Brother Tread, the Char is looking wonderful. Nice little fiddly bits added. This should be amazing when done.

treadwell

tread @ stickpusher

Hi man :  )   .... Polly S better than Vallejo for brushing ?..... If so , I must get some

thanks,

tread

I think it is. One coat coverage. Something I do not have much luck with using Vallejo. Unfortunately Polly S was discontinued from production I would guestimate around 2002 and replaced by Polly Scale. If you can find some, snatch it up and see what you think.

Some minimal progress today, as I was concentrating on another build. I did some figure painting on the crew and attached the goggles I obtained from that Tamiya Churchill...

I also have been working on these guys for a 1st Gulf War LAV C2. I just put them here for a little companionship...

The weather forecast for the rest of this week is excellent  so tomorrow and Wednesday should see good progress! Washes and airbrushing are on the schedule

TREAD - Thats pure eye candy!

STIK - The Figures are looking good.  Your Gulf figures are amazing.

Last picture for me tonight.  Was able to finish the stowage boxes and fix them into place.  Decided to leave the front one off.

Rob, your Somua is impressing the heck out of me! Did you use Fruils on it?

TERRY, ERIC - Thanks for the comments

JC - Those new engines will be a huge improvement.  Cant wait to see them installed.

BILL212 - That looked scary at first with the idler.  Great save, looks good with everything back on track

STIK - Yes sir, those are Fruils.  It's nice to hear that you like her.  With the bottom section out of the way it has become a slow but enjoyable build.

Forgot to tell you, your idea of drilling out the goggles is a great one.  Will be trying that out next time I have goggles to do.

I figured if I am gonna try to paint faces halfway decent, it will be nice to see that rather than silver for the lens. Just a drop of clear glue to make a new lens and a huge improvement. Those Verlinden Gulf War AFV crew gave me the idea. Just the goggle frames are molded there. You can see the glue I added is still drying and "foggy" when I took the pics. I don't have enough clear goggles in the spares bin to go around

Tread- Jeez, you are making it very difficult for me to build my Char when I am ready.  Damn real good looking so far!  Are you using same reference that our friend JC sent?

Bill- Good safe with the idler!  So tiny... aspirins please!

Rob- Great work on the bolts and storage boxes! 

Stik- I agree with guys... great work on the figures especially the desert camo.

Tread, Nice work as usual.  Cupla qustions... Do you have a ref pick that shows the row of bolts added to outside of the track path and the solid strip on the other?  How did you make the rivets?  Did you research the casting numbers to make them accurate?  Good on ya of you did... I plan to take some artistic license 

Stik, those figure are awesome.  Hey... there are stick figures OK sorry... another goaner.

Rob, That is really shaping up nicely.  I like the missing box.

Bill, that happened to me once but I can't rememr the kit.  I just layed the run down on the bench and took the idler and rolling it down the line bewteen the teeth with enough preeusre that aused them to bend ever so slighlty.  Perfect fit and some fun little wear scratched on the idler too.

I have made progress on the Char but mostly getting the basic hull together and y'all know what that looks like already.  I was going to spend a pile-o-cash on some Friuls becuse the edges of the kits tracks are way to thick.  I tried sanding the edges of the tracks and I am pleased with the results so I kept going.  Got about 1/2 done ast night.  This ain't no 10 minutes crapper job

Rob & Tread: You guys are making me feel bad over not adding more detail to my tank Oh well, there's always the next one!

Bill: Nice job on the treads, always thought the Fruils look nice but I'm way too cheap to cough up enough dough for them.

SP: Super nice job on the figures but why do they all look like William Holden?

BaBill, nice adjustment with the idlers...often the case when using AM tracks and always a good idea to check the fit on both the idler and the sprockets. With small tracks in particular like those on the Pz I, the tolerances are tiny if any! As far as the jerry cans go, those were included for the DAK options in the kit...they do make for great detailed items though. Can't tell you how often I've raided DML kits for the cans on various projects when needed.

Tread, the master continues with the details, sharp work!

Rob, like the missing "saddle bag", it adds character to the build.

Marc, nice added work on the Tamiya tracks...they go together very quickly so consider it a trade-off that you're adding more time/work to the runs with the sanding. You'll feel like you've "earned" it as otherwise they would go together in 5-10 mins each and you'd be let down!

Hey guys,

As always, some pretty impressive work happening in this GB.

Tread, your build is coming together excellently. I love all the added detail.

Bill, great save on the idler!

Rob, your Somua is superb! Love the paint job thus far. Stik's right - those fruils you added look great.

Stik, add me to the list of people who will shamelessly steal your goggle idea.

OK, as for me, the bench time turned into mostly research time. I am trying to figure out how minimalist I can get away with on the interior. I don't want to go 'whole hog' but I want enough to give an accurate representation. I know that there won't be great visibility through the turret (and I don't intend to leave a door open), but I also don't want to leave out anything that should obviously be there. Ahhh, decisions, decisions....

It keeps getting better here guys. 

Stik, the figgies are cool. Really like those Gulf ones.

Hope to put up a pic or two, but I have a lot of painting to do.

A couple of updates. I still need to respray the field drab and paint the tracks. First time I ever painted them attached. Gulp. Luckily I have one of them optic visors. The fenders aren't glued in yet. I need to reglue one of the braces to the skid which popped.

There is just too much good stuff going on in here... Kudos all the way around!

Tigerman, I am there with you about painting tracks after they are on the vehicle. I have reached that point now...

Here are my increments from today...

A wash of Burnt Umber applied

then cleaned up with a brush dampened with thinner...

And finally a coat of Humbrol Matt Clear airbrushed on... the stuff is absolutely DEAD Flat... I LOVE it!

