International Scale Modeller

Hi guys,

My second entry to the DDay GB. Couldn't find the kit I had in mind, so I've gone with plan B!



Sprue shots...





Rubber tracks, they look really nice, great detail on them. Hope they turn out ok!



Decals and an extra sprue with a farmer and his cart?! Go figure!



Destructions, big fold out piece, thought I'd try the pano thing on the iPhone. So it might look a bit wonky!




Hoping to get a start on this tonight, before the Bergepanther tomorrow. But I can see a bottle of vodka in the kitchen so maybe not! Lol

Cheers guys!

Nice kit Chief.....
Looking forward to seeing you work some magic!!
Good luck...

Nice! You're going to busy then!

Oaaaaah How much did that babe cost anyways

I'm going to watch you so closely. ...

MrModelling wrote:Oaaaaah How much did that babe cost anyways

It was a very reasonable £26. Not bad for Tamiya. It is and older kit, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. Also, the last tamiya I did, the Chieftain, was an older kit too, and that was an awesome build!

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:I'm going to watch you so closely. ...

I'm waiting to see some more from yours first! Ha ha!

Hi Cheif, the farmer with the cart is offering the tank crew a drink. It is reminiscent of a scene from the film "The Longest Day", when the ecstatic Frenchman rush's around greeting the glorious liberator's. The detail's are on the box I think. Anyway good luck with a nice looking kit, cheer's Dave.

Looking forward to this one best of luck buddy.

Hi guys, first update...

Started with lower hull assy, typical Tamiya instructions, very good. I like to highlight any smaller parts that are left for later stages, otherwise I'd forget to put them on! Lol!



Few easy steps gets the Besa MG, and front armour fitted. The hull sides need to be held apart while the front armour slides in. Once there it a good solid fit.



Test firing of the Besa MG can be see here
SWEEET!

Next up was the suspension. It's no AFV Club springy, moving suspension, but hey, it's from 1977! Before AFV Club were a glint in daddy's eye! Lol!



I did notice that similar but 'handed' parts had their numbers stamped on them. This is a great idea. Saves time figuring out which part is left or right once they're off the sprue.



Suspension and idlers fitted, no problem.



You can see why the Churchill could have three wheels blown off and still keep on running!

Then fitted the drive wheels and dry fitted the tracks. I'm really impressed with these tracks, they look great. In this pic they are just snapped together, no glue. You can run this thing along the floor like a toy, and they stay on! Must be 'cos it was originally designed for RC. Great engineering!



One step later, and the turret was done. Small parts and hatches are off for now. I'm undecided as to use figures or not?!
Again, no problems here, thank you Tamiya . The barrel comes in two halves, but fit is good.



So, that's main assy kind of done, in one night! I sort of moved away from tamiya once I discovered the likes of Dragon/Trumpeter, but tamiya are such a pleasure to build!

That's it for now guys, got some thinking to do I've no PE for this, but I have a cunning plan!

Wish me luck, lol!

Thanks for looking fellas

I've seen this kit in my local hobby shop a million times. Was never sure how well it would go together. Looks better than I expected. Well done man.

Cheers dude! It may not have the detail/over engineering of AFV Club kits, but it builds like a dream!

Looking good there mate what have you got planed for this build or is it just wait and see how it turns out

Cheers Nige! I've got a couple of ideas gnawing away at my brain! Not sure yet. Don't think it'll involve a dio though. Just don't have the space to put them any more!

Dang!
That's some fast building!
I'm still working at the Hull
Nice build so far mate

Chees guys!

I've decided to 'go Dutch' on this, so it's on hold til the PE arrives. Hope it comes soon, the panther is on hold waiting for tracks too!

Hurry up postie!

chief5437 wrote:Chees guys!

I've decided to 'go Dutch' on this, so it's on hold til the PE arrives. Hope it comes soon, the panther is on hold waiting for tracks too!

Hurry up postie!

lol... you can't go wrong with "going Dutch"

As a finishing touch, god created the Dutch....

