discussion Dave Ward's 1/35 HobbyBoss Vickers Medium Mark I

[Dave Ward]

Further construction - the road wheels/bogies
These bits go to make up one bogie
View attachment 304558

And ten of these have to be made.....................
View attachment 304559 All pretty small, some will need additional clean up, they're too small for me until I've assembled them!
Jakko - I've been unable to find any reference to the colour of the original 1924 production models - other than 'green', so really it's going to be best guess!
Dave

 

[papa 695]

Nice work Dave, I bet the carpet monster was at the ready, while making those up.

 

[Dave Ward]

Ian,
There are spares for these parts - the carpet monster is only interested in those single, unique shaped bits!
After a hour or so, one side of the suspension is nearly complete - I can't add the drive sprocket, until the suspension box is added to the main hull. I'm doing one side at a time, because there are handed parts that look VERY similar.
View attachment 304560

Christina Perri was my music of today, I have rather an eclectic taste - tomorrow? could be Wagner!
Dave

 

[Guest]

Man that road wheel system looks so delicate and prone to battle damage.:dizzy:

 

[Guest]

Jakko - I've been unable to find any reference to the colour of the original 1924 production models - other than 'green', so really it's going to be best guess!

According to Mike Starmer’s book I quoted earlier, the Deep Bronze Green was made the standard colour in 1934, so if the Mk. I was still in use then you could go for that. Otherwise, B.T. White in British Tank Markings and Names (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1978; ISBN 0-85368-222-4) says on page 73:

Immediately following the First World War the grey, brown and khaki-green colours continued in use. In 1930 this khaki-green was known as bronze-green and was published in British Standard No. 381-1930 as: Colours No. 22 Light Bronze Green; No. 23 Middle Bronze Green; and No. 24 Deep Bronze Green. No. 23 appears to have been the one for normal use in the United Kingdom, with No. 22 for use in terrain with light foliage; and No. 24 for dark surroundings. A range of Brunswick greens also appears to have been used.

There are no real indicators of what these colours would have actually looked like, but a starting point would be Mike Starmer’s version of deep bronze green and making it lighter.

 

[Dave Ward]

Tony,
The Mark I suspension was fragile - the road wheel axles being prone to breakage, leading to regular shedding of parts on exercises!
Colour wise, I have looked through my box, and I have picked out 8 greens that might be suitable - I've painted test patches onto white card, and will judge them in daylight. Hopefully, I can use one straight from the bottle...............
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Bright Morning sunlight here in Gloucestershire, The test patches:View attachment 304762

Well, the pictures don't really show the true colours, but as a comparison between the samples, I can immediately discount some of them!
At the moment, I'm undecided between Reflective, Bronze or Military. I'll make up another test piece to see how it goes
Dave

 

[Guest]

It’s impossible for us to say anything meaningful based on photos of the colours, unfortunately … Based on the colour chip I mentioned earlier, I’d probably go for a darkish medium green myself, aiming for a green green, if you know what I mean, rather than a grey or brown one.

 

[Dave Ward]

Jakko,
you're quite right on the photo, but it does show the colours in comparison with each other ie lighter/darker, and narrows down the choice. Given the 90 odd years since these tanks were produced, I doubt if any definitive colour can be absolutely confirmed. I'm going to make a best guess - but still don't know which one!
Dave

 

[papa 695]

Nice work David, and it's nice to hear that they supply spare parts just to feed the carpet monster.

 

[Dave Ward]

No Photos yesterday, just assembling the other side of the suspension, and another track session!
The hull has its' bottom plate added, and I dry fitted the suspension units....................
View attachment 304872View attachment 304873
A thing of beauty it ain't! Hopefully I will finish the individual track links today, and I can start assembling some runs, and around the idlers/sprockets
Dave

 

[Guest]

Looks roomy?

 

[Dave Ward]

The Mk I had a crew of 5, 3 men in the turret ( a feature that would be lost until midway thro' WWII ). I haven't seen any pictures, or drawings of a contemporary layout, so I don't know what gear was carried, or how cramped it was! The HobbyBoss model has absolutely no interior for either hull, or turret.
Dave

 

[Guest]

:disappointed2:

 

[Guest]

Progress indeed Dave .
The bogie sets look good, as for tracks the least said the better !
There does look to be some nice detail on the body, very clean as well.
John

 

[Dave Ward]

Ah, the tracks. I started putting a few links together, to make the bottom runs, they are an extremely tight fit together. I'm going to take a bit off each link, so that I can assemble them without causing a spike in my bp.
HobbyBoss are very patchy on their interiors - The Schneider, and the St Chamond are like the Vickers - totally lacking. The Sd.kfz 221/2 series, on the other hand have an interior. It doesn't bother me - I'm not one for detailed interiors!
I would be interested to know how many modellers have used the complete interiors on their MiniArt T-54 & T-55's, and how they display them?
Dave

 

[Guest]

The Mk I had a crew of 5, 3 men in the turret ( a feature that would be lost until midway thro' WWII ). I haven't seen any pictures, or drawings of a contemporary layout, so I don't know what gear was carried, or how cramped it was!

Here's the interior of a Mk. II; that of the Mk. I can’t have been that different. Here’s a sample image from that page:

Looking towards the front from the rear door.

 

[Dave Ward]

Thanks for that, Jakko, I wouldn't think that there was much difference internally between the MK I & II, the main difference being the suspension. That example looks very roomy, no turret basket - not much comfort - no seats?. Preserved/renovated vehicles can be a problem, you don't know what has been added, removed or missing!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

The hull is rapidly approaching the priming/basecoat stage some PE bits added...............
The Vickers MG mounts will be painted separately. After much hemming and hawing, I've decided to use Vallejo Reflective Green 890.
View attachment 304960View attachment 304961Fenders only dry fitted - I'll fit the tracks before finally adding them. Some errors pop up in the instructions - just omissions, like the front towing eye and shackle magically appearing!, but nothing that a little search among the sprues can't solve. There aren't any clear parts in the kit, so I'm going to have a hunt for some lenses in the spares box for the front headlights, or drill out & use PVA.
Dave

 

[Guest]

Hello Dave,
Just caught up to your build and colour dilemma, here is another for you if you have it in your stock AV 70.894 Russian Green (RLM 80/ FS34083) which after a bit of mild weathering might answer the question. Headlights, paint silver and then add coat of Smoke.
All those wheels :tongue-out3:.
Cheers,
MikeC.