Andy thanks for your comment on page 56 .

Rob , i try to keep it interesting .................and confussing !

Rob , i just posted my post in reply to your post and then i saw your second post on this page .................Huh ?

Anyway the Tamiya turret looks like a natural on there .

PANZERWAFFE

 STIK - Good to see some color   Will be tuned in to see your method of painting the tracks and suspension.  Have yet to be brave enough to try a complete build then paint.

Lets just say that this is uncharted territory for me too. I have a rough idea of what to do but I am definitely out of my comfort zone at this point. Well I have the next four days at work to ponder how to tackle painting the running gear in place.

Tigerman, this was the perfect kit for a quick build. I know the finish process will take longer than the build did. If I can finish it by mid October I will be quite surprised.

Wow, you guys are doing such great work!  And you're doing it so fast I feel so left behind.....  That's OK because you've got me really interested in these WWII French tanks  Because of this I was motivated to bid on (and win!) these on Ebay:

Got em quite cheap...$28 for both, INCLUDING shipping!  Can't beat $14 a kit, even if they aren't modern, top of the line products!

Now I don't plan on building these for the GB.....just something for the future!

Keep up the good work guys!  I'll start my Bronco A13 as soon as I can.

That was good haul .

Nice haul Ernest. That Somua is just so different. I've never built a Heller kit, so it's nice to see some of these kits built up. 

Heller armor kits are something of a challenge to build. I have started three and completed one so far... The other two (including my Somua) are in semi build limbo... One day I will finish both.

BTW,Squadron has the Somua on sale right now.

Afraid I'll leave someone out so again I'll say great work guys!

Tread: Arrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Didn't even THINK about the front hull parts and engine deck covers being cast parts too!!! Dang, your Char B1 looks good! Dunno if I should go back and redo the parts or just say the heck with it since almost no one I know knows jack about French hardware.

Otherwise happy about how the painting came out so far, little pre-shading which I didn't think was enough so I post-shaded the centres of the plates with the green mixed with the sand coloured camo paint. I've been reading Steven Zaloga's book on modeling US WWII armour and decided to try his vertical streaking of a light shade of the base paint on the sides. Like how it came out but most will be covered by the other two camo colours.

You know if she were an American tank I'd be done with painting by now

Yeah and all olive drab green is kinda boring too

Nice preshade Cliff. Are you going to do one of those funky camo jobs on the Char or just monotone?

Rob, forgot to say that Somua is shaping up very nicely.

Eric: I'm going to try the three colour scheme with the dark green, sand yellow, and reddish brown. I've been trying Silly Putty to mask and very happy with it so far, it covers irregular surfaces much better than tape.

Cliff

Stik wins the prize for first-to-paint!

Carl, nice save on the hull seams and add-ons for the flanges.

Tread, fantastic work on the added details. You should fill the small gap that's still present in the pics though around the 75mm gun mount. It was one solid cast piece (as you've added the texture for) that was bolted into the hull, so the gap that's there in the Tamiya parts/assembly engineering isn't correct.

That's going to look cool Cliff. I'm either going montone (boring) or two color with the red brown. The problem with the latter is the decals. I think they are numbers only. I like those red hearts, but i've yet to see them on the two-tone. 

Damnnnn, You guys are machines!       So much good stuff going on....

Stik,,    is the paint after assembly and involved lesson?  I'll sure be watching as you get to that area.

bbrown,,   I can see the work area!  Mine gets crazy too...  I have a huge desk and end up working in a 3" x 3" area.     And, I do see the 222!

Tread,,   holycrapola!  Great progress and looking great too. Nice stippling on the Char,, clever resolve to Mr Surfacer!

Eric,,   I do understand the micro build frustration factor,,,  I wonder why I do these things to myself.

Carl,,   that little Italeri is taking shape.   Looking good!

Rob,,   the turret does look good,   the new ring and fit is spot on.

Ernest,,   awesome snag on the kits...  wow    $14 each,,  can't beat it

Cliff,,  excellent preshading,,   can't wait to see the camo job on it

Hope I haven't missed anyone....  hell, you don't see the post for a day and there are 3 pages added (this is a good thing by the way,,  I do enjoy catching up!)

