ARMOR - British/Commonwealth Group Build (9/17/04 to 12/31/04)

And the starters gun has fired, Petbat is quickly out of the starting blocks, a small stumble at first (ejector pin marks on just the 2nd and 3rd parts removed from the sprues and not the easiest palce to sand back!) but now he has hit his stride.

Seriously, anyone that has been following the Stug build will note I have been less than pleased with the sink marks, pin marks and warped parts in my Tamiya Stug 3G Early. I was a bit aprehensive when I found such blemishes on the Centaur so early on, but since then this kit has just flowed together. Only other concern were pin marks on the towing shackle mounts, but they were easy to fix. A plethora of pin marks under the track guards, but again easy to fix.

I have the lower hull assembled and most of the upper hull fittings attached. Nice to see the spaced armour on the lower hull sides has been moulded separate and each torsion bar was also reasonably detailed, alyhough you see very little of this when it is assembled. The benefit of doing the Centaur is the spare parts meant for the Cromwell kit, particularly the hull Besa machine gun that also includes the inside half - will look good in the Churchill with the hatches open.

Hope you guys are enjoying this build as much as I am.

As to the badge, does anyone have any more ideas before we go to the vote? I will post the final contenders into one post next Friday, and then the polls will open.

OH YEAH!
My challenger parts from accurate armour came in and they look sweet! The castings are top notch! I thought they would come in after the GB started but it looks like they have a great service Dept. I can't wait to get started!
BTW, has the GB badge been finalized yet or will there still be a vote?

Petbat the cabinet eh i spent $200 in that little cabinet not so long ago,got me some nice figures from Firestorm and VLS not to mention the well and palm trees......
I'll make sure i bring some money to the next meet,there was some good stuff their last time i went..............Cheers Julian..........

Thanks, Peter. I'm really looking forward to this.

3 Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunatley for me, I will have to finish a dio for the national Hobby Town contest (october 2). So I will probably get my kit when I am there, but maybe I will be able to get it this weekend. we'll see.

Digger and Buff, Welcome aboard, I've added you to the list. Digger, maybe you can finish the Bishop after the Centurian, I'd be interested to see that finished.

Julian, yeah that's our LHS - ceiling high stacks of the same old Tamiya kits and floor space taken up by Trumpeter - you have to move everything to see what's lurking behind. He has some Firestorm hidden in the cabinet, but you need to get them to open it up to see what's in there.

Bring a bit of money to the club meeting next month. Jamin had a 1/2 price sale on all the stuff he brought last month and I think he is going to do it again this time. I picked up some Tigermodel design stuff and hope to get some more. Missed out on the Model Kasten Centaur tracks for $30 - too slow.

He has some Eduard Pe sets, some warrior figures, RKS resin, Tigermodel design, etc. See you there.

Pebat make it the centurion tank.The bishop is neerly done.Digger

Petbat thanks for the info,i figured i'd have to do some chopping.........
Just out of curiosity what LHS do you use,i normally go to S/Wood Mr Toys but there was more aftermarket bits and pieces at your last club meet.....Couldn't make it there last time i had to bloody work,but you will see me there next time.......

Can I join, too? I was about to start the Tamiya Churchill VII in 1/35. I've never been involved in a GB (well, other than MTD), and I've been on the look out for one to join. If you'll take me, I'm keen.

Pebat can I sign on.I am in armor building mood and have only two Brittish armor kits left.I am currently working on the Brittish Bishop and also a centurion tank to be built. I don't know if you will allow me on the bishop due to it is 1/2 way done but is taking alot of time because of some scrach building goning on.If so sign me on,if not sign me on for the centurion tank.Digger

Julian. Might be a little hard finding Afrika Corp uniform figures. Maybe a bit of cutting and pasting on the Dragon Afrika corp infantry might work. Maybe one of the standing figures can be made to lay flat and the kneeling figure could be proped angled against the well or something.

Rebel, we will wait until the build starts in case someone comes up with something better. Then we can put the preferred badges in one thread and have a vote on which one to use. I think one badge brings uniformity of purpose , which is what the GB is all about.

Okay boys and Girls, one week to go (8.44am Friday 10 Sept here.....I get to start before you guys next week....He, He)

petbat thanks for the info on the universal carrier,the desert one is the one i want to build,iwas planning on adding it to a dio with the matilda and a stuart honey all pulling up to a well only to find a couple of dead Africa corps guys next to their BMW bike with sidecar and a dozen canteens,i was gonna call it poisened.......
I have most of the figures from firestorm and vls but i can't find the dead germans....

There have been alot of patches to this build, I say that we select to and vote, or we get to use 1 or the other. I like T3488's but I also like the 1st one by petbat.

there changed it.

QUOTE: Originally posted by petbat How about we kill the '04 and just have the rest in one line along the bottom. I think that would look good.

i new i should have saved the non-flatned one. i might be able to change it, i'll see what i can do.

and thanks for the help on the uc. the kit i got came with a gun crew so i will put them in the back, and try to cut the poorly molded shell out of the loader's arms.

Good Idea, kill the 04! Well I am starting to get impatient! I want to start!

Yep. The guys can fit in the back, with the rounds in boxes on the floor. Might have to dig around for the actual layout for that.

T34. Is that the UC with 4 road wheels or just the 3? Looks better. How about we kill the '04 and just have the rest in one line along the bottom. I think that would look good.

i got a question bout the universal carrier, when they were towing a 6 pounder, where did the gun crew go? did they just go in the back? i love universal carriers

cool badge!

by the way my Universal carrier is going to be the relaxed one.

i brightened it up a bit

John, What you can get for your $20 is about $30 in the LHS here. Julian and I live fairly close and probably use the same LHS ('cause the others ain't local by any means).

Julian. The Universal Carrier comes in 2 different types at the momemt - 'Forced Recon' and "European Campaign'. Both have the original 1970's sprues for the 'Wesrtern desert' vehicle, which included 2 grunt figures of average quality. See this pic (the driver can't be seen):


The later issues each have a new figure sprue as well as the old ones. I have the Euro campaign one; it has 3 relaxed pose figures - one kneeling in the driver position, one having a drink from a canteen in the rear, and one standing outside the vehicle. See:


Forced recon has 3 'in action' figures all of which go in the vehicle. See:

Seeing as this vehicle is of the Guards Armoured Division, this crew will probably be in Euro Uniform, not Desert.

T3488g - a bit dark. Can you get a lighter pic?

how bout a universal carrier for the badge?

I can't wait to start this GB. I'm finishing up a small dio, and need to start a huge one, so this will be a little bit of a getaway for me. Anyone know of any update sets for the Trumpeter Chally II, any updates other than the AA one that is?

Thnaks for the congrats, Just tell the wife you had to have it

3 figures eh hmmmm i'm planning on using it in a dio with the academy stuart and of course the Matilda i'm building in this GB........
You see now you've done it Rebel i'm gonna have to buy it now,oh well at least i can blame you when the wife cracks at me for buying another one....
BTW congrats on your 4th star i only just noticed it

dont forget it saying "im only $20 and I come with 3 figs."

uh oh.

Yeah i know what you fellas mean,Univesal carriers keep popping up in mind but i have to fight the urge to go and get one......
It does'nt help when i go to the LHS to get paint or something and i see it on the shelf calling out to me"BUY ME BUILD ME"

I hope so Balta . less than 2 weeks to go!!!!

Now I am trying to tell myself that I need to stick with the Tamiya Centaur I chose to do and not switch to the Italeri Crusader 3 I've had for a few decades.......... I'm too slow to do both.

Just ordered Accurate Armour's OP Telic update set for my challenger! I hope it comes in before the end of the month. I'm still thinking if I should pick up some tracks but I still have time to decide. Is everyone else getting ready?

11 days !!!