I just picked up the MiniArt Grant Mk 1 with the interior this weekend at the Austin AMPS show. I’m beginning the kit and thought someone might find a build log useful. Would there be any interest?

Paul H

YES PLEASE!!!!!

So tempted to buy this myself so if you do I'll be reading avidly.

I've got one myself recently, so I would avidly follow your build. Not a prolific commenter I am, be warned!

According to the header of your message you average one post per month, and this has been the one for September so if the blog starts before October we should not expect you to say anything

And yes, I am interested as well!

All build logs are useful. Terry Ashley (PMMS) on Facebook has a great build of the interior, not a log, but at various stages.

I'd be very interested, thank you.

Absolutely!

Darn, I'm busted Oh, and I broke my statistics as well

I am waiting for Miniart to issue their M3 Lee mid production version and hope it would include interior. I have an Academy kit, but several things have to be changed to get a mid-production vehicle used in North Africa.

I haven’t done a build log before and there hasn’t been a campaign that sparked my interest in quite a while. No reviews in work and my schedule has settled back down somewhat. Hopefully, I can manage to beat my posting average on this project!

Here is the beginning post for the MiniArt Grant Mk. 1 build log. First let me say the kit is massive. There are over 45 sprues not including the individual track links the sealed box weighs over 2.2lbs or 1 kg.



The instructions are contained in a 39 page booklet that provides 8 marking options with color views.



There is a comprehensive sprue map which I find invaluable.



The assembly illustrations are clear and very well done, and provide color call outs in each step.



Marking layouts and colors are clear and easily interpreted.



Overall it looks like a superbly put together package and one that invites assembly instead of intimidating the builder. Enough so, I set my Marmon Herrington Mk II aside when it was 3/4 complete; something I almost never do.

Beginning construction on the Grant. The plastic MiniArt uses is very soft. When filed or sanded it has a tendency to roll and cling versus cleanly shearing away. I’d recommend using finer than normal grades of sandpaper and using a gentle touch if using any type of file. Sharp blades will pay huge dividends and dull ones can easily tear the plastic. I use Tamiya Extra Thin cement for most of my modeling and I find that I works fine for this plastic, but it leaves joints soft for much longer than I’m used to. Once the joints dry, they are strong, but be careful that you don’t handle the items prematurely as they can move on you.

Construction begins with the forward interior area. The slots for the drive flanges are wider than needed so they will probably need a bit of filler for a perfect joint. Additionally, the internal drive housing needs to be mated to the external portion before trying to attach the front floor section. The floor section has a tab that slides into a slot under the housing for appropriate centering.



The drive shaft fits together well and the detail on the universal joint is good. I could have cleaned the mold line, but it was easier for me to remove the detail and replace with a disc of sheet styrene.



The joints between the front and back portions of floor are covered by internal structure so there is no reason to fill the seams.



The transmission has some mold distortion on both ends. These areas should be sanded flat for best results. Failure to do so will leave gaps between the drive housing and the transmission. The same holds true between the transmission body and the transmission end cap.



Hope the info here is helpful.

Cheers,
Paul H

Liking what I see so far. Nothing to put me off buying this at all. Thanks for the little heads up on things as you go along.

I do intend to mention little things that affect the build as I go along. Obviously I’m gonna miss stuff but I’d kind of like to discuss any challenges so they don’t impact other people’s builds.

Here are a few pics of how the build is progressing. No major issues through the first six assembly steps. Just make sure you don’t cut off locating tabs when removing sprue attachment points as some are critical to alignment.

That floor escape hatch does need filling on this model as it was only present in later versions that had the side doors removed. I believe this is a feature for later variants and that is why it is seen here. It should be completely hidden on the Mk 1. Looking good in all other respects.

Well, since the prop shaft housing and bulkheads are installed and I won’t be able to sand out the joint completely, I guess I will have to roll with it and take note for future builds.

Here are the results so far. Most of the subassemblies fit very well. The only one that didn’t was the tank at the rear of the vehicle. The opening in the part is too large to sit on the molded in cradle. A couple of .005” shims were used to create a bond with then cradle and set the height of the part. The yoke also has a visible seam that requires filling.



The subassemblies were painted and installed since the no room to get into most places to paint them correctly if I glued then in place first.



This picture represents construction up to step nine.



Next up...the engine assembly.

Cheers

Looks good so far, Paul. What colours do you use for interior?

And are you planning ahead any options to make the interior more visible or it would be seen through open hatches?

Colors for the interior...

