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A pretty uneventful start to my Tamiya King Tiger. Sanded all the mold lines from the wheels and placed some tape on the ends of the suspension arms to keep paint from building up later. I'm using a couple old photos as reference of this vehicle and I didn't see any damaged Zimmerit on the rear hull plate so I left the it intact. There are a few spots near the front where the zim had been damaged so I'll cut those areas out before applying the patterns as I go on.

Aaron. looking forward to the M13/40 (actually all the builds entered here) but particularly this one and others that are desert themed.

I've only second hand information based on other's research which appear to be taken from 6th Div Cav records.  Basically the 'roos' were painted (or wallabies as some argue), on vehicles captured around Bardia.  These were to be used on the assault of Tobruk, with all but one breaking down on the way there.  This lone M13/40 would make it to Barce, which is roughly 75 miles north east of Benghazi, before it too finally broke down.

regards,

Jack

Great start, Jibber!

Sneaked into the office this morning to see what Aaron was up to. I caught him cradling his M13/40 like he was trying to calm an injured joey. Anyway, if any of you are going to the IPMS Nats this year, make sure you go over and give Aaron some grief, and then report the encounter here. Heck, take a selfie and post it.

Glad to see the OAGB underway. I'm still clearing a review model off my to-do list. Once it's gone, then Matilda next. Then I owe Wayne a snowspeeder. GAH!

Although, that list is nothing compared to Aaron's ever-lengthening queue of models under construction. He'll never see the end of it.

Can't wait to see more of you guys sounding off.  

jgeratic

Aaron. looking forward to the M13/40 (actually all the builds entered here) but particularly this one and others that are desert themed.

I've only second hand information based on other's research which appear to be taken from 6th Div Cav records.  Basically the 'roos' were painted (or wallabies as some argue), on vehicles captured around Bardia.  These were to be used on the assault of Tobruk, with all but one breaking down on the way there.  This lone M13/40 would make it to Barce, which is roughly 75 miles north east of Benghazi, before it too finally broke down.

regards,

Jack

Thanks for the info, Jack. As with everything else in North Africa at the time, there's a lot of back and forth on the reality of the situation. Needless to say, this kit plugs a hole in my Australian collection. Now I'm keen to see picture of R35 in Australian markings.

Cheers, Aaron

Tim Kidwell

Wayne, flat tires would be a cool effect. I wonder, do you think you could apply a little heat and slowly melt them to get the desired look? It's not something I've tried, so I'm just throwing it out there.

might be easier than breaking the front differential to be able to turn the front wheels like on the other pic.

this pic doesn't have a spare tire so i suppose i could use it as a test piece or scrounge around and see if i have an old  tire in the frankenstein box(es). i do have a pair of URAL-4320 6X6s in the stash; same frame

probably be best to do it in outside with a respirator, let the heat soften it and press it down. if it really went south i could always scratchbuild a hub with the lug posts and have the tire missing altogether or "bury" the bad part. in the "sand." they don't have to be perfectly flat, that's why God created terrain bases.

DAMN. this keeps up and i will order the voyager PE rocket launcher assy.

Hey Aaron, off to a good start...

Hi jibber,

hey, did you really started on Aug, 1st?...you are doing a very good progress., specially with the zimmerit. good luck

Good morning all,

Hoperfully this weekend I can make some progress... this voyager upgrade basically replaces the original kit parts around 80%. It is going to go slow...so much tiny itsy bitty PE parts... 

So, here it is the table set for the kit...

Nice work guys!

Garzonh: Good location there, plenty of natural light and a tile floor instead of the 'carpet monster' 

I jumped in with both feet as well.  Essentially got the hull assembled yesterday and today I will be sanding away all the undesirables.  The massive holes for the motor option in the bottom of the hull was filled with the sawdust technique (which I learned at a gun show of all places) and I had to sand away a huge bulge on the lower portion of the bow.  Once all the sanding is complete I will begin adding all the PE details to the exterior.

deattilio, nice start... Im interested in what you will do here..., so its a US vehicle under what country or scheme?. Will be nice conversion...

