Eric, got the badge, thanks! 

Off Topic question:  How do you add more badges to the signature?

Everytime I add more than three badges a red error message pops up saying that I cannot excdeed 500 characters on the signature.  I've counted the characters of my three current badges and its less than 300....don't know why adding even one more takes it over 500.

Bump for the boys that are still plugging away.

Eric - you're right, we don't see enough Brit armor at all, especially the lesser known ones!  I'm so glad I picked this kit since it gives all of us a chance to see the great variety of armor during this period!!  I totally forgot about the badge, thanks for the reminder! The problem is I can't seem to add more badges to my signature.  I'll try it again and see if I can get it to work.

Marc - thank you sir!  One of these days, I'll be able to build, paint and weather as good as you!

Cliff - I'm glad you like what I did with the A13.  It was a challenge NOT to overweather it, since I'm so used making em dingy and dirty! 

Andy - Yeah, those yellow square DO make good targets don't they!!  Fortunately that area of the turret housed just the radios....I think

bufflehead- Outstanding result especially the camo and tracks!!   Dig the yellow decals... almost like a bulleye screaming please shoot me... or don't shoot me?!?! 

Ernest: Great job- you make it look easy! Fantastic job all around and esp love the nice subtle chipping/weathering around the fenders.

Cliff

bufflehead

Marc - you just stop by here just to see why I'm not working on the Pfalz!!  

LOL, no but catching that grand finale was certainly a bonus.

Eric, superb group build.

Tim, I'm glad you were able to fix your nifty Pz II. Looks as though you're almost there!

Ernest, no thank you my friend. It's been a great group of modelers and friends that have made this GB so successful.

BTW, I dig your build. Refreshing to see some overlooked Brit armor here. I agree on your understated look for the period.

Please take your badge on your way out the door.

Yikes Tim!  That's not a fun thing to have happen, but it looks like you recovered nicely from that little faux pas!!  All in all, it still looks pretty dang nice!

Greg - The Pz.II is coming along nicely and I like the diio you've got planned for it!

Gamera - thanks again!  Photos of the completed build are below!

Marc - you just stop by here just to see why I'm not working on the Pfalz!!   Be at ease my friend, as the A13 is finally complete and now I can start working on the Italeri BT-5, er I mean the Glencoe Pfalz D.III!! 

OK, here you go fellas!  The Bronco 1:35 British A13 MK.I/Cruiser Tank MK.III is complete.  As these vehicles were practically brand new when they were shipped to France in the spring of 1940 and only saw a few weeks of combat, I kept chipping and dusting to a minimum.  I hope you can see the subtle weathering in the photos.

Overall the kit is very nicely detailed, looks to be pretty accurate and has nice decals.  It is let down by very poor instructions, ill fitting vinyl tracks and some shoddy engineering on a few parts and assemblies.  It is the only plastic A13 on the market that I am aware of so I will recommend the kit to anyone interested in building it, but be forewarned of the kits flaws.

Eric - First, thanks for creating and hosting another great group build!  I think everyone who participated had a great time and it was a unique and interesting theme where we all learned alot about the vehicles used during this timeframe!  Second, thanks for extending the end time for those of us, uh..."slower" builders so that we can complete our entries!  You've hosted another GB WINNER my friend!

Looking good Ernest and Greg.

I wish my Panzer II looked as good as yours Greg, but I had a little setback on the last day of the GB on Leap Year Day. I mixed up a dark wash for the running gear and started slopping it on. I noticed the paint was really lighting up and then it started to run. What the heck??? It was then that I noticed that I had grabbed the squeeze bottle with the Power Wash Brush Cleaner in it to thin the oil paints. Darn, I guess it's my fault having this and the paint thinner in the same kind of bottle.

So after a few choice words and a little cooling off time, I stripped the rest of the paint off that side's running gear and got it repainted. I just need a correctly mixed wash and i will be back in business.

How is what it should have turned out like.

Thanks for looking and always remember to read the label.

Just stopped by to see what's going on in here and I see that some are getting their last lick in now the end date has passed.  And boy howdy some awesome stuff from the group.  

