Some nice work here guys
@ Bob I like your camo pattern in that hand brushed or with a mask or something else
Ok for those of you who don't remember I was making my own decal to reflect this JS-2 tanks

So first 2 attempts failed but the 3rd was about as successfull as I am gonna get
I downloaded a font onto my computer and in a MS Word doc I typed the words I then changed the color of the lettering to white and highlighted it in green so that it would be visible when printed onto the white decal sheets

I then sprayed it with decal bonder from Testors and Trimed it off the sheet

I the applied it to the turret of the tank

I am hoping that the weathering and washes will blend the greens in with each other. Now if I get my homework finished I can finally start moving forward and complete this build

Very interesting subject Sal.

Sal;

VERY interesting approach to getting that rather dramatic inscription up there!

I keep thinking about trying to make some decals, much as I dislike the things. Creating this background as you have done may be of some utility... Would it have worked a bit easier if you tried first printing some potential greenish color-matches and tinkered a bit to get the background closer?

I'd like to say "cool!" as to that tank, but while your job is very very nice, that is one UGLY sucker! I mean, hey, tanks are not generally considered to be style statements nor seeking to be esthetically pleasing, but this one is right out at the edge of pure uglies!

As to my camo job: For years, now, I have pretty much stuck to spray-on paint-schemes. I did a Heller R-35 French tank in a mosaic scheme - it took a lot of brush time what with all the hard patch-edges and those dinky black outlines So... I've pretty much stayed away from doing any hard-edge schemes. But along came this BT-42. With its specific hard-edge Finnish tricolor scheme. I thought about creating masks out of tape, etc. Decided instead to try using strips of cheap art-tacky gum rolled out and stuck on to outline patches... worked like a dream! A bit slow, but fun and very effective. So - a big FIRST for me, and a successful first try, at that! Now that I've found how well it works...

Bob

Hi Sal, good to see you back my friend. The decal looks good, but there is one thing to think of for the future. The old school German "s" should look like an "f" without the foot and the middle horizontal line.
It's just something I noticed, hope I haven't peed on your foot.
She's looking fine though, and you'll soon sort out the greens
I'm sure

Bob you say Sals JSU is ugly, but you like it? What about your BT42?
To me it resembles a castrated KV 2, the large rear (of the turret) is there, and the big gun (willie) is there but there is something missing in the middle
Well what I wanted to say is, why don't you start an "Ugly campaign" up?
There are plenty out there:
Möbelwagen
Tortoise
BT's
KV's
Karl
Churchills
Bishops
Lee/Grant

just a few to mention, basically anything without flowing lines or with an oversized part would fit.





Paul

John;

Like a "castrated KV-2..." Wow! That's both rough and COLD, John! I don't think I could have said it much better!

An "UGLY campaign" actually sounds like an interesting idea!

And I'd be right up there with anyone who thinks the BT-42 is one UGLY mother! Heck, that's about the first thing the wife said when she saw it coming together on the bench! "Wow! THAT thing is just plain UGLY!" (the lady actually thinks some of my other styrene shelf-denizens are passingly "cute"!)

My reply, by the way, was "Yeah... It's like that Pinzgauer (truck) I have down in the garage... like some have said regarding that thing and its looks: "Style? Well... Pinzgauer (and those Finns with the BT-42, I'll add) made little - OK - NO concession to looks and sense of style!"

The challenge would be to see if we could work up some general consensus on what vehicles would qualify as being UGLY beyond the typical ugliness of military vehicles. I'm thinking things with huge add-on turrets way out of proportion when compared with "most tanks of that size" (like the BT-42...), odd and cumbersome arrangements (FlaKPz IV "Mobelwagen" is certainly more ungainly-looking and awkward then is that experimental Waffentrager / FlaKPz IV - mod with the 88 gun and drop-down sides Bronco kitted (which I think is actually rather "sleek and menacing-looking" and almost presentable, if not elegant ), and just plain brutal, crude designs (Russian JS I counts, I think). But coming up with a definition would be tough - almost all tanks and such look rather lumpy and very purposeful and not very esthetically-pleasing. (But the original Russian BT-5 and 7 did have some cool, rather 30's-ish flared "wings" up front!)

Bob

Here are some in process of the RPM Sd 135 Ambulance













These photos were taken after base coat paint and first pin wash.
More to come
Tom

An M3 Stuart captured by the Japanese during their invasion of the Philippines is going to be my item for this GB:




My Build Start Date and a picture of what's inside the box:



Gotta push myself hard on this one with only less that 2 months before the deadline!

