forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Armour, Artillery, Vehicles, Ships => WW1 Armour, Artillery, Vehicles, dioramas, associated figures and Ships => Topic started by: gedmundson on August 08, 2020, 06:34:02 AM
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I started to put together a kit that I'd bought to steal the grenade screen for my Mk.1 Male tank from a couple of years ago. So now I'll have to scratch build the screen for this one - which is ok since it'll be a bit wider to accommodate the top of the sponsons as in some photo reference.
Also needing attention is the cabin top over the driver, which is not wide enough for a Mk.1. MR Modelbau in Germany sells a properly sized replacement in resin, but I thought I'd widen the kit's offering myself using some styrene sheet. The hull will have to be put together to size all the panels out correctly, so with the help of some DeWalt clamps I've taken the plunge.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/O8ZnZau.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KbjRZde.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mKWx2Sv.jpg)
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Hi Gary:
As they say at Golden Gate Raceway: "And They're Off"! Interesting project you have going there. Having seen your work at Nanton last year, yes over a year ago already, I am sure this will equal or rival the effort. I will be following along and look forward to an update.
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Thanks Mark! I was just about to put up a couple of new pictures when I saw your comments.
The cab was made wider by using sheet styrene and some of the extra bolt/rivet detail included in the Takom kit. The frames for the grenade-screen on top were done by copying the kit's version (which I previously used for my Mk.1 Male) and adding the covers for the sponsons and rear of the hull. The section on the rear of the hull was based on some video references where it can be noted that there was a gap between the larger front section. The mesh was made from tulle fabric, which I've left protruding from the edges as per some references.
The front idlers on the Mk.1 tanks were "toothed" like the sprockets, but since this can barely be seen I didn't bother to convert the extra sprockets which are included in the kit.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/7tMNtbH.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hiMgKx4.jpg)
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Hi Gary:
The intricacies of the bracing for the mesh is a testimony to the dedication to the research to bring this model up to "speed." Nicely done. So many variations on each version of the early tanks. You are off to a great start and I will be looking in from time to time to view the progress. Outstanding work Gary.
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Hi Gary:
The intricacies of the bracing for the mesh is a testimony to the dedication to the research to bring this model up to "speed." Nicely done. So many variations on each version of the early tanks. You are off to a great start and I will be looking in from time to time to view the progress. Outstanding work Gary.
I agree completely Gary! Beautiful work and the added detail is amazing!
RAGIII
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Mark and Rick - thanks for your feedback!
After removing the cover around the hydraulic lift for the tail wheel assembly (since most Mk.1 tanks in the Somme battle are shown without it) I saw film footage of the vehicle I'm building. "Oh I Say!!!!" is shown in the video clearly sporting the cover at the rear. Taking advantage of having it off, I was able to add some plumbing for the hydraulics with lead wire, and also add the cabling on the pulleys for the steering mechanism. I then re-attached the rear cover.
Just short of the breakable small bits (periscopes, lights, etc.) which will be added after painting,the construction is complete.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/aBeErGS.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LB9y5Im.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/P4xvlat.jpg)
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very nice work ..... and good details... I like it
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I'm not much into armour but you guys who build them do some really nice work . I like the mesh , that is cool !
Terri
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i can’t wait to see it paited.... going to become another masteripece of yours!
ciao
edo
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I made another small addition to the model before I paint it. There were small plates mounted on this vehicle below the two front viewing ports. Hopefully these were added to most of the "A" Co. tanks, because my original plan to build "Oh I Say!!!" has now changed to "We're All In It" because the decal manufacturer - New Penguin - has not got back to me after a month.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/Hc1S7u2.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/uzJR1E3.jpg)
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Awesome project and a great looking tank. I have made the same experiences regarding New Penguin decals. I never received any reaction on my E-Mail :-\
Andreas
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Thanks Andreas - yes that's very strange about New Penguin, but I must proceed with my project. Kit supplied decal it is...
Just removed my picture of the figures after realizing that the gas mask bag (on the fellow with the hands behind his back) was not used until 1917, so I'll have to modify that!
Cheers,
Gary
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Brilliant progress, Gary!
This will be a beaut when finished.
:) vB
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Your added details are really making this one shine! Gorgeous work !
RAGIII
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A belated thanks for that Bob & Rick! This one has sat on the bench awaiting paint for a long time. After further research - more modifications were needed before painting.
