Armorama :: My first build in 40 years...so here goes!...

Armor/AFV: British Armor
Discuss all types of British Armor of all eras.

Hosted by Darren Baker

My first build in 40 years...so here goes!...

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Saturday, March 02, 2019 - 04:38 AM UTC

Hi all,

Yesterday, with the exception of the tracks, I applied a coat of gloss varnish to the whole of the Conqueror and let it dry for approximately 24hrsish – no images as, imho, gloss painted surfaces look awful under the lens,

.

Today I have blocked in the high and low lights (see images below). Being as this is my first attempt in a good few decades my stash of paints is, to say the least, very limited, so it’s a tad ‘make do and mend’,

. Tomorrow, though, I intend to make a foray into the nearest urban sprawl in search of some enamel paints.

The paints used thus far are still wet and will need blending together so, at this time, the contrast is more extreme than should be the case on the finished model...he says, optimistically,

.

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 04, 2019 - 12:41 AM UTC

Hi all,

This morning I have blended the colours used on the turret so as to reduce the somewhat garish contrast seen in the images posted yesterday,

.

I have also started to colour the camouflage netting using some old oil paints I found. Again, the colour might seem somewhat garish at this stage (see images below),

. Once the oils have dried, I intend to paint over the oils with a matt varnish, after which I will tone down the colours.

I have also started to assemble the crew, gluing heads and arms to the bodies instead of blu tacking them together (see images below). I have drilled the microphone and fitted a length of cable, I have also drilled the headphones so that I can insert cabling.

Does anyone know whether the microphone and headphone cabling were independent of each other or was there some form of ‘connection box’ worn by the crew?

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 04, 2019 - 03:04 AM UTC

Hi all,

A bit of an update, I have now pretty much completed roughing out the high and low lighting and have included some images below of the hull and turret combined. It looks a bit rough and ready at the moment but will, hopefully, look better when I start to blend and weather the tank properly…fingers crossed,

As you may have noticed on some of the photographs above, I have started to add some dried-on mud to the lower hull, obviously this will need painting and blending in with the base. The mud is a mixture of white glue and dry tea…don’t tell ‘she who must be ignored’ that I’m ruining perfectly good tea bags,

.

There is still some way to go, I need to add decals (only a few of them), paint all the lights, pioneer tools, tow cables and vision blocks, etc. I will need to fit and weather the tracks, weather the tank and blend it in with the base, add aerials and light guards, etc…and that’s without any of the crew…blimey, not that much then!?

.

Just for the fun of it,

, I decided to place the tank on its base to see how it looks (see images below) and to get an idea of the sort of blending I will need to do before marrying the base and the tank together properly.

Just need to leave things to dry for the next 24hrs...ish. Please feel free to comment, positively or negatively, or make suggestions/recommendations as you see fit, cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 04, 2019 - 05:27 AM UTC

Hi all,

Have just had a quick go at adding ‘wiring’ to the crew headphones and microphones (see images below).

My apologies for the above images not being pin-sharp,

.

Does anyone reading this build log have a preferred/proven method for wiring head and/or microphones for 1/35th scale wireless operators/users that they would care to share with me?

.

Cheers,

.

G

KruppCake

Ontario, Canada
Joined: July 13, 2015
KitMaker: 401 posts
Armorama: 387 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 04, 2019 - 05:38 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi all,

Have just had a quick go at adding ‘wiring’ to the crew headphones and microphones (see images below).

My apologies for the above images not being pin-sharp, .

Does anyone reading this build log have a preferred/proven method for wiring head and/or microphones for 1/35th scale wireless operators/users that they would care to share with me? .

Cheers, .

G

Hello,

I haven’t wired radios or headphones before but I have wired plenty of tank and cannon cabling and my preferred method is varying thicknesses of soldering wire. It comes in different thicknesses, stays in the shape you bend it to, and is overall easy to work with. It’s also inexpensive.

