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DocRob

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Posts posted by DocRob

  1. I started weathering the Trotzky-mobil, Schneider tank and got heavily bored, I needed some fiddly and challenging stuff, so I started with the 1/20 Ebbro Lotus 49C.
    I will use a load of extras, like aluminum funnels, rivets and fabric seatbelts. The kit has only a decal for the belts, that´s why I chose a set from MFH. They were indeed fiddly to assemble, but way better looking than a decal. Getting the 0,5 mm rivet into the top fasteners was nerve wrecking, but in the end, the driver's safety was ensured.
    I may start a WIP, when I´m back from Portugal

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    Cheers Rob

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1
  2. As I mentioned above, the twist with this build will be, that this outdated fossil from 1916 was still in use in 1936 in the Spanish Civil war with the Republican forces against Franco´s Nationalists.
    I guess, over their period of duty, the six? Spanish tanks served in Maroc and with their age, I assume, their state of maintenance not to be the best. I will try to show this appearance through the camo paintjob, which was sprayed translucent and freehand over the black primer, with heavily thinned AK Real colors. I made a second pass with both colors, adding a drop of Insignia White and tried to work a bit with highlight, shadow and modulation, which is not easy with a non-monochrome body.
    Anyway, that will be the starting point for further painting and weathering stages and of course for decals.

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    Cheers Rob

    • Like 5
  3. After Paul @belugawhaleman mentioned it, I opened the Meng FT 17 box and found the tracks to be ready cut and easy click and after 10 minutes, I had two with the suggested length of 32 links per side. There are some spare links as well. They don´t look bad and I may use the Meng plastic ones for the Schneider, where they are not so visible.
    Meanwhile the Schneider itself got black primed with Mr. Surfacer 1000.

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    Cheers Rob

    • Like 6
  4. 1 hour ago, belugawhaleman said:

    I've got the Meng ft 17 as well but I'll use their tracks,. But for my Schneider , I'll go for the Friuls, they look great. The one thing about Hobby Boss, they

    do pick interesting subjects. I have a Vickers tank by them, that I'm certain that the Friul tracks for the Matilda II (flat type) will fit. Anyway thanks

    for the idea.

    I just checked the box of my Meng FT 17 and found the easy click together tracks in it. I may use them for the Schneider, where they are less visible than with the FT 17. 
    I will make a test fit later and then decide.

    Cheers Rob

    • Like 1
  5. I got the tracks done, thanks to my established second effort, it went rather quick. It is much faster to build a chain of the inner track links and then the track pads drop in place with a bit of CA. Building up every track link from two parts and then connect them would have extremely more time consuming.
    I needed 34 links per side, which results in a loose fit, but there are no half links ;). The manual suggests 32 per side, but the plastic ones may be different.
    I will blacken the tracks later with a burnishing fluid. Unfortunately my black CA glue dried up, which will lead to non blackened areas, where there are CA residues. 

    One pad fell off and is reglued now. The closing link remains without pad until I finally mount them. 

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    Cheers Rob

    • Like 5
  6. 12 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:

    Bit of inspo for you Rob  - pics I took at Saumur in 2019 

    Interesting pictures, thanks for that PW. The one on your pictures seems to have additional tanks beside the back doors, which normally weren´t there with the French Schneiders of WWI. Mine has even larger tanks, that were added later in Spain, I guess as a substitute for the dangerous overhead tanks of the original construction.

    Cheers Rob

    • Like 4
  7. While preparing the track construction, I realized, I needed to add the running gear to the hull, to be able to determine the length of the tracks. I would have liked to add them after painting, but that wouldn´t be a big problem. 
    The spoked rear wheel is still movable and not glued in place, because with it´s eccentric arm, it can be used to tighten the track.

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    Then I started with the tracks. Every link consist from two parts, which need to be drilled out with a 0,5 mm bit and then glued together with CA. It proved to be very difficult and time consuming to put the links together and then connect them with the next link, that´s why I leaned back and thought about another way, to simplify the construction. 
    I found it much easier to connect the inner link parts with wire and secure them with CA and then finally add the running pads, which fell in place and were glued with CA.
    The HobbyBoss manual suggests 32 links per side, but I will need 34, possibly 33, but that might be millimeter too short.

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    Cheers Rob

    • Like 3
  8. Today, I finished building the Schneider minus the tracks. Almost everything worked like a breeze and the fit of the body parts was very good. The manual suggests to add the side MG´s with their gun carriage glued to the base of the tub and then add the sidewalls with the fitting hole on. That was somehow impossible to achieve and I suggest to cut away the lower part of the gun carriage and glue the ball mount direct to the side wall hole.

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    • Like 6
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