I just finished my 1/35th Stuart. It has the kit markings for a Operation Torch tank. I used the individual track links, I think they look really good. Any questions/comments welcome.
Thanks for looking.

very nicely done.. its a nice clean build and the paint and tracks came out great.
keep up the good work

I was looking at these pictures when I was uploading pictures in the gallery. Really fine building and painting skills. the weathering is so fine that it looks weathered but still clean.
The only thing that doesnt look 100% is the decals. the "34" decal on the right wing and the stripe on the turret back as silvered a little. Dont know how to fix this really.
Looking at this kit, makes me want to buuy one. Nice molding and details!

Thanks guys, keep up the responses! About that "34" decal, I gave that fender a good Future application, but I have never had good luck with Academy decals, and because of the extremely rough surface it just didn't stick down. I also think I didn't have the water hot enough to soften up the decal very much.

I not much better when it comes to decals. I have started using future now as well for them and it has improved. I recently bought some microsol and it it has improved the quality of my decaling immensley. There is also something called microset that you add first. Both of these used together and the decal is to supposed to look like it is painted on .... well thats what they say anyway!
I used the microsol recently and it is great. next time Im in town, Im gonna get some of the microset as well. Worth looking into??

Great looking Stuart Iron-Fist I noticed on the tail lights where you painted the red that it was red on the raised portions You may want to try to gently drybrush the base color to get rid of it I know it's a pain tryin to get those tail light just right

Very well done. Nice OD spec. Make me want o build one of them.

Yep, micro sol and micro set, they work good. But I still like the power of a good bowl of hot water, that really helps with stiffer decal brands. This is a very nice Stuart kit, with a partial interior to boot! The individual tracks take forever to put together, but its really worth it. The rubber tracks are really nice too, I think Im going to put those on Tamiya's M5 Stuart.

My friend this is a nice build , and nicely weathered. The decal stuff is usually a problem but ok . The model is very fine anyway !!!!!

On the decal problem you could try to use hot water to remove them and get another set of decals or use archer dry Transfers apply the future or any gloss paint and try again.
Ditto what General zod said on the light!

But overall nice job.
Oh one more thing maybe a little rust around the outter track connectors! (++) (:-)

Shouldn't the shovel and pick be a combo of brown and steel? I've got a reference (not of that particular unit) that has them 'natural' in color.

I have a slight suggetion too (no critisism), and that is to "metalize"the frequently used parts such as the step, hatch edges, etc.

Nice clean build... However, you really need to lay on a couple of light washes to bring out some of the bolt detail and 'kill' the decals a bit, the recesses in the running gear would pick up a lot more dirt as well...apart from that....Jim

Nice clean work, and the OD paint job is excellent. Weathering looks good, but you may want to go over the top most areas with a layer of "dust". Pastels would do that trick fine.

I do see silvering on your decal, but that happens more often then not with waterslide decals. A lil Setting Solution maybe ? I do like the yellow stars and markings for Torch.

The overall kit looks reall good as far as detail goes. Academy got a field goal with that one !

Keep up the good work :-)

Cheers !!

Robert

ditto with the others concerning the pioneer tool paint job and the decal problem thingy. The point i wanted to add was the lack of dents and dings on the armor that one would expect to see on a vehicle that has seen some action, like this one...still....nice job

wish my name was on this build...

Just a suggestion here...

I have also had the decal silvering issue happen to me, and a tip somebody shared with me has helped a great deal. The silvering is caused by trapped air beneath the decal. One way to get rid of this once it has happened is to gently "prick" the decal with a needle or pin over the colored portion next to the silvering. Then apply some micro sol or other appropriate setting solution. This stuff then seeps in an fills the tiny air pockets, and greatly reduced the silvering on the clear part of the decal. Just make sure to make the holes as tiny as possible and you should be able to get rid of some of the silvering>

Later-
Jeff

Silvering really detracts from an othewise fine build (Dontcha just HATE it when the last step goes wrong??) Conventional Wisdom: Decals MUST be applied over a smooth surface to avoid silvering. Problem is, you want to keep the bumps ( "tooth" ) of the paint on an armor model to catch the weathering! Solution: Instead of soaking the decal In water, soak it in Future! I've heard the Aircraft guys have been doing this on "stubborn" aircraft decals. I think, that since Future is so thin, you could retain the underlying tooth while eliminating the trapped air. Suggest trying it on scrap first. Hth, Rob

And while dry transfers are beautiful, they're usually a Royal B---h to apply to a model. Suggest rubbing them on to clear decal material, and applying as a "wet" decal. I've been doing this for years to get particular tail codes/serial numbers in odd styles/colors, and it's always worked like a charm. I've also found that Tamiya (especially older kits') decals are very thick, and resistant to setting solutions. I've had thinner Microscale decals even go on over Zimmerit and flat paint, without silvering, given enuf setting solution. I keep a bottle of Solvaset (very "hot") on my bench, along with Microset (under the decal) and Micrsol (over the decal). Glueck Auf, Rob

Jrnelson, thanks for the decal advice, those Academy decals are extra tough. I don't know what is up with my pictures but there is no misplaced red paint on the tail lights. There is a wash on all the surfaces, I just don't like heavy weathering. Golikell, thanks, I should add some pencil lead on those areas. US pioneer tools were more often than not OD.