Can't wait to see the PE works!

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:

chief5437 wrote:Chees guys!

I've decided to 'go Dutch' on this, so it's on hold til the PE arrives. Hope it comes soon, the panther is on hold waiting for tracks too!

Hurry up postie!

lol... you can't go wrong with "going Dutch"

As a finishing touch, god created the Dutch....

Can't wait to see the PE works!

Just don't tell me you own a t-shirt with that slogan

Well, another pictureless update! PE has arrived but the Mrs has broken her leg, so I'm a bit busy looking after her and the kids!

Hope to get back to it soon though!

Cheers guys!

chief5437 wrote:Well, another pictureless update! PE has arrived but the Mrs has broken her leg, so I'm a bit busy looking after her and the kids!

Hope to get back to it soon though!

Cheers guys!

Owh!
That's some bad news. ... Hope she's feeling better real soon mate!

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:

chief5437 wrote:Well, another pictureless update! PE has arrived but the Mrs has broken her leg, so I'm a bit busy looking after her and the kids!

Hope to get back to it soon though!

Cheers guys!

Owh!
That's some bad news. ... Hope she's feeling better real soon mate!

Thanks very much Frans!

That's to bad mate hope she gets better soon

Sending well wishes to Mrs Chief.....
Hope its not too bad and your soon on the mend....

Take good care of the Mrs and kids mate, all the best ..

chief5437 wrote:Well, another pictureless update! PE has arrived but the Mrs has broken her leg, so I'm a bit busy looking after her and the kids!

Hope to get back to it soon though!

Cheers guys!

Hi mate , that's bad ...hope that Mrs. will get better soon .

on your build : going nice , I and for the first time wish to do some diorama with this kit , also with British infantry on patrol and with some houses from Miniart , I'm expecting all the goodies from 1/2 weeks now , seems that I will only receive it on next week , it will be another entry on D-Day GB and a first time to me doing an AFV , figures and all , but like you I now think it probably get too much space

Well your build is to follow as I will do the same tank , it is going really great !

Hey guys, thanks for all the kind comments! I've passed the love onto Mrs Chief! She now has a proper pot on her leg, so she's immobilised now. That means I can sneak off to the cave and she can't chase me! Lol!

Hoping to get a bit done on this tonight. Fingers crossed!

Tracks for the bergepanther haven't arrived yet. Money went to PayPal, and now it's come back again! Wtf?! So that's still on hold anyway.

Thanks again guys

Wow!!! I've managed to get something done!! Lol.

I got the Eduard PE set for this, not as comprehensive as Frans' set, but it suits my budget!

Haven't done PE for a while, but this has reminded me how much fun it can be. Apart from finding the dropped parts, that is. Maybe I should get a sniffer dog like Frans? Lol!

Anyway, it's taken a while to get this done, just grabbing half an hour here and there. There's not a great deal to say, it's a pretty basic set. I also made some tow cables from copper wire and replaced the little strap brackets on the side of the turret, with spare bits of PE. I've battered some of it to give it a bit of a 'worn in' look. Can't wait to get some paint on it now!


Rear end!









So that's where I'm at after two weeks! Hope I can get on with this, I don't like taking too long or I seem to lose interest and start a new kit! Panther tracks STILL haven't arrived!! Lol

Thanks for looking guys

that is some awesome work mate

SWEET!
looks like mine! Lol
Great work mate, that PE looks brilliant
I hope to post mine this evening, I'm really busy playing dad for our new puppy dog
Forgot what Devils it are when they are youngsters
KUTGW!

Cheers for the kind words guys!

@Frans. I look forward to your next update. Good result against chile, hope Flow enjoyed the game, lol!

That is looking wicked mate

Nice chief , real nice looking tank with all the PE ! I have my Churchill to build and i'm very tempted to buy a PE set for him also ... real add so much detail to the build !

Very well done ! It isn't easy to work all those tiny PE parts like you did !

Thanks guys!

I got some more done on this.

Primer on and pre shade.





