stuck on the hatch, I couldn't change the build option! I'll just have to fix it. Anyhoo, with that funny pyramid shaped part stuck onto the turret, it was time to give the bottom the the hull and the top of the turret a lick of H86.

That's enough for today.
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Spudgun · Posted: Mon 02 Mar 2009 21:01 pm Post subject:

Day 2.

You know, I've just noticed that paint instructions list 3 different greens for the colour scheme of the Vickers tank, but the illustration on the box art is a sandy colour! I wonder if Sgt Squarehead will have to build a forth tank? Anyway, I digress.

The bottom of the hull and the turret both got their second coat of H86. The rear number plate got its second coat of H33. It was now time to sort out the bits that were going to get stuck onto them.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I'd broken the gun. I now had to fix it. The gun had broken off at the junction of the barrel and the armoured sleeve. I took a .5mm drill bit and drilled a hole into the end of the armoured sleeve. I then scrapped some plastic from the broken end of the barrel until the barrel fitted into the hole. It was then a case of gluing one part to the other. The barrel is now a little shorter and just a little wonky, but I'm back on track for the C option. Speaking of tracks.......

The moulded tracks are actually quite nice (Better than the Bren Carrier), but they're tricky to get off the sprue as the connecting points are rather thick and the tracks tended to flex when my knife got anywhere near them. What I did was to have the part half on and half off the edge of the table (as the mounting points protruded beyond the bottom of the sprue) and cut the connecting points that were over the table. Tracks were off with no distortions.

There's a fine seam line that runs around the track. It was now time to remove it with a file. So; File, file, file (time lapse dissolve until quite some time later), file, file, file, job done! The wheels were then given a coat of H86.

In my opinion, Allied tanks are not the most interesting items to look at. Their paint schemes tend to be a little...... uniform and drab. I do like to break things up by using different, but plausable colours. To this end I painted that canvass sheet thingy (Part No28) H30. The sliencer was given a coat of H70 (I couldn't find my H113) and the lenses on the rear number plate was given a spot of H174.

Sadly, a friend has phoned me and jabbered in my ear for an hour, so, todays build has come to an end. Soz!
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DavidM · Posted: Mon 02 Mar 2009 21:32 pm Post subject:

Ah the JB Mark VI - good idea marred only by them going cheap during the execution. This kit is a definite candidate for the Airfix new sprue with decent cupolas with open hatches, and some other bits and pieces to do up what is a very basic model. Oh and a decent turret side bulge for the C which is rectangular and totally different to the triangular one in the kit which only suits the A and B.

The C bulge should look like this

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikip...ommons/3/3b/Light_Tank_Mk_VIC.jpg

As for colours, the 1940 G3/G4 scheme is definitely not two-tone green. G3 is one of those greeny/browny/greeny colours that Humbrol found impossible to handle and is something like H159 with either a touch of green or brown added, depending on taste, but it should have a brown tinge. G4 is dark green.

EDIT: It's possible that some tanks may have had a second disruptive colour added - this is G5 a pale green.

David
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Sgt.Squarehead · Posted: Mon 02 Mar 2009 21:45 pm Post subject:

Considering the size of the JB operation, I'd say the Vickers Mk.VI is a pretty good kit really.....The cheek bulge for the 'type c' is easy enough to scratch up.

The kits also provide plenty of spare cupolas, so if anyone wants to have a bash at opening theirs up I have plenty of spares available.....PM me if you need one/some.

All the best
Sgt.S
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DavidM · Posted: Mon 02 Mar 2009 22:07 pm Post subject:

Sgt.Squarehead · Posted: Mon 02 Mar 2009 22:11 pm Post subject:

Fair comment!

All the best
Sgt.S
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Spudgun · Posted: Tue 03 Mar 2009 21:09 pm Post subject:

Meanwhile, back at the actual build.

Day 3.

Things have slowed down slightly, my H86 hasn't dried completely. Although this hasn't effected the hull end of the build, the turret has been effected. Now for some details.

The first job was to paint the underside of the engine louver H33. This should give this part a little more 'depth'. Once done, I turned my attention to the turret. As mentioned before, the H86 hadn't dried completely. This meant that I couldn't add any more parts to it. Although the extra parts would've stayed on, it wouldn't be long before they came off again because of the soft paint. The only part I could add was the ariel that went on the back of the turret. Since the H33 was still wet, I turned my attention to the smaller parts.

That canvass sheet thingy was given its second coat of H30 and then put aside. The silencer was given its second and final cost of H70. Out came the H86. Although the H86 hadn't completely dried on the wheel and track parts, it was dry enough to accept another coat without causing problems. All other parts that required H86 (with the exception of turret parts) got a lick of paint. Finally, the H33 had now dried underneath the engine louver, so the upper hull got its first coat of the offending H86.

With wet and tacky paint everywhere, there wasn't much else I could do, so I called it a day.
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Spudgun · Posted: Wed 04 Mar 2009 21:21 pm Post subject:

Day 4.

