Tamiya 1/35 Char B1 bis *WIP*

Tanks Marc.  I hope you're recovering quickly!

The painting has begun!  I use Tamiya Acrylics exclusively.  The tracks have been sprayed with a 1 to 1 ratio of XF-56 Metallic Gray/XF-64 Red Brown.  That mixture was then thinned with X-20A Tamiya thinner in approximately a 50/50 ratio.  The base coat has also been sprayed.  I used a 2 to 1 ratio of XF-59 and XF-60 Desert Yellow XF-60 Dark Yellow, again thinned to about a 50/50 mix with Tamiya X-20A thinner.   

I replicated the pigtail lifting hook for Bourrasque using a wire type item from my wife's misc. craft supply box that already had loops of about the right size in them.  It worked perfectly.  I just pulled the end of the loop out a bit, carefully filed the tip to a point and then gently bent it back in (but not all the way).  I drilled a hole into the plastic to mount it above the 75mm gun on the top of the mantlet assembly and voila, the pigtail lifting hook is good to go!  Looking at my reference photos, it was apparent to me that the lifting hooks were crafted individually, and mounted in all sorts of ways so that each tank was unique.  Bourrasque's was installed parallel with the front of the tank, with the pigtail point on the front.  Other Char's had them flipped the opposite way, or even perpendicular to the front, so check your reference photos if you're building one of these.





I am rapidly running out of time as I'm building this tank for the Blitzkrieg Group Build over at www.armorama.com which ends at the end of this month, so I think I'm going to skip rest of the corrections I had planned (the 6 bolts on the 75mm gun mantlet and the mud scrapers).  

The seam corrections are complete as well.  I used Mr. Surfacer 1000, Q-tips and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to fill in the seam errors with this kit.  This is a great technique for filling in seams, especially if there is delicate detail in the area or there are hard to reach places.  This way you won't damage anything, unlike the fill and sand technique.  Just apply the Mr. Surfacer with a toothpick or small brush.  After it has dried simply dip the end of a Q-tip in the 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (squeeze a bit off so you don't flood the model) then just gently rub the area where the seam is.  It may take a few moments for the alcohol to begin dissolving the Mr. Surfacer, longer if it has thoroughly dried and cured.  You may need to apply more Mr. Surfacer and repeat the process a couple of times until the seams are filled to your satisfaction.  I did one more application after these photos and carefully cleaned up any Mr. Surfacer residue using Q-tips and the alcohol.










I sprayed on a coat of Tamiya gray primer yesterday evening so now it's ready for the base coat.











 

Scott:  "It's only a flesh wound"...

...Still a nasty looking beast, nice build though, really clean!!!

wbill76 wrote:

Making good progress Scott, have you settled on a vehicle yet? Since you've opted for the spaced fenders, it'll have to be an earlier numbered vehicle but still leaves some good choices out there. Check out this listing on the Char-Francais site if you haven't already: http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=66 My all-time favorite is "Fantasque".

Thanks guys.

Bill, I'll have to agree with you on that one.  The paint scheme for Fantasque is killer!  I'm going to have to build another Char B1 bis which I'd like to do in that scheme, although that would be a tough one to paint.  That web site is a wealth of information.  In fact, I've compiled a document with the data from each individual link for each of the tanks all into a single document, which I've been translating into English for my own purposes.  It is time consuming, but will make a great reference!  

I was on a roll with the build and went for the configuratoin found on Bourrasque and will probably stick with that scheme, although I may change my mind at the last minute to another one that matches that configuration. 

Making good progress Scott, have you settled on a vehicle yet? Since you've opted for the spaced fenders, it'll have to be an earlier numbered vehicle but still leaves some good choices out there. Check out this listing on the Char-Francais site if you haven't already: http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=66

My all-time favorite is "Fantasque".

I made a lot of progress on the Char B1 bis this weekend.  I took in progress photos but now that most of the assembly is complete it seems a bit redundant to post the earlier photos.  There are a few more detail parts to attach, such as the rear turret hatch, jacks, lifting hooks etc.  I also need to fix the seam between the turret and the turret ring.  The tow chain will be attached later after painting, but before weathering. 

bufflehead wrote:

Hey Scott!  I missed your original post early this week, I had no idea you were building this!!  Great WIP on a vehicle thats starting to get the attention it deserves!  I'm really glad Tamiya released this kit and I'm itching to get one myself.  I'm going to keeping a close eye on this WIP post!  BTW, your photos are getting better and better!!  Did you change your photo setup? Oh, and sorry about your smoky skies.....darn California widlfires!!  I also had some respiratory problems a couple of weeks ago and it was kind of strange to wake up to orange skies!

Thanks Ernest.  Yes, I changed my lighting and am using a different background, which seems to be helping.  I always loved the black background, but it really messes up the light metering on the camera.  The light baby blue seems to work much better.  Having a big and small tripod makes a big difference as well.  

I'm still taking my anti-biotics and nasonex and am slowly feeling better.  The skies are still a little bit smokey here, but not as bad as they were last week or the other day.  

I can say one thing, there is nothing like the fit and engineering of a Tamiya kit!  The fit is pretty good!  

Hey Scott!  I missed your original post early this week, I had no idea you were building this!!  Great WIP on a vehicle thats starting to get the attention it deserves!  I'm really glad Tamiya released this kit and I'm itching to get one myself.  I'm going to keeping a close eye on this WIP post!  BTW, your photos are getting better and better!!  Did you change your photo setup?

Oh, and sorry about your smoky skies.....darn California widlfires!!  I also had some respiratory problems a couple of weeks ago and it was kind of strange to wake up to orange skies!

wbill76 wrote:

Scott, If you want some variety, check out Echelon's set for the Char B1 bis, they've got quite a few vehicles to choose from and different schemes as well.

