Subscribers Gallery Armour : B

Dear Friends

Enclosed is my last model of 2020. A year when society actually encouraged us to stay indoors and get down to serious modelling, not that we needed much persuading.

In truth the BA-10 was more of an armoured lorry than fully functioning armoured car. A modest 50 HP was powering two rear axles only. On the plus side this was probably the most powerfully armed armoured car of the period and ran on solid tyres. The few that survived Operation Barbarossa probably had their small moment of glory in the November winter counter offensive in front of Moscow.

The HobbyBoss kit has a nice quality of plastic and sensible parts breakdown. However, the headlights fall off as soon as you sneeze shortly followed by the front bumper (brass)! The fit of the lower sloped armour plates and front mud guards are somewhat vague.

The only aftermarket used were the resin wheels from PanzerArt (designed for the Miniart Gaz).

Painting I used the Gunze set of 4 colours for Russian green. For colour and interest I enjoyed using the MIG oil brusher different green shades and then a dust colour.

Hope you like? Looking forward to more freedom in 2021
Andrew J.

The subject of this project is the Hobby Boss kit of the Ba10 armoured car in 1:35 scale.
The Ba10 was developed in 1938 using the chassis of the GAZ AAA truck. It saw service throughout the war with some captured examples being used by both German and Finnish forces.
The Hobby Boss kit is easy to build though I found the chassis rather complex with quite a few very small fiddly parts. Care needs to be taken with the chassis if all six wheels are to sit level on a flat surface (something that my model sadly fails to do).
There are some parts provided for the interior, but I felt that a lot more would need to be added if the doors and hatches were to be left open, so mine have remained firmly closed.
I decided to replicate a camouflage scheme that I saw in a picture on the internet. This involved spraying the primed model with Tamiya Black Green (XF27) as an undercoat and then over-spraying this with Nato Green (XF67). To my eye this gives a good representation of the overall green used on many Soviet vehicles during the war. This was then masked in bands using Tamiya’s flexible white tape which conforms to compound curves and moulded detail better than their normal yellow masking tape.
The temporary winter camouflage was sprayed on using White (XF2) mixed with a little Buff (XF57) to tone the colour down a little.
I don’t seem to be able to get on with the popular method of using hairspray as a way of representing chipped paint. I used dry-brushed Humbrol enamel to replicate a worn appearance which I just find more pleasing and a little more subtle.
The chrome on the headlights was made using a Molotow ink pen as seen in the Scale Modelling Now Techniques Bank.
The markings were sprayed on using etched brass masks rather than using transfers.
The model was weathered with some pastel chalks from the Pan Pastels range just to impart some grime rather than completely covering it in mud (which I still can’t bring myself to do!!).
These vehicles could be converted to half-tracks using track links stored in the boxes on the rear mudguards – which would be an interesting conversion if a suitable set of tracks ever becomes available from an after-market manufacturer.
Dai W.

Here is my diorama: Battle of Berlin street 1945

The scene of this diorama is the Nazi surrender which is close.

The kit used is Fujimi 1:76 scale PANZER IV Ausf.J and BMW sidecar and
German Army infantry set.

The base is 12.6 cm × 12.6 cm.

Others are handmade and I am using a decal. Everything else is brush
painting.

Thank you so much, best wishes
Shozo N.

Really dirty work!
Thanks, Wu B. (Eric Torch)

Airfix 1:72

The Classic Airfix 1:72 Bristol Bloodhound Mk1 and Series 1 Land Rover, with some extensive modifications to the launcher and minor alterations to the missile to create a Bloodhound Mk2.

The Series 1 Land Rover also received some attention to convert to a Series 2 Short Wheel base (SWB) Air-Portable.

Mick S.

Notes on assembly and painting/weatheringThe BMP 2 is an APC largely used by the Russian army, the specimen in question belongs to the al Shaheed Brigade (Army of Kuwait), used in Desert Storm (1991).

To differentiate it from similar examples used by the Iraqis, some white stripes have been painted on the hull, and some chevrons on the turret.

The model in 1:35th scale from Zvezda and is a satisfactory kit and although the tracks are plastic sections, it assembles easily. The large hull surfaces require different chromatic modulations, so I sprayed with the airbrush in the center of the panels as a tint clear (desert yellow Humbrol + yellow and white), then I added weathering to emphasize the abrasion wear of the tank.

Thanks to the use of Winsor and Newton oil paints I have created some streaks caused by rust; some areas have been affected by pigments in powder form and graphite pencil carefully rubbed onto the raised detail to highlight the neglect of the vehicle.

This is my Meng 1:35 Bradley M2A3 with interior.
Paints used were a combination of MRP and Tamiya and the only aftermarket were SKP lenses from Littlecars.

Weathering was done with Ammo by Mig products and Vallejo pigments.

Hope you all like it!
Daniel B.

Just finished a diorama, elements of which were started while on holiday in the summer.
The Panzers I and IV are the old 3 in 1 Dragon kits, the Kübelwagen, Tamiya and theHenschel typ.33 D1, Revell. Figures are Master Box and Mini Art and the palm trees scratch built using twigs, garden string, tissue paper and wire.
I have titled it ” A brief respite at the oasis “
Hope you like it, the bench is now clear to start my 1:200 Arizona having studied Les’s excellent build in the mag.
All the best, Mike Moore

The British named the M3 “General Stuart” upon receipt of the tank under the Lend-Lease program in June of 1941. The tank’s ability to “shoot and scoot” as well as keeping the crew safe from small arms fire, earned it the affectionate name of “Honey” by its operators.

The British cavalry men liked this tank since it could travel 10 to 20 mph faster than their own or enemy tanks, and for its ease of maintenance. The M3 was designed to replace the outdated M2s. The M3 incorporated a thicker armour, lengthened hull, and trailer idler wheel to act as another road wheel to decrease ground pressure and improve weight distribution.

The M3 turret has three pistol ports and shortened recoil mechanism. It was also equipped with a 37mm M6 gun, which was adequate early in the war but by 1942, the German counterparts far surpassed the range of the M3. The narrow width of the M3 could not accommodate a larger gun. The M3A1 was fitted with a Westinghouse gyrostabilizer, a turret basket and Oil Gear hydraulic traverse mechanism, but lacked a turret cupola.

Mike T.

This is my British WWI Mk.IV tank built from the TAKOM model in 1:35.

Built out of the box and painted with Tamiya. Exhaust rust is Vallejo pigments.
All the mud on the tank and on the base is a home made concoction (this was built as test piece for my mud) the base is a mixture of Polyfilla and cat litter with very cheap acrylic paint stirred in, then artists gloss medium brushed over to give the wet look.

Dan B.