The periscope holes on the Mk.1 were actually flush with the cabin roof, with a counter-sunk ring just below the roof. Not like Takom have provided (which I copied when I made my roof). So to fix it I needed access to underneath the roof...and so had to cut a hole in the bottom of the model to do this. Due to the location of the hole. it was repairable with scrap plastic and some filler putty. And I added the rivets back to the affected area.
(https://i.imgur.com/FYPSCPW.jpg)
Access hole cut with 3/8" drill bit
(https://i.imgur.com/vJWvK9H.jpg)
properly configured holes for periscopes (to be added later)
Cheers,
Gary
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As a prequel to painting, I decided to try something a bit different - overlap some masking tape onto the model so that the camo pattern could be drawn in place then the patches cut out and masked as each colour was to be applied. I'm guessing that 5-6 colours were used, but tough to tell using black and white photos.
It seems where the black demarkation lines have been painted onto the actual tanks, the illustrators who have interpreted these for model and book references have occasionally missed the difference in colour on either side and drawn snaky looking black lines in the middle of a patch.
Studying the patterns on a few different Mk.1 females from "A" Company, I created patterns for the sides and top of my model. The masking tape was then transfered to a glass plate, and I decided which colours would go where by marking the patches. Painting these will be a fairly involved process.
(https://i.imgur.com/86Muo1R.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/jiSC7vW.jpg)
Cheers,
Gary
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wow! brilliant work! can’t wait to see how it tourns out with the paint!
ciao
edo
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Great job till now, I'm sure all this research will pay after painting.
Ciao
Giuseppe
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Edo and Giuseppe - thanks for your comments.
After a week of arduous masking and airbrushing, my model has some patches of colour. The dark grey lines were done with a fine brush. The weathering stage will be more involved, to try and tone down this vivid scheme into a more believable replica of the battlefield.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/7ABzcpn.jpg)
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Very nice paintwork. Having previously masked lozenge before I can only sympathise with the amount of masking required for that.
You are doing your upmost to convince me to get a few WW1 armour kits.
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Amazing work Gary, very impressive.
Cheers,
Dave.
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beautiful!
ciao
edo
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:o :o :o
::) ::) ::)
Looking splendid!
vB
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Gorgeous paintwork!
Ciao
Giuseppe
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Now that camo turned out fantastic Gary , very time consuming and not something I would tackle .
Terri
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Thanks so much to all that have looked and commented - I really appreciate it!
I've started the weathering process by airbrushing a faint amount of what I call "Greyish dirt" (Tamiya acrylic paint mix of all sorts) all over the model, concentrating on the lower portions and the rear of the vehicle. This tends to make it look quite toned-down and bland. I have then dampened the surface of the model, about 2" at a time, and applied a mineral spirit wash of brown/black oil paint to the details. I went over this a few times with a dampened brush, streaking it downward. It needs to be done over to help blend everything and get rid of tide marks. Some tide marks can be seen where I've started on the model.
This is just a couple of steps in a long process, but I thought I'd put up a picture showing halfway progress on one of the sides as an example. Still lots of steps to go.
(https://i.imgur.com/u4k68W8.jpg)
Model airbrushed with greyish dirt colour, and oil paint pin-wash started on the right hand side...working my way to the left.
Cheers,
Gary
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I made a stowage box with tarp for the rear tail assembly from putty and sheet styrene, but after painting everything realized I should have strapped the tarp down. So a new one was constructed with a couple of tools to enhance it a bit.
As the weathering stages continue, I finally added some of the smaller bits like headlights, periscope and a tail light.
(https://i.imgur.com/POmrq69.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/OwfvRBi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/uZ4jqPF.jpg)
Cheers,
Gary
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Beautiful job with the weathering Gary and on the storage box :)
Terri
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Gary, you are really a master of masking and painting! Brilliant!
You cut the mask by hand? Looks like a job for a electronic cutting machine ;)
Cheers,
Frank
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Breathtaking paintjob. It’s a pity that this kit is not available at the moment. I‘d build a second one, looking at these great pics as Inspiration.
Andreas
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Beautiful job with the weathering Gary and on the storage box :)
Terri
Thanks so much Terri!
Cheers,
Gary
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Gary, you are really a master of masking and painting! Brilliant!
