1/72 PSC Churchills x2 - small update

[adt70hk]

Hi all

Despite having three or four projects on the go, I’ve decided to start this one too – there is a logic honest!

In fact, you will be getting two builds for the price of one – and it’s not even a duel build!!

For those not familiar with Plastic Solder Company, these are quick build kits aimed at the wargamer. In each kit you get two models, with the ability to make four versions - 6pdr, 75mm, 95mm CS and AVRE. They also come with the option of closed or open turret hatches with a commander figure and 5 short lengths of additional track to add to the model. Cost is £15.

Although PSC kits have a lot more ‘detail’ than the Armourfast kit Sean used to do Cuckoo, they’re still not up with the detail of the display kits and so still offer quite a lot of opportunity to improve and give me a chance to use some of that styrene I’ve recently acquired!!

I’ve already made four of these – three 75mm and one AVRE. This time round I’m going to make a 6pdr and a 95mm, in part variation but also because I’ve marked my existing Churchills as 6th Gds Tank Bgde and, apparently, the ratio of 6pdr to 75mm was one in three/four when they landed in Normandy.

I started on the 95mm Close Support version and then the modelling Gods struck…..

Having ‘finished’ most of the plastic work – albeit realising it wasn’t perfect - I then stumbled across a review where someone has done exactly what I’m trying to do with this very kit…..and made me realise how much extra work he had done…..

Lessons/issues so far:

- The plastic is very thick - up to 2mm thick - 144mm in real life!!!  Whilst this makes it very robust from a handling perspective and so good for wargaming, it does make it hard to cut and work with in certain circumstances.
- Think before assembling - when will I learn?  It made it much harder to do some of the trimming and cutting….and for some things made it impossible.
- Some of the styrene I used was too thick in certain places, so I had to order my some thinner stuff, which I’ll be using for the 6pdr version.
- Some of things I have done didn’t quite work as planned to I need to have another think/go
- PSC somehow managed to mould the tracks the wrong way round, which is not like them. I will leave them as is. It’s too much effort to cut off the tracks and in any case I have nothing to replace them with.
- Make sure I have I have triple checked my sources…….

What’s next:
- Add some stowage and other lived in stuff.
- Finish the front and rear track covers – but I have some questions on that to follow later.
- Add the PE no. 19 aerial antenna ring I bought.
- Take stock and then crack on with the 6 pdr version.

As usual all comments and constructive criticisms welcome.

All the best.

Andrew

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Sprue & instructions
Very simple indeed!!









Front - new tow loop




Exhausts
Looking at a current running Churchill their is a slight gap bewteen the two exhaust ends but I got it too big. I will aim to correct this with the 6pdr one.




Side
Air intake cover
Most shots show they are missing (I assume because of they are so thin and easily damaged), some show square versions but sloped is the most common where fitted. I think this could do with being a bit taller. I will try this on the 6 pdr



Sorry for the blurry pic but my hand was wobbly....



Rear
Styrene on the oil cans was too thick 0.5mm. I now have some 0.3mm round for the 6 pdr version
Tow loop - not entirely successful.



Adding the braces for the rear track guard.

[deafpanzer]

I realize kit only comes with 50 parts or so. I can imagine it only takes an hour to build it completely but with you adding many fine details it explains why your builds come out great.

[TRM]

The PSC stuff I built, was fun! Decent kits OOB for the most part. Fine scratch work so far! Keep it going!

[Leon]

Nice addition of the scratch work Andrew! You can always learn from your mistakes and your doing a fine job.

[joelsmith]

Nice job, keep it up. I would need a 6X magnification to work that small, Joel.

[adt70hk]

Jan 8, 2017 15:18:38 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

I realize kit only comes with 50 parts or so. I can imagine it only takes an hour to build it completely but with you adding many fine details it explains why your builds come out great.

Andy

Thanks for popping in!

I've just counted and it's actually only 31 parts!  I reckon if I really went for it I could do one in 20 minutes OOB.

This is actually my first every time working with proper styrene and so far it's not been too bad.

This is the link to the other build I mentioned above - in this he did cut the tracks off!  www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/PSC/DCarli_PSC_Churchill_build%20review.htm

Thanks again for stopping by.

Andrew

Jan 8, 2017 16:46:25 GMT -5 TRM said:

The PSC stuff I built, was fun! Decent kits OOB for the most part. Fine scratch work so far! Keep it going!

Todd

Thanks for checking up on my efforts.

I must admit I like PSC a lot.  As you say OOB nice kits that look reasonbaly like what they claim to be and for a good price too - perfect for their intended use on the battlefield!

When you think what the SU76i Dierk has been battling with must cost and all the effort corrections he's had to make.....yet I get these for £15 for the pair and they go together perfectly every time, it does make you wonder how DML can justify the price for such a poor kit!

