Thanks Clemens, the tracks were a pain so yes I cheated!

I was hoping this would be a quick build but now I notice that the Chinese version had the radio antenna in the handrail style around the turret and the kit doesn't come with that part. So I ordered a cheap BT-7 kit off Ebay to rob of the antenna- thankfully I have an old resin kit that uses the hull, wheels, and tracks from the BT-7 so the rest of it won't go to waste.

The T-26 looks great, Cliff! I had a look at this kit at my LHS last time I was there and now I truly understand what pain those tracks must've been. They are way smaller than I imagined (and I thought they were quite tiny!).

Garzonh: Way to go on all that PE and resin! But tell me one thing: where did the kit go? I can't seem to find it in those pics you posted...

Yeah Garzonh, she's starting to look like a PE and resin model!

Painted my T-26 or tried to today and well it's so friggin' humid I painted her and waited a half-hour and the paint was still completely wet....  

garzonh, wow, I am not sure you can now count this as a plastic model kit. Now that's a lot of metal work, very nice.

Tim Kidwell

Eagle90

Cool!  I have someone sitting in the corner with me!  Hi, my names Bobby...I don't much about these tanky things either!

LOL!  I did the same thing with the Nashorn I'm doing for the Hunter II GB (and a couple of other things!).  Hey, I didn't know! 

Eagle90

All right, enough moping! Get back to it. Oh, hey! Why aren't you building a snazzy AFV with us, too? 

Sir!  Yes Sir! 

LOL!  I plan on getting her started this weekend.  And I plan on ordering some German flags to on her just like in the pic!  Very exciting!  My first "big boy" tank! 

Eagle90

Oh my god!, everybody is so advacned in their models...

I need to speed up.

Everybodys models are looking very good and some of you are already planning on dios....wow!

This is the most I have progressed, not after a lot of PE lost forever, broken resin parts and very confusing instructions.

I still need to work on all the storage, ammo, tools, tracks...phew... 

Eagle90

Cool!  I have someone sitting in the corner with me!  Hi, my names Bobby...I don't much about these tanky things either!

LOL!  I did the same thing with the Nashorn I'm doing for the Hunter II GB (and a couple of other things!).  Hey, I didn't know! 

Eagle90

All right, enough moping! Get back to it. Oh, hey! Why aren't you building a snazzy AFV with us, too? 

Bish

Tim, nice to see you under way. Don't worry, plenty of help here if you need it But I see you have learned one lesson. I always paint my wheels on the sprues, even the German ones that don't have those complicated bogies. You may have seen this one, but in case you haven't, they defiantly look metal rimmed to me.

It's nice to be participating! You're right, I have learned my lesson. However, I believe I'll be able to salvage my already constructed bogies without too much gnashing of teeth. And that pic is just what I needed to put my fears to rest. Now, to go fill the gaps in my Tamiya paint inventory and rethink my plan of attack.

Tim, nice to see you under way. Don't worry, plenty of help here if you need it But I see you have learned one lesson. I always paint my wheels on the sprues, even the German ones that don't have those complicated bogies. You may have seen this one, but in case you haven't, they defiantly look metal rimmed to me.

Wayne, thanks. I doubt it will happen often, but it does make a nice change.

shiv, now that's a neat idea, hadn't thought of that. Will be looking forward to this one.

Terry, thanks. Looking good there. I like your set up for the driver figure.

After running ahead with the road wheels, and following Jack's advice, I started delving into Mike Starmer's color research for British AFVs. Luckily, a one Andrew Tomlinson compiled Mike's equivalencies for Tamiya paints into one location. I've decided with Portland stone No. 64, silver grey No. 28, and Slate No. 34 as the colors for my Matilda. They seem to be the reasonable choices for the Caunter scheme on my German-run Matilda.

SchattenSpartan

Tim, I hate it when stuff like this happens. I lost count of how many times I glued parts in place, only to find out I should've painted them before doing that... I found a picture that you might like though:

Looks like solid steel roadwheels to me...  

Cheers, Clemens

Thanks, Clemens. YES! And that has to be the saddest Matilda ever.

Tim: Some of us like me take the easy way out- spray the whole darn running gear and lower hull with mud coloured paint!!!

I feel a little bad after seeing Bish finished but here is where I am, I sprayed the whole thing with primer last night and am searching for any little problems that need to be addressed before I start painting in earnest:

Tim, I hate it when stuff like this happens. I lost count of how many times I glued parts in place, only to find out I should've painted them before doing that... I found a picture that you might like though:

Looks like solid steel roadwheels to me...  

Cheers, Clemens

Tim Kidwell

GAH! Chalk this post up to tank inexperience.

I don't know how many times I've read a Bill Plunk article that's come across my desk, or how many times I've watched Aaron build a tank, or how many times I've followed one of your builds on the Forum, but there's nothing like building one yourself.

So, here I am merrily gluing wheels together when I start looking at the next step: making bogies. All right, I thought. Let's get on with it. Three made and I'm rolling them around my desk <"YAY! Isn't this fun?"> and I stop to think: I've gotta paint these. Yep. Gotta paint these. Yessir, these little wheels already glued into the bogies that I see other armor modelers paint separately all the time ...

Crap.

TO THE INTERNET!

Images, images, images ... but no very good shots of a Matilda Mk.III/IV's road wheels. I think they're completely metal, without a rubber tire. Can anyone confirm this for me? If they are, then that makes my imprudence a little easier to overcome.