You cut the mask by hand? Looks like a job for a electronic cutting machine ;)
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks Frank - when I laid out the masks on my sheet of glass, I began cutting them out just using a sharp #11 blade. The first colour got painted, masked, then the second colour, etc. Each time I had to make sure the corners got covered, and had to add extra bits of tape to make things line up, and by the time I got to the last colour the pattern had changed a bit. I sprayed a protective coat of gloss on each coat before masking - so the whole process took a week. Then I had to peel all the tape off and see what it looked like. Luckily not too much had to be touched up.
I haven't heard of an electronic cutting machine, but doubt if it would help me if I did have one - I kind of add-lib my way through these patterns as I go :-)
Cheers,
Gary
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Breathtaking paintjob. It’s a pity that this kit is not available at the moment. I‘d build a second one, looking at these great pics as Inspiration.
Andreas
Thanks Andreas, glad you like the work. I agree it's too bad the kits of the Mk.1 are hard to find. Out of production for a while and I was lucky to get this one when I did. Happily I found another couple of Mk.IV 2in1 kits which will give me plenty to do when I've finished this one.
Cheers,
Gary
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Looks awesome, Gary.
vB ;)
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Your usual modelling brilliance! I really regret missing out on this kit - I have to say I don’t really understand the ‘limited’ release approach.... esp if you have issued a modern and generally v. good kit that is the only real option in the most popular scale of a significant machine...
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Looks awesome, Gary.
vB ;)
Thanks Bob!
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Your usual modelling brilliance! I really regret missing out on this kit - I have to say I don’t really understand the ‘limited’ release approach.... esp if you have issued a modern and generally v. good kit that is the only real option in the most popular scale of a significant machine...
You are way too kind! I did speak with fellow modeller Charlie Pritchett (who works for Takom) and he told me they'd dropped their WW1 line of kits because sales weren't that great. They make more money selling Tigers and Panthers from WW2. When I was involved with Dragon Models it was the same story - anything from the Third Reich sold 10 times better than any other allied subjects combined.
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I did speak with fellow modeller Charlie Pritchett (who works for Takom) and he told me they'd dropped their WW1 line of kits because sales weren't that great. They make more money selling Tigers and Panthers from WW2. When I was involved with Dragon Models it was the same story - anything from the Third Reich sold 10 times better than any other allied subjects combined.
:'(
P. S. At least I know now that your are that Gary who is mentioned in some of those Dragon instructions...
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Thanks Gary - Interesting - obviously they know their business better than me; I always assumed the unit cost of keeping production would be quite low compared to the sunk cost of r&d, ie I could see why they wouldn’t do anymore but thought they would try and squeeze sales out of this existing IP. Hopefully someone will resurrect these moulds! Cheers Matt
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Good evening,
I definitely need to stick to this thread. I like your scratch builds and the "greyish dirt" does such a great job of blending the camouflage, can't wait to see the tank finished.
Best regards,
Tim
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WOW, that is really REALLY nice !! Amazing paint job. And I really like the weathering.
Paul
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Thanks for the kind words Tim and Paul!
I've added pastel chalks to the hull, and gone through a second addition of oil paint wash to emphasize the grease stains from bearings and lubrication points. I've also wet some of the pastel "mud" with thinned Tamiya gloss to give a further dimension to the accumulated muck. So this one is getting closer to looking like it should.
(https://i.imgur.com/YwiABsj.jpg)
Cheers,
Gary
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looking better and better!
ciao
edo
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looking better and better!
ciao
edo
Thanks Edo - hopefully I'll have some figures made for this one and finish it off soon :-)
Cheers,
Gary
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Wonderful work Gary, looks like you've got the hang of this armour modelling business.Can't wait to see it withh the figures.
Cheers,
Dave.
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Wonderful work Gary, looks like you've got the hang of this armour modelling business.Can't wait to see it withh the figures.
Cheers,
Dave.
Thanks Dave - the Masterbox set of Somme infantry in leather jerkins is the plan.
Cheers,
Gary
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I decided on some figures to pose with the tank. The MasterBox set of "British infantry Somme Period 1916 kit no.35146" builds up nicely into a group of soldiers with equipment an uniforms indicative of the time. Four of the troops are wearing leather jerkins, and the officer has on an overcoat. I had previously put together three figures from a couple of different sets, then realized the uniforms and equipment were from a later time in the war, with tank crew coveralls, Tank Corps badges, and the haversack on the chest that contained the later gas mask & cannister.
