Alongside my panzer IV diorama I'm working on mengs FT-17. A lot has been said about the kit and I can only agree with those who thinks that it's great. Very enjoyable build!

To go with the kit i have Voyagers detailing set which mainly gives options for the suspension, toolbox, brackets and clasps.

The build is pretty much complete and I have started painting. First up, the engine:


Base colors


Weathered and installed on bottom plate.

Painted with Vallejo acrylics, oils, mig's engine grime & fresh engine oil

Thanks for looking!

First class work Johan! I'll be watching your progress, as I have this kit in the stash as well.

If the rest of the model turns out as well as the engine, you'll have a surefire winner on your hands!

Thanks for the kind words!

Stefan: it's a great kit for sure. I suggest following the instructions for the installment of the engine. I skipped around quite a bit (as I usually do) and ended up very close to not be able to fit it in as i had attached the engine fire wall early... thankfully plastic isvery flexible

Beautiful job on the engine.
Did you follow the model's painting instructions?

Thanks Jesper!
I only used the instruction call outs briefly. They are pretty detailed though and is close to my choices (way better than for example dragon)
I mainly used this photo:
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/massimofoti/5903689869/

I also was inspired by a build over at modelers social club forum where someone was building a really great looking Takom FT-17 in 1/16

Well, thanks to you for that link to the engine photo. I'm keeping an eye on your build.

Excellent work on that engine , congratulations

Cheers guys!

Got some time in to work on one of the side walls and drivers compartment. This was hard to photograph... all the white turns the dark bits really dark! Quite happy with it except for the leader seat cushion and back rest that will need more work.

Side wall




Driver compartment

Amazing work so far, looking forward to the next update!

So im starting to box this one up... Goodbye to all the nice little detail you won't be able to see any more



I struggled quite a bit with getting a good fit for the hull. If you build this kit DON'T do what i did and assemble the road wheel setup before hull assembly. It got very tedious to try and clamp it all together...
It still turned out ok, few smallish gaps that i hope is easily fixable with some putty

/J

With the tank boxed up and ready for paint I thought I'd share some pics of the Voyager PE.
I got this set mainly as a challenge to improve my skills and eh, yes, a challenge it was...
I think if anyone of you guys decide to pull the trigger on this one i would recommend soldering rather than CA-glue.
I actually got a soldering kit after building this that I have been practicing with

Overview:


Track tension:


Storage box & rollers:


I circled an error that i noticed and corrected. In the PE instructions voyager wants you to place the rear return roller mounts the other way around which is wrong when compared to the real tank. The only real problem while fixing it is that the brass strips that holds the wheels are made to long (to fit the backwards mounted bracket) so you will need to shorten them by ~2mm and drill new holes.


"Sled"


Pretty cool piece of PE. Again, soldering would have been to prefer...


So, there she is! Ready for paint. Hope these pics are of use to someone as I haven't seen many builds using the Voyager PE previously myself. If you want more pics of a specific detail dont be afraid to ask!

Were the springs included in the Voyager set or did you source them elsewhere?

No, I made the springs with 0.7mm wire. They might be slightly on the thick side but I do like the beefy look of it.

Ahh, they look very good. Well done so far.

Thanks! Just hope I won't screw up the rest...

You're a better man than I, Johan. Excellent work on the PE!

Looking at your quality builds I think we just need to agree to disagree on that one But thanks!