International Scale Modeller

For my very first group build I've decided to build the Meng 1/35 Mk.A 'Whippet', I'm going to attempt a simple diorama to accompany it and have decided to build a replica of Lt. C. B. Arnold's tank 'Musical Box' which was involved in the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, you can read more details about it here if you wish, reads like a Hollywood movie plot:

Musical Box Offensive

Lt. CB Arnold was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal for his actions, and as he was originally from my neck of the woods (North Wales) what better subject?!



This is the only picture I can find of Arnold's tank, you can just about make out 'Muscial Box' on the fuel tank



I've got various bits and pieces on the way so I will update accordingly once everything lands and the build begins.

To my detriment, my knowledge of WW1 was basic at best (WW2 is my forte), but I've been doing a lot of reading and thanks to this GB my appreciation of what these young chaps went through, on all sides, has grown immensely.

Happy building everyone

Awesome, glad to see you start out looking forward to see your build develop
Have we reached maximum whip it jokes at this point already??
Your last one still has me chuckling
Scott

Oh this is going to be good

Doing a local boys machine, a nice tribute.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:37 am Have we reached maximum whip it jokes at this point already??

I think we have just about reached saturation point with the whippet jokes yes! Can you please stop derailing my thread with infantile humour, I'm a serious modeller I'll have you know, I'm very offended....

Oh I like this guy @Gary30
Master of the fein and zing picture low
Awesome

Does he work out?

Ok, first update, some things arrived....including a big scary looking spider in the Meng box (sealed) so God only knows from where he originated and how venomous he *was* before I despatched of him, gave me a shock I can tell you! Sorry I didn't manage to get a picture of him, I was too busy shrieking like a little girl as it was the last thing I was expecting to see when taking the parts out of the box

Whippet Kit:




Sprue shots, very nicely moulded:








Tracks, 3 identical sprues of these!



Decals, I'd read a couple of reviews of this kit and I'm sure I remember reading that no 'Muscial Box' decals were included, the instructions make no reference to them, but they are included luckily for me, I'll just have to make a '344' number as that was the official number of the tank, shouldn't be a problem. I'd also read that a piece of string/cotton was included for the tow rope, but Meng have upgraded this to some kind of thin metal wire which is a nice touch:



Great looking kit, impressed!

For the diorama base, I've gone for a Miniart Item, fairly simple, but as my life will be pretty hectic between now and Christmas (baby due in a month!) that's probably for the best.

Box Shot:



Some vac formed parts:






The base itself:



Some injected stuff:



Basic instructions:




Looks good, I have to confess that I have made one Miniart diorama kit like this (German Street with ruined buildings) so I know a few tips and tricks to get me started and will update accordingly if anyone else is thinking of making one, hoping to 'better' my previous effort though.

And I also got these chaps, WW1 British infantry kits (particularly tankers) are few and far between so these aren't perfect for what I want, but they were cheap, I may only use a couple to 'escort' the tank, not sure yet, will play it by ear as the build progresses

Right then, lets crack on and start throwing some glue at some bits, I had a few hours spare over the weekend, so I made a start.

My plan is, tank first, then dio base, then infantry, so without further ado, I completed steps 1-6 of the Whippet, this is my first ever Meng kit, impressed with the quality of the mouldings, good quality plastic, piece of cake to trim/sand.

Main hull:



Turret nearing completion, I didn't like the way some of the parts had to be folded, felt like they were going to snap, even with a good going over with a hair dryer to soften them up a bit first. There was no real reference to use to get the bending angle correct either, I feel Tamiya would've included some kind of jig, but that's a minor gripe as once you fit the rest of the parts, the angles come together in the end. I ran a bead of extra thin cement down the fold lines just to finish them off as they were visibly thinning in places



Tiny handles on the engine compartment, no need for PE when the mouldings are this fine and crisp, well done Meng! I just need to give them a very gentle sanding once they've cured properly, but you get the idea



And here's how I left it, a few joints need cleaning up, but overall happy with it so far, I think this kit is all about the sponsons, wheels and tracks, so the first part of the build fell together really:

It was my birthday over the weekend, so Mrs Gary30 contributed a new addition to my tool box, secretly I think she wants me to spend more time modelling and less time annoying her, so she got me this nifty LED desk lamp, very impressed! Can control the brightness and hue of the light so should come in handy now the light is beginning to fade.

pourquoi61 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 08, 2018 7:43 pm Does he work out?

He's got some 'arms' on him hasn't he?!

Nice choice there mate looking forward to this coming together

A belated Happy Birthday to you

Looking good so far .

That's come together really nicely so far even with the challenge of the bendy bits!

Looking forward to seeing it progress and more Whippet memes

Looking good mate

Just a minor update to keep this ticking over, weekend was filled mainly with antenatal classes and cleaning up but I did get a few hours to myself to mess about with some plastic so I made a start on the wheels......wheels, lots and lots of tiny wheels

I managed to complete the left hand running assembly, still got to do exactly the same on the other side, went together ok, just a little fiddly mating the two halves together and lining all the wheels and pins up.