BootsDMS

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: February 08, 2012
KitMaker: 978 posts
Armorama: 965 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 04, 2019 - 06:17 AM UTC

Gareth,

I would suggest using fuse wire - solder might be a tad too thick; as to how the No 19 set worked out on the crew I'm not too sure - I'm away from my references at the moment but a bit of judicious Googling might help. I don't necessarily think that wires led from both earphones but I might be wrong; there may well be a "box" (can't remember the exact term) on the chest for everything to congregate on.

Conqueror was still around when Larkspur was introduced but that would involve changing the antennae mounts on your model (let alone the headsets) so I suggest you stick with what you have. Either way Deep Bronze Green would still be suitable for the colour.

Re scrim (ie the stuff that adorns these early type of cam nets): remember these were issued in rolls of both green and brown dyed Hessian. Using a Humbrol enamels colour chart as a very rough guide, and factoring in my rapidly failing memory, the brown would be whatever the new nomenclature is for what was "Brown Bess" (yes - that dates me) and say, Light Olive (86) for the Green. Soldiers at the time may well have incorporated un-dyed Hessian as well ie sandbag colour for some tonal variation. The whole idea of camouflage was not necessarily to blend in as such, but more to break up the outline.

The cable drum cover would be a sort of khaki/khaki drill colour depending on the amount of wear and tear including sunlight it had been exposed to.

Brian

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Tuesday, March 05, 2019 - 12:51 AM UTC

Hi Krupp and Boots,

Thank you both for your hints/tips regarding cabling, I will order both soldering and fuse wire as I'm certain I will find use for both in future builds, so thanks.

Brian, with regards headphones and wiring I had already 'googled' British Army headphones and both single and double cable type seemed to show up.

As this build is more of an experimental reintroduction to the hobby and on the basis that 'something is better than nothing' I decided to use a bit of 'artistic license' and went for the double cable type as 1) I think it looks better, and 2) the single cable appeared to have an 'extension' that ran from the connected earpiece to the other one along the headband and I thought this might be more messy to replicate,

.

I did look at a few builds, of excellent quality (they put mine to shame,

) where the microphone/headphones had no wiring...was bluetooth around in ye olde days,

.

Thanks also for the information relating to netting and scrim, i will add some green as suggested.

Cheers both,

.

G

BootsDMS

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: February 08, 2012
KitMaker: 978 posts
Armorama: 965 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Tuesday, March 05, 2019 - 01:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Krupp and Boots,

Thank you both for your hints/tips regarding cabling, I will order both soldering and fuse wire as I'm certain I will find use for both in future builds, so thanks.

Brian, with regards headphones and wiring I had already 'googled' British Army headphones and both single and double cable type seemed to show up.

As this build is more of an experimental reintroduction to the hobby and on the basis that 'something is better than nothing' I decided to use a bit of 'artistic license' and went for the double cable type as 1) I think it looks better, and 2) the single cable appeared to have an 'extension' that ran from the connected earpiece to the other one along the headband and I thought this might be more messy to replicate, .

I did look at a few builds, of excellent quality (they put mine to shame, ) where the microphone/headphones had no wiring...was bluetooth around in ye olde days, .

Thanks also for the information relating to netting and scrim, i will add some green as suggested.

Cheers both, .

G

Gareth,

Keep up the very good work. I must just clarify my earlier comments re the colour: when I referred to Bronze Green I meant the overall colour of the vehicle in case I'd suggested that vehicles fitted with No 19 sets might be in a differing colour as to those later vehicles fitted with the Larkspur. I was not referring to the colours of any headsets (I hope this makes sense!)

There does seem to be a reluctance amongst some modellers who indeed produce quite excellent models but then omit any headset cabling and even on occasion, antennae. Perhaps its the problems of transit and damage?

Anyway, as I say, keep at it.

Brian

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Tuesday, March 05, 2019 - 04:41 AM UTC

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the encouragement and, more importantly, all the support and advice you've given me thus far.