Gamera

Garzonh: Good location there, plenty of natural light and a tile floor instead of the 'carpet monster' 

Wow thats a lot of PE….

Time for my first progress report, just a couple of pics showing the weekends efforts. Not an awful lot done. After removing the plastic track guards I set about adding the PE grills. These were a real pain and took up most of the time. They kept coming apart, I really need to practice soldering. Due to having to be fixed several times and constant test fitting, they ended up a little battered looking but I think that adds to the look. Then I added the track guards which Aber have messed up. there are little groves form braces to fit into, but this are on the wrong side, so now are underneath instead of on top. So I will use them as a guide to add the parts and then fill them in.

So here are a couple fo pics.

And that's it so far. But there is not a lot to this kit. And about half of the larger PE set is for the inside of hatch's. But as these are all going to be closed, I won't be using a lot of that. With the grills done, I think the hardest bit is behind me, so progress from now should be pretty quick, apart from putting the Fuils together.

And speaking of those. I have been looking at the tracks and can't tell if there is a right and wrong way round for them to go. I know German tracks are quite obvious as to which way they should be fitted, but these look the same which ever way you look at them. Am I missing something or does it not matter which way they go. 

Bish I don't see the tracks but Daisy's hard to miss…..

Just be grateful its not page 3, that would make ur eyes pop out.

Might be helpful if I posted some pics of the tracks wouldn't it. I'll do that next time.

Bish, got some nice PE bling on the SU-85.

garzonh

deattilio, nice start... Im interested in what you will do here..., so its a US vehicle under what country or scheme?. Will be nice conversion...

Garzonh, I am doing this one up as a Royal Thai Marine LVTP7, something different for my AmTrac lineup as I have only modeled USMC marked LVTs/AAVs in the past.

The hull is assembled and I have started applying PE from the Eduard and Voyager sets.  As can probably be expected though, I didn’t get as far as planned.  I wanted to have the hull primed by Sunday evening but, instead chores and “honey-do’s” overtook hobby time.  Also, each time I thought I was ready to begin applying PE I would notice some other error on the hull (both molding and my own heavy handedness at times) that needed attention.  Academy did a decent job of capturing an LVTP7 but forgot to tweak the cargo hatches; they still had the locks for the P7A1, something I hadn’t noticed as I sanded away the hatch handles while ever so carefully avoiding damaging the locks.  Looks like I’ll be attaching PE for the rest of the week as time allows.

Hi guys,

I've been approached by a younger member of the FSM Forum who would like to join the OAGB. I've told him he's welcome. He's trying to find a subject and kit that would be appropriate. He happened to have a Dragon 1/35 scale Jagdpanther G2 and thought it might fit the bill, but I haven't been able to turn anything up. If you guys have any better luck, let me know. This will be his first armor build, so when we get the kit and markings nailed down, I'll have him post into the build and introduce himself.

Thanks,

Tim

Tim, I saw his post and did some searching. I found plenty of pics of captured Jagdpanther, but none in Allied markings. I think its a bit awkward when it comes to German equipment captured by the Allies in Europe. Unlike the Germans on the eastern front or both sides in Africa, the allies didn't use captured German kit, with the probably exception of an artillery piece turned on its former owners until the shells had run out.

For the most part, I think they were lucky to stick a star on them for towing back for evaluation, as with the captured Tiger II. In regards to jagpanthers, I was searching for a while last night after I saw his post and couldn't find a single one in Allied markings, just several with Allied soldiers next to them or on top.

Bish

Tim, I saw his post and did some searching. I found plenty of pics of captured Jagdpanther, but none in Allied markings. I think its a bit awkward when it comes to German equipment captured by the Allies in Europe. Unlike the Germans on the eastern front or both sides in Africa, the allies didn't use captured German kit, with the probably exception of an artillery piece turned on its former owners until the sh

I found markings for a Jagdpanzer IV in Bulgarian service 1945, but it doesn't fit the kit he owns. I may steer him toward a StuG instead.