I hope to get some work in on the command pz I tonight.........   (ah,hope,,  ah,hope)

Bill

More progress to report...finally got through Step 1 (well mostly). I completed the suspension elements which was kind of a slog as there are 56 parts involved in their assembly. It pays off though as the elements remain workable if you're strategic in your assembly and careful as to where you do and don't apply glue. The instruction steps don't provide any "no glue here" type of guidance, so you have to figure it out on your own. The key is to only glue the top part of the cap (parts A10/A28) while still trapping the suspension arms effectively. I assembled one hull side at a time in order to avoid any parts confusion as it's very easy to get turned around if you aren't careful in the process because there are so many parts involved. I deliberately didn't fill the ejector mark visible under one of the wheel mount pins because it will be hidden away once the wheels are installed.

The rest of Step 1 deals with attaching all the details to the rear hull plate but I will deal with that a bit later as it's easier to install the plate into the hull first and then add the details to avoid potential loss/damage to stuff in the process.

Step 2 starts work on the hull itself. The nose plates are added and I went ahead and also added the rear hull plates at the same time even though they aren't called for in the instructions until Step 4. Other small details are added in this step including the fuel tank spouts, the external fuel access doors, the base of the turret basket, and the rubber bump stops.

Step 3 is a detail step and deals with the final drive housings. The armored covers are provided as a single piece but with 6 separate small bolts that need to be added to each cover. Small locater bumps are provided to aid in their placement. I carefully removed them from the sprues with a pair of tweezer cutters and then used a toothpick moistened with some spit to pick up the bolt and place it in a small amount of liquid glue on the locater bump. Rinse and repeat for each bolt with a touch of glue once in place to insure it stayed put and voilà! the step was done.

Now it's on to installing the actual suspension elements and circling back to take care of the rear hull plates as the next adventure.

Hi modeler#1...  :  )

Hows your R -35 coming ?

tread

Hi Rob  :  ) 

Man the Souma is beautiful... not just your work ... I mean it has an aesthetic appeal to me that I can't get over.

could be another French tank or 2 in the future for me?

tread

wBill,,    that is a load of stuff going on in the intial steps. [If you don't mind] I may copy your walkthrough in case I build the same piece.       Looks good,,,    Will be sure to keep watching.........   

Bill

BaBill212

wBill,,    that is a load of stuff going on in the intial steps. [If you don't mind] I may copy your walkthrough in case I build the same piece.       Looks good,,,    Will be sure to keep watching.........     

Yes, the first Step deals with nearly 200 parts all told...that's roughly 20% of the total parts count in a single step! No problems with copying if you need it, I'm also keeping a "clean" version of the build log on my site, www.bpmodels.net if that's easier for you.

Hi Cliff :  )

your  Char is looking mighty nice my friend !  You are gonna put tri tone camo over the shading?... like you said it almost looks finished...on the sides, the camo almost becomes invisible with all the grease and dust build up anyaway... looking great !

tread

wbill76

Stik wins the prize for first-to-paint!

Carl, nice save on the hull seams and add-ons for the flanges.

Tread, fantastic work on the added details. You should fill the small gap that's still present in the pics though around the 75mm gun mount. It was one solid cast piece (as you've added the texture for) that was bolted into the hull, so the gap that's there in the Tamiya parts/assembly engineering isn't correct.

Thanks Bill  :  ) the parts are just sitting there un glued..after it's glued together, I will take a tiny roll of Apoxie sculpt and wet brush to fill the gap... a little more stippling and Voila.... the gap willbe filled !

wbill76

More progress to report...finally got through Step 1 (well mostly). I completed the suspension elements which was kind of a slog as there are 56 parts involved in their assembly. It pays off though as the elements remain workable if you're strategic in your assembly and careful as to where you do and don't apply glue. The instruction steps don't provide any "no glue here" type of guidance, so you have to figure it out on your own. The key is to only glue the top part of the cap (parts A10/A28) while still trapping the suspension arms effectively. I assembled one hull side at a time in order to avoid any parts confusion as it's very easy to get turned around if you aren't careful in the process because there are so many parts involved. I deliberately didn't fill the ejector mark visible under one of the wheel mount pins because it will be hidden away once the wheels are installed.