Those are some nice decals, but you know me.  I have to know about the tank, where it served and the exploits of its crew.  Its slow going doing the researc, but I've stumbled upon a great way to make all the great resources in French usable by saving the web page, pasting it into MS Word, then copying the French text into a free translator, such as Yahoo's Babelfish.  Then I paste the text back in overwriting the French.  Each word is translated literaly, but I an almost always figure out what they were trying to say, which has really opened up the resources available to me for this build.  It's a bit painstaking, but when printed out it's almost like having an English version of the text with pictures! I've been doing something similar with selected pages from the "Chars B au Combat" book.  

These are exciting times to be alive my friends!  I am a lot further along with the build now, and will post some more pictures when I finish some more of the exterior. 

espins1 wrote:

having a hard time finding resources in English.

Looking good so far Scott. If you're still looking for reference material, I have a copy of "Trackstory 03 - Les Chars B: B1-B1bis-B1ter", a 64 page bilingual (french/english) chronology of the tank from concept to operational units. It has colour plates, scale line drawings, explanation of all markings, etc.. If you're interested, let me know and we'll figure out a way for you to get a look at it.

Scott,

If you want some variety, check out Echelon's set for the Char B1 bis, they've got quite a few vehicles to choose from and different schemes as well.

Great work so far, and i always enjoy the extra historical info you bring to the table.

I love that tank, I learned to respect it on my wargamer years when they used to slaughter my Pzs.. lol.. if the French had a different doctrine, history would have unravelled in a vastly different way! Looking forward to the rest!

SMJmodeler wrote:

Scott:  Let's just say the French woman are more enjoyable to look at than their tanks.  That is one nasty looking beast, but I'm sure your talents will do it justice!  Are you planning to replicate the box cover paint scheme?  Nice work so far Here's one....We are the knights that say, NEE!

"I blow my nose at you silly Arthur King!  Now go before I taunt you a second time!"

I'll have to agree with you about the French women.  ooh la la! 

As it stands right now I'm planning on doing mine as "Bourrasque" which I believe means "Squall" or "Gust of Wind" which is the scheme on the box cover.  I am trying to do more research on the individual tanks and commanders but am having a hard time finding resources in English.  You know me, I like to build my models to represent a moment in time and to honor the men and machines.  If I can find some good reading about some of the Char B1 bis and their crews that kicked a little butt then I'd be interested in modeling one of those instead.  Heck, so far I haven't been able to find anything about the combat record of Bourrasque.  Although, if I keep chipping away at the book "Chars B au Combat" by scanning and translating sections I might be able to find the answers I need.  I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE the research part of model building. 

Scott:  Let's just say the French woman are more enjoyable to look at than their tanks.  That is one nasty looking beast, but I'm sure your talents will do it justice!  Are you planning to replicate the box cover paint scheme?  Nice work so far

Here's one....We are the knights that say, NEE!

tigerman wrote:

This is kind of one of those cool ugly vehicles, much like the KV-II. I look forward to what you will do with this beast.

I agree, it has a beauty all its own.  The Char B1 bis is growing on me, and so is the Somua S-35!  I'm going to have to add one of those to the stash too. 

panzerguy wrote:

Scott looking foward to seeing more of this.I've seen one of these at just about every show I've been to but this is the first wip.   Interesting thing about the Char, at the outbreak of WWII it was considerd on of the best tank's at that time,fire power and armor, and could have been a real problem for the Germans if the French had used them in the way that some of their General's had wanted.

The Char B1 bis definately had some strengths, that's for sure.  The Germans had a heck of a time trying to knock them out.  The 37mm Anti-tank guns and 20mm and 37mm Tank guns couldn't give it anything more than a scratch.  Eventually, the Germans figured out that the engine intake grill on the left hand side was a weak spot and exploited that to at least give them a fighting chance against them.  

The Germans shouldn't have been in that position however.  Guderian had been pushing for a 50mm gun for the Pz.Kpfw. III for quite some time which would have greatly increased the punching power.  Later, when Hitler finally gave the order to upgun AT and Tank guns to 50mm, someone diverted production and the 50mm AT gun was produced first.  That greatly put the Germans at a disadvantage when they encountered the T-34! 

T26E4 wrote:

Here's a quick list of tweaks: fill the vertical seam on the driver's armor, parts B29 and the upper hull fill the seam of the 75mm mantlet D4 and where it meets D10 (it's supposed to be a single casting) add the "pigtail" hook atop D10 add a seam to the upper turret parts C23 and C22 add 3 lifting horns to the commander's cupola consider adding a row of rivets atop the sponsons at the outer edge open the mud chute I think I listed all my tweaks on my build log.  Contact me offsite if you want my full nitpick list!  LOL

Thanks for the list of tweaks Roy, I appreciate it. I already dealt with the mud shoot issue, I'm still puzzled why Tamiya makes no mention of cutting that out, yet it's framed on the underside just like the spots where you have to drill holes.  I plan on spending a lot of time on the Char B1 bis this weekend and have been scouring all my references. 

I picked up an excellent book "Chars B au Combat" which is a wealther of information, but it's all in French.  I would pay big bucks for an English translation of the book.  I experimented last night with scanning a page of the book, converting it to text using Microsoft's document imagining software, sent it to MS Word, then copy and pasted the text into Babel Fish online to translate.  It worked out ok, but sometimes it takes a while to completely understand a sentence because the text is translated literally word for word.

I really want to research this tank, the units, the men etc. just as deeply as I research all my German armor projects but am having a hard time finding good resources in English.

 Hope ya get better soon. It's really aggravating when you tilt your head down to work and your nose starts a running.