Char B1 - Tamiya 1/35 Final pics 2/14/16

[afvfan]

Four or Five months ago, before my mojo went on extended vacation, I started this Char B. It's sat on the shelf primed, forlornly staring at me. Now that I'm finally getting my act back together I shot the base coat over the weekend.







During the build I added a few things to the base kit, including the cast texture to the turret, mantlet, and drivers cover. Here's the turret (you can spot the rest in the other pics below).


The front end showing the textured areas. I also added the lifting pigtail and cover bolt holes on the mantlet.


The missing rivets off the sponsons and the radio antenna lead


And finally, I opened up the mud holes and added the guide piece.

[Leon]

Nice work on the details and base coat Bob!

[wbill76]

Glad to see this one come back around in the rotation Bob! The Tamiya Char kit is probably one of the most enjoyable to build out there IMHO. The green looks good as does the added texture and details.

[pt109]

Nice Bob, I likie......is this the French version or the US version?

Paul

[afvfan]

Thanks Leon, I've still got to go back in and add the hi-lights before moving on to the next color.

Bill, you're so right about that. It goes together like a 30 piece jigsaw puzzle, without a lot of extra work to do to bring it up to snuff.

Appreciate it Paul. It's being built as a narrow fendered French model.

[wouter]

Ah, a Char B1, what a great kit, enjoyed it so much. Glad to see another one pop up Bob. Looking great there, love the paintwork

Cheers

[dierk]

Nice bit of mojo-kickstarting Bob. Looking forward to seeing this one develop.

[afvfan]

Thanks Wouts. It has been kind of my "go to" kit. This will make my 5th one.

Need to get to doing something Dierk. The other day it hit me that I'd only finished 4 models so far this year (under half of my normal output).

[adt70hk]

Hi bob

Nice start!! Looks like I'll be joining quite a crowd watching this one!

I've seen several references to people adding a caste effect but being recently returned to the hobby as I am, I've got no idea how it's done and I think it looks great on your Char.

Keep up the good work!

Andrew

[afvfan]

Dec 22, 2015 15:08:36 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Hi bob

Nice start!! Looks like I'll be joining quite a crowd watching this one!

I've seen several references to people adding a caste effect but being recently returned to the hobby as I am, I've got no idea how it's done and I think it looks great on your Char.

Keep up the good work!

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, appreciate the commment.

There are several ways to simulate the cast metal look. I use Testors Liquid Cement and a small wire brush. First, apply a layer of cement to the area you're going to do. It's better to work in small sections when doing this. Wait a minute or two for it to soften the plastic, then, start tapping it with the brush until you get the desired effect. Some plastics may need a second application of cement to soften them up enough to work with. Don't worry too much about overdoing it. If you do, you can always use some fine sandpaper to smooth it out a bit. Practice it a time or two on some scrap plastic, and in no time, you'll get the hang of the technique.

HTH

[TRM]

Not about quantity...quality Bob! And for what you did finish, there was no lack therein of the latter! Great to see you back at the bench!! Enjoy!! Merry Christmas to you and yours brotha'! Have a great Holiday!!

[afvfan]

Dec 23, 2015 8:37:51 GMT -5 TRM said:

Not about quantity...quality Bob! And for what you did finish, there was no lack therein of the latter! Great to see you back at the bench!! Enjoy!! Merry Christmas to you and yours brotha'! Have a great Holiday!!

Thanks for the pep talk, T It's kind of sad though, knowing I'm currently have more builds in progress, than total built in the past year.

Holiday sentiments right back at 'cha.

[adt70hk]

Dec 23, 2015 1:09:32 GMT -5 afvfan said:

Dec 22, 2015 15:08:36 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Hi bob

Nice start!! Looks like I'll be joining quite a crowd watching this one!

I've seen several references to people adding a caste effect but being recently returned to the hobby as I am, I've got no idea how it's done and I think it looks great on your Char.

Keep up the good work!

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, appreciate the commment.