In the meantime, I'll sit off to the side with my face in the corner, pondering why I can't play with the rest of the class.

Cool!  I have someone sitting in the corner with me!  Hi, my names Bobby...I don't much about these tanky things either!

LOL!  I did the same thing with the Nashorn I'm doing for the Hunter II GB (and a couple of other things!).  Hey, I didn't know! 

Eagle90

That base is looking very nice, Shiv!

Terry: Great work on those figures!

GAH! Chalk this post up to tank inexperience.

I don't know how many times I've read a Bill Plunk article that's come across my desk, or how many times I've watched Aaron build a tank, or how many times I've followed one of your builds on the Forum, but there's nothing like building one yourself.

So, here I am merrily gluing wheels together when I start looking at the next step: making bogies. All right, I thought. Let's get on with it. Three made and I'm rolling them around my desk <"YAY! Isn't this fun?"> and I stop to think: I've gotta paint these. Yep. Gotta paint these. Yessir, these little wheels already glued into the bogies that I see other armor modelers paint separately all the time ...

Crap.

TO THE INTERNET!

Images, images, images ... but no very good shots of a Matilda Mk.III/IV's road wheels. I think they're completely metal, without a rubber tire. Can anyone confirm this for me? If they are, then that makes my imprudence a little easier to overcome.

In the meantime, I'll sit off to the side with my face in the corner, pondering why I can't play with the rest of the class.

Shiv: Like it! Haven't tried clay for a base but looks good.

Terry: Looks good too, love how the figures are coming.

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I haven't had any time lately but I am working on additional PE and all the figures for my Tiger. I got one placed who needs additional work, but that will allow me to close up the hull and finish it. I also made a new tow cable that will allow me to shape it according to the real photo. Theres a lot of great work going on with the builds, I'm hoping to get back asap.

I used a cheap sculpting clay from a bargain store and it takes a while to dry. The rocks us just from a bag of rocks that I bought a the dollar store, and going to do a winter type scene. Still need to get the stuff for a couple of trees.

Started work on my dio. Have the general idea done in modelling clay and need to give it 3-4 days to dry.

the three big holes are where I am going to place some rocks.

SchattenSpartan

Oh the many joys of building armor kits! Sanding wheels is my favorite task of them all! Looking good, Tim!

and indy track. OTOH you can do warwheels with lots of frame and suspension parts that don't show plus dealing with clear windows.

BISH the SU-85 turned out nice. i agree with SS. it's nice to see a clean  ww2 vehicle.

SHIV that STG is small. i have gotten into 1/72 (hosting the BRAILLE SCALE GB). am working on a JGSDF TYPE 61 so i appreciate the level of detail and tiny pieces you are dealing with. at least its rubberband track. some of the revell Bdw  armor has 1/72 length and link track.

i too found the tape camo article interesting.

some clubmates donated some leftover rubber tires to experiment with making flat tires. i also picked up an ICM  1/72 BM-21. i have always wanted to build 2 different scales simultaneously to show what the difference in scales means to building. means twice as many pictures. 

SchattenSpartan

Oh the many joys of building armor kits! Sanding wheels is my favorite task of them all! Looking good, Tim!

Thanks, Spartan. I can honestly tell you that I am completely out of my depth with this build. At the end, I'm just hoping for something that resembles the Matilda the Germans captured. Fingers crossed!

Oh the many joys of building armor kits! Sanding wheels is my favorite task of them all! Looking good, Tim!

I am officially building! I can't tell you guys how good it feels to actually see the hull starting to take shape.

Next up: wheels, wheels, and more wheels!

Looking good, everyone!

SchattenSpartan

Bish: Your SU-85 looks fantastic! I especially like the guy painting her new markings on there! You don't see a lot of clean, freshly painted AFV models, so this one is a nice change!

 

Thanks, its not often I get the chance to do a clean build. 99% of the time they would not look right in a dio. This is one of the few exceptions and I am glad its come across the right way.

Bish: Your SU-85 looks fantastic! I especially like the guy painting her new markings on there! You don't see a lot of clean, freshly painted AFV models, so this one is a nice change!

Shiv: That StuG really is small, but you're doing a great job on her!

Garzonh: Holy moly, it's all bright and shiny because of all that PE! I really like working with PE but I'd never try to basically build a whole model out of PE. My hat's off to your skill and patience!

My Issue didn't arrive yet, but I'm looking forward to that article. I'm thinking of doing something slightly different as a side project in the near future and that article might just be exactly what I need to pull it off.

Gamera and Bish - On Aaron's behalf, thank you for the compliments. We're happy you like the article. For as much as I needle Aaron on the Forum and in our GBs, I'm always learning something from the guy. Anyhow, he should be back on the Forum beginning the second week in September.

Gamera

If I may veer off subject a little bit- just got my copy of FSM today and very nice article on masking multi-colour camo patterns on AFVs Aaron- I've always used silly putty but will have to give tape a try sometime on these more hard-edge schemes!

I just got mine this morning and went straight to that article. The one thing that always confused me was re-sizing the instructions. Now I know, so I might give this a try as well. Cheers Aaron.

If I may veer off subject a little bit- just got my copy of FSM today and very nice article on masking multi-colour camo patterns on AFVs Aaron- I've always used silly putty but will have to give tape a try sometime on these more hard-edge schemes!