Your comments relating to colour is, and was, understood for how you intended it, so no confusion caused,

. I have been trying to study as many colour photographs as possible regarding colour and, imho, whilst there seems a multitude of variations the colour generally tends towards a more 'blackish' feel. I accept that this might be due to film processing, age of the original, lighting conditions etc, i'm tending towards a 'darker' feel.

As to antennae, i think i might have found, purely by accident, a possible source of material. Whilst rummaging through the garden twine to cut up as a source of long grass i found some very thin metal 'rod' which came with a kit for training vines along walls. The diameter looks good, the length might be a tad on the short side, i think it might scale out at about 8', but i need to confirm this when i get to that stage.

Regards,

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Tuesday, March 05, 2019 - 05:35 AM UTC

Hi all,

Only managed a couple of hours today, so had a go at some washes and blending and toning down of the camouflage netting colours (see images below). The netting has been given a coat of matt varnish, believe it or not, but it is/was still wet when I took the photographs,

I have also started to ‘block colour’ the crew (see images below)…I’m sure 1/35th scale figures seemed bigger 40yrs ago,

, can’t believe I used to paint eyes back then, not sure I’ll manage it this time around,

...and no, it's not a photograph of the Bee Gees,

Regarding weathering, I have two questions:

1) Would there be a lot of sooty staining around the exhausts? Pictures I have seen on google don't seem to show anything excessive, which i find surprising.

2)Would the crew all mount from the front and, if so, would there be specific routes to their stations showing heavy foot wear and tear?

Cheers,

.

G

Dioramartin

New South Wales, Australia
Joined: May 04, 2016
KitMaker: 1,476 posts
Armorama: 1,463 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Wednesday, March 06, 2019 - 01:26 AM UTC

Maybe not the heebie-geebies but the guy on the right's from Talking Heads. Nice work going on here, the fact I have virtually zero interest in this tank but keep coming back for a look-see is a tribute to you, well done & keep it up

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Wednesday, March 06, 2019 - 02:58 AM UTC

Hi Martin,

The talking heads comment made me smile,

.

Thank you for taking the time to follow a build on a vehicle that you have no real interest in, and thank you for the compliment, it's much appreciated.

I hope you continue to follow and enjoy the build.

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Wednesday, March 06, 2019 - 04:03 AM UTC

Hi all,

Methinks I can see light at the end of the tunnel, phewwwww!

.

The turret is now, more-or-less, finished, just a few tweaks left, e.g. antennae, machine gun, jerry cans, etc. and some minor washes and blending.

I have also started to blend and work on the hull, I have added the tracks and the lower bazooka plates (see images below).

The hull requires more weathering and the tools and spare track painting, etc. Headlamp guards and lights need working on along with work on the tracks.

My aim is to be in a position to give a final matt varnish early next week and hopefully add the completed crew by the end of next week…best laid plans and all that,

.

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Wednesday, March 06, 2019 - 04:57 AM UTC

Hi again,

A few images of the Conqueror on the base, I will need to do some blending once the tank is finally finished, but that’ll have to wait until next week.

Cheers,

.

G

BootsDMS

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: February 08, 2012
KitMaker: 978 posts
Armorama: 965 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Wednesday, March 06, 2019 - 05:12 AM UTC

Gareth,

Er, you might need to take a few paces back and consider applying the vehicle's markings; as you've now applied some fairly heavy applications of mud etc this might pose a problem, but you'll now need to fix the respective decals in place, but nothing some careful trimming won't solve I'm sure.

I regret I didn't spot this earlier.

Brian

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Thursday, March 07, 2019 - 04:23 AM UTC

Hi Brian,

Well spotted and 'Doh, me!',

.

I would like to be able to say that it was another of my schoolboy errors...one of many, I might add,

...committed during this build, however, I doubt a schoolboy would be that daft,

.

