I thought I was "finished" with the secondary turrets last wednesday, but some idiot cannot follow directions and made a HUGE mistake. With a little Evergreen Styrene and PPP, the mistake is fixed. After priming, I see   gaps that need fixed and flaw in hatch needs filled. BTW, while "Doing Research" found the craziest looking tank ever...The Tsar Russian tank. Google it.

Ernest: Looks great! Lotsa work there on the bogies and treads but it looks wonderful! 

Ok, guess I was sorta right, the 122mm gun on the IS-II is as long as the whole T-26 if you include the breach. Always amazes me how far armour weight and gun size grew during those years. 

Dwayne: Hope you're feeling better soon man! 

Ernest that is comming along nicely and thank you for the kind words. Yes i was wondering what was going on too. No posts. Everyone has too much going on I guess. It'll pick up. Myself, I can only build one thing at a time. I cant do it any other way.  

Nice work there, Ernest.  That tank looks like a toy next to that JS-3!  I would guess you wouldn't think so if it was rolling in your direction, though. 

Still working on the Wildcat, but it has been slow going.  Got a second cold that developed into a sinus infection, and have been laid out for a bit.  Just now feeling better, and got a little bench time this weekend.

It has been quiet here.  (crickets chirping).  Hopefully I can get some more work done on the KV-1 soon.  Really don't have that much to do before weathering.

Wow, its pretty quiet here...no posts since mine on Wed.  That's suprising, this GB has been pretty busy since it started.

Anyway, I've made some progress on the Zvezda T-26 since I returned home, but not as much as I would have liked.  Some of the assembled kit started falling part probably due to the flight home.  I had to rebuild the bogies and in the process realized they need some reinforcement otherwise it would probably happen again.  I didn't want to post a bunch of pics so I made a couple of combo pics. 

The turret needed some work that I couldn't do at the hotel.  Sink holes filled and sanded, molded locating marks for the antenna mounts sanded down and the blob of plastic that was supposed to be the periscope replaced by an unneeded one from a Hobby Boss kit.

Just a few more items to add and it will be done.  I'll probably hold off on some of them until it hits the paint booth, but I may add some bolt heads and rivets missing in certain areas.

Oh, and someone wanted to see how the T-26 looks next to the JS-3! 

And that's if for at least another couple of weeks as I'll be out of town on business again.  I may bring a kit to work on, but not for the GB.  I may just post the WIP in the Armor Forum, once I decide what to bring!

I'll keep checking in to see how everyone else is doing!

Griffin, the T-55 came out great!  Luv the base and figures.   Congrats on a finished build for the GB!

DasBeav, the suspension for the T-35 sure looks funky and complicated!  No wonder the Russian armor designers decided to go with the Christie suspension for the BT and T-34 series!

Sorry, I misunderstood too. Yeah, I find repeatable stuff like cleaning up track links best when watching TV or YouTube videos.

And on American tanks with the tight 'live' tracks and no sag the 'rubber band' tracks work just fine. Same in my opinion with anything like a modern MBT with skirts where you can't even see the top run.

My bad. I thought be articulate, Griff meant jointed like Fruils. They are just individual links put together using a jig and Tamiya Extra Thin. Basically turning them into length and links. I did check out Fruils...to expensive for a model I paid $18 for. The "Droop" will be later...hot water and sticks? Gamera, after awhile got into the groove of gluing the links...watching Monty Python on the craptop! I do remember doing an Academy Stuart which gave the options of rubber tracks or 3 piece links....went with rubber tracks

DasBeav: Sorry I missed you, looks good! 

Dwayne: I'm assuming they already have the droop molded in, please correct me if I'm wrong DasBeav. If you want to get your feet wet with individual link tracks try a Dragon kit comes with 'Magic' tracks. They're already pre-cut and cleaned up in a plastic bag. If you go with a big tank like a Tiger it has big hefty track links that are easier to work with than something smaller like a Panzer IV or T-34 too.  

OK, here is where I admit my ignorance.  I guess I don't understand why a kit would have individual links that don't articulate.  How do you get the proper sag?  Or do you even try to get the proper sag?  I guess when you do runs, they end up being like link and length, with you providing the length bits after some work.

No wonder there is such a good market for AM tracks!

I bought some Kaizen workable tracks for a T-34 I recently completed.  Totally worth the $$ and time.  They look fantastic compared to the vinyl tracks that came with the kit.  Individual track links, however, scare the heck out of me!

Griffon25, from what I've read they looked good during parades but during combat againest the Finnish most were lost due to mechanical failures before they even reach "the front". Yes they are individual links and they don't articulate. If they turn out just OK I'll be happy.

The lower half of the T-35 is looking good. With that running gear and the size of it I bet it was a maintanence nightmare. The tracks are individual links right? Do they articulate? I think I remember you saying you had to glue each link.

I actually made some progress over the weekend. Need to put a coat of future and do some washes....and tracks. Still a little apprhensive about doing the tracks even after watching countless Youtube videos. They make it look so easy! Finally get to start on the upper hull. Dry fit was pretty good with a little warp in it.

Thanks Gamera! 

Hey Griff, great job there on the T-55 and the figures look terrific! Even the base looks good, sets off the tank without so much stuff to be distracting. 

Kudos sir!!! 

Thank you. The first pick please. I appreciate it. Nice win today BTW 

Hey Griffin, I think you did a great job on that tank, and the figures came out really well.  You should definitely do some more armor!  Thanks for joining the GB.

Good subject, and choosing Ethiopian markings made this one extra interesting.

Do you have a preference for which picture to put on the first page for completed kits?

Thanks bud! The water bottle is from Meng. The loader is having a snack

I spelled Tsenora wrong. Doh. It's Tsenona! Haha. Geez I shoulda had my glasses on

You did a great job, Griff! Good job on the figures! One day I will try and paint them. Lack the courage. The water bottle? Where'd that come from?!?

Ok I'm calling this complete. I'm not sure about which Direction the tank is pointing I might switch it around. I'm not a great photographer I only use my phone but it came out pretty good. I have a pet peeve with the sheen on the uniforms with the naked eye you don't see it but in the photos it's shiny. Same with the stowage. I really enjoyed this kit. It's fantastic. The Tsenora Front was a major battle area during the Ethiopian Eritrean war. I tried to replicate it the best I could. Thank you for letting me participate. I look forward to seeing everyone's projects come together! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. 

 

ManCityFan

Gamera, you are correct.  I had to look up the T-26, as you peaked my interest.  Article states they were vulnerable to the PZKW III and IV, but most were lost due to mechanical breakdown, artillery, and especially air attacks.  The main gun was 45 mm, and pretty good for the time.

The article did mention that the rivet construction led to issues where the rivets would pop when the tank was hit, and become projectiles inside the tank.  The rivet seams were not well done, and the tank was vulnerable to Japanese anti-tank infantry carrying molotov cocktails.  The burning fuel would get into the tank through the seams.

Thanks for peaking my interest.  I learnt me something today.

The Finns found out quite early how vulnerable the T-26s were to close assault. they would strip the infantry away and go after the tanks with gasoline bombs and even logs and metal bars to jam the tracks. early gasoline bombs used gasoline soaked rags as wicks. After the Finnish Liquor Commission donated 5000 bottles to the cause a sulphuric acid capsule was used to ignite the gasoline. it was the Finns who coined the term Molotov Cocktail. check out the movie FIRE AND ICE on youtube about the winter war. i teach it as part of my Siege of Leningrad class.

Ernest your T-26 is truning out better than mine. i think i can salvage it if i bury the left side suspension in the snow and "burn it out".

Between illness, family emergency, and classes i have not been here in a while. I did decide to overspray the top of my BA-10 with the lighter green. the 2 little BA-6s are painted and need some decals and weathering. am working on an AEROSAN 26 for monthly club contest.

Gamera, you are correct.  I had to look up the T-26, as you peaked my interest.  Article states they were vulnerable to the PZKW III and IV, but most were lost due to mechanical breakdown, artillery, and especially air attacks.  The main gun was 45 mm, and pretty good for the time.

The article did mention that the rivet construction led to issues where the rivets would pop when the tank was hit, and become projectiles inside the tank.  The rivet seams were not well done, and the tank was vulnerable to Japanese anti-tank infantry carrying molotov cocktails.  The burning fuel would get into the tank through the seams.

Thanks for peaking my interest.  I learnt me something today.

Gee Ernest, if you had an airbrush and compressor there you'd be done! 

Nice work! 

From what I've read about the T-26 it had the same gun as the BT-5/BT-7 series with pretty much the same armour but was much slower and less reliable. The Soviets had a lot of them when the war started but their production was dropped in favour of building more BT series and then later the BTs were pushed aside to concentrate on T-34s. 

Hey Griffin, love that base.  Looks like you are nearly done!

Ernest, making nice progress on that T-26.  Looks like the armor on that tank was paper thin, and the silhouette is high for a light tank.  No wonder they got knocked out so easily.  Track sag looks just right!

Thanks for the nice comments on the Wildcat.  If you get a chance to pick up the kit, please do.  It is a fantastic kit (despite my best attempt to ruin it). 

When the PB fiasco started tried different photo sharing sites and settled on fotki.  Works pretty good even on cell phone, there is a minimal annual fee, but not outrageous like PB.

Well the hotel stay is done and I managed to get this far with the T-26...its looking like a tank!!  Pic came out better....same desk lamp but different background (kit box!)

Got the tracks on one side done.  The link&length tracks are nicely detailed but very finicky when installing.  Won't have another update until Sun or Mon.

Thanks. Ya I got Imgur to work but only from a PC. It'll be fine.

Griffin: I'm seeing this photo just fine. Nice base, it looks good to me. 

Anyone use Imgur from their phone here by any chance?

Thank Gamera I'm trying to get other photohosting sites working. I swear I did all the steps right with google photo's, wouldn't work. Tried flickr. Did everything right, wouldn't work. SOOOO frustrating. Tried Imgur. Got it to work but only from a PC not phone. Pissing me off big TIME. I like doing everything from my phone. Here's my base progress. just trying out the size before I put ground work. See if imgur works again.

Thanks Griffin! Actually the noses turned out ok. I couldn't find an acrylic brass that I liked so I ended up using an enamel. And when I brush painted it on it ran down the shells and created a few goobs of paint where I'd put them in clothspins.  I thought about soaking them in thinner to remove the paint but I don't think the goobs will be all that visible so I think I'll just leave them as is. 

Next time I'm going to pick up some Alclad brass and just airbrush them. 

Hope your photo site comes back up. I know what a pain it is to transfer over photos. I still have a pile of photos over on PhotoBucket I haven't moved to my new site yet.