The rest of Step 1 deals with attaching all the details to the rear hull plate but I will deal with that a bit later as it's easier to install the plate into the hull first and then add the details to avoid potential loss/damage to stuff in the process.

Step 2 starts work on the hull itself. The nose plates are added and I went ahead and also added the rear hull plates at the same time even though they aren't called for in the instructions until Step 4. Other small details are added in this step including the fuel tank spouts, the external fuel access doors, the base of the turret basket, and the rubber bump stops.

Step 3 is a detail step and deals with the final drive housings. The armored covers are provided as a single piece but with 6 separate small bolts that need to be added to each cover. Small locater bumps are provided to aid in their placement. I carefully removed them from the sprues with a pair of tweezer cutters and then used a toothpick moistened with some spit to pick up the bolt and place it in a small amount of liquid glue on the locater bump. Rinse and repeat for each bolt with a touch of glue once in place to insure it stayed put and voilà! the step was done.

Now it's on to installing the actual suspension elements and circling back to take care of the rear hull plates as the next adventure.

Bill, this build will literally come alive with all the details... I hope you have special insurance for your eyes (in case they wear out working with all the ultra small parts)

Thanks wBill,,  I will keep your site log reference for sure,,      appreciate the help

Hi Eric : ) 

I am glad you found yer light buddy.... time for me to turn mine off

tread

BaBill212

Damnnnn, You guys are machines!       So much good stuff going on....

Stik,,    is the paint after assembly and involved lesson?  I'll sure be watching as you get to that area.

bbrown,,   I can see the work area!  Mine gets crazy too...  I have a huge desk and end up working in a 3" x 3" area.     And, I do see the 222!

Tread,,   holycrapola!  Great progress and looking great too. Nice stippling on the Char,, clever resolve to Mr Surfacer!

Eric,,   I do understand the micro build frustration factor,,,  I wonder why I do these things to myself.

Carl,,   that little Italeri is taking shape.   Looking good!

Rob,,   the turret does look good,   the new ring and fit is spot on.

Ernest,,   awesome snag on the kits...  wow    $14 each,,  can't beat it

Cliff,,  excellent preshading,,   can't wait to see the camo job on it

 

Hope I haven't missed anyone....  hell, you don't see the post for a day and there are 3 pages added (this is a good thing by the way,,  I do enjoy catching up!)

I hope to get some work in on the command pz I tonight.........   (ah,hope,,  ah,hope)

Bill

And you're doing a braille Pz III.

Nothng done today. I filled out an app and did a mini-interview. I wasn't expecting that, but was hoping for it. Let's say after 22 years, I'm a bit rusty.

Hello fellow G.B. members .

I used .020 rod in the holes to simulate the bolts in the flange .

Shellback

Hello fellow G.B. members .

I used .020 rod in the holes to simulate the bolts in the flange .

That's just sick Carl. 

tigerman

 

Shellback:

 

Hello fellow G.B. members .

I used .020 rod in the holes to simulate the bolts in the flange .

 

 

That's just sick Carl. 

glad i understand modern speak Eric , otherwise i'd be worried ......................Thanks

Eric: Good luck with the interview- good gosh I hate those, thankfully I've been able to hold on to the same job for the last decade. I'd almost rather go though another kidney stone than a job interview...

Bill and Carl: Looking good guys!

Tread: Thanks, I went back and textured my Char B1 using your photos as a reference - mine's a bit more rough but under the camo and weathering I hope it won't look too bad.

I'm going to go with moderate amounts of dust and mud. Maybe not too realistic from the photos I've seen but I want to see at least some of the camo.

Tread: I figured you were on top of it! No worries about my eyes, that's what the lighted magnifier is for on my workbench! I will say this, having recently worked on a Smart Kit Pz IV (the Wirbelwind), it's like night and day in terms of number of parts and design approach. The 56 parts for example in the suspension elements are only 32 parts in the Smart Kit...the trade-off of course being that the Smart Kit suspension can't be assembled as workable. Very easy to see why the "Super" Kit approach hit an evolutionary dead-end when combined with the advances in slide-mold and other technologies that DML has implemented since ~2006 when the Super Kit IV-E made its debut.

Eric,,    I know,,   that micro pz is a tester,,,  for sure   

Carl,,   nice work on the Italeri,,,,  great detail