In my defense...cough!...I would say that the choice of markings was uninspiring (see image below). On a backing measuring a mere 60x50mm there were enough decals for four options. That's not a dig at Amusing Hobby, it's simply the nature of the beast.

Luckily for me, with each option having so few decals, my big faux pas had a minimal impact as one would have been hidden by the camouflage net, and one would have been buried under mud...but lesson learned,

.

Thanks again Brian for the spot,

.

Regards,

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Thursday, March 07, 2019 - 05:15 AM UTC

Hi all,

The end of the tunnel draws nigh, decals added…cough!

...tools, spare tracks and tow cables painted. Some more 'dirtying down' done (see images below), not sure how much exhaust 'soot' there should be...were these dirty beasts?

The headlight 'lens'' need some work to make them look acceptable, shame they weren't clear plastic.

Finishing off all the tiny bits seems to take an age,

.

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 03:29 AM UTC

Hi all,

A bitty weekend, but I think I’m just about there model-wise…phewwwww!

. The paint is/was still wet when I took the photographs so everything looks a little darker and shinier than it should (see images below).

Tomorrow I will give the Conqueror one last matt varnish coat and that will be pretty much it.

I still have to add the crew and position the model on the base, this I hope to do by the end of the week,

.

Once the above has been completed I will add a few images of the ‘whole’ and then I can call it a wrap for my first build in 40 years,

.

If anyone has spotted anything I have missed please feel free to let me know and I will amend if possible before finally bringing this build log to an end.

Cheers,

.

G

BootsDMS

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: February 08, 2012
KitMaker: 978 posts
Armorama: 965 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 11, 2019 - 07:03 AM UTC

Gareth,

Beware the temptation to matt everything down; Conqueror, for most of its life was finished in Deep Bronze Green. As discussed earlier, this was a high lustre paint. Whilst it would be toned-down on exercise, it was a fairly robust paint and even in 1:35, some of this shine should - no pun intended - shine through. Perhaps a Satin finish might be appropriate although on mine I went for a Gloss varnish. Obviously, the cam nets and other details need to be matted down.

Have another look at the Tankograd booklet; you will note that the Bronze Green "shine" still prevails.

Brian

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Thursday, March 14, 2019 - 10:30 PM UTC

Hi all,

An update on the build log…not managed to get as far as I would have liked this week,

.

The mighty Conqueror has had a last coat of varnish...gloss...so I hope BootsDMS approves,

. At the moment the camouflage net might look a tad glossy, but that's because it has just had a hand-brushed coat of matt varnish that is still wet.

I have tried to give some of the surfaces a worn look (see images below) to represent areas where the crew might have walked.

To be honest, I am really struggling with the figure painting, the old eyes aren't what they used to be, and that's what's slowing me down,

.

Any advice, comments or feedback is welcomed.

Cheers,

.

G

Dioramartin

New South Wales, Australia
Joined: May 04, 2016
KitMaker: 1,476 posts
Armorama: 1,463 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Friday, March 15, 2019 - 11:25 PM UTC

Very impressive Gaz, your cunning photography gives no hint you’re struggling with the figures – I’ve found that ploy works quite well for me too! It really does look great, so these are nit-pix: the mud isn’t very mud-coloured (?) & there’s no mud caked on the wheels. Not sure about the rust on those tracks, more likely to be burnished steel thru constant contact/friction with the ground – or just plain muddy. Bring on the base!

M4A1Sherman

New York, United States
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Saturday, March 16, 2019 - 01:28 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi all,

An update on the build log…not managed to get as far as I would have liked this week, .

The mighty Conqueror has had a last coat of varnish...gloss...so I hope BootsDMS approves, . At the moment the camouflage net might look a tad glossy, but that's because it has just had a hand-brushed coat of matt varnish that is still wet.

I have tried to give some of the surfaces a worn look (see images below) to represent areas where the crew might have walked.

To be honest, I am really struggling with the figure painting, the old eyes aren't what they used to be, and that's what's slowing me down, .