Pre-clean up, wheely good fun



Completed assembly:



And as a strange coincidence, The Tank Museum posted a YouTube video about the ancestor of my Tank Commander Clem Arnold, interesting video if you have a spare five minutes:

Another small update, the whippet is living up to it's name and is coming together at breakneck speed...

Right hand running gear going together:



Running gear attached:



Main hull is pretty much complete now, except for weapons, a few tools and some track spuds:



I have actually seen a whippet in the metal at Bovington, but I don't remember it being so big, it's quite a beast, easily as big as a 1/35 Sherman M4 I have

Tracks are next on the list......68 links per side

Coming together very nicely

Kevthemodeller wrote: ↑Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:44 am Coming together very nicely

Thanks Kev, looking forward to blowing some paint at it and bringing it to life

Thank you for the video it was very interesting listening about the exploits of the tank crew.

Progress has been slowly ticking along on this build, the tracks for one side have gone together, they look good but don't feel as though they'd make it through the war. The tiny plastic 'pins' that hold them together are very weak and you have to be careful when snapping the links together not to damage them. I am thinking about gluing them for final assembly, not sure yet. They are all just about holding on their own at the moment and some links feel much better than others.....anyway, enough waffle, you're only here for the pics right?

68 links per side, that's a lot of trimming and sanding...



I think the results are worth it though, think they'll look good painted..



The rest of the hull is complete now, including these tow cable transport hooks (10 per side!!!) the carpet monster has an unbridled appetite for these but luckily Meng provide a couple of spares



They look good installed though, have to be very careful with my sausage fingers moving the tank around now



Hull assembly completed



I'm going to work on the Miniart Dio next and then have a marathon paint session rather than doing any more work on the Whippet at this stage.

Beautiful clean build Gary! The detail on Meng kits is just mental. Love 'em!

alextheblue wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:56 am Beautiful clean build Gary! The detail on Meng kits is just mental. Love 'em!

Thank you! Yeah this is the first Meng kit I've ever built, I thought Tamiya were untouchable in terms of quality, but this is changing my mind, I think a more modern Meng tank kit is next on my list. I'm sure I could persuade somebody to leave one in my Christmas stocking

Looking good. The kits look good but a lot tougher to get together. Not sure if same as takom but finding these kits a real workout of the brain cells.

Nev wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 10:42 am Looking good. The kits look good but a lot tougher to get together. Not sure if same as takom but finding these kits a real workout of the brain cells.

Just getting out of bed and getting showered and dressed is a real workout of the brain cells at my age these days, never mind anything else

It is a bit fiddly in places, but I think it's gone together ok, definitely lots of potential to mess up along the way though, but I've enjoyed the build, and that's the main thing

Nice work - love the detail on the external surfaces.

I think you've done a grand job getting those hooks clear of the sprue without losing them all or snapping them (which is my particular talent..) really looking forward to the paint going on and seeing it all come together.

Paul

Quax wrote: ↑Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:56 pm I think you've done a grand job getting those hooks clear of the sprue without losing them all or snapping them (which is my particular talent..) really looking forward to the paint going on and seeing it all come together.

Paul

Cheers! Luckily Meng did a great job of moulding them which meant that no clean up at all was required or I would've definitely managed to snap a few

I just trimmed them off as close to the sprue as possible and stuck them straight on one by one, the carpet monster had one, and tried to eat another but I managed to wrestle that one from his jaws The sprue 'gate' is on the back side of each hook, so any tiny remnants are hidden anyway. I love Tamiya Extra Thin, makes such a clean job of cementing tiny parts like that.

Tracks for both sides are now assembled it did feel a bit like a chore getting all those links trimmed and sanded I must admit at least they're done now.

2 hours per side with tea and biscuit breaks, so not too bad really.

On to the diorama base now

Gary30 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:45 am Tracks for both sides are now assembled it did feel a bit like a chore getting all those links trimmed and sanded I must admit at least they're done now.

2 hours per side with tea and biscuit breaks, so not too bad really.

On to the diorama base now

Looking good so far, great thread!

Work has started slowly on the ruined church, not much to show yet....



Anyone who's built one of these Miniart kits will know that they are vacuum formed and come in fairly thick plastic. The way I'm tackling it, is just to score around the edges and 'snap' the unwanted pieces off. A bit like cutting out a polycarb RC car body if anybody has done one of those? I'm keeping the off cuts to use as strengthening pieces, you'll see what I mean later.....

So each wall comes in two halves which you have to mate up and glue together, the offcuts come in very handy for this!

Here is one half, pre clean up, I'll do the majority of the sanding and filling once the two halves are glued together

Good work so far
Will be happy to follow this along

Started one of those mini art buildings. There a bit of work but can look great

Interested to see how you proceed with the miniart kit - I'll be starting one in the next couple of months hopefully to go with my Panzerjager build.

