My first builds after 25+years - various British AFVs 1/72

[adt70hk]

Good evening all

Firstly, thanks again for the welcome on my 'Introduce yourself' post.

Secondly, I should warn you that this post should really come with a "Very Newbie Skill Level Warning" alert - for those faint hearted amongst you please go no further!!

Having seen some of the amazing things people can do on this site, it's with some trepidation that I post the pictures below....but you’ve got to start somewhere....

Having made a thoroughly unplanned return to the hobby last summer, after a long time away (see here for more info), I initially stuck with what I knew in terms of painting the vehicles.....brushes and Humbrol Enamel paints - yes I am that old!!

However, I have started to purchase some pots of these mysterious 'acrylic' paints in the hope of improving the overall finish (and shortening the drying time), although I have yet to enter the 21st century and buy one of the highly technical devices known as an airbrush.... .

Seriously though, I'm on a very limited budget and more importanntly I also want my son (and daughter) to have plenty of fun helping make and paint the tanks we use in our small scale battles - so the more complicated and technical it gets the less they can help out.

So given the above, at the moment my aim is to get them looking reasonably like they're supposed to, which I think I've managed - my Shermans look like Shermans and are painted in vaguely the right colour.  Better historical accuracy will hopefully come with time.

Below is a selection of some of the betters ones but I’ve still got a way to go especially when it comes to weathering and stowage.

Thanks for your time and please be gentle..... PLEASE!!!

Andrew

PS you'll also probably notice I'm not a great photographer.

PPS Sean aka vinidcareassassin -  thanks again for pointing me over here!



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Armourfast Cromwells with some very basic stowage







Plastic Soldier Company Churchills

One has some extra stowage from S and S Models.







Armourfast Achilles x4

Again these have some additional stowage from S and S models. At some point I'll look at putting a couple of crew in.

I know the weight should be 29 tons but I don't have any 29 ton signs and I also know the camo is not right but in his capacity of commander of the British Forces in our house, my son wanted it done that way (it was on the box art) and who am I to argue.

The bottom pair are the first two models I finished after coming back to the hobby. I overdid the matt varnish on one of them (I'd never used it before) but managed to rescue it (just).






Plastic Soldier Company M5A1 Half track

I have a total of three of these, of which this is probably the best.

One thing that does annoy me slightly with PSC is some of the odd and inconsistent scaling. The 0.50 calibre MG on this model is WAY oversize but the ones on their M4A4s are pretty close.




Plastic Soldier Company M4A4

A couple of these have stowage/tarpaulin made of sprue off cuts, covered in tissue paper, which is then painted in PVA glue. I got the idea from someone on the Armourfast forum before it went offline (Dave if you ever see this - thanks for the idea)

I also had to replace the .30 caliber bow MGs as they were as wide as the main gun!! I used short section of the same plastic I use for the aerials.

[moramarth]

I used short section of the same plastic I use for the aerials.

Have you tried using bristles from a cheap nylon brush for aerials?  Don't bend like wire or break like styrene, a tip I had from a friend who uses them for spears and pikes, etc.  One cheap broom = lifetime's supply...

Cheers,

M

[deafpanzer]

IMPRESSIVE work!!! Deano is going to be thrilled that you are here so he has a playmate and use his German armors can get into many battles!

[Deano]

No wargamming for me Andy ...I wouldnt find the time Nice Army Andrew , great sellecton you have there buddy !

[Leon]

Some fine looking armor there Andrew!

[adt70hk]

Nov 18, 2015 13:37:32 GMT -5 moramarth said:

I used short section of the same plastic I use for the aerials.

Have you tried using bristles from a cheap nylon brush for aerials?  Don't bend like wire or break like styrene, a tip I had from a friend who uses them for spears and pikes, etc.  One cheap broom = lifetime's supply...

Cheers,

M

Moramarth

Your friend is obviously a very clever individual, as that's exactly what I use!!

In short lengths there pretty stiff and do an ok job as a bow machine gun (from a distance at least)!!

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Andrew

[adt70hk]

Nov 18, 2015 14:46:40 GMT -5 Deano said:

No wargamming for me Andy ...I wouldnt find the time Nice Army Andrew , great sellecton you have there buddy !

Deano (Leon and deafpanzer too)

Thanks for the (over-generous) comments.

I don't have the space to carry out mass conflicts and I also want to get across the idea of a balanced force to my son - when we first started out he wanted 16 Achilles before I was going to be allowed my first Panther!!

I've therefore bought a variety of models that allow us to play slightly different scenarios.  It also makes it more interesting for me from a modelling perspective. 

On another note, is there a way of doing multiple quotes in one response so I don't clog up the post with mutliple replies?

Thanks again for the welcome!!!

Andrew

[TRM]

Fine pile of work there Andrew! Thanks for sharing your work!

As for the multiple quotes...no, unless you physically copy and paste using the quote brackets. ProBoards doesn't allow us the luxury of ALL the bells and whistles...but it's home!!

[wbill76]

Nothing wrong with those builds, thanks for sharing!

[adt70hk]

Nov 18, 2015 22:35:55 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Nothing wrong with those builds, thanks for sharing!

Thank you!!  I must admit I was pleased with how they turned considering the long break and the fact that I was pretty poor when I was building them in my youth!

[Tojo72]

Don't sell yourself short,that's some good stuff.I like the Churchill.All of us can stand dome improvement and here is where we can learn.

[adt70hk]

Nov 20, 2015 7:29:10 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Don't sell yourself short,that's some good stuff.I like the Churchill.All of us can stand dome improvement and here is where we can learn.

Tojo

Thanks.

I must admit the more I look at them the more pleased I am with how my British armour has turned out - it's just that compared to a lot of the stuff on here I obviously have a way to go.  But then I recognise that I'm only going to get better by putting my 'wares' on display and asking for feedback.

On a completely different note altogether, I see you're a Raiders fan.  Do you mind me asking how has the fact that regular season games are being played here in the UK, been going down in the US with the normal fans?  From what I've seen the players seem to enjoy (or at least say they do).

Whilst I don't follow the regular season like I used to and haven't made it to Wembley yet for a game, I do watch the games played over here on TV when I can and have managed to watch most of the Superbowls live for the last 10 years or so.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

Andrew

[Tojo72]

Nov 20, 2015 7:55:51 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Nov 20, 2015 7:29:10 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Don't sell yourself short,that's some good stuff.I like the Churchill.All of us can stand dome improvement and here is where we can learn.

Tojo

Thanks.

I must admit the more I look at them the more pleased I am with how my British armour has turned out - it's just that compared to a lot of the stuff on here I obviously have a way to go.  But then I recognise that I'm only going to get better by putting my 'wares' on display and asking for feedback.

On a completely different note altogether, I see you're a Raiders fan.  Do you mind me asking how has the fact that regular season games are being played here in the UK, been going down in the US with the normal fans?  From what I've seen the players seem to enjoy (or at least say they do).

Whilst I don't follow the regular season like I used to and haven't made it to Wembley yet for a game, I do watch the games played over here on TV when I can and have managed to watch most of the Superbowls live for the last 10 years or so.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

Andrew

It doesn't matter all that much to me.Listening to Sports Talk Radio I hear some don't like it because of the wear and tear on the teams traveling,or that you perhaps a take a big division rivalry out of a local venue and all the local fans can't attend.