There are several ways to simulate the cast metal look. I use Testors Liquid Cement and a small wire brush. First, apply a layer of cement to the area you're going to do. It's better to work in small sections when doing this. Wait a minute or two for it to soften the plastic, then, start tapping it with the brush until you get the desired effect. Some plastics may need a second application of cement to soften them up enough to work with. Don't worry too much about overdoing it. If you do, you can always use some fine sandpaper to smooth it out a bit. Practice it a time or two on some scrap plastic, and in no time, you'll get the hang of the technique.

HTH

Bob

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond!!  It does indeed help!!

Merry Chirstmas

Andrew

[deafpanzer]

Glad you got your act back together. It has been an issue for me in 2015 too. Your B1 is looking real good!

[afvfan]

Thanks Andy. The B1 is getting ready to find itself back in the rotation. I've been concentrating on a couple other projects while I screw up the nerves to attempt the 2nd color on her.

[afvfan]

Finally worked through a couple issues and got the camo pattern laid down. It doesn't quite match what I had pictured in my brain (or the original subject), but there's no way I'm going to redo it.







And finally, mine compared with the real deal. As you can see, my background colors are too solid.




Next stage will be the weathering.

[Leon]

WOW......That is totally different Bob! I like it.

[wing_nut]

Damn Bob that looks great. Maybe you sponge a little of the 2 colors as needed. But if you didn't it look really nice as is.

[dierk]

Looking good Bob! You must have got a sweat on painting all those trees - I remember doing the amoeba camo on my ISU-122 nearly turned me into a gibbering wreck.

[tobias5555]

Very good paintjob.

[afvfan]

Thanks Leon. It's one I've been wanting to do ever since I saw the first picture of it some time back. I've already made a note for myself to try it again sometime in the future. With what I've learned doing this one, it won't be seen as such a daunting task. I can concentrate more on accuracy of the paint.

I thought about doing that Marc....then my senses returned. Actually, like I mentioned to Leon, I'll just save it for the next time. As you said, this one looks pretty good as is. I don't know what kind of monitor you're using, but on my 24" wide screen, the pictures are showing up about 20% larger than actual size. For some reason seeing it enlarged takes away from the actual look.

Dierk- The trees weren't really a bother, but laying down the yellow over the green sure gave me nightmares, even before I attempted it.

Thanks Tobias. Glad you like it.

[Wes]

Very nice. Something very different, but cool.

Looking forward to the weathering.

[wbill76]

Hat's off to you for tackling this one Bob! Definitely a unique scheme that the French played with on this vehicle. I remember the first time I saw it on the Char Francais site and wondered how much work would be needed to pull it off. Kudos!

[reserve]

So that's where RealTree camo came from. Pretty intricate, great work

Regards,
Mark

[TRM]

Nicely executed Bob! Had a fleeting though many moons ago of tackling this camo job....then I snapped to my senses!! Well done my friend...definitely +1 of the cool factor!

[afvfan]

Appreciate the comment, Wes. The tank's name was "Fantasque". It was the only vehicle to wear the design, which was an experimental scheme that didn't pan out.

Just chalk it up to a momentary lapse of sanity, Bill. I now know how much work it is to pull off a mediocre rendition of the scheme. Who knows how bad it would be to do it right. You know they actually added cloth fibers to the paint to give it texture. Now that would be a pain to replicate!

Nice reference thought there Mark. Makes you wonder if it was the inspiration behind it.

Thanks T. Part of my hesitation with doing it, aside from it being a total bear to pull off, was the near total absence of original pictures. I've only seen 4 with no views of the top or the back. Color was another problem. I know it was a darker green with a bright yellow. I had to guess at the shades, as well as the color of the "trees" (of which there is no mention).

[adt70hk]

Hi Bob

I think it's a great job!! I must admit I've never seen this camo scheme before but I can imagine it was not easy to do!!

Keep it up.

Andrew

[dupes]

Holy smokes! Saw your paintjob before I saw the reference pics...thought you had gone off the rails a bit. That's certainly different!

[afvfan]

Thanks Andrew. It's definitely not your standard French pattern, that's for sure.

Dupes, I don't think I derailed right off, but it didn't take long after I started the yellow...

[afvfan]

Thanks Groucho.