IDF GB April 15-October 1,2006

I've tried using the Xtracrylix XA1810 Israeli Tank Sand Grey, which is not quite right to my mind, but, I'm a wee bit afraid of mixing paints.  However, I've never really used acrylics before, so, a bit of a step into the unknown.  The finish isn't that good, maybe too much thinner?  Or maybe because it was just one coat.  The hull is just partly sprayed, more to let me judge the colour than anything else.

Anyway, here is the partially sprayed hull, what do you think of the colour?

Awesome work Gdarwin!You have definitely earned the badge. Well done.


Osher, I've seen your other builds, that's where my confidence in you comes from. I know you'll pull through.

Duke Maddog wrote:

Sounds good Osher. I wish I knew the other colors well enough to give you some better advice, but it seems that you're gonna do alright anyway. I'll be watching for the next set of pics from you.

I wish I shared your confidence!  However, I should have something done soon, so, we'll see.

final pics of my fitter are now on my site,i hope you like them.

Sounds good Osher. I wish I knew the other colors well enough to give you some better advice, but it seems that you're gonna do alright anyway. I'll be watching for the next set of pics from you.

Thanks for that Duke!  Unfortunately, we don't have Testor's paints in England.  I do have some, from my last trip over the pond, including 'tan' which comes in light, dark and intermediate, in either small glass bottle, or a plastic set of modules with flip-up covers.  That's not too far away, but needs some yellow I think.  I did get a bottle Xtracrylix Israel Tank Grey, but it was not that close.  The closest I've seen is the Xtracrylix American Desert Sand, or Polly Scale's US Tan. 

From the pictures I've seen, the colour used is quite yellowy, with a dash of green, toned down by tan.  Your Tiran seems to be the right colour, from what I've seen, so, now, it's a case of finding the right colour.  My approach is to spray everything sand, then touch it up later, including the rubber.

Thanks Osher! I'm glad you liked my work.

As for the Tiran 5's (Ti-67) they were overcoated with either the Israeli Sand (Testor's) or a green-grey sort of color that was used in the central part of the country and possibly the north (Golan Heights). This i saccording to by book, "Israeli Army 1948-1973". Other sources may say otherwise, but based on my book, I painted my Tiran 5 Testor's Israeli Armor Sand. You can see the results here:





The above pics  are of my ACE 1/72 scale Tiran 5 (Ti-67) These pics can hopefully give you some ideas as to how yours can look too. I suspect you'll probably do better weathering on yours. Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your work.

BTW, did you know that the designation Ti-67 was an invention of the media/military commentators? When Israel first brought those tanks out, nobody looked real hard to see what they were at first and so gave them a designation to differentiate form known Israeli tanks. Ti-67 stands for "Tank (israeli) 1967" for the country and year it was first seen. Israel's official designation is Tiran 5 for the modified T-55 tank. The Tiran 4 is a similarly modified T-54 tank and the Tiran 6 is the modified T-62.

I apologize if you already knew this, I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence here. You build such excellent builds that I'm sure you're just as knowledgeable about the subjects you assemble and detail.

Anyway, I hope my pictures above help in some small way. Thanks again for your compliments.

Hey, nice job Maddog, as always!  Can you imagine what it was like to drive that thing, in the desert, 120F, with no air conditioning, and almost no windows?

Just to give a round-up on my Ti-67 (sorry no pictures, need to sort out my picture account first):  just spent the last hour trying to find a suitable paint, as, amazingly, it's not overall Olive Drab (OD)!  In the end, and maybe someone can suggest something else, I've gone for Humbrol 71, with a dash of Humbrol 94.  Also, this model is the static version, but still comes with bits for the motorised one, leaving some lovely bits to remove first.  Trouble is, you also lose the attachments for the wheels.  Oh well, just another interesting challenge!

Anyway, I've decided to spray the lower assembly sprues, assemble the wheels, suspensions, etc, and then go over them again later.  This is also more important as the plastic is OD.  However, I suspect that being 'sand' over OD maybe look pretty good.  Was that how the T-54's were supplied?  Sand over OD?

Thanks Gdarwin! I'm glad you like it. Now I can wear my badge with pride. I just have to go find it and restore everything again after my system crash.

looks great Duke,nice little build you have,good work.

Well, I can finally wear my badge as a sign that I have completed this Group Build!

My project for this Build just happened to be my first Braille Scale kitbash, for those who didn't know. Here are a couple of views of my Israeli halftrack with 6 pdr gun:






Man, it feels good to finally be done! Next, I'll start my M-7 Priest when I am able to dig it out of the stash!

Thanks for looking, comments are welcome.

Not a problem. My work has been progressing a bit slowly due to time constraints on my modeling, as well as fighting this flu. I did get my halftrack clearcoated so she's ready for decals and a wash. I'm almost done with this one; I'll be starting my M-7 Priest next.

Lookin good Duke and gdarwin.

Sorry I ve been away Ive been busy w8ith basketball and school and such.

glad to help gdarwn! You've done very well. Now I gotta get mine finished...