ElCapitan wrote: ↑Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:40 am Interested to see how you proceed with the miniart kit - I'll be starting one in the next couple of months hopefully to go with my Panzerjager build.

I'll keep you updated, there are a few good build videos on YouTube that give you plenty of tips if you need a starter for 10, they all go together fairly similarly, so watching any of them will give you a good idea, let me know if you want some links.

I've roughly trimmed all of the big parts now, but now the hard work starts, smoothing, sanding, sticking the halves together, then more filling, sanding, then mount to the base and yet more filling and sanding....





And a very rough, very quick mock up to give you an idea of what I'm looking at...





I couldn't hold up the gate and the walls at the same time, but you get the idea.

PS no scalpel blades were harmed in the making of this......honest.....

More progress on the ruined church over the weekend....

I added plastic tabs to the wall halves, this enables the two sides to line up perfectly and also allows a little more cementing surface, I used the offcuts from the trimming process, but you can use plasticard or anything you want...




Gate clamped whilst curing



After a bit of a clean up



I was slightly delirious from all the glue fumes at this point, so not that many pics of the actual construction process, but I was definitely having fun and that's the main thing right?!

The walls were glued to the base, a bit of trimming and clean up was required on the base just to make sure they sit flush, but nothing too taxing, even when high as a kite



This is how it stands now, time to break out the filler and get busy, but that will be a job for tonight

Very satisfying to see it taking shape! That's pretty much the method I had in mind for strengthening the joins. Maybe you could answer one question for me though - does the base need reinforced at all? I was thinking of maybe bracing it with some strips of styrene underneath to stop the middle sagging or distorting. What do you think?

ElCapitan wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:31 am Maybe you could answer one question for me though - does the base need reinforced at all? I was thinking of maybe bracing it with some strips of styrene underneath to stop the middle sagging or distorting. What do you think?

It could definitely use some bracing of some sort under the base yes. It is fairly sturdy, but once the walls and model are added they do add a bit of weight that flexes the base.

I'll wait till everything is added and then work out how much bracing is needed and where to put it, quick and easy fix though, and being hidden away it doesn't need to be neat at all.

And as a footnote, the joint strengthening I've done really does work, they set rock solid and will take plenty of abuse and sanding/filing after curing for 24 hours. I used LOTS of Revell Contacta, and then ran a bead of Tamiya ET around the edge as well, just to help soften the plastic and get a better join.

Just make sure your room is well ventilated

And after a little filling session last night, the windows and wrought iron fencing went in, just about ready for first paint I think now....







I have got left over fencing that I could make into a small gate for the archway, but I think I like it as it is, a simpler time when they might not have been as bothered about putting gates and locks on everything like we are these days....I'm undecided, I might put one of the infantry men in the archway instead

Started work on my infantry last night, having never built an ICM kit before, and being so cheap, I thought they wouldn't be up to much, but they go together ok, and I'm impressed by the quality, two done so far...

Very simple looking sprue, but lots of detail when you start looking a bit closer..















And another quick mock up, still undecided which way to point the tank and where the men are going to end up, but happy with how it's looking so far...



I will build the other two gents this week and then it'll be onto the paint shop at the weekend with a bit of luck

I completed the penultimate chap last night. Once again my WW1 knowledge is exposed...would this gentleman be a Colonel or a Sergeant Major? Not sure what rank he is? But he definitely outranks the others and rules with a silent air of authority and a rather dashing moustache

Would he be out on the front line given his rank? Or hidden away in the ops tent?

Hope you like....

Gary30 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:47 am I completed the penultimate chap last night. Once again my WW1 knowledge is exposed...would this gentleman be a Colonel or a Sergeant Major? Not sure what rank he is? But he definitely outranks the others and rules with a silent air of authority and a rather dashing moustache

Would he be out on the front line given his rank? Or hidden away in the ops tent?

Hope you like....

Man with a swagger stick is more likely to be giving orders rather than implementing them

digger303 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 1:23 pm
Man with a swagger stick is more likely to be giving orders rather than implementing them

I think I'll put him behind the tank then

I think I'm gonna pose it so he is just sending the tank on it's merry way into battle rather than halfway through a bloody firefight.

Nice work Gary - I've done battle with a couple of those miniart dios so know what a challenge they can be. The last one I did definitely had some sag in the base after I put the vehicle on it and needed bracing up a little.

Looking forward to seeing how you compose the diorama with the figures as well.

Thanks chaps, enjoying the build so far, can't wait to get stuck into painting now, which I'm just about ready to start having completed soldier number 4 last night, this chap was a bit fiddly to get the angles of of his limbs correct and the gun being held naturally, best I could do, slightly different pose to the instructions, but I'm happy with how he turned out overall. 12 separate parts. A bit of filling required on his left elbow, but fairly clean apart from that.

He looks lost in thought, I think he's thinking up Whippet jokes.....maybe.

Looking great which ever way the tank is pointing.

I like the project.
I keep here.