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Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

Valentine MK.II/IV Tamiya 1/35


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I've started this Tamiya Valentine Mk.II/IV yesterday. I posted on What's on your workbench

but I'll put the rest of my build here. Yesterday I started on the lower hull and finished the

suspension last night. Today did the road wheels ,sprockets, idler wheels , and some minor

details. I can say the kit is a good one. It goes together well with excellent fit. Like I said in

my earlier post..a small amount of Mr. Surfacer was used to fill minor gaps...very small gaps.

This tank had an interesting suspension and drive train that I think the kit really captures well.

I'll be building this kit out of sequence; I'll build the turret and fenders, then return to the 

tracks. So far an interesting build. I was surprised to see that this tank has its brake drums

on the outside of its drive sprockets......to save space? Anyway, here are some pics.

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1 minute ago, GazzaS said:

I built the Miniart Valentine.  The suspension system was a mess.  I had to do it all at once, and while the glue was still soft, align the wheels and block them in place so that they could dry square.

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Nice work. The suspension on the Tamiya kit went together well...and lines up 

well. I did place one part on back wards.....but caught it in time.

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1 hour ago, belugawhaleman said:

Nice work. The suspension on the Tamiya kit went together well...and lines up 

well. I did place one part on back wards.....but caught it in time.

Thank you!  I remember having a lot of confusion doing the suspension...   it just seemed so weird to me compared to every other tank model I had done.

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Paul

Nice, steady progress on the Valentine, looking mighty good and well detailed. You just can't beat Tamiya engineering, where everything fits without having to figure out the assembly sequence and location.

Not having built any armor, I never thought about where the brakes are and having them on the outside should save interior space.

 

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14 hours ago, GazzaS said:

I built the Miniart Valentine.  The suspension system was a mess.  I had to do it all at once, and while the glue was still soft, align the wheels and block them in place so that they could dry square.

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Gaz

Awesome weathering - at first, I wasn't sure if it was the model or the real deal!

 

 

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A little more progress.....built up the fenders...they are not permanently glued on yet.

I added back a little texture on the turret with Mr. Surfacer after sanding a seam (not seen in photos). Next will be building up the link & length tracks. After that I'll see if I can

add them to the kit with the fenders  in place. In that case, I'll add them last after

painting them separately..... Otherwise, things will be a little tricky....I'll have to add the

fenders last. Anyway, We'll see..

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Paul,

    Looks good!  I add texture with Mr. Surfacer and a old brush.  I just keep mashing Mr. surfacer with the old brush still it starts to get tacky and makes a real rough finish.  Then I give it a quick sand to knock off the highest points once dried.  I have a 4 year old bottle of Mr. Surfacer that I keep reconstituting with lacquer thinner.  It's pretty much all I use it for now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some more progress; been working on the tracks. I got one side done. I had some

problems gluing together the tracks....there was a tiny gap i couldn't get together....

It turned out that there was a small chip of plastic between two teeth of the drive

sprocket preventing the track to seat correctly on the sprocket. This prevented me getting the needed slack to join the ends. Removing that... Problem solved! The tracks

Can be removed now as a complete unit from the tank making it possible to paint the

wheels and track separately...... I put them on for the pictures. The front guard on the

fender has not been glued on yet...it's there for the pics. Anyway, should be on the final

approach soon with this kit.

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43 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

Yay!  Paint time!  Looks good, man.

Thanks Gary......looking forward to that. Especially decaling....love decals, very satisfying!

It won't be the expertly weathered masterpiece that one comes to expect on this forum..but I'm sure it will be an attractive model...done in my own style. I like to think

of my models as coffee table-top recognition models.  I do like the color

modulation thing----I want to start doing that. I have an excellent Iwata airbrush and there's no reason I couldn't do it....at least give it a try.

Thanks;

Paul

 

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Nice progress on the Valentine Paul. I like your cast texture. Under some paint it will blend perfectly. I was on and off for a Valentine build lots of times. It's a weird vehicle with that extremely space consuming drive parts. It's like the designer said 'make the hull as narrow as possible', strange.

Cheers Rob

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A little more progress....

Finished the other side tracks.......let the "Extra thin" cure on both sides before

removing the tracks as complete units.. This will make painting much easier. Cool!

I think these new Tamiya tracks are great......they look very nice! I'll place the track

sides in separate bags until painting and final assembly. 

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Some preliminary painting done.... Last night did up the wheels....lots of wheels.

Had a little trouble last night ..while working on this I had a major drop in my blood

sugar. Started sweating, shaking and suffered from confusion.... Scary! Got it sorted

out soon however, and resumed work in about an hour...to my relief. Anyway, the tank

hull was painted on Friday night. I had left the two front fender guards clipped in these

sort of alligator clip things over the weekend.. And somehow, the vinyl protectors on the

ends reacted with the paint...messing up the finish. I resprayed them , but one doesn't

look right... The one seen on the tank in the picture. I may strip it and do it again.

On the wheels.. I used a stencil on the smaller ones for the tires and hand brushed the

tires on the larger ones. The color is an olive drab/ khaki mix, not sure if i got it right...

it looks browner in person than in the pictures. Still got a lot to do. Got some needed

paint arriving tomorrow.  I added a picture of the offending alligator thing.

 

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34 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

Nice and clean work Paul, it's kinda cool that you can glue the tracks as a whole and paint it separately . 

Thanks Martin.  I really like the Tamiya link & length style tracks as well. Next, I'll paint

the tracks. Tamiya always recommends a mix of their metallic grey and red brown. I'll

do this, adding some thinned down track wash I have, then highlight with with graphite

powder or drybrushed steel Metallizer. I may add some dust effects or "kursk soil" to the

Hull, but as you know, I like "clean builds". But first, a clear gloss coat prior to decals and

pin washing with Tamiya panel liners in black and brown. I always find that my pin wash

efforts are lost when I flat coat......not sure what I'm doing wrong. Tonight, I've been 

working on the tools.

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