After a quick break from the bench to get a much needed holiday in I'm back at it and have made some good progress on the model. The front mud guards did not really fit any better with the fenders on so I've removed them and worked on the mounting to the hull. The result is a much better fit. The turret has also had some work in the form of Mr surfacer for some cast texture and adding tie downs using lead wire. The smoke dischargers were also drilled out. As you can see with the texture added the mantlet cover now blends in nicely with the turret. Still a long way to go, as with most AFV club kits you need to take your time and test fit everything before committing to glue.
Work has now begun on the friul tracks and very nice they are too. Very crisp detail on each link and only minimal clean up. The supplied wire for the pins needs running through a candle flame or similar as it's very springy and hard to straighten. Running the wire through flame takes the spring out of it and makes it a lot easier to work with. I've gone for partial track runs to the first double return roller on each end as with the skirts on nothing can be seen. I do seem to have an issue with the front fenders which are slightly out of shape. These are very thin so I think it's just a matter of careful manipulation when I put the rest of the hull fenders on to get a better fit especially around the front idler area.
A little progress for you on the centurion now. The main hull and the turret have now been built up and I've added the DEF resin mantlet. Some more blending needs to be done on the sides of the turret before I replace the solid tie downs then add a bit of texture to the turret. The metal 20 pounder barrel is included in the kit and once in place looks great. I'm now concentrating on building the tracks before I add the fenders. The tracks are superb and will really look good once painted and weathered I think. So far I've not found that much which needs replacing or enhancing so this should be a swift build.
Next on the bench after a bit of a clean up is AFV club's IDF Shot Centurion. This is being built for the 6 day war group build over on the modelworx forum. As you may remember I picked this kit up really cheaply at last year's IPMS Belgium show with the intention of building it for the GB. I've since added a set of panzer art resin wheels and DEF mantlet cover to the box. Construction thus far has been focusing on the running gear and here the resin wheels really do make a difference compared to the kit wheels. I'm not a fan of the way AFV club tackled the wheels anyway especially with the rubber sections which just will not stay glued on. I also attempted to use the kit rubber tracks but alas they have the smallest locating points I've ever seen and again just won't glue! Bloody frustrating, why oh why don't AFV club make better tracks? Fruil metal tracks are therefore on their way as I can't be arsed to muck about with the shite kit items.
Again it's the anniversary of the D-day landings so I think it's fitting that we remember those who gave their all for freedom and stood up to oppression.
Today saw Stonehenge modellers make our annual short trip to the Salisbury show. As usual it was a leisurely start to the day with a coffee and a bacon butty at Brian's before the arduous 5 minute drive to the venue! As is our MO we were set up within 10 minutes which gave us time for a quick look around before the show opened. This year I also took along some unwanted kits and books to sell and I think within the first hour I'd sold most of them. Again coming away with more money than I started with, even after kit purchases was a nice change. From the off the show was extremely busy and we had plenty of visitors to our tables and many friends popping by to say hello. The numbers did not really slacken off until about 1300 hrs which was nice to see. My only gripe would be about the number of members some clubs turned up with, I think 18 from one club is pushing it slightly especially as most went to the pub and when they were all around other clubs could not even get behind their allotted tables! I think Salisbury need to look at this for next year. Other shows have a minimum amount of passes for club members and any members over this must pay the admission fee. I think this is only right especially when space is tight and there are only so many chairs available at a venue. Anyway it was great to catch up with many of you and have a chat, I know Brian was almost hoarse talking modelling bollocks as he does by the end of the day. Thanks to Salisbury for another well organised and enjoyable show & we will see you next year.
The project is now completed after a major session weathering the goat over the last few days, in fact I only just finished half an hour ago! For the final weathering on the goat I used true earth filters and washes mostly due to their really quick drying time and ease of use. Subtle was the key here as the goat is actually a small vehicle I did not want to loose the camo or details under a heavy layer of weathering. Once that was done the same earth colour as used on the base was thinned a little bit more and then sprayed on the lower areas of the model building up the dust effect. The same method was used on the wheels & I also removed some of the paint with a lightly moistened cotton bud. The wheels then had a dry brush with a black grey colour and all the lights and glazing went on. The figure and canvas went on last followed by some light metallic on the shovel. So there you have it, set in Germany circa 1980's. This has been another fun and interesting project not least because the kit is so good out of the box and the base was another first for me too.