I made some slight changes to the figures by converting the officer to be doing something more natural and less stereotypical than carrying a cane and pointing off into the distance. A couple of the heads were swapped for resin ones, and I used some ICM British Infantry guns because they had a more accurate appearance than the Masterbox parts. Bayonets were removed from the rifles since the troops are not in a state of "advance" just yet. Considering my current projects I have a lot of figure painting to do this next while.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/JEIxozT.jpg)
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Gary , in regards to your weathering , I'm confident that you adventure out side and shall I say ..play in the dirt with sound effects ? ;)
Truly outstanding and very life like :)
Alexis
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Gary , in regards to your weathering , I'm confident that you adventure out side and shall I say ..play in the dirt with sound effects ? ;)
Truly outstanding and very life like :)
Alexis
Ha ha! Thanks Alexis - I'm happy you like the weathering. I find each model I build gets weathered a bit more than the last, and I'm less afraid to dive in and make it look mucky, adding more stages of dirt until it looks the part. I used to be in too much of a hurry to call things done and rush off to the next project.
Cheers,
Gary
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After two weeks of work on them, I finally have got the figures for this vignette painted. This was accomplished after a few changes to the figures, including replacing all of the MasterBox kit heads with resin examples which added a bit more character. The model and figures will hopefully be added to some groundwork on a base soon.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/LFYdLAz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ccWknMm.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/QrHwb2E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Jhw4Tcj.jpg)
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I'm always over taken by how realistic your figure painting and weathering , so life like and surreal . Looking forward on seeing this all tied together in their setting .
Alexis
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Jardropping paintjob, as usual, Gary. Fastastic!
Andreas
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Love those figures, Gary!
Splendid work.
vB :)
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Worth waiting for Gary, your infantrymen look wonderful.I guess the diorama is set after the "moustache rule" was dropped in 1916, when many troops were happy to be allowed to serve clean-shaven.
Cheers,
Dave.
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Thanks so much for the feedback everyone - I certainly appreciate the kind words from each and every one of you. I've finished my little scene and wanted to share a photo. The scenario would be preparation for the attack in the St. Piere Divion area near Thiepval in November of 1916.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/EPEFPy2.jpg)
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Gery,
i really don’t know where to start..... it is a beautiful scene, all characters just fit together perfectly to tell the sotry.
perfect!
ciao
edo
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Figures and landscape give magic to your gorgeous tank.
Ciao
Giuseppe
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With the fine mesh on top the tank and the fine figures it looks so real :o
Wonderful work!
Cheers,
Frank
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Modelling perfection Gary, marvellous work.
Congratulations,
Dave.
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I think it's time you write another book , but on your weathering methods ! I'm blown away by this and makes me want to toss the towel in .
Extemely well done Gary :)
Alexis
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Fantastic! I only seem to repeat myself here, but that’s modelling as its best!
Andress
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Again - thanks to all to have had a look and left some very nice compliments - I appreciate that so much.
I think it's time you write another book , but on your weathering methods ! I'm blown away by this and makes me want to toss the towel in .
Extemely well done Gary :)
Alexis
Alexis - thanks for that. I have to mention that when I did do that Osprey book on Painting and Finishing I've certainly changed how I do things since then (2009). I do write these projects up for Brett Green's modelling magazines, but probably just summarize my methods. This tank got a bit more weathering than I'd normally do - I went over it quite a few times with more pastel chalks and pin-washes here and there. Diluted gloss paint to make wet patches etc. It took way longer than normal, but looked a bit better each time I put more effort in, checking it a day later with fresh eyes. Don't throw in the towel on weathering - you're very good at making your miniatures look very realistic indeed ;)
Cheers,
Gary
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WOW, That is what I wanted to see: The finished dio. That is FANTATSTIC !!
Paul
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I am a bit behind on this one. Simply Amazing build and diorama. The Tanks and figures are Beautifully painted. Brilliant results!
RAGIII
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I only just saw this Rick, how could I have missed this?
I keep asking myself How does he do it?
It's simply brilliant!
Willem
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A belated thanks to Rick and Paul...and Willem - I'm happy you searched back and enjoyed the pictures 8)
Cheers,
Gary
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I'm very happy to have a sneak peak at the cover of the August issue of Model Military International and see that my Mk.1 tank is featured.
Feeling chuffed :)
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/WpqMAKS.jpg)
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Sorry for the mistaken identity Gary, but it's still brilliant 👏
Willem
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That's awesome Gary , good for you !
Alexis
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What an honour, Gary! On the front page - COOL! 8)
Cheers,
Frank