Then I thought I'd try something new, I preshaded some parts with a dark yellow.


Once that was done, I mixed some greens to get a 'British' colour I was happy with. Don't ask what I used, I can't remember, lol! Think it looks alright though.






Next up is detail painting, not much on here, then clear and decals.

Thanks for looking

Looks cracking chief.

Lean, green and mean Chief. Like your shading method a lot.

That looks great Chief!
Now what colours did you used then?
lol...
Need to step up a bit myself, you are catching up!

Chief !!!

Like the preshading , gives a very nice effect on the tank .

I hope that you give us the color that you used , like that I could paint mine also like yours , it would save me some time

It is very well painted .

Good work !

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

Judging by the bottles on my bench, I think it was a 50/50 mix of model air olive grey and US dark green? I hope so anyway, as I want the same colour of my M10. If I ever get round to finishing it! Shelf of doom GB maybe? Lol!

Hey guys, new update, it's a biggie!

Decals are on, this particular Churchill is 'ICENI' from 2 Platoon, A Squadron, 9 Battalion RTR, 31 Tank Brigade.

These guys came ashore at Juno Beach on 19th June '44. Helping to expand the beachhead at Normandy.
26th June saw them take part in Op Epsom, a battle that lasted til 30th June. Followed by Op Jupiter, the battle for Caen, and Hill 112, known as 'the key to Normandy'. 

I'll take this opportunity to crowbar in some history of the Mk VII Churchill, lol!
Churchill Mk VII (A22F) 
The second major redesign from previous models, the VII used the 75 mm gun, was wider and had much more armour. It is sometimes called the Heavy Churchill. This version of the Churchill first saw service in the Battle of Normandy, and was re-designated A42 in 1945.

It is important to note that, despite its weaknesses, the Churchill had a significant advantage that was apparent throughout its career. Due to its multiple bogie suspension, it could cross terrain obstacles that most other tanks of its era could not. This feat served well, especially during the fighting in Normandy particularly the capture of Hill 309 between the 30 and 31 July 1944 in operation Bluecoat conducted by VIII Corps.

The Churchill saw action throughout Europe and also in Africa. It was a Churchill that disabled the Tiger that is on display at Bovington. Churchills were even used successfully in Korea! Gaining high praise from the American and British infantry.

After sealing the decals, I started with a wash of dark green. My first time using Humbrols enamel washes. They're quite thick, next time I'll thin them a bit, but I'm very happy with them and they're much easier (for me) to find in local shops than other brands.


These are the other ones I got yesterday.


Here she is after the wash


Added a bit of pastel dust on the exhaust. Looking at this, I'm not sure about the 'luminous' decal at bottom right?! Weathering should tone that down a bit.


Added a few streak marks, using AK streaking grime for Panzer Grey, lol!




Tracks were painted dark grey, then a rust wash, then a track wash, then earth pigments added, followed by graphite pencil on the worn surfaces. Phew! This pic doesn't show any of this very well, lol!


It does look better in the light, honest!

Some yellow oil was dotted around then brushed with thinners to give a bit more variety. Running gear and lower hull were lightly sprayed with sand, brown and dark dirt water based clay washes.


Gloss oil stain wash was applied over pigment at the drive sprocket and axle to give it a 'caked on mud and grease' look.


And that's pretty much it finished. Added a few antennas from thin wire, not very happy with these, but I can't find my carbon fibre antennas anywhere! I'll replace these when they turn up.


I'll post some more pics in the reveal section.

Thanks for looking, and for all the supportive comments, much appreciated.

Wow. .. cracking update Chief!
Would you know it? I applied the decals to today and made a start at weathering. ..
Smashing job on your weathering

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:Wow. .. cracking update Chief!
Would you know it? I applied the decals to today and made a start at weathering. ..
Smashing job on your weathering

Cheers Frans!

lol!

Great finish chief

That is fecking awesome Chief!!

Especially love that last pic, those washes and oils have really worked well, you've done an excellent job!!

Super Churchill - Well, that I did not miss. High level mate