That might be a better option. I even looked for one in Soviet markings but no luck with that.

Bish and Deattilio,

That's some nice work there, especially working with older kits.

I finished the hull of the M13/40, including dry-fitting the replacement drive sprockets that come with the Fruil tracks.

Considering the age of the molds, this is a neat little kit. The only filler I needed was to fill a couple of sink marks. I also moved the jack from the fender to the rear plate in keeping with photos.

Cheers, Aaron

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Just a quick update on my progress. I'm working off three original B&W photos and this one shows no damaged zimmerit to the right turret. The other two pics indicate that the other turret sides and rear hull plate also appear intact but a little work will be necessary to the upper and lower glacius plate. I also have several smaller subassemblies ready to go. Theres a few little areas that will require some filing but thats about it, all in all a very nice fit. 

Terry: Nice work on that Tiger! I really like the Zimmerit! Is that an Atak set? If so, how do you like it?

Bish: You're doing a great job at spicing up that old kit!

Aaron: Looking really good! I completely agree on those older Tamiya kits being little gems!

deattilio: Looking good. Would you mind telling me what the "sawdust technique" is?

Garzonh: Now that's what I call PE madness! Your build is going to be very interesting to watch!

Hi all,

Yes, PE is madness, I have just built the lower hull and idlers from original kit which is all I will use from the plastic kit. Yes, I have already looked into some PE, and there is no possibility of using them all, why?, some of the parts are way to small. Im using a 10x lens and the pliers look like too big Shrek sausage fingers trying to bend and insert a handle in a hole smaller than human hair diameter. This would require surgical instruments to do.

On the other side, this tank has been strip off from a lot of parts, either lost on war, used as spares, stolen, etc..eg, all the front tracks at the lower hull are not there, also the spare idlers on the top of the hull, etc.

Im a little behind my personal work schedule, since Im mouting some wall shelves to make more room for paints, pigments, washes, etc. But, phew....in Mexico we build homes with concrete, so after 3 holes in the wall (I was hitting a steel beam) I installed one and one more to go. Then I need to clean my desk (again) and continue.

I like all your progress even from start, it really shows how each one deals with problems with the kits, the building process, etc.

Very impressive progress fellows!

Still slowly hacking away at the running gear and not much to show. This T-26 is slightly smaller even than Aaron's M13/40- been awhile since I've built something so tiny.

The prescription from the 700 piece kit "anxiety" is always is an old Tamiya kit. They go together great and you use almost every piece in the box, we never knew how good we had it!

Anyway the Zimmerit is from Atak, I love the pre formed resin pieces and it comes off the sheet real easy. I apply it with CA around the first edge and work it back until I I'm done. It dries fast and you have to be careful laying it on but I still tape it down for a few minutes. I have a full set of application tools and I'll use Milliput on occasion, works great and you do get that rougher look, but it is messier and just takes a lot more time and once its painted and weathered the Atak looks great.

I'm also working on 8 figures to match the compliment in these photos, if I can get them to fit right on the vehicle like you see in this photo I'll use them. This may be my biggest challenge. Terry    

SchattenSpartan

Aaron: Looking really good! I completely agree on those older Tamiya kits being little gems!

Thanks, Schatten Spartan. I'm building Italeri's M13/40 rather than the Tamiya kit. And it's a beaut, especially considering the age.

Keep up the great work everyone. 

PS Has anyone seen Tim? He supposedly involved in this GB, but so far, nothing.

Cheers, Aaron

Gamera

Very impressive progress fellows!

Still slowly hacking away at the running gear and not much to show. This T-26 is slightly smaller even than Aaron's M13/40- been awhile since I've built something so tiny.

Aaron Skinner

PS Has anyone seen Tim? He supposedly involved in this GB, but so far, nothing.

Laugh it up, Butterfingers. Dropped the M13/40 recently? I have this thing called work. Unlike you, down there at the end of the hall, ensconced in your hut of models, inhaling the vapors of Tamiya and Testors, swathed in a ragged lava-lava made from the instruction sheets of finished kits like some demented hobby witchdoctor.