Tom, nice progress there it`s looking real cool now and a lot better than I expected this kit to turn out

Marcos, welcome to my group build, nice choice there. I remember building that kit a long time ago as a recce version without the turret.
Which tracks are you going use?
The single links look great but can be very fiddly to get together



Paul

Hi Paul, I'm only left with the vinyl single-piece tracks as I've used the kit's single-tracks on another project...and I do agree that the single-links were quite fiddly and time-consuming to prepare but they really add give a realistic effect on the tracks.

BTW this Sd Kfz 135 German Ambulance was a captured French Lorraine Tracteur Blinde.
Tom

Hey Guys thanks for the comments
@ Paul That was the closets font I could find. Ugly Tank Campaign the Churchill has got to be 1 of the ugliest around
@ Tom the Ambulance is looking real good
Ok I added some washes a piece of tarp to the fender weathered with my mud mixture and pigments and I am ready to spray this with some dull coat and call it finished




Comments and suggestions are always welcome

Hi Sal, that monster looks mighty fine , the dried mud is cool and the subtle rust stains on the bolts of the rear engine plate look great.
But there's two things I would do (or try):
1. Add some soot to the exhaust outlets
2. Try and hand paint out the yellowish colour from your homemade decal.

Hope I wasn't too harsh




Paul

Paul not harsh at all and thanks for the comments. I do have some soot on the exhaust I used a color called pavement for that its not that visible in the photos and I never thought to use some paint around the decal Now if I can only remember what color I used under the decal I wold be in business

I agree with Paul.

I would be a nice touch to add a MG42 on the turret.

I like the dirt and mud added, nice touch Sal.

Congrats on another finished Campaign !

Hi Sal, isn't that main tank colour Humbrol olive drab No.66?




Paul

nice tank. A small detail though: the "s" in "bestimmt" should be a long s

No it rattle can Rustolium green camo, I use it for all my Russian green
@Ralf I know the font is not perfect I even made the font on the S larger then the other letters but if I made it any bigger it would be too fat
So it works for me the way it is

Hi Sal.
It is a typographic thing. Old German typo and handwriting has certain ways to express. So there is a difference in normal capital S and a long S as a matter of speaking.
Correct me if I´m wrong, but this gives also slightly different meaning to the word.
Nice build however. I love the brut Russian design.

Regards,

Robert Jan

My original thought for this campaign was to build one of Mirror Models British trucks with a german Flak gun installed but since I'm only getting my act together now my plan has changed. I'm going to build one of the Tamiya universal carriers from my stash as taken into use by the 12th SS division on June 7th

Hitler Jugend UC



I don't know if I will use the resicast tracks I might save them for the Riich UC in mt stash.

I plan to use some of the Miniart 12SS tank crew
as crew for it.





Don't worry I see the gap

I did this much all in one sitting so I will be on to painting very shortly.

I imagine they woiuld have driven it until it ran out of fuel or they would have covered up the markings and painted large crosses on the side as seen on this one in 1940. Any advice on that?

Hi Pat, nice to see you here at last
I like the idea of the 12th SS, so I hope you stick to it.
As to the second pic with the white crosses I don't know what to say . It is understandable that the germans used the vehicle
but what is the british sergeants great coat still doing there?
Surely if a german had been wearing it, the white crosses would not of had any use?
Or am I wrong?

Whatever Pat I'm looking forward to your build





Paul

use the font's "f" (small f) and overpaint the horizontal bar. That may be close enough.

Or look for the real long-s, it should be somewhere in the font. The normal s should only be used at the end of a word.

Windows' program to view the whole font ist called "character map" (charmap.exe). There you should find the proper long-s.

my contribution

French Renault UE captured by Germans with hand painted cross

Roman , another pirate has joined us, welcome. I don't want to scare you but you do know the deadline is March the 1st?
But I think for a sweet little kit like that, the time frame
should work out





Paul

Yes Paul, that's the deadline.
No requests for extra days at the moment.

DL on MAR 01?

YIKES! I've gone lulled myself into a false sense of time and security, I have! I better get my BT-42 back out and tweaked, but fast! Guess it would be bad form indeed for me to wait 'til the last minute and then have to grovel and beg for over-time!

Bob