A few pics of my latest build, most everybody here knows i rarely build armor mostly large scale figures, cars and wooden ship models but this armored car is so cool i couldn't resist, i still have lots of parts to add like the turret machine gun, the head lights and the really hard parts like the turret baskets made of wire that should be fun. All comments and advice welcome.

Hey Robert,

Nice clean build you have there. And welcome to the darkside!


cheers

Thanks Rick, it should be an interesting change of pace for me and will give me a break from what i normally build, from what i can see with the little reference i have the kit looks accurate so i don't think i will make any real changes.

Nice work so far Robert, what kit is this?

Mike

Thanks Mike, i new i forgot to add the important information to this post, It's a Model Victoria 1/35 resin kit comes with a nice sheet of decals and a small sheet of PE and a few lengths of copper and brass wire. I bought it at my LHS the owner got it in with a bunch of other models in a collection he bought from someone and the price was reduced so it seamed like a pretty good to me $45.95 but am not shore because i don't normally build these kits.

I was wondering about the resin wheels, that explains it. $45.95 for a full resin kit is a smokin' deal!


cheers

Thanks Rick, now i feel even better about getting this kit, i should have an update in a few days i hope but i want to take my time as there are some small fragile parts and i don't want to mess this kit up.

Robert,
Rick nailed it., you got a GREAT deal. I paid $150 for mine two years ago, and it included the Centaro book as well as additional (OOP) decals and I though that I got a good deal. It is, without a doubt, the best resin kit that I have started and yet to finish... I liked it so much, I glued my fingers to the hull several time with thin CA...

John

John, that's taking bonding with the model just a bit too far don't ya think?

Thanks John, it sounds like i got a very good deal on this kit i agree so far it looks like a great kit the fit is good and the details are very sharp, this kit will get finished soon, i am using medium CA that thin stuff runs to easy.

Ah-hem... urm... well... yeah, welcome to the dark side, Luk... I mean Robert...

Fine model it is, I thought you've gotten hold of the new Trumpeter kit, having just built the Spanish version only recently. Both look much alike, even the canvas mantlet cover!!

Hope to see it painted and weathered soon. (it ain't over till the fat lady sings...)

Urm...well, hope you stay on the Dark Side, you get to practise your hand grip on any rank weaker than you... The Jedis are a bunch of wusses, stay - away - from - them!...

Thanks Lawrence, I have already added a lot of the small parts and should have an update tomorrow i hope, i think you will be seeing a lot more of me around here in the near future as i also scored 2 other resin kits for a good price when i got this one.

Time for an update i added several small parts such as the headlights and a few grab handles the handles i installed are made from wire to replace the PE ones in the kit i will do this to all of them, the really big change was assembling the turret baskets and installing them the instructions said to glue the parts together i tried that but the assembled parts would not stay together so i soldered them i think it's a lot stronger this way. All comments welcome.

Nice job on the weldings. But something's off for the side rails, the rails should be in-line with the rear, not bent upwards. Please check references. The rear rails look fine

Thanks for the update.

cheers!

Lawrence

Thanks Lawrence i am trying to find a decent shot of the rear of the turret so i can get a good look at the baskets i will have to look into this a little more, i hope they way i have them is okay because they were a lot of work the hardest part on the model so far.

Sorry about that, but I think better now than when you've slapped some paint on later...

ya don't sayyyy

There a a few photos of a Spanish VRCC-105 Centauro over on Prime Portal that display the rear turret bustle basket quite nicely:

Picture 1

Picture 2

While these photos do depict a Spanish vehicle, the bustle basket is for all intents and purposes the same as on the early Series 2 Centauro you are building.

By the way, the entire set of Spanish Centauro photos may be found here.

Cheers - Dan

PS: You got a killer deal on that kit. I picked it up several years ago for $174 CDN and that was considered a really good price!

Thanks for the pics Dan that will be a big help, i have already removed the side baskets and have cut off the lower bars, i also broke one of the PE uprights or supports in the process, i will try and get new update pics tomorrow when i re assemble them. I am really new to this armor stuff so i will be making some mistakes along the way. Thanks for the help guys, this is one of the reasons i like this site so much.

Lemme get this straight... You're new to armor... and you start it off with a full resin kit...

Wow...

Kind of like jumping right into the deepest end of the olympic swimming pool without knowing how to swim first, doncha think?... Hey Michael Phelps, I think one of your gold should go to this fella right here!

You've got gutts! That I give it to you.

Very nice work so far Robert. I have the long version in my stash and your comments about the build and the instructions will prove certainly useful when time comes to assemble mine.

Congrats to get this one so cheap !

Thanks Olivier, Yes i to think it was a very good buy, i have redone the bottom of the turret baskets and i think they look a lot better now i will post new picks soon, as for the instructions there really aren't any just a piece of paper with several good shots of the model and lines with numbers pointing to each part, i would have to assume they think that anyone working on this model has a lot of experience, having said that i still think it's a very good model most of the castings were very clean and i only had a few air bubbles on a couple of parts, the only fit problem i had was under the turret some of the side armor did not line up to good with the bottom of the turret but i will fix that with some epoxy sculpt, also the detail is very good.

Re the instructions, most resin kits come with the assumption that the builder has a lot of reference material handy to indicate where all the little bits and pieces go. I have found that the Model Victoria instructions are somewhat par for the course, and quite a bit better than some of the less informative sheets out there!

If you've got questions regarding any parts placement (it doesn't look you're having any troubles yet), feel free to contact me. I've done a lot of research on the Centauro as I am currently building two at the moment (one Model Victoria series 2 short hull and a Trumpeter VRCC-105).

Cheers - Dan

You don't mean "Acapulco Gold" do you? He's more likely to give you some of THAT, rather than one of his medals!