It's just a shame that you only get two kits with the Churchills rather than the usual three but their is a lot of plastic in these particular kits.

Thanks as always.

Andrew

Jan 8, 2017 17:03:01 GMT -5 Leon said:

Nice addition of the scratch work Andrew! You can always learn from your mistakes and your doing a fine job.

Leon

Thanks as always for stopping by.

You're right but I do keep forgetting that it's not always best to assemble first - hopefully this will be the last time!!

In some respect these are actually a harder model than Armourfast to do scratch work on as there is already quite a lot of detail moulded on - not always correct of course - but the thickness of the plastic is biggest issue and it can take some cutting to get through!

All the best.

Andrew

[vindicareassassin]

Cracking start, it takes some practice to have a plan before you start so you don't end up doing yourself over later on in the build, fear not I still have to go back and fiddle things into tight spaces because I got ahead of myself with a huge dollop of boyish enthusiasm


ATB


Sean 

[adt70hk]

Jan 8, 2017 17:36:48 GMT -5 joelsmith said:

Nice job, keep it up. I would need a 6X magnification to work that small, Joel.

Joel

Thanks for stopping in.

Glad you like it - believe it or not this is my first ever use of styrene.   It took me a while to get some after coming back to the hobby a couple of years ago but so far I'm enjoying working with it.

On the vision front, to be honest, I really need to invest in an optivisor but for the time being I use one of these magnifying glasses with arms and clips on the end.  I don't use the clips to hold anything but they're great as props to stop it tipping over when I'm working on cutting small pieces.

Thanks again.

Andrew

[adt70hk]

Jan 8, 2017 17:54:22 GMT -5 vindicareassassin said:

Cracking start, it takes some practice to have a plan before you start so you don't end up doing yourself over later on in the build, fear not I still have to go back and fiddle things into tight spaces because I got ahead of myself with a huge dollop of boyish enthusiasm


ATB


Sean 

Cheers mate!  You were right when said this styrene stuff is addictive, I'm really enjoying work with it already and getting to used to what I can (and can't) do with it!.

Whilst I don't want to gloat too much, I'm slightly pleased to hear that you too get it wrong occassionally!

Take care.

Andrew

[vindicareassassin]

Jan 8, 2017 18:06:02 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Jan 8, 2017 17:54:22 GMT -5 vindicareassassin said:

Cracking start, it takes some practice to have a plan before you start so you don't end up doing yourself over later on in the build, fear not I still have to go back and fiddle things into tight spaces because I got ahead of myself with a huge dollop of boyish enthusiasm


ATB


Sean 

Cheers mate!  You were right when said this styrene stuff is addictive, I'm really enjoying work with it already and getting to used to what I can (and can't) do with it!.

Whilst I don't want to gloat too much, I'm slightly pleased to hear that you too get it wrong occassionally!

Take care.

Andrew

Oh, yes..... Very addictive.... he says dribbling into his liquid cement with bits of white plastic chippings stuck in his beard 

[joelsmith]

Andrew, please excuse me for the silly question, but, what substance did you model in before you chose styrene?

[leopardman]

Hi Andrew.
You are doing a marvellous job with the Psc Churchys!!!.I run the Ipms u.k Churchill tank Special interest group so i like a Churchill or two ohhhhh yesssss!.Ive built 3 of the Dragon 72nd Churchills and they are tricky in places!!!.I must get some Psm stuff and id tinker around like you are doing.They are little gems if painted nicely.
Watching with interest.
Richard

[adt70hk]

Jan 8, 2017 18:56:40 GMT -5 joelsmith said:

Andrew, please excuse me for the silly question, but, what substance did you model in before you chose styrene?

Joel

It's not a daft question as I've probably not explained myself properly but it might help to explain a bit of my background first.

Prior to coming back to the hobby a couple of years ago, I'd not made a kit in almost 30 years.  The ones I had done were for wargaming and were the usual (at least in the UK) run of Airfix, Matchbox, Revell and Tamiya all OOB.  Tubes of glue, enamel paints and paint brushes were my tools of choice.  Oh and they were pretty badly made too....

On my return to the hobby I discovered a whole new world - liquid glue, aftermarket parts, PE, new fangled acrylic paints, pigments, airbrushes, quick build kits, a whole new range of model suppliers etc.

Now onto styrene.....

...of course I also came across styrene shapes, rods and strips on my return.  However, I don't have anywhere locally that sells it and I was reluctant to make the leap until i'd had a chance to look at in the flesh/plastic, which I did recently and so then went completely overboard and ordered a load of it.  Until I made that leap I dabbled a bit with plastic packaging from home, as you can imagine it was very hit and miss - mostly miss!

I hope that clarifies things for you?

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best.

Andrew

[adt70hk]

Jan 9, 2017 2:07:26 GMT -5 leopardman said:

Hi Andrew.
You are doing a marvellous job with the Psc Churchys!!!.I run the Ipms u.k Churchill tank Special interest group so i like a Churchill or two ohhhhh yesssss!.Ive built 3 of the Dragon 72nd Churchills and they are tricky in places!!!.I must get some Psm stuff and id tinker around like you are doing.They are little gems if painted nicely.
Watching with interest.
Richard

Richard

Thanks for stopping by!

I'd also like to formally welcome you aboard the project as the official consultant (unpaid) in chief. 

Seriously though thanks very for the feedback and if you do have anything to add please say so!!  As you will see above I've only come back to the hobby in the last couple of years after a very long break and so whatever I did know about Churchill's (or any other tank for that matter) has been long forgotten.... 

I really like PSC kits too - as you may have guessed.  Easy enough for my 8 year old son to help with but leaving enough scope for me to (hopefully) improve.

Thanks again.

Andrew

PS I'm about to post a question which you might be able to answer........

[joelsmith]

Plastruct and Evergreen two of a scratchbuilders best friends. Another source that you might look into is Albion Alloys. The have a lot of structural shape in metal that seem to be perfect for buildings for dioramas. Talk more soon, Joel.

[adt70hk]

All

A quick question about the front and rear track covers.

The front ones especially are often missing, I'm assuming because they are thin metal and so easily damaged in the heat of battle or just bumping into things.

I've also noticed that the covers (where present) are often 'extended' by some sort of fabric, material or something else but I can't work out what it is?

Does anyone know?  Were they factory fitted to all versions or just certain marks?

On a post war renovation (not that they can always be trusted) it looks like a fabric of some sort but in the wartime pics, it often looks very dark - almost black in fact.  Below are some reference pics to help demonstrate what I mean.

All suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks as always.

Andrew

------------------------------------------------------------

Pictures for reference purposes only

[adt70hk]

Jan 9, 2017 8:32:28 GMT -5 joelsmith said:

Plastruct and Evergreen two of a scratchbuilders best friends. Another source that you might look into is Albion Alloys. The have a lot of structural shape in metal that seem to be perfect for buildings for dioramas. Talk more soon, Joel.

Hi Joel

Thanks for the prompt response.

I managed to find a company selling Plastruct for about 25% below the normal price for that and Evergreen, so I went with them. Check out the end the 2016 'Show what you've got' thread and you'll see what I mean!!

I've not heard of Albion Alloys, so I'll take a peak.

Thanks again.

Andrew

[vindicareassassin]

They were canvas, sometimes coated in the bitumus paint used for the mickey mouse ears on canvas tarps, yes, it was a different paint to normal.... I used foil from a fizzy wine bottle top for mine.... Revel 78 when you want to paint it 😉

[leopardman]

Hi Andrew.The front pieces of Churchills didnt last long and many crews removed them.The centre section next to the turret was often removed as mud compacted and distorted them and could block the turret traverse.The flappy bits at front i believe were mud flaps but i msy be wrong.The Dml kits are pricey and my dieppe mark 3 was warped badly and heat wouldnt fix it.Great to hear your son gets involved.I started aged 9 and Matchbox armour kits.i adored for ages.
Richard.

[adt70hk]

Jan 9, 2017 9:54:39 GMT -5 vindicareassassin said:

They were canvas, sometimes coated in the bitumus paint used for the mickey mouse ears on canvas tarps, yes, it was a different paint to normal.... I used foil from a fizzy wine bottle top for mine.... Revel 78 when you want to paint it 😉

Sean

Thanks as always for coming through.  I happen to have a pot of Humbrol's equivalent in the box, so I'm all good to go!

Andrew

Jan 9, 2017 10:11:06 GMT -5 leopardman said:

Hi Andrew.The front pieces of Churchills didnt last long and many crews removed them.The centre section next to the turret was often removed as mud compacted and distorted them and could block the turret traverse.The flappy bits at front i believe were mud flaps but i msy be wrong.The Dml kits are pricey and my dieppe mark 3 was warped badly and heat wouldnt fix it.Great to hear your son gets involved.I started aged 9 and Matchbox armour kits.i adored for ages.
Richard.

Richard

Thanks for the info.

I had seen one reference to the centre sections causing the turrets to jam but it didn't explain why - now I know.  Unfortunately the PSC track moulding on the top isn't any close to the real things so I won't be exposing it.

As for the front guards and mud flaps, I've decided to to leave them on for this kit as a modelling exercise for me, I can make the excuse that it's fresh off the boat just after landing in Normandy or a replacement vehicle that's recently arrived at the front.  The 6 pdr version on the other hand will have been around for a while, so will be looking a bit more battered.

Matchbox - I remember them well!  Whatever happened to them?

Thanks again.

Andrew

[adt70hk]

Hi all

I have a couple of a questions about Churchill smoke launchers/dischargers, which I'm stuggling to find a definitive answer for.

Internal smoke launcher
The Mk IV turret apparently one (or two?) internal launchers that launched from a hole on the turret roof - I'm pretty sure that the thing circled red in the right hand photo below is it.  Am I right?


External smoke discharger
The great build blog I found states "The smoke dischargers were made with plastic pieces."
The left hand picture is the accompanying picture.  His take on what I think he is referring to is circled in red.  Am I right?


One other thing

What is the upright tube/cylinder that is mounted on the left hand side of the turret - see first picture on here - www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/PSC/DCarli_PSC_Churchill_build%20review.htm

I see it on most (but not all) models but I can't see it on any war time pics or any of the restored Churchills I've found.




Thank as always for any help.

Andrew

PS sorry for the blurry pics but I had to blow them up quite a bit

--------------------------------------

[leopardman]

Hi Andrew.
The left picture of the Churchill shows the smoke generators mounted on the back plate.There should be one each side.The other picture shows the bomb thrower.The tube mounted on the turret is a canvas bag.These contained signal flags which harked back to the 1930s.The British army used them say on manouvers,Some U.K Shermans used them and also Cromwells etc.
Keep that Churchill rolling.
Richard

[adt70hk]

Jan 16, 2017 2:08:52 GMT -5 leopardman said:

Hi Andrew.
The left picture of the Churchill shows the smoke generators mounted on the back plate.There should be one each side.The other picture shows the bomb thrower.The tube mounted on the turret is a canvas bag.These contained signal flags which harked back to the 1930s.The British army used them say on manouvers,Some U.K Shermans used them and also Cromwells etc.
Keep that Churchill rolling.
Richard

Richard

Thank you YET again for stopping by and for the info Karma +1 on it's way!

There was a second smoke generator on that review kit, it's just hidden by the towing loop.

All the best.

Andrew

[adt70hk]

Hi all

Just a small update for you.

I went to a small local model club for a trial session last week and managed to get a bit more work done whilst there, this time on the canvas 'mud flaps'

It took a few attempts and would have been much easier if they had been done before assembly - which I'll do on the second one - but I think they've come up ok.

I ended up using tissue paper doubled over on itself and glued together with PVA glue.  It's the same thing I do for tarpaulins and it's proved to be remarkably tough once dried - important from a handling perspective.

As usual please feel free to comment!

Take care.

Andrew

PS apologies for the pics, they were taken in a rush and the black tissue paper doesn't show up well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

[deafpanzer]

Scary! I swear I predicted an update from you today. Looking good...

[adt70hk]

Jan 23, 2017 14:10:01 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Scary! I swear I predicted an update from you today. Looking good...

Spooky! 

But the question is did you think it would be this thread or one of the others I have on the go???

Thanks also for the compliment.  They don't come out too well on the photo but look much better in real lfe.

Andrew

[vindicareassassin]

They look ok to me, I made mine out of tin foil and superglued them on... Nice and strong but would bend easy doing gaming so I think you made the correct choice....

.... Mould seam looks ugly as sin on that tank!! Sort it out son! 😉


ATB

Sean

[panzerjager2]

Awesome details for something that small

[Leon]

Nice work on the mud flaps Andrew!

[adt70hk]

Jan 23, 2017 18:57:37 GMT -5 vindicareassassin said:

They look ok to me, I made mine out of tin foil and superglued them on... Nice and strong but would bend easy doing gaming so I think you made the correct choice....

.... Mould seam looks ugly as sin on that tank!! Sort it out son! 😉


ATB

Sean

Hi mate

Glad you like them! I did think about foil after reading your post but wasn't sure how they would hold up. The PVAd tissue paper won't take a big knock but it's surprisingly strong for something so thin.

As for the seam marks....I hadn't realised just how bad they were until I spent 45 minutes looking at the underside whilst I figured out how to fit the flaps.    I know I have to do them but I've been putting it off.....

Jan 23, 2017 20:14:02 GMT -5 panzerjager2 said:

Awesome details for something that small

PJ

Thanks for stopping by and glad you like it. By the way I have a question to ask. I'll PM it if you don't mind.

Jan 23, 2017 20:53:44 GMT -5 Leon said:

Nice work on the mud flaps Andrew!

Thanks Leon.

They look a bit too irregular compared to most of the pics I've seen but adding them before assembly will hopefully sort that issue out.


Thanks again to you all for popping in.

Andrew