After a "couple" of months away from armor I started building this Italeri Kit.
It's going at a very fast pace, and I'm just waiting for the AM barrel for it. The Italeri one (plastic and alu) are way out of proportion and I didn't want to spoil a perfectly acceptable kit with such an evident flaw.











I'm using the Blast models stowage set, and all the rest is in the kit (PE included) and I'm gonna use Resicast lenses on the headlights and an Armorscale barrel.
I'll be posting more pics of the progress of this build
Hope you like it

Looks excellent António. Good to know about the barrel which AM one are you going to use?

Hi Pat

I'm going to use the Armorscale one. In fact is a conversion for the M8 (barrel and mantlet) but the barrel is the same. Just after I ordered it I found a Jordi Rubio barrel for it (just the barrel)

The first thing that hit me when I saw the kit barrels was that this was a Staghound version with a different gun but then I realized that those barrels where supposed to be for the 37 mm gun.
The real one has the last section conical with the end a little wider.
The ones included on the kit look completely different with that section perfectly cylindrical and (I'm almost sure although I can't compare with the real dimensions) too thin. The tip has an exaggerated cone.
The kit includes a very useful booklet full of reference photos where I confirmed my fears. The barrel was way out of proportion.

Hey Antonio,
I have a number of the Jordi Rubio barrels in my stash, ready for my next M3 Stuart or Staghound.
Any chance of you giving us a photo of the Italeri barrels so I can do a comparison??
Thanks.
Cheers

jjumbo

Here they are

The two included in the kit. There is a noticeable difference in dimensions between the metal and plastic one. Also the comparison with the Armorscale barrel clearly shows that the shapes are different

The metal barrel included in the kit. Thin, with the last section perfectly cylindrical


When looking at the ref pictures on the booklet (included in the kit), the included barrels are very different in shape. The Armorscale barrel and the Jordi Rubio are much closer to reality.

Thanks for the photos Antonio.
I'd read on PMMS that there was an issue with the kit's aluminum barrel but wasn't sure if the Jordio Rubio barrel was a suitable substitute.
That answers my concerns.
Cheers

jjumbo

Nice to see you able to get some build time in Antonio, looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

!Update!
The assembly is complete and a coat of primer applied.
This let's me see if there are any touches needed before the next phase.





I'm still waiting for the Armorscale barrel to arrive but I tried to "repair" the metal one included on the kit.
I coated the front section of the barrel with Tamiya Light activated putty and used my Dremel as a lathe to give it that conical section you can see in the pics.
The shape is now much closer to the real one but I'm still going to use the Armorscale barrel.
At least I could test my theory of correcting it with my "lathe"

Antonio--- beautiful work! What color and brand paint did you use for the primer?
thanks
DJ

Looking excellent

Here are some links to images of stowage:

http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3524437&rec_nbr_list=3623179,3191574,3524437,3224498,3202103,3202102,3202100,3202099&tmplt_nbr=201&item_index=1&total_items=1&

http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3202103&rec_nbr_list=3623179,3191574,3524437,3224498,3202103,3202102,3202100,3202099&tmplt_nbr=201&item_index=1&total_items=1&

http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3202102&rec_nbr_list=3623179,3191574,3524437,3224498,3202103,3202102,3202100,3202099&tmplt_nbr=201&item_index=1&total_items=1&

http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3202102&rec_nbr_list=3623179,3191574,3524437,3224498,3202103,3202102,3202100,3202099&tmplt_nbr=201&item_index=1&total_items=1&

http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3202099&rec_nbr_list=3623179,3191574,3524437,3224498,3202103,3202102,3202100,3202099&tmplt_nbr=201&item_index=1&total_items=1&

Thanks Jim
Excellent photos. That'll help on the finishing touches.
DJ I use Tamiya Spray Primer. It sprays very thin and the coverage is very good.

great work,
nice clean build! looking forward to the paint!

koen

Antonio,

Excellent workmanship!

Specifically which Tamiya primer did you use? There are a few different types. Was it a spray can or from a bottle?

Thanks.

It the spray can type. I used it for resin figures but it's excellent for all kinds of surfaces.

Antonio,

Thank you, I wil have to give it a try.

Update

I've finished painting, the glossy coat and the front decals.
The gloss coat exagerates the contrast between the darker and lighter areas.

It takes me forever to do a kit, but this one only misses the mirrors some pigments on the camouflage net and a touch here and there.

Nice work António. Makes me want to take mine out of the box.

Outstanding, I like the look of your pick and shovel. What paint did you use to get the wood like appearence?

Dj

I paint them with light sand (in my case acrylic paint). Then, with a hard brush with very few and short bristles I apply raw umber artist oil along the tools. That wood grain effect appears with just a few strokes.
For wood boxes it produces amazing results. Even on thin parts like the tool handles can be clearly seen.

It's done. From January to May... 4 months, not bad