Thanks guys.

Andy, all the turret markings are masked/painted.  You can make out the masks inthe photo at the bottom of page 96.  The only exception is the 0 on the back of the turret..  I went through a  4" tall stack of decal sheets to find an appropriate 0.  And, as one would expect, I finally found one on like the 3rd to last sheet

Marc- Camo job looks great!  Knowing it will look better after weathering stage.  Sorry if I missed this earlier, decals came with the Tamiya set or is it an aftermarket decals?  I don't remember seeing it with my Tamiya kit.  Forgive me if I have gone senile...

Rob: Very nice looking kit, between you and Stik Pusher you guys are pushing me to pick one up.

Marc: Very sharp job there! I ended up having to use a small brush and some black paint to fill in where I couldn't hit with the marker. Wasn't sure about the muffler- I painted parts A and C with rust and left the guards B in camo.

Eric: Hang in there, gosh I hate starting a new job and having to learn everything all over again.

Rob - glad to hear you plan to carry on with Canadian markings for the carrier.  A couple responses from WW2talk forum advise that for this time period, the correct unit signs would be 13,14, and 15 for those three regiments.  Also suggested taking a look at a posting of a booklet about the 1st British Corps markings in 1940:  http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/1940/8586-bef-1940-vehicle-markings-2.html  - read from post #65 onwards.

regards,

Jack

Sure Rob, would love to the Universal Carrier built up.

Carl, sadly I wasn't busy working today. Let's just say the new gig didn't go according to plan. However, all is not lost.......yet.

Rob , that looks like a good subject for this G.B. to me .

Eric is probably working his butt off today ..............................

Thanks for the feed back Rob.  I went straight over the Tamiya with the Sharpie.  No bleed issues.  The 2 issues I did have are the less than steady hands the I had when I was young so on close inspection, the lines are very slightly jagged in spots  The other was there is some much raised crap all over this thing, the fine tip could not get in the corners and had to go back with an ultra fine to fill in but they, for some reason, didn't draw well on the paint.

Anyway, here's where I am at the moment.  Some touch ups needed onthe fenders.  The metals fenders look way nicer than the kits.

Seeing different things on different models so... question about exhaust colors. The tips, A are rust(ish),even though B will be covered by the guards... also Rustish?  Really wondering about C.  I've seen it panted and rusty... on models that is.

Go Rob Go !    

tread

If there are no objections to this variant and country, Universal Carrier MK I A in Canadian service, would like to go ahead and claim this as my second entry and begin work.  Will be using the Tamiya British Universal Carrier Mk II to do this.  There are a few adjustments to make the Mk I A variant and believe I can do this.  I am still researching but from what I have found so far the vehicle will belong to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, Hastings / Prince Edward Regiment.  Vehicle insignias have been found.  Concrete evidence of painting / camo and specific vehicle number has not been found.  Will continue to look but if not found will use my artistic licenses to fill in.  Would like to paint the camo pattern using a faded khaki as a base with a brown camouflaging. 

ERIC - Will this be OK for the GB?

Here is the kit:

Typical Tamiya parts

Kit supplied rubber band tracks, not happy with these but have been unable to find a replacement so they will be used.

Will use this book, a few pictures, and a restoration project of a real one for reference.

And construction has begun.  Step one and 2 is building the interior.  Small things will need to be added but first there is use of the dremel.  Have to open up some areas on both of these parts for the air intake.

Will post again when there some significant work done on the interior / hull construction.

JC, ANDY, BILL212 - Thanks guys and I'm glad to hear that all of you like her.  The best yet, couple of y'all have said that.  As long as they keep improving with each build is good news.  Thanks for all of your comments and help along the way with this one.

MARC - Thanks!

Yes, I used a sharpie on the bottom (running gear skirts) of the Somua and on my FT-17.  The top section of the Somua was done with a different brand of marker; Schneider OHP S marker.  Both were very stark in the beginning.  With a few coats of Dullcote and filters they blended right in.  I do think the sharpie worked better and will be the only brand I use if I use a marker again.  The sharpie ink held together better and had a more black color to it.

On the turret of the Somua the marker had bled out everywhere after spraying Dullcote on it requiring brush work to fix it.  I played around after wards trying to figure out why only the turret did this.  Was able to make it bleed again (on scrap test piece) when the marker was not put on top of an already sprayed coat of Dullcote.  I believe on the Somua I had forgot to Dullcote the turret (unlike the other parts) first before using the marker.

So my theory is:

paint - dullcote - marker - dullcote - filters = No bleeding / good results

Rob,,, Dayum! You did an absolute awesome job on the whole piece... The S35 and the base are just top-notch!         Beautiful job  !!

Rob, I just don't know what to say.  That is truly beautiful.  The b;ending of the vehicle into the environment is perfect.  Not sure how far back is was in the threads... but did you use a Sharpie for the lines?  I just used one on the B1 and not only was it harder than I ever imagined it would have been... it looks very stark.  If that's how yours started and your weathering brought in line as far as intensity, I won't fret over mine any more

Tread, glad to see you survived the that freak storm. Back to bench young man!

wbill76

Beautiful work all around on the Somua and base Rob, definitely one to be proud of!

Agree with Bill... definitely one of my favorites of your work.  Well done my friend!

Hello

Very good kit and base Rob. 

JACK - nice to hear from you again.  This is some great information you provided!  It answers some of the questions I had on the subject but yet has made more.  With the limited number of Carriers the Canadians had at the time and as you had mentioned all being abandoned in France, finding any concrete evidence on the Carriers there would be a daunting task.

I have decals for the three regimental signs and may also have the formation sign for the 1st Division.  Had found some reading earlier saying that they did in fact display the division sign.  Have found no other reading to support that though.

Have spent most of the night reading and searching pictures trying to find more but with no luck as of yet.  Will keep looking as I build but if I can find no good evidence I have a British vehicle in mind for a back up.

Thanks again

Compliments to all and the wonderful work being done here.

Rob - regarding your question about Canada in France at this time, here is an excerpt from someone who was actually there, famed Canadian author Farley Mowat:

Markings wise, the good news is they followed British guidelines.  Bad news,  all these carriers were abandoned in France so finding photos of these specific vehicles will be extremely difficult at best.
Here are the individual unit signs for the three regiments that were landed:

Royal Canadian Regiment

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment

48th Highlanders of Canada

The official formation sign for the 1st Canadian Infantry Division  is the gold leaf on a red background.  I'm not sure if this was used  at this time.  The red background itself was originally the patch of the same numbered division during WW1, and a Wikipedia entry states it was only adopted in 1941.   Good luck.

regards,
Jack

Tread, thanks man.  That was the look I was going for.  These things were not to beat up in a 6 week war.

The trip Carl and I took to France  was a big help too.  AHHH the memories...

treadwell

Hi Rob :  )

Congrats on a beautiful ,accurate and extremely well painted Somua !..... siting on its base, it blends perfectly and has a nice dusty, but not not overly done look to it. What a beautiful job !

now I am going to go back and read about it in the posts I missed

tread

Hi Rob :  )

Congrats on a beautiful ,accurate and extremely well painted Somua !..... siting on its base, it blends perfectly and has a nice dusty, but not not overly done look to it. What a beautiful job !

now I am going to go back and read about it in the posts I missed

tread

WBILL - Thanks, I'm pretty happy with her and the good thing is there are no floaters.  That still makes me laugh

ERIC - Have to agree with you, this is one not seen often.  Happy you like her. 

I'm happy to see these French and early versions of armor.  This has been a very unique GB and a very enjoyable one.  Thanks for hosting such a great subject

Look forward to seeing more of your Hotchkiss when you get a chance.

Rob, that may well be your best to date. Unique and wonderful at the same time form the camo to the base. Well done sir.

Beautiful work all around on the Somua and base Rob, definitely one to be proud of!

Terry you slipped past me...Thanks my friend.

Hey thanks you two   She was fun to build but I'm already researching my next.  Have decided to build the Universal Carrier MK II for my second entry in this GB.  Have looked for quit some time for after market tracks and have had no luck so will try the rubber band ones that come with the kit.  Not to happy about that but thats how it goes

Question for anyone that knows the answer.  During the battle of France the Canadians, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to be exact, landed at the port of Brest on 13 June, 1940.  They then headed toward Le Mans.  On 18 June they boarded troopships in Brest and St. Malo and returned to Britain.  They were forced to leave all vehicles behind but did save all of its artillery.

They had penetrated inland only 124.2 miles before evacuating.

My questions is did they bring the Bren Carrier with them and would it be feasible to build mine with Canadian markings?  Would this be going to far out for this GB?

Just dropping in to se how everybody is keeping.

Wow Rob the Somua finished looks brilliant I love it.

Bill  (Ol' Gabby) I was wondering where you were, hope life is getting back to normal.

Well I got noothing done to update myself but I will read through daily on the phone.

Terry.

PANZERWAFFE

FINIS!

 

Rob , super cool man , I like it all .

Tread: Good to have you back, and it's good to hear things are getting back to normal for you and the family.

Rob: That's a beautiful job there! The S35 came out great and I love the simple and elegant base you've done for her.

FINIS!

MARC - The camo and turret markings are outstanding!!  Your acrylic spraying is beautiful.

Everyones input on spraying acrylics are very informative.  Myself having the same problems as many have already said.

BILL212 - Interior is very nice.  Great job on fitting into the hull.  It's going to really do it's part when looking through the hatches.

CARL - My vote is for your newest version of the badge.

TREAD - Happy that you made it back!  Sorry to hear of the poor weather and hard week but glad you and the family are now recovering!

Afraid my badge will not shrink down small enough so I have abandoned it to the badge graveyard  

I am calling my Somua complete and will be posting pictures soon.

Treadplate , bout time you got back on line man . I was thinking that you were off line due to the storm that hit you guys . Good to have you back with us . Sounds like you had all of the equipment you needed to survive without power . Too bad the gen set took a dive and let you down . Thats a long time for it to be running though . I've only needed mine for a few hrs at a time so far so who knows what could happen when the power is out for that long . Have fun cutting the fire wood . I just bought a new chain saw , my old 25 yr. old one gave up the ghost and there are no parts available anymore . Anyway glad you and your wife are ok . Looking forward to reading you post bro .