Any advice, comments or feedback is welcomed.

Cheers, .

G

Hi, Gareth!

Don't sweat the eyes too much; it'll only slow you down and frustrate you... My advice, and this works very well for 1/35 figurines, is to confine the eyes to a Medium-BROWN to Dark BROWN slits (Lines) to represent the "eyelashes". (People outdoors will naturally squint a bit, ESPECIALLY in bright sunlight, so the "WHITES" of their eyes won't be readily apparent, anyway...) Then, shade the upper eyelids with a slightly lighter color than your "eyelashes" color up to just below the bone protrusions of the ocular cavity where you're going to paint your eyebrows. To prevent headaches in trying to get your eyebrows right, you can cheat a little bit by using a PENCIL to draw your eyebrows on your figures' faces. After all is dry, I suggest a semi-matte rather than an absolutely FLAT coating for your figures' faces. Using the semi-matte will make your figures' faces seem more "alive"...

GREAT WORK, by the way, ESPECIALLY after a 40-year absence from "the hobby"!!!

One more suggestion, if I may- If you want to achieve a better "FLAT" finish on your camo-netting, try shooting a coat of TESTORS Model Master 1960 Lusterless (Flat) Clear Coat on. The TRICK here, is to "DUST" on a very light coat, NOT actually spraying it on so that it looks "wet". Make sure that ANY clear "varnishes" which you've previously applied have COMPLETELY DRIED- With my own painting efforts, I always give ANY clear coats AT LEAST 48 hours to dry... it slows you down some, but it's worth it in the end...

BootsDMS

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: February 08, 2012
KitMaker: 978 posts
Armorama: 965 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Saturday, March 16, 2019 - 07:17 AM UTC

Good advice all round I think (and "Yes" - I do indeed approve of the gloss Bronze Green).

For what it's worth and I know full well that there are some superb figure modellers on this site, but my methodology is as follows.

I use a generic base coat of flesh (I still major in enamels so that would be the Humbrol one.

Once dry I add a red brown to the flesh and paint in the eye sockets, sides of the nose, and with a little bit more red brown, the lips.

If present - and on say, Hornet Heads for instance they often are, any extra lines on the face, those running from the side of the nose to say, past the lips (God knows what the correct medical identification term is)I paint in the same slightly darker colour.

The final bit involves adding a bit of white to the original flesh colour and with that I touch the bridge of the nose and sometimes the chin. Ditto cheekbones if pronounced. That's about it. I use the same red brown flesh mix to identify the fingers on the hands (if not gloved obviously) and also the white mix for clenched fists/knuckles etc.

I have recently experimented with making the centre of the eye socket a darker red brown with the emphasis on brown to indicate the eye but in this scale, although as I say there are modellers out there who can, I am unable to portray the iris/pupil etc.

If one is using Hornet Heads - and I often do - they almost paint themselves, even using my rather slim method above.

I manage a certain effect and they don't look too bad (I hope) - I also recognise my limitations (!) but the above method might help until you further develop your own.

Keep at it Gareth - all looking sweet.

Brian

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 18, 2019 - 01:18 AM UTC

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the positive comments and the feedback...I don't think you're being nit-picking, your comments are valid, so thank you...it allows me to achieve a better overall finish,

.

I have tried to take your comments on board and have tried to incorporate them as best I can.

Cheers,

.

G

G-man69

England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: October 17, 2017
KitMaker: 944 posts
Armorama: 928 posts

PROFILE

Posted: Monday, March 18, 2019 - 01:27 AM UTC

Hi Dennis, Brian,

Thanks to you both for the positive feedback and taking the time to share your knowledge, your comments on painting faces will, I think, prove invaluable.

A friend has also mentioned the Testors product for getting a good matt finish. Dennis, after your reinforcement of my friends view I looked it up on Amazon but it was around £40 with postage so I will hunt around and see if I can find it cheaper...is it very expensive in the states as well?

Cheers both,

.

G

TOP