Tamiya White Primer - overall interior (sprayed) (supports handling and takes weathering well)
Tamiya Flat White - selected panels (sprayed)
Vallejo Stencil (off white) - selected panels (applied as a wash for tonal differences)
Vallejo Earth Brown - overall (very light wash)
Vallejo Black Grey -seat pad (then washed with Vallejo clear semi gloss/ gloss mixture) also for chipping as needed
Vallejo Dark Rubber - oil lines in engine area (also as wash in engine area)
AK Interactive Acrylic Oil Stain for Mecha Paint line- staining as needed

Hope this info helps...

Oh and with all of the hatches open, I think that should be enough to provide good visibility. I’m not big on cutaways or on the suspended panels or turrets. They’re ok but they spoil the lines of the machine.

Well, I thought I was ready to start on the engine, but I managed to get some tape stuck between two more pages of the interior... I did make a little progress on the rear of the interior compartment.

Thanks Paul for taking the "bull by the horns" and doing this build log ! So far it's looking really good. Thanks for sharing the paint schemes for the interior. Hope you do that through out the build. It's really helpful!
A question: are the rounds on the back wall separate or molded as one piece?
This build will probably push me over the edge and into some shop to buy one.


A 3 out of 3 beer rating so far !

I’m glad someone is finding this build useful! It’s definitely slow going trying to remove mold separation lines from all of the parts since the plastic is very soft. The rounds on the back wall are molded as a single piece. I would have preferred individual for ease of cleanup and painting, but that wasn’t the case...

Colors used in this step where:
Tamiya White Primer - main body of parts
Vallejo Earth Brown - overall wash
Tamiya Flat White - tonal variation on main parts

Vallejo Stencil (off white) - rounds storage rack
AK Interactive Xtreme Brass - rounds casing bodies
AK Interactive Xtreme Dark Aluminum - oil cooler body and nose of rounds
Vallejo US Olive Drab - rounds projectile bodies
Vallejo Black Wash - wash on oil cooler and rounds

Hope this helps

Almost no modeling time this weekend. Finished up the rear wall of the Grant...



Colors used
Vallejo Black Gray -hoses
Vallejo US Olive Drab - Jerry can
Vallejo Red Leather - straps on can
Vallejo Brown Wash - straps on can

Some progress over the last couple of days. I thought the gage in the engine compartment was too simplified, so milled out the dial, replaced it with one from the spares box and added a lens. I painted and then added the rest of the left side detail.


I added the right side detail and installed the part. No real problem with fit but you do need to ensure all of the mold seam is gone before putting these pieces together.





The left side has a significant amount of offset in that part. The fit is much more challenging than the right side was. Never the less, I managed to get it together and will fill the small gaps I still had left before painting.









I would reiterate that the small parts are very fragile and some have a significant amount of mold offset. Cleanup is slow but the parts do have very good detail once the mold seams are cleaned off.

Colors used
Vallejo Black Grey - Thompson machine gun and magazines and tops of fire extinguishers along with seat pads
Vallejo Flat Brown - stock on Thompson machine gun
Vallejo Flat Red - fire extinguisher bodies
AK Xtreme Metal Dark Aluminum - lines in engine compartment and dry brush on gun and magazines
50/50 mix Vallejo Semi Gloss and Gloss was used for the sheen on the seat and fire extinguishers

A bit more progress on the Grant. The mold offset on the left side of the lower hull made adding the sponson piece a challenge. Never the less, some judicious trimming and filing brought it under control. I’m letting the filler on the sponsons cure before painting.




I’ve moved into the engine construction and it’s a slow process. Initial cleanup of the cylinder bank takes time and care since there are nine attachment points and all are on a gluing surface. Additionally, the pushrod assembly has sprue attachment points on each one of the pushrods, so those take a lot of cleanup too. I skipped adding the crankcase as I wanted to be able to paint it separately from the assembled cylinder bank. This allowed me to use a piece of putty to handle the engine while adding the rocker covers.

The rocker covers are individual parts and require careful removal and handling.



I’d highly recommend that you nip the parts of of the sprue as you see here as this will allow easier handling during cleanup.



Next I removed the sprue attachment point on the tubing portion and clean it up.



Then I take off the stub on the rocker cover.



Install the rocker/tube assembly...



Then install the individual rocker piece to complete the cylinder.



Obviously, I was well under way when I realized the process might be of interest to someone trying to build the kit, so below is what the assembly looks like when all twenty pieces are together.



Hopefully someone will find the info useful.

Good tip on cleaning of the fragile parts.