Starting The Chieftain & A Trip To Belgium

I've now made a start on the Chieftain adding the resin replacement rear grills. More work needs to be done on this area but for now I just concentrated on getting the hull main parts sorted. I have also closed off the open areas on the hull as the side skirts will be off any gaping holes would be easily seen. I can now add all the details probably starting from the rear and working forwards.

Some missing details were also added to the rear of the land rover using scrap etch.

I've also just got back from a three day tour of the Ypres battlefields with a group of mates from work. I thoroughly enjoyed it as we stayed in a great hotel in the centre of Ypres close to the Menin gate. Also we visited loads of battlefield sites and some of the cemeteries in the area. The weather was great too with sunny sky's and a hint of warmth in the sun. Oh and some rather nice beer was sampled too!

More Land Rover Work & Type 87 Figures

I have been working on the land rover tarp over the last few days sanding and re profiling to get a better look to the thing. I plan on adding the final details later using magic sculpt. The rest of the model has been built up and a few details added as well as an accurate armour TUAAM box and mast mount. I plan on adding a blue light to the side mast later on. I can now start work on the Chieftain which is the best bit of the project!

I've also been working on the type 87 figures adding the uniform camo decals. Took a while as I was flitting between the landy and the figures but I can now start painting the details now.

Starting The Build.....Landrover

Over the weekend I started on the Land rover as I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be troublesome and I can tell you it was. It has loads of ejector pin marks, poor fitting parts and lots of flash to clean up. I have fiddled and fettled the body parts now so they all line up and actually follow the correct lines. The worst fit issue was with the rear body that when in place left a gap between it and the doors you could drive a pig through! I just cut the locating pins off the bottom and ensured it butted up to the cab floor.

Having said all that the details such as they are look good especially the land rover badges. The canvas tilt looks more like a hard top but I plan to get it glued then attack it with the sander to get a more realistic look. I have also used accurate armour wheels as the kit ones look too skinny. I used AA set LRA005, goodyear tyre set. Five minutes work and the wheels are sorted.

JGSDF Type 87 Weathering Complete

The model is now all done bar finishing off the figures and sorting out a base for it. For the mud and dust on the lower hull I used tamiya buff, deck tan and white to match the dust colour I added to the upper hull. I then added mud splatters with a brush flicked with my finger. After a matt coat all the lights where painted and clear lenses added to the front. Then the final bits to add were the periscope lenses, gunners sight glass, mirrors and antennas. The only area to get any pigments was the exhaust and then only a small amount to add the distinctive sooty look.

Next Project, Tamiya Chieftain & Italeri Land rover

As the type 87 draws to a close I am almost ready to begin my next project. I will be using tamiya's Chieftain kit and Italeri's Land rover 109 to depict a couple of vehicles from the 80's as seen in some superb pictures my mate Norman Hibberd kindly shared with me. The pictures where recently scanned by Norman from old 35mm negatives to digital format and show a group of Chieftains on Salisbury Plain.

When I saw the pictures I just knew I had to build them! I was practically drooling over them for ages! As you can see they are nicely muddy and have no side skirts. The Chieftains look to be Mk8's or 9's. Also note the old style tank helmets worn by the drivers. The picture I was really taken with shows the tanks on a tank crossing with MP's in attendance with a Land rover 109. The scene just screams diorama so that's what I hope to re-create.

So to go with the kits I have added a Castoff conversion set for a Mk8, a set of 70's & 80's AFV crew kit again from Castoff and an Eduard etched set. There is also a distinct probability that a set of white metal tracks will find it's way onto the kit. The Land rover will be detailed using spare parts and plastic card.

I am really looking forwards to this one as I haven't built a Tamiya Chieftain  since I was a young lad! So stay tuned for the start of this monster build!

Type 87 Oil & Filters Finished

I've now finished off the main weathering of the model now using oils and a few filters. I finished off with a very thinned mix of AK dust effects and added this to the flat surfaces of the model. Whilst it was drying I used a brush to soak up any excess. The result is a dusty look that does not hide the camo finish of the model or hide any of the earlier weathering effects applied.