popeye the sailor

While the paint dries on Lance I started this simple but interesting AFV kit; the Renault 35 tank by Polish company First To Fight. As with the other kits of theirs that I have built instructions are confined to a diagram on teh bottom of the box and the box art on the top is generally just as useful. There are not a lot of parts but I tend to be using these kits to improve my painting and just for the interest of the unusual subjects.

A little background from the web
Designed from 1933 onwards and produced from 1936, the type was intended as an infantry support light tank, equipping autonomous tank battalions, that would be allocated to individual infantry divisions to assist them in executing offensive operations. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a short 37 mm gun. At the outbreak of the war, the antitank-role was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. It was planned to shift new production capacity to the manufacture of other, faster, types, but due to the defeat of France the R35/40 remained the most numerous French tank of the war, about 1685 vehicles having been produced by June 1940. At that moment it had also been exported to Poland, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
 
A set of decals is provided but only for the French version

An interesting element is the rear wheel. Several versions are provided although only one is referred to. The diagram doesn't give any hints but the struts in the wheel rim have to be cut out and then the appropriate wheel filed to fit the centre.

 

Construction went nicely after that until it came to the side hatches for the turret. They are supposed to be on the sprue shown at the bottom of the photo but something obviously went wrong with the moulding process and there are two sets of small blobs. 
 
I made replacement hatches based on the box art from bits of shaped styrene.

The usual black primer and then shaded coats of sand and then masking for the olive green. Its quite an intricate paint scheme and I didn't get it exactly right but it captures the spirit I hope😄

I left the turret hatch partly open. Apparently it was intended to be set fully down for the tank commander to sit on
The masks came off and I'm fairly happy with the way it came it out. The tracks were painted up with a background of dirt and rust and steel on the running surfaces. Oil washes have been added to the running gear and then they were fitted to the hull.

 

 

Deatil work and washes on teh hull and turret are next.
Thanks for looking in
Alan

Detail painting is almost complete. The black oil paint wash has been used on the running gear and the panel lines. I added the decals; I would have liked to make it as a Polish tank but the decals only allow for a French one. Then a light spray of dust and dirt. A few last items to tidy up and this nice little kit will be complete.

 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking
Alan

I've been play'in with these engines for a while now........I could post a log on what I've done so far    I've got a 427 that I have no car for........still looking for a recipient  

 
 I've added another 1:16 car to my stash.....a 1957 Thunderbird.......another AMT offering produced by Round 2.  I've got my rants about them,  but they are what they were....and still are.  one in particular I have a remedy for.......I've yet to put it in flesh......I'll save it for the log.
 
anyway........there is movement on the Christine Pro mod.  it's beginning to look like a chassis    I did a bunch of painting and now it's time to put it all together.  the headers were added to the engine {both of them},  and then set in place on the chassis.  some detailing was done to the chassis before the deck was also set in place.

 

once it had set long enough to dry,  the driveshaft and differential assembly was added to the chassis.

 

I've taken a couple of day off from work............I've been doing more painting,  and I hope to add more to her soon  
 

The matte coat was sprayed onto the tank and some of the ceramic brick dust mixed with dilute white glue was worked over the tracks to simulate sand (and reduce the poor appearance of the tracks)
The chipping needs more practice but I'm happy with a first attempt

 

 

 

 

 
And to put recent AFV builds into perspective here is teh JS-3 with the Renault 35 and the Wz34
 
Help - Run!
 

Thanks for stopping by
 
Alan

Thank you Mark; the hair dryer was a great idea too
Alan

Good looking tank, Alan.   I'm glad the heat helped on the tracks also.

I tried using a hair dryer on the nasty tracks. Thanks @mtaylor I wouldn't have thought of that. I couldn't get much sag in the tracks but I think I got rid of a lot of the wobble and they generally look better now. I filled in the gap where the tracks meet with a couple of tiny bits of card and built up the thickness with PVA glue. it looks better with a bit of paint.
The running gear and lower part of the hull were sprayed with a dust colour. 

 

 

 

 
Some sand on the tracks and the matt coat will complete the build. This wasn't really a detailed build log but more an attempt toshow the results of a first shot at chipping.
 
Thanks for looking
 
Alan

Would a bit of heat from a hair dryer help settle the tracks and give them some sag at the top?   

This kit was chosen as a first attempt at paint chipping to simulate a weathered vehicle. The Roden JS-3 kit has markings for the Egyptian army in 1956 so I thought by then the JS-3 would be well past the "One Careful Owner, Only Driven to Church Each Week" stage by then 

Unfortunately the JS-3 is not one of Rodens better kits; it also has the rubber band style tracks which I don't like.
Somehow I seem to have lost the photos of the early stages of the build and the contents of the box. Nothing terribly outstanding in the build so far although I swear some of the road wheels are oval rather than round. Hopefully paint and weathering will obscure that a bit. The tracks are very thin, they look underscale and they are buckled and refuse to straighten . They may look better once the hull is completed.
So; the main object of the exercise was the chipping. Once the upper hull and turret were complete they got the usual dose of black primer. I then added Vallejo dark steel in places where I wanted it to be seen and mid grey in other areas. Once that was dry I gave the model a coat of cheap hairspray and left it to dry again before adding the sand top coat.
My reading suggests that working over an area with a wet paint brush will cause the top coat of paint to lift away in pieces. That didn't seem to happen but moving to a stiff brush was more effective.

 

 

I also used a pin tip to scratch through for detailed areas. I seem to have achieved a worn look but I don't think I would catagorise it as chipping exactly although working small areas over with a pin tip first produced a better result.

 

 

Its starting to look suitably tatty but I would like to improve my technique. Online sources say that it can only be done with acrylics, can't be done with acrylics or must have a clear coat to seal the paints under the hair spray. I would welcome insights from the experts.
In the meantime I painted the nasty tracks. They lack detail and thickness. I hope to hide the track join with some artfully placed debris

 

 
Thanks in advance for any advice. its all welcome. 
 
Alan
 

A full platoon at a time... each major variation....  Excellent work my friend...  they match my fathers WWII pics perfectly.... he didn't have all the variations but the Basic Cargo, Ambulance and Improved Amphibious Cargo were all ones he actually drove, they look beautiful....

Yep, The brothers here are definitely an inspiration.... I do miss them during periods of lifus interruptus...

Ekis, I need your inspirational build to motivate me in progressing mine so hope it’s not too long before any updates

Looks like you found it....but thanks, this reminded me to add the link to my signature.
 

Build Log, Where for art Thou Build Log.....
 
{chuckle}
 
I for one Gary would love to see it as well...

He busted out yesterday Mark on his way to Hollowman AFB in NM he stopped at Roswell this afternoon.We spent as much time together as possible when he left yesterday me trying to be a tough guy said drive safe usual BS turned to walk away he hollered grabbed my hand and hugged me.I think something started getting in my eye at that point.We both agreed it was a great visit ate out alot,fishing,Fort Pickens and finding him a truck(PIA).He got a matched Czech VZ-24 from me as a Christmas gift they all go to him when I pass.Now back to some modelling.Thks

Nice Job....
So tell us, what do you think of RFM....

Thanks for the comment, Welfack.  I’m in a similar boat with this being my second attempt at “modern” plastic modelling for want of a better term. A F-8 Crusader, my first, was done a couple years ago. Then close to 4 decades before that!
 
I think they are worth the money from a convenience point of view and for consistency but as