Gorby 17,213 Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 While I’m having to move between proper workspace and a cutting mat on the dining table I’ve got two builds on the go….well actually more than two. Because I’m a bit cack handed I’m not going to risk paint downstairs. Can you imagine the grief I’d get if I spilt a jar of XF-69 on the carpet? So I’ll just be sticking bits of placcy together….and what doesn’t need to be painted inside? Tanks. When one gets slapped together, I'll then start on another and then paint all of them together at the end when the dog is fully fixed and I can go back to my workroom proper. First on the table is IBG Models A9 CS Close Support British Cruiser Tank from their 'World at War' series, which I reviewed here. As it's easier to use my moby phone for taking pics at the table, pictorial evidence will be both sporadic and not very good. To make painting easier I'm trying the 'stick a magnet in it' method. In hindsight it would have been better if I'd stuck two magnets in because one isn't good enough. That was quick. Maybe I should have said "virtually no existent" rather than 'sporadic'. The least enjoyable part of the build was cleaning up the mould seam on the outside and particularly on the inside of the track/road wheel parts, other than that and a few minor annoyances if was an enjoyable build. Easily buildable in a single day, although I took about a week. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Steve 20,611 Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 Nice one, I like it 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Col. 7,396 Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 Nice before and after photos Gorbs Actually that is nice progress on what sounds an enjoyable kit. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 Next up in the tiny tank saga: Yes, another IBG kit….one with loads of minuscule bloody road wheels. If you look closely you can see that they are shaped like train wheels – with a raised rim at the front. Unfortunately the sprue gate goes over both levels, on both sides of each wheel. If you are a perfectionist this will drive you to the edge of madness (if you aren't already there). I tried, and cut myself on the first one. The other thirty-five and a half didn't get done. Which I'm pleased about now because you can't really see it when the running gear is assembled. Amazing how many bits go into such a biddy little thing. It is very fiddly to assemble. Don't spend much time on the springs as you can barely see them at the end….not unless you strain your eyes at the underside of the tank and then my opinion of you wouldn't be printable. See what I mean about the springs? Part number E5 was broken in my kit which isn't surprising as it's very fragile. There are three other parts like it and they were okay – not easy to remove from the sprue and clean up. I recommend using a razor saw to get them off the sprue. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Steve 20,611 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Nice one Gorbs I have been after this one for a while now 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hutch6390 2,153 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 The A9 turned out very nicely, and this one's looking good, too 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Long 1,521 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, Gorby said: minuscule bloody road wheels. The Trumpeter 'Dicker Max' I've been building(there's no build thread) has the road wheels, idler, drive sprocket, and tracks all moulded as a single part. They're very visible(think Panzer IV) but you can't tell they didn't start out as separate parts. I definitely wish more kits were like that. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tolvcat 3,529 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 IBG are sadists, no question. Why else would they release a range of 1/72 kits based around the universal carrier where each one has individual track links? Let that sink in and marinate a moment. Lots of Bren Gun Carrier variants (YAH!!!), in 1/72 (Woo!) with individual track links (err,say what now????) Andy 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sub 820 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 looking good gorbs like them alot 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Brown 7,762 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 4 hours ago, Tolvcat said: IBG are sadists, no question. Why else would they release a range of 1/72 kits based around the universal carrier where each one has individual track links? That's me sorted then, I'm off to buy a shedload of IBG Universal Carriers. Track links or fahzands of tiny decal stencils, love 'em to bits. Very therapeutic. 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vaastav 2,810 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 Lovely work on extremely tiny subjects Gorby. I second what @Tolvcatsaid about IBG being sadists, because that's certainly what it looks like 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 I've read a couple of tales of woe about fitting tracks to this thing. Was I worried. Nope. Because fitting link and length tracks is my superpower. I love fitting link and length tracks because I've never had a problem with them in the past and find it quite satisfying how they fit into place. It'll be a doddle I confidently predicted. Well I thought it would be. The tracks in this kit are my own personal Kryptonite. What I normally do is just start with one part which I connect to a single cog on the drive wheel then build up from there. It didn't work with this one. I know where I went wrong, I bought the kit the wheels at both ends should be fitted to the hull in an exact position and yes there is a tab to help do this….the trouble is there is a little bit of play on the tab and the recess isn’t deep enough for perfect alignment particularly when glue is applied. It wouldn’t be so bad if only one of the wheels either side had cogs. I managed to get both sides a tiny bit of alignment, but just a tiny bit is enough to stuff up the fitting of the tracks. There is one way I’ve thought of to stop this happening. Fit both wheels on a side at the same time and immediately dry fit the top part of the track. That will ensure that at least the cogs are lined up which should help. I ended up having to cut a few cogs off on both ends. Not really worth being annoyed about on the grand scheme of things is it. The worse affected area is mostly covered by the shelfy things at the back anyway. If you’ve also screwed up, I recommend applying liberal quantities of mud at the end or alternately, not giving a damn. Assembling the rear skid thingy turned out to be one of the most frustrating modelling tasks I’ve ever done. Parts number D1 & D2 didn’t quite fit to their respective parts, but it isn’t easy to see why they don’t fit. It doesn’t help that the parts they fit to seem to be slightly curved, so you’re trying to fit a straight part to a convex surface – fit one end and the other springs off. I ended up accidentally breaking one and it made it easier to fit. Joining the two skids is difficult to do squarely as well. It would have helped enormously if each skid had a couple of pegs for the joining bar to attach to rather than a very shallow depression. It’s making it difficult to feel the love for this kit. @Tolvcat made a very valid point which I’m finding it hard to dispute. IBG Models are sadists. When at last the tracks are done, there is a significant gap between the top track and the return rollers. Oh yes and that's something else for me to whinge about. The tiny return rollers are made up of two separate parts for each one! The are quite easy to fit but the outer roller is very vulnerable to being knocked off. By the time the tracks were fitted, half of the little sods had to be glue on again. If I were to do this kit again (which I definitely NEVER will!) I'd attach the outer roller after the tracks are fitted. Then wait for them to dry well before attempting to glue the top track onto the rollers. The roller parts are so fragile, I used a few tiny clips which I could accurately clamp onto the back part of the rollers so as not put any pressure on the front rollers. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 Final assembly required a little painting to be done first as it'll be impossible when the PE part is in place. And it's done. Notice that there is a gap I had to fill on the hatch. I don't know if it was my fault or not but as no other filling was required on the entire kit….I have my suspicions. There are a few elements which make this kit very frustrating to build – which is a shame because the other parts are great. I did find it odd that the simplified IBG kit of the C9 Cruiser tank had a way of putting the main turret on which allowed it to turn, but this kit doesn't. You could just leave it loose, although it would be very loose. So I just glue it on. And then there was two: Don't know when I'll get the chance to slap some paint on yet. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elrondeliannath 92 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 Looks great ! I'm going to try a tank this year, I've never done one before 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 25 minutes ago, Elrondeliannath said: I'm going to try a tank this year, I'd definitely recommend it. I used to just build aircraft but I find that tanks are more like the modelling I did as a kid - bung everything together and then start thinking about painting it. I usually do 1/72 vehicles because I find them much more of a challenge, and of course they're cheaper and take up less space....well they would take up less space if I wasn't drawn to making dioramas as large as my last project. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hutch6390 2,153 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 Great job on both of those, Gorby - got any more? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted March 17 Author Report Share Posted March 17 Just now, Hutch6390 said: got any more? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elrondeliannath 92 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 40 minutes ago, Gorby said: I'd definitely recommend it. I used to just build aircraft but I find that tanks are more like the modelling I did as a kid - bung everything together and then start thinking about painting it. I usually do 1/72 vehicles because I find them much more of a challenge, and of course they're cheaper and take up less space....well they would take up less space if I wasn't drawn to making dioramas as large as my last project. Yeah, I'm definitely going to do a tank after my next project... I'm going to build a 1967 Pontiac GTO as an exact replica to one my dad had for a Father's Day gift. So I won't get ahead of myself, I'm not going to work on more than one kit at a time, same for buying kits. It's gonna be fun! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dixieflyer 4,388 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 OK Gorby, this slipped under my radar until today. My gosh you're a glutton for punishment. I thought I had it bad with 1/72nd scale. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted yesterday at 07:16 PM Author Report Share Posted yesterday at 07:16 PM Next up (and probably the last for a while). I did a quick review which you can see here. The Renault tank is probably my all time favourite tanky thing. So much so I've even thought about buying it in the grotesquely unnatural 1/35 scale . Apparently the Flyhawk kit is by far the best available in 1/72. Because it's such a teeney tiny biddy little thing, you get two in the box. I started the kit on Sunday and they are now built (although not painted). It's been too much fun to break off to waffle on to you lot about it. It's a beautifully detailed kit but as they are so small (I may have mentioned that) there isn't a lot of parts, although some of the PE parts are quite fiddly. Most of the PE bits are optional if you'd rather just use plastic. There are six different options/schemes so it would be good if you knew which two you intend to build before you start. I went for 'I' and Ivy, sorry I mean 'IV'. Step one ended quickly with the PE handles on the bonnet being the most difficult part to fit. The two versions I chose have different wheels. It's very clever how they have done the tracks and running gear. The biggest negative of the kit, although quite a minor one, is the clean-up required on the running gear parts. The parts shown at the top are what you get, and the beneath those are the cleaned-up versions. If you don't remove the stubs completely the parts won't fit properly. It's odd because all the other parts in the kit only required very minor attention. The fit of the tracks over the running gear was as near perfect as you can get, although quite a tight fit. This is the end of step three. The rear skid is just two parts and the end result is miles better than IBG's T89 nine part skid. Lots of little fiddly PE bits and plastic bobs and you reach the end of step five. Yes @Col., I'm still getting plenty of super glue from the tube (although now I'm having to resort to pliers to get the last couple of gallons out). All too soon they come to the end. One of the most enjoyable kits I've done for a very long time. As I mentioned in the review, the guns don't just stick on the front, they also include the breech. Even though there isn't any detail inside other than the gun breech, I've left the turret hatch open on one of them. I'll paint it all black inside and see if it works. Arrrrhhh, don't they look the cutest ever dead-dealing people-manglers? And then there were four. Thanks for following and comments/likes. I've got other non modelly stuff to do for a while so that'll be you're lot for now – I've run out of tanks kits anyway. Not sure when I'm going to get a chance to paint them. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Steve 20,611 Posted yesterday at 07:45 PM Report Share Posted yesterday at 07:45 PM Ooooooooooooooooh, me likey..... Don't know if you've heard, but there's this new stuff called paint... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RWG686 33,100 Posted yesterday at 07:49 PM Report Share Posted yesterday at 07:49 PM 32 minutes ago, Gorby said: don't they look the cutest ever 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gorby 17,213 Posted 16 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 16 hours ago 11 hours ago, Mad Steve said: there's this new stuff called paint... Naaa, it'll never catch on. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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