Hi,Guys

I would like to get some tracks for my char leger but can't seem to locate any. would I be able to get Fruilmodel tracks for the somua and put them on the leger? Did all french armour have the same tracks?

modeler#1

Hi,Guys

I would like to get some tracks for my char leger but can't seem to locate any. would I be able to get Fruilmodel tracks for the somua and put them on the leger? Did all french armour have the same tracks?

hello modeler#1

what do you mean by char leger ? it's the renault R35 ?

 french amour didn't have the same tracks .

For the renault r35 you can use tracks MODELKASTEN  (ref sk39)

Jc

Hello ,

http://www.france1940.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:s35&catid=43:photoscopes&Itemid=70&lang=en

walk around for somua s 35 

and  renault R35 .

this site is very interesting and in french or english .

Jc

 Just got home from picking up the kit. I shpuld be able to start tonight.

Well I see Bill Carls is off to a great start, it looks great bill. The rivets I don't doubt look great, my idea that I spouted on face book is similar, drill holes, place in stretched sprue and trim, then mushroom with a soldering iron. 

Eric sorry to hear about the cat. 

Hoping to get started during the week, more than likely Saturday.

Good luck to everybody on their builds.

Terry.

Hiya Terry  : ) 

nice to see ya man   I was thinking of doing my rivets that way also, but I found some pieces in the spares box that had nice rivets to cut off... I am kinda taking a bit of a break cause I almost burned out trying to do to much at once... I almost had a BIG mishap, so I am chillin on the buildin' till the week end . that is really the only time I have anyway.... 

talk to ya then bro'

tread

HI Andy T.  :  )

The Gladiator looks cool.... always had a soft spot in my heart for bi planes.. Have fun getting started tonight

tread

Gamera

Hey guys, questions if I may?

I understand the Char B's turret was one solid cast piece. Should it have a rough pitted texture like a Sherman transmission cover? I've looked though some of the information that JC helped us with but can't really tell from the photos.

And I'd thought about drilling one or two small craters in the front armour plate to represent small German AT gun (20 and 37mm) hits that failed to penetrate but I can't find any photos of such and am worried it will just look silly. Any opinions? The more I think about it the more I think that they'll look overdone and not doing it.

Hi Cliff  :  )

I have read that the texture on the turret should be done with stippled Mr surfacer 1000 and then smoothed a bit.The French castings where very well done and smooth compared to a Sherman.

Thats basically how I am doing mine. now some guys don't add it , but there should be a small molding  line where the  top and bottom join... this shows clearly on reference pics of the real deal.  except for a direct hit of a very large caliber, the turret was literally bullet proof and I can't find pics of dents from small caliber hits.

the hull armor may dent, but I couldn't find pics of that kind of battle damage.

hope that helps... 

tread

Found a camo scheme for the gladiator. 615th Squaron RAF St. Inglevert, France April 1940

AndyT.......   good luck on the Gladiator launching...  (nice looking bird!)

So,    I open the kit and begin checking out the sprue's...          the PE, decals and clear sprue are all attached to the usual Dragon cardboard protector....

The only problem is the placement of PE part MB...   It was packaged / taped over the seam of one of the zip lock protector bags,,, 

Arrghhhhhh.....

A huge bend right through the PE ...  I carefully removed and tried to roll flat. Luckily it did not ruin any of the larger pieces on this "sprue"...   still not happy though.

Anyway, I hope to get started soon....     While I do have a set of Friuls for this baby, I cannot help wanting to tackle this sea of tracks....

Not much else to post,,,, so I am looking forward to all the help and insight this GB will undoubtedly offer....

Talk to you soon Gentlemen.....

Bill

AndyT - Now I understand why you picked that Gladiator, Pretty sharp. I had no idea The British had RAF units in France in 1940.

BaBill - That stinks about the PE, hope it bends back well

I Finished setting up my workspace, (for those of you you didn't know I just finished moving) just in time because the Halftrack came today!!! I haven't bought a new kit in a couple years or so and I have to say, Boy have kits changed! This is the first time I've seen Magic Track, how are they? They look pretty amazing. Any special glue I should use or anything?

I took a look at the decals and they are all for units in Russia in '42 So does anyone know where I could find the right markings and where I could find decals to match?

I'm stoked to start cutting sprues, may be posting progress soon.

Bill , i wouldnt care for my p.e. sheet having a crease in it like that  either . Bad enough when we damage or loose parts on our own , but when you open a new kit and see that kind of poor packaging , well thats bad . I thought these kits were inspected to a certain extent .

Heres my Pz. 1's turret assembled .There were a couple of sink holes to be filled . I drilled out the tips of the two 7.92 machine guns with a .018 drill bit .

Like the scheme you chose Andy.

Bill, that is a bit weird about the PE being bent in the box. 

Modeler , just noticing that you have your Group Build Badge shown in your signature line . I have seen your G.B.Badge in your post on others forums also . We havent chosen a G.B. Badge yet .If you look on page one of this thread there are some guide lines that we are all asked to go by .I high lighted the guidline about the G.B. Badge in red .

The guidelines for the GB are as follows:

• You can enter anytime from when it starts to when it's finished
• Any scale
• Any AM item
• All kits must be NIB or very lightly started (10%)
• No crossovers of other GB's
• A badge will be created, but can only be obtained for a completed build within the time frame
• Please share info about the kit and have fun, fun, fun!

Shellback

Modeler , just noticing that you have your Group Build Badge shown in your signature line . I have seen your G.B.Badge in your post on others forums also . We havent chosen a G.B. Badge yet .If you look on page one of this thread there are some guide lines that we are all asked to go by .I high lighted the guidline about the G.B. Badge in red .

The guidelines for the GB are as follows:

• You can enter anytime from when it starts to when it's finished
• Any scale
• Any AM item
• All kits must be NIB or very lightly started (10%)
• No crossovers of other GB's
• A badge will be created, but can only be obtained for a completed build within the time frame
• Please share info about the kit and have fun, fun, fun!

Thank Carl. As host of the GB, I should have addressed this myself, but thanks for reminding me. 

Yes Modeler, that was the guideline I created. If this is your first GB, then I appreciate your enthusiasm and will accept your posting of the badge that you created as nothing more. However, we has of yet to vote on a GB Badge as a group. Once we decide on one, I will post it to the first page so anyone whom completes their build within the time set, can claim it. Each GB has its own set of rules, or as I like to call them: Guidelines. Some GB's just give them for participating, which I don't care for, because many drop out. I like to think of it as a merit for completing the build.

Please don't take this personally, because you might have missed it.   

Thanks.

First off, let me say- great stuff guys!

Tread: Thanks, will pull out the Mr. Surfacer (how did I model before I found this stuff?)

Eric: Nice new avatar- I'm assuming that's the cat you just lost?

Thank you Cliff. Yes, that's my Katie. I will be updating the avatar of her for the immediate future. I just want to honor her memory.

Hope to get back to the bench today.

Bill:

That PE mess-up.... Bummer! Huh. I've opened (no, I didn't say BUILT!) many of my Dragon boxes and have to say they are usually pretty careful about the PE. Maybe this one was packed on early Monday AM...  But, from what you show, it should, I think, roll out flat without screwing up any detail...

About those tracks.... I'd say "Go for it!".  I've done a few older Dragon Pz. I - kits (including this one) and found the itty-bitty links actually can be managed - and without much loss, either. Just use a small cutter, clean the nubs with a sharp new X-acto blade, and you are go to go.  And they will look really nice. And yes, they ARE tedious (but I'll bet that the Fruils for this little beast would be at least as much so - as are the ModelKasten, Tristar on-the-sprue types, and MasterBox links. Built some they are fiddly )  The one serious lack I found in the older Dragon on-the-sprue Pz 1 links is that you can end up trimming away much or all of the track pin in clean-up. You CAN try to save some "pin" during link-cleaning, OR... A really tedious but effective fix is to actually clean off the sprue-nubs where there should be pin - ends, and go ahead and assemble the track runs. After setting these on the tank, you can actually add on some "pin-ends" cut from stretched sprue to the outter side link edge and it will look GOOD. But did I say TEDIOUS...? Yeah

The Kleiner 3 in 1 kit comes with a "somewhat corrected" idler that shows the form of the original much better than those provided in the previous Dragon Kleiner, but nowheres as well as do those in the newer Pz. 1B- variant "SmartKits"... It does capture the two rims supported by some angular bracing, albeit rather chunky bracing and rims with a too-small gap. The real piece was pretty light and "elegant-looking".  You can easily make that idler look a whole lot better by assembling it per instructions, and then doing some careful trimming and thinning on the inside surfaces between the wheel-halves. That is, trim out some of the styrene and make those rims skinnier and the groove a little wider.  Likewise, thin down the angular bracing parts around the hub.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you do this little boxy beast!

Cheers!

Bob

Eric: Thanks for sharing the photo with us. I suppose it fits since I've been told every cat is a tiger in their dreams...

Bill: Glad you were able to save the mangled PE, I've never seen a piece bent like that before either.

Cliff, i'm a sucker for all cats, small and big alike. Perhaps I should have gone with a Catman username. Tigers just happen to be the biggest of them all. Much like the WW II armor.......

Hey Eric sounds like your feeling better today .

Gents,, thanks for the PE words and advice...  I am at a loss as to how it happened other than possibly poor packaging. I have never seen this from Dragon in the past. Luckily I think the bend won't do much real harm.

Will,,   I would be stoked about that half track too,,,  great looking piece!

Carl,,  That turret is giving me flashbacks of my micro pz III build,,  good job so far

Erik,,  Great pic of Katie,,,,  am sure she is munching on some treats in a good place

Bob,,   thanks for all the advice on the track options...  not sure which set I will go with as of yet...  crossing that bridge in the near future though

Am really looking forward to dipping into the build....  will be fun!

Bill

I'm in. Just not sure what I will build. I'll get back to you ASAP.

Bill , hope those flashbacks dont cause nightmares !

This has got to be the smallest turret (and tank ) that i've ever built .

Hurry up Chazzer. LOL We're less then a week in, so you've got time.

Carl, it's a process. I did ok yesterday. Today I was stupid enough to watch this 30 second video that my wife took with her iphone. It shows Katie with a toy bear in her mouth making these crazy noises when she picks one up. So cute, but I was stupid to watch it. It's a process.

Hope to get back this evening. presently I have to job search as well.

Chazzer,,     good to see you jumping in!

Eric,,   day by day pal

Carl,,   nahh,,  no nightmares,,,  (yet,,  ha)                 If you want to feel better about that little turret....    send me a PM,,,  I'll ship you one of the lil Nitto's or Fujimi's,,    hell, I will never build all of them

Eric , you cant forget the good times . Hang in there .

BaBill212

Chazzer,,     good to see you jumping in!

Eric,,   day by day pal

Carl,,   nahh,,  no nightmares,,,  (yet,,  ha)                 If you want to feel better about that little turret....    send me a PM,,,  I'll ship you one of the lil Nitto's or Fujimi's,,    hell, I will never build all of them

Bill , that just way to small for me . I bet your trying to get rid of them little things arent you ?

Carl,,,    muah? Trying to get rid of them,, nahh...            was thinking just looking at one would be great therapy for your Pz I build,,,     35th scale would look SO big...  if  you change your mind, lemme know,,  no worries