Duke,im almost finished the fitter,i will clear cote it soon and then do the decals,after that its done,and then on the to my m-46 for the Korean war build .thanks for your feed back, have a good day.

If you got it fixed, then no problem. It looks awesome! Keep going, we have to keep this build on track!

thanks Duke,about the spare wheels,i repainted them and washed them to apear coverd with dust,do you realy think i should paint the wheeks again?the fitter is out in the sand and dirt.have a great day.

Looking good gdarwin. You've got some great detail going there. On the spare wheels, you may want to clean up the black a bit. Try painting the wheels, then place a mask over them so that only the centers show. Then paint the center. That will really improve an already awesome model.

hi guys,i just put some new pics of my fitter on my website i hope you will like like them,give me some feedback is it good or bad.have a good day.

gdarwin wrote:

thanks Duke i will try that,your half track is looking good,what scale is it? Merry xmas,happy new year,to all in the idf build.

You're welcome G! Thank you for the compliment. My halftrack is the Airfix 1/72 scale kit. I kitbashed a 6 pdr gun to it from an Airfix 1/72 scale Universal Carrier and Gun kit.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well.

ygmodeler4 wrote:

Yes merry Christmas.   Looking good Duke.   Anybody get any kits or anything.  I didn't but i got a cell phone!

Thank you ygmodeler.  Enjoy your cell phone, but use it responsibly. I got a good bit of cash which will probably be converted to kits.

ua, that is definitely a sweet looking Mirage. Hang tough on the canopy; you may be able to get one from Squadron, or possibly someone has one in their spares box. Good luck replacing that.

Now, here is my latest on my halftrack. It doesn't look like I got much more done, but I have finally gotten the machinegun on the front of it, and also made a new mount for the 6 pdr gun as well. All the base painting is done now. All I have left to do is paint some details, and then clearcoat it, wash it, decal it, dullcoat and drybrush. I'll post more pics when I'm done. Meanwhile, here's the pic of it so far:



Comments are welcome.

That's a shame about the canopy. Would be a pretty plane with it. Well its pretty now but.. just not the same. Oh well if you do a dio Im sure you'd be able to pull it off

Thank you ygmodeler and gdarwin.  I am currently working to restore the damaged canopy.  A few days from now I should have a better idea as to what I am going to do. Order Thermaform, or do a dio...blown canopy wihile plane is still on the ground...inexperience pilot...now that's ashame

your Mirage is looking real good,pity about the canopy.

Lookin good ua0124. 

A tiran 5 okiedokie.

The project is 99% complete, the canopy is missing.  Never will I use CA near any clear plastic.   I am not sure what I am going to do.  I emailed Eduard's about purchasing a new canopy but no response so far.  I also did not find any company producing canopies for the Mirage.  I thought abount trying vacuum form.  I would need to build one, or try thermaform from Squadron.  Decisions decisions.

The Spitfire Mk ll will have to be converted, more research will need to be done on my part.

The Mirage missing the canopy.

<BLOCKQUOTE><table class="quoteOuterTable"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/FSM/CS/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>ygmodeler4 wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4">Well it has to be in Israeli service.  Like a Spitfire can be done but it has to have Israeli markings.</td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

A Tiran 5 it is then!

Well it has to be in Israeli service.  Likea Spitfire can be done but it has to have Israeli markings.

OK, so, it's taken me a while to get started...I've also decided to build a Trumpeter 1/35 Tiran 4 or 5 (does a Tiran 4, given to the Lebanese allies of Israel count for this GB, or not?)

I've been really impressed by the quality of the models, and by Duke's output! How does he do it?!

To answer a couple of questions:
The tank that went into the gully: the tank commander, not the driver, would have been court martialled (tank drivers basically don't look out, but rely on the commander to tell them what to do)

As for Spits: During the 1948 war Israel had a few Mk.IX Spitfire from the Czechs (the British gave them as gifts to the Czechs, but the Russians didn't want them to use western equipment). The story of how they arrived in Israel is amazing. In addition, there is also the famous 'Black Spitfire', a PR Mk.IX, used by Ezer Weizman, constructed out of bits left behind, and crashed Spitfires (May 14th 1948, the Egyptians attacked Ramat David, thinking the Israelis had no AF, but didn't realise the RAF still had some Spitfires, which were overseeing the withdrawl, hence a Spit vs. Spit dogfight. A few months later, an RAF patrol from Egypt strayed over the border with Spit Mk. 18 , and tanged with some of the Israeli Mk. 9. Result: 2 British Spits downed), er, hope this hasn't bored anyone!

As for the kit, it's a motorised version. Think I might remove the motor, or at least the battery part. I still can't see how the batteries power the motor, no obvious wires...

Yes merry Christmas.   Looking good Duke.

 

Anybody get any kits or anything. 

I didn't but i got a cell phone!

thanks Duke i will try that,your half track is looking good,what scale is it? Merry xmas,happy new year,to all in the idf build.