Another day and more problems with my H86. It still hasn't dried completely! This makes progress problematic. However, there was enough to do in other areas, so here's the 'skinny'.

The inside of the track runs were given a coat of H53 and then put to one side to dry. I then turned my attention to the silencer. Last month, I bought from my LMS the Bf110/Spitfire IX Dogfight Double gift set. With that set came two very nice paint brushes. One was really thin and pointy. I used this brush to paint the retaining straps of the silencer with H86. The result was rather good. For an encore, I painted the retaining strap on the canvass sheet with H86 as well. I think I'll be using this brush again for fine detail work! While the H86 was still out, I gave the seperate suspension units their second coat.

I've mentioned this before, but just in case you missed it, I'll mention it again. I think that the paint schemes on Allied armour is a little drab (The Germans had some really nice schemes), so I tend to paint things with different colours even though they're not accurate to make the subject more interesting to look at. I painted the muzzles of the turret guns H56. This should break things up a little.

At long last, the H86 on the turret had dried completely (It's still slightly tacky on the hull though). I now added the two (what I presume to be) smoke ejectors on the sides of the turret and the spot lamp on the front. I couldn't add the guns or the mantlet as the H86 was still tacky. Once the glue was dry, the newly added turret parts were given their first coat of H86.

The last job for today was to brush a little H56 around the rims of the road wheels to make them look worn.
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Flash Flash · Silver Star Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 2938

Sounds like your doing a good job
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Spudgun · Posted: Thu 05 Mar 2009 17:36 pm Post subject:

Shhhhhh! Things may go wrong!
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Spudgun · Posted: Thu 05 Mar 2009 19:27 pm Post subject:

Day 5.

At long last, some more of the H86 painted parts had dried, so it was time for some more assembly.

The first bit was to add the suspension parts to the track units. Watch out, these parts are very easy to put on wrong. Parts 9 and 10 are not 'handed'. In other words, these parts will fit either track and they'll fit back to front. What I did was to cut off one part from the sprue and then fit it. Then I cut off another and so on. As parts 9 (2 off) and 10 (2 off) are similar, I didn't want any confusion (or a ruined model).

I was now able to complete the assembly on the turret by adding the guns and the mantlet. Now, there's no locating pins or recesses as such on the turret, but there's a small area on the bottom on the front of the turret where the armour has been inletted. The bottom edge of the mantlet fits in here rather nicely, so this is where I stuck the gun assembly. With the assembly out of the way, it was time to get the paint box out.

The first thing painted was the outside run of the tracks. I used H53 for this. I then painted any exposed parts of the turret (from assembling the gun and mantlet) with the slooooow drying H86 (If the Ambulance calls off H86, I'm goinna SCREAM!). After a couple of days, the upper half of the hull was dry and I could give it its second coat of H86.

Right, I had to nip off for a bit, so I called it a day at this point.
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Spudgun · Posted: Fri 06 Mar 2009 20:26 pm Post subject:

Day 6.

I don't know how. I don't know why, but the second coat of H86 on the upper hull has dried within 24 hours! This meant that the final assembly could take place.

The first parts to be added were the track units, then it was on to the rear number plate. Now, the main painting illustration shows the plate mounted on the left. The smaller decal illustration shows the plate being mounted on the right. Just below the equipment tray (where the canvass sheet fits), there's a small lip the same width as the number plate. This is where the rear number plate attaches, so the decal illustration is correct! Of course, I stuck the number plate on the right. Afterwards, I glued the canvass sheet into the holder that's just above the number plate.

Before I could glue on some more parts, I had to do a spot of painting. There's a crank handle that sits below where the silencer attaches. I used H33 for this. While I was at it, I touched up the number plate, painted the other crank handle and sorted out a few other areas that needed H33. With this done, I added the remaining parts.

I mentioned a few days ago that there was an option to mount a stowage bin or an extra fuel tank (Although what option goes with what tank isn't mentioned on the intructions). I opted for the fuel tank. Now, the stowage bin fits perfectly as illustrated, but the fuel tank doesn't. Rather than cut away at the brackets that hold the mudguards up, I turned the fuel tank 90 degrees so the the mounting brackets on the tank were glued to the hull rather than the mudguard. It looks OK to me and I don't think anyone will really notice. Now there was only three bits left to attach.

The silencer was added. It's a little wonky, but it's not all that bad. If it was worse than it was, I'd remove it and do it again. However, Things went downhill from here.

I had to add the two headlights. The one that sits on the right was easy to install as there's a recess where it sits. The lamp on the left just sits on the side of the hull. I wasn't happy where I'd put the left light, so I removed it so I could try again. When you're holding parts with a pair of tweezers, don't use to much pressure, otherwise.......PING! Suffice to say, I used too much pressure and the left hand lamp is now property of the Carpet Monster. I went off for coffee to console myself.

After coffee, it was time for the final lap. Any remaining paintwork was completed (detail stuff that I won't bore you with). All that remains is to add the decals (I've got them on the brown backing paper of doom) and apply a thin black wash. I'll do that tomorrow.
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Spudgun · Posted: Sat 07 Mar 2009 20:05 pm Post subject:

Day 7.

The end is in sight and there's just three tasks to do. So, without further ado...

Much has been written about the 'brown backing paper of doom' when it came to the decals. Somehow, this was one job I wasn't looking forward to. One reccomdation was to use hot water instead of lukewarm, so that is was I used. Suffice to say, hot water works well. Each decal was dipped into the hot water for a few seconds and it slid off easily. The decals are a bit glossy, but they went on easily enough. The white square decals (common to all marks) are a bit oversized. You might want to trim them down a bit to make them fit correctly where they go on the sides of the hull. Some of the other decals are tiny! They took some time to get into place. The whole decal job took me about 30 minutes to complete. I allowed a little time for the decals to dry before I sealed them on with some matt varnish.

After a break for coffee, it was time to apply the washes. A thin black wash was applied to the upper surfaces to bring out the detail. Then I applied a heavier brown wash to the track assemblies and lower hull to represent mud. With that, the Vickers tank was put aside to dry. It was finished!!

I'll take some photo's tomorrow morning when everything has dried completely (and it's daylight).
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Spudgun · Posted: Sun 08 Mar 2009 07:23 am Post subject:

Well folks, I got up at the crack of dawn to take the pictures. They're now in the Gallery. Enjoy.

I'll be taking a week off (Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere), before I start my second kit for this GB.
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Spudgun · Posted: Sun 15 Mar 2009 10:26 am Post subject:

Well folks, I've had my week off and I'm about to start my second kit of this GB. I'll be back later with an update.
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Spudgun · Posted: Sun 15 Mar 2009 19:57 pm Post subject:

Day 1

Right, here we go with my second build of this GB: The FC Ambulance.

Peering into the box, the first thing to strike me was having two floor pans! Was something amiss? Upon closer inspection it was found that the Ambulance parts were on one sprue while the generic FC Land Rover parts were on the other (The FC Ambulance floor pan was on a smaller third sprue). The clear plastic cab doors, rear of cab bulkhead and front panel were on two other sprues. Since I'm not used to this (non-Airfix) layout (The Vickers was easy), I had to reconsider my normal way of building kits.

Instead of my normal sub-assembly route, I decided to 'block-out' this build by painting certain parts so that I had a better idea of what I was dealing with. At this time, I hadn't decided if I was going to have the rear doors open or not, so this 'blocking-out' process would help me decide.

The first parts to get some attention were the clear plastic ones. The detail was tricky to see, so putting on some H30 would make the detail more visible. Both sides of each part was painted. Of course, the 'glass' on each part was left clear. One thing I did do, was to leave the lenses of the headlamps clear. I'll be painting the rear of the lamps with H11 to make the headlamps look a little more natural. These parts are going to need several coats as I don't want any light shining through the plastic.

Next, I painted the cab area and the underside of the floor pan with H30. The inside areas of the Ambulance I painted with Pale Grey, rather than the H90 as marked on the instructions. Somehow, H90 didn't seem right. I painted both the open door and closes door parts as I haven't decided which version I'm building yet.
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Spudgun · Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 20:36 pm Post subject:

Day 2

Not a lot to report really. It was a case of giving parts a second coat of paint, so rather than repeat myself, I'll come back when some positve progress is made.
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Spudgun · Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 21:08 pm Post subject:

Day 3.

At last some progress. Parts have now been assembled. Because of what's been glued together, I've decided on what the final kit will look like. I'll be building a LHD Ambulance (because it's what I saw while I was in Germany during my time in the Army) with the rear doors open (Detail ahoy!!)

As I mentioned in the Day 1 report, I painted a whole heap of parts during the 'blocking out' process. Two of these parts were the benches that sit inside the rear of the Ambulance. I was going to leave these parts out if i was going to have the rear doors closed. However, since these to benches also double as the rear wheel well tops, I had to glue them in place. As a result, I decided to have the rear doors open. Any exposed plastic (on the inside of the compartment) was given a coat of H28.

A pre-painted dashboard was then glued into place on the front bulkhead. Once the glue was dry, the sprue marks was touched up with a spot of H33. While the H33 was open, I painted in the radiator grille on the front of the bulkhead. For an encore, I painted the rear of the headlamp lenses with some H11. From the front, the result is quite effective.

Next part to get some attention was the exhaust pipe. I painted this part with H70 (Yeah, it should ne H113 but I can't remember what I've done with it). The baffle box will be painted with H56 when the time comes as the baffle box tends to resist rust for longer than the pipe.

The steeing column was then assembled to the steering wheel. Strewth, the plastic is a bit thick! I'd shudder to think how thick everything would be if scaled up. The rear numberplate/light thingy..... look, it's part number 33 Ok? was then assembled to the floor pan. While I was at it, part number 21 was also assembled. This assembly was then painted with H30. While I had the floor pan in my hand, I painted the sump H33 and the gearbox bell housing with H56.

I thought it was about time i gave some attention to the drive train. I painted the prop shafts and axels with H30. With that, I called it a day.
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