While it dries I am contemplating how to attack the final painting... the suspension and final weathering...

tread @ Andy :  )

Hi Andy, yes I am using links from Jc, Char francais and every Char link that has something to offer from Google....I also check other modelers offerings on other sites such as Missing Lynx...trackstory o3 is very helpful, but if you really dig, Char francais really has so much more than it appears. 

When you start building, I would be happy to help point you in the right direction if I can

I am anxious to see you start building!  :  )

tread

tread @ Marc

hey buddy... yeah I had that ref. pic that showed the solid strip on the left side, but I er ugh .. lost it ? ...I guess I will have to put rivets there also.... dam... hurts my eyes

the rivets I am using are cut offs from the spare part box  ...and about the casting numbers... of course they all match perfectly and every individual piece was researched from French archives.... well any way, from my reference, I try to count the number of 'numbers' used in the casting and try my best to duplicate that.. that is to say if a part has 5 numbers,  I use 5 numbers...thats the best I could do

anyhoo... great job sanding down the tracks !....they look excellent.... mine are titanium... to hard to sand down, but I really wish I could ... honest :  )

tread

tread @ Eric : )

Man you son of a gun.... I can't believe you have finished building !!  It looks fantastic !

Ya wanna know the first detail that pops out at my eyes ?..... the tiny lifting hooks

great job man, I love the anti ditch thing on the back... it is so WW I.....dates the technology

congrats again on the new gig... hope it works out well for you : )

tread

Thanks Stik and Tread. I resprayed the field drab and it seemed to cover a little better today. I poured out some of the thinner that floated to the surface.

I do like the little skid at the back, kind of gives it some character. And yes, those hooks really do pop out don't they?

I hope to start painting the tools tonight. Then, nothing until the weekend.

Gentlemen,,   Thanks for the kind words on the idler / Friul fix and jerry can assembly...

  I will also echo,,   so much good work going on in this build !

Tread,,,   I am really liking the details....  superb

Stik,,    I also enjoy figure painting,, you have done them great justice. The modern camo scheme looks great!    Also,, the Humbrol Matt....  is it enamel or acrylic?    You stated it dries very flat....  no haze or anything?          My last application of model master flat, seemed to be a bit hazed / fogged.

Rob,,,    the PE stowage box / straps are a great touch. The Somua is coming along nicely

Andy,,    I will put in an order for some more asprins

Marc,,    nice adjustment with sanding down the tracks,,,   saving a load of dough for sure,,  very well done

Gamera,,,    much obliged

wBill,,,    I had an idea those j-cans were meant for the trop version,,,  I couldn't resist putting them together.  And you are right,,  they will come in handy most anyplace

bbrown,,,    appreciate it, thanks

Eric,,    I'll be watching your inclusive paint progress,,,,  all the best with it

Bill

tread @ wbill : )

thanks so much man.. greatly appreciated !

tread

tread @ Bill212 : )

greatly appreciated man !

tread

Bill, the Humbrol Matt coat is enamel and comes in a small tin, just like the rest of their enamel line. I stir it thoroughly and mix it with Testors Enamel universal airbrush thinner. That stuff is the best for mixing with any enamels I have found. If you mix at a higher ratio of thinner to Matt coat, there will be no hazing or fogging. But the higher the amount of  Matt coat to Thinner and then fogging can show up. It is a learn as you go item, but once you find what works right, you will swear by it and not use anything else.

Before dinner I began the final painting. I airbrushed on a coat of Testors MM Raw Umber onto the suspension, tracks, lower surfaces and portions of the fenders and other areas likely to have dust/dirt/mud thrown on them by the tracks in use on the UE Carrier and trailer.

As you can see it gives a nice wet dirt color there. Tomorrow I think a layer of Raw Sienna misted on lighter over the Raw Umber....

tread@ stickpusher :  )

hey man the weathering is looking fantastic...dirty & dusty!

tread

tread @ Rob

What can I say dude? .... the Somua is looking so top shelf.. i love it.... it is so strange that the top half of the hull is bolted to the bottom... what do they do ? take it apart to service it.... ( an ignorant but legit question )

I never even heard of a somua before this GB..... what an education I am getting

looking fantastic Rob

tread

That's a cool little thing you have going Stik. Nice job on the lower hull.

hello ,

Stick :

        Your UE is fantastic. Very nice.

Tigerman (eric) :

        Well done on your char. What is the paint you used?

                 Jc

Hey all-still following this GB (in a state of awe-fantastic work being displayed here....by everyone!)

Still waiting for Squadron to ship my 109E....and to add insult to injury, my air compressor died.  Another one on order but still an annoyance.  Even if the 109 shows up today, due to the lack of a compressor and a college visit scheduled next weekend...our son, not me...best case is a start weekend of 10/30.

Cheers

Eric: She's looking good, great to see you making so much progress as pressed as you are for time.

SP: Fantastic job, looks like you're almost done! Looking forward to seeing the figures in place.

Hopefully will have photos up by this weekend, been somewhat distracted by trying to finish a P-47 (sorry armour guys)

Vit13

hello ,

Stick :

        Your UE is fantastic. Very nice.

Tigerman (eric) :

        Well done on your char. What is the paint you used?

 

              

                 Jc

 

Actually it's the Hotchkiss 39 and she's painted in Model Master Field Drab Acrylic.

tigerman

 

Vit13:

 

hello ,

Stick :

        Your UE is fantastic. Very nice.

Tigerman (eric) :

        Well done on your char. What is the paint you used?

 

              

                 Jc

 

 

 

Actually it's the Hotchkiss 39 and she's painted in Model Master Field Drab Acrylic.

Hi Eric  :  ) ..... actually your Hotchkiss 39 is a char as are all French tanks.... as I understand it, Char is the French word for ' tank'  making yours a  ' char Hotchkiss 39'  or Robs a 'char Somua'....

tread