Thanks Jmart!
Well, guys, I took a headlong dive the last couple of days and the Trumpeter 1:35 STRV 103B is done!
There are a few things I'd do differently in future, like replace the barrel with a turned AM (I didn't have time or the cash this time, as it is I might invest in a camo net to wrap the barrel with as despite all gluing, filling and sanding, there is a distinct seam down the left side); I might be more careful with some of the accessory painting; and I might drop the dozer blade and take a crack at some mud...
As it is, she was a sweet and friendly build of an unusual subject. The shovels are very flimsy, two of them broke, which is why only one is stowed, and the observant will note the handle is over the cleat instead of under it -- my tweezers have gone missing, when I replace them I'll remove the cleat and reattach it through the handle.
The periscopes were all painted early and masked with slivers of Tamiya tape, a technique which seemed to work very well and which I'll use again in future. The model was painted with Tamiya acrylics, washed with oils, drybrushed with enamels, and dusted with MiG "Dry Mud" pigment. One of the decals disintegrated (one of the four yellow placards), and the "TELEFAX" decal which goes on the stowage compartment at rear top left was totally incooperative, and basically invisible against the paint, so it also is absent. The antennas are my usual .015" steel wire, and very fragile as I didn't drill the receivers deeper with a .020" bit: if they fall off, I'll do that at aclater date. Thier height is 65mm, calculated from the height of antennas in various photos of the real thing, though there is evidence for a shorter version too.
Unlike my previous brush with Trumpeter armour, these tracks actually fit, in fact they were a fraction long. The vinyl did not react with superglue at all, so I stitched the tracks together through adjacent sprocket holes with black thread, then glued the locator flap for good measure.
Anyway, on with the pics:
This is my first completed Trumpeter kit and I'm very happy with it -- highly recommended!
It's been a fun build and interesting to do something very different; comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for looking!
Cheers, Mike/TB379
PS: With current workloads I'm not at all sure of getting to the Italeri Jagdpanzer IV L/70... It might have to ride the shelf for a later date, but I'm keeping my options open at the moment!