So Ernest... looks like you can start that Pfalz pretty soon hmmm!

That's cool Greg. Is that bench scratched? 

Might I make a suggestion? That tow rope probably shouldn't be rusted out. Imagine if you were to actually need it? It would more then likely snap into two. 

Ernest & Greg: Great stuff guys!!! Looking forward to the finished photos.

                                 Back again,I believe other than some additional weathering and attachment of the tools,and of course finishing the Dio. .Unless someone notices something my aging eyeballs missed ,theres always something right! LOL Heres some pics.

                                    Taken outdoors and in,the table is from Italeri's field tool shop.The top wasnt bad but everything else was void of detail so I did a bit of scribing to improve it.

                               Please,any questions or comments are welcome,thanks for looking.

                                                         Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

That's so cool Ernest. Whatever your problems were with the sand shields, you did a great job of fixing them.

Hey guys, I have a quick update for ya!  The A13 is ALMOST done, just need to finalize the weathering and add the last couple parts like the antenna, coaxial MG (which I almost forgot!) and the mirror (if I can find it!)  The fender sand shields gave me fits as the fit is not good at all.  Bronco failed with the engineering of these parts, which have to be installed at nearly the end of the painting process.  There are some exasperating gaps which are too difficult to fill and sand after being painted.  Anyway, here are the last WIP photos before she's all done.  Completion in a day or two

Well it's nearly there and I'm glad I dropped in,

Tim the Mk. II looks amazing, great weathering effects.

Ernest the A13 looks right up there with your usual standard of build.

Greg another lovely Mk.II great to see two of the same vehicle on the one page and have a definite look at how two modellers approach basically the same subject, excellent work.

Dave the 231 is excellent, beautiful work/job all round I love your finish, btw the last one of these I tackled was the old sovereign resin kit back in the late 80's early 90's. YUK.

Scott lovely Matilda, have to agree with earnest on this one you have done an excellent job on an older kit and make it stand out,well done.

Boyd nice 222, very well presented, congrats on a really well weathered and presented piece should look great in the dio.

Well as for myself, I'm just there with the Char but I have spent the last two and a half weeks nailed in to the bowls of purgatory with the flu, there is a particularly nasty strain going around Dublin at the moment and I have only been averaging about two hours sleep at a time and it is horrible, I actually pass out during the day from exhaustion. I don't think I wiki even photography progress until I have shook off this dose.

Terry.

Greg:

Can't see any damage now, good show! And the diorama looks and sounds like really cool.

Love those numbers on the turret Greg.

Please tell your damage control people they did great job fixing it up.  I can't see any damage now.  Looking real good!

                                      Damage control did a good job of re-attachment and all is good but the front tow hooks are still in primer,the upper and lower hull are still not permanent.As I mentioned the vehicle will be placed on a small base with a tree or three. There will be a table of sorts and the panzers weapons will be on it as if getting a thorough cleaning. A rope from the turret to the tree will support a tarp which will be sheltering the cleaning operation. Other little maintence operations will be going on at the same time.I.e. roadwheel greasing and such. Most of the pics were taken yesterday afternoon in natural light.except for the possibility of more accidents and the bit of touch up left to perform + weathering a bit more this little booger should be a wrap by this evening,then I plan to transfer over to the Dio. section of this forum for the second phase.

                                   I know I know my tree needs pruning,just clipped it off my living donor.As always any questions or comments are welcome.

                                                         Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Hey guys, I have a quick update on the A13, but no photos.    I was unable to work on it last night, but tonight I got the details painted, the broken parts mended and a dust coat applied.  I have to work tomorrow, but if all goes well, later in the day I will have a pin wash applied, some weathering on the suspension sides, and then all the remaining parts added on before hitting it with some final weathering.

Yes, I have to say that was a simple lesson that I learned here, was the German two-toned camo, among the other informative information that I learned here.

Ernest: Thanks!

Gamera - here's a link to Karl's track tutorial on Armorama: http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1737

Boyd: She looks great! Still puttering around with the figures and building for the dio I've been working on too.

Greg: OUCH! Sorry to hear about your issues there- been there, done that, got the T-shirt. I hope you were able to find all the parts and didn't break anything you couldn't fix.

Ernest: Ah ok, I've read some of Karl's tutorials on dot filters and weathering but somehow missed that. I like the idea of hiding the glued length under a road wheel, I'll have to give that a try.

Gamera

Chazzer: Great lookin' Matilda! And kudos on getting her built in such crazy working conditions. Hope you're feeling better now.

Ernest: Very nice, not much more to go at all. The camo looks great. BTW- do you generally do your treads that way? I tend to do an upper run and a lower one and then glue them together when I put them on the model.

Thanks Gamera!!  Yes, this is how I normally do individual link tracks: ala "the doog" method!  The only unglued links are on the lower length, positioned (more or less) under one of the roadwheels.  BTY, I learned the method from our very own forum member Karl "the doog" Logan. 

Eric, tell me about it!  With the A13 I'm well on point to finish my  2nd armor build of 2012 and its only early March!!    Two in just over 2 months.....what's the world coming to???

Boyd - Very nice looking Sd.Kfz. 222 you've got there!  I love all the two-tone camo jobs on the German vehicles we've been seeing here!  It will look sweet in the dio!

Wow Greg, sorry to hear about the mishap!  I know a little of what your dealing with.  Yesterday when I picked up the A13 I totally forgot that the turret wasn't secure and when I tipped the hull over the turret fell off and onto its top, knocking of the delicate PE antenna pot and base.  Grrrrrrr....  The I was a big piece of foamboard that I was using on the window to block the light came crashing down right on top of the turret, breaking off the sighting vane!   DOUBLE Grrrrrrr!!!   Well, those parts on getting put back on until its practically done and the turret SECURED to the hull

BTW, the Bronco A13 turret/hull doesn't have the usual dual slot/tab arrangement that most tank models have to secure the turrets (like Tamiya, Italeri, etc).  Instead the turret race has four locking tabs that allow the turrent to "snap" into the hull, in any position.  Nice, except its a b**** to remove the turret.  That's why in the recent photos the turret is just sitting on the hull a little askew.

Glad to see you got her done Boyd. Please share your diorama when you finish that.

OK Fellas,

Here is my "completed" 222. I put the completed in quotes because I plan on putting this on a base with three or four figs, so at this point I have only weathered it a little (which is completely washed out in the photos which makes me want to go throw more at it!).

As you know, this is the old Tamiya kit (well, technically the 'updated' one with some extra PE and a metal barrel. It went together well enough - typical Tamiya. I had to take some liberties with the markings - the balkencruz were supposed to go back by where the fuel cans are mounted, but there is not enough room there (I actually ruined the appropriate balkencruzs trying to get them to fit there....). I have marked the vehicle as a member of the 7th Panzer 'Ghost' Division during the invasion of France, commanded by Erwin Rommel.

The hatch on the right side is intentionally 'ajar' since that is the side the crewman will be standing on. I think, though, that I'll have to open it more - it doesn't look quite right as it is...

Even though I suspect it is not 'accurate' I did paint the spare wheel 'cover' in Field Gray just because I wanted something to disrupt the overall gray/brown pattern and this vehicle doesn't have road wheels!

Here is a pic with a rough mock-up with the three figures I'm about done with. The idea is to have one fig either in the turret or standing on the front of the vehicle looking through his binos while the crewman and a German grunt take a smoke break before they head into the action.

Hmm, that's wierd - I had thought I'd finished that shovel handle by the time I took this pic...

Great GB, guys. I had a ball!

Greg, how terrible. I hope it can be fixed with little ado.

                               Seems that its down to the wire again,I want to say that all the builds here look great and though it seems this was a rather short G.B. it was fun. Well the panzer II was decaled and cleared and then I promptly dropped the turret on the floor sending parts skiterring in all directions. Recovered everything and re-assembled what I could.I am going to post pics tonite after work and we'll see what the judge has to say.I'm off to work now so later.

                                                 Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley