AFV Club Valentine MkI 04/03/14 FINALLY FINISHED!!

[Deleted]

Ok after my false start with the CV90 (see modern thread for details) I've chucked this little beauty onto the bench. Shouldn't give me any problems as it's a very civilised kit!

[Leon]

Count me in Pete.

[robbo]

I love these so I'll be tagging along, built a couple of the very old kits and they gave me nothing but headache so can't wait to see what the AFV one builds like, if it's any good i'll invest in one. What are the tracks ? The usual bandies?

[deafpanzer]

COUNT ME IN!!! Couldn't figure out how they came up with the design to hold the MG at the top... hopefully your build will help me understand.

[Deleted]

Oct 27, 2013 7:20:24 GMT -5 robbo said:

I love these so I'll be tagging along, built a couple of the very old kits and they gave me nothing but headache so can't wait to see what the AFV one builds like, if it's any good i'll invest in one. What are the tracks ? The usual bandies?

Cheers guys, it's going great guns pictures in the morning hopefully. Yes Robbo you are right they are bandies and not bad too

[wbill76]

Looking forward to this one Pete! Have at it!

[Deleted]

Cheers chaps here's a little progress for you. As per usual with AFV club kits it has loads of parts to build up the upper hull. plenty of test fitting is needed to get the correct fit as the instructions are quite vague in parts placement at times. However taking it slowly pays dividends. The rear deck in particular takes some figuring out to get a perfect fit but once done it looks great. Almost at the suspension and wheels stage now.

[wbill76]

Nice progress Pete! Popcorn's ready for the next round.

[robbo]

Can't wait to see them wheels go on, good work mate

[Leon]

Very nice work Pete,ready for your next update.

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

Neato Pete

Tony lee

[TRM]

Cool Beans Pete...I'm grabbing some snacks and getting comfy!

[bbd468]

Nice kit and nice start as well Pete. Im in for this buddy....bring it on!

[Deleted]

Cheers guys the kit is going together very well at the moment. The suspension units are now complete and very nice they look too. Although they look complicated they are actually very easy to build up and are fully movable. I am particularly impressed with the springs which although plastic can actually flex with the movement of the suspension, brilliant!

I'm going to use AFV Club's own set of workable tracks on this mainly for better detail but also I know that the kit supplied tracks are too loose as they are and require a couple of links removed for the correct tension. On this tank the joint looks pretty hard to hide. I also have a history of struggling with AFV rubber band type tracks so that's as good a reason as any to invest 15 quid on better tracks.











So until the tracks arrive I will now start on the turret and finish the hull off once the tracks are done.

[deafpanzer]

Great work on the wheels... jeez, they just SCARE me!

[wbill76]

Got to love the look of the suspension on this design. Is it weird that I understand perfectly what Dicky is referring to?

Looking forward to more Pete!

[Leon]

Looking really good Pete.Your making great progress.

[Teabone]

Pete

Good looking kit and you are doing an excellent job with it.  AFV makes some very nice kits and this is one of the vehicles I want to include at some point.  I have to completely agree with your assessment of the rubber band tracks myself having near identical results which had me give up on the rubber band tracks completely some time back, never could make the joints work.

Bones

[Deleted]

Thanks guys it's a really fun kit to build, Nemo I know what you mean mate. My friend says it always reminds him of a "heath robinson" type of contraption and I can see what he means.

[bullardino]

Off to a great start

Defo count me in

[Deano]

Great start Pete , will be nice to see how this one builds.

Deano

[bigjohn]

Lovely work so far mate!

[Deleted]

The tracks arrived yesterday so I got stuck in with em. They have some very nice details including some tiny serial numbers and just click together. However each link has a couple of annoying ejector pin marks on the inner faces of the track and a seam line which needs to be dealt with.Some links also suffer from a little bit of flash however it's quite easy to sort out each track with a swift scrape of a scalpel blade. There are just loads of them to do though!



I built the tracks up in blocks of ten which breaks up the building and cleaning process and helps to keep track of the amount built. 103 links is the suggested amount per run but on the first I run I used 102. Once the correct amount was assembled it was all joined together and the least amount of glue was brushed on the inner face. It was then just a matter of finding another pair of hands and placing on the model.

Once happy with the placement I brushed glue in strategic places and left over night. I can now paint the tracks off the tank which I always find preferable to painting them in situ.

[bigjohn]

Nice work on the tracks Pete! They will really add to the detail.

[dupes]

Interesting that AFV has switched to white plastic for their indy link sets. Thought they were resin for a minute!

I can see how the well-detailed bands would work on their desert boxing...but with no where to stash the join, these look like a better bet for sure. Nice looking build of a cool subject.

[robbo]

Them tracks look good Pete, was they expensive?

[Deleted]

cheers guys, Dupes it is a strange colour reminds me of their WIESEL kit which was in the same colour. Robbo they were only 15 quid so well worth it I think

[Teabone]

They do add to the build and Sniper has really done a fine job of cleaning the up.

Bones

[Deleted]

Cheers "T" well the tracks are now finished and very nice they look too. Notice how tight they are to the mud guards as well. Talking odf which they are the next items to tackle.

[deafpanzer]

Tracks look great on her!!! But white? Jeez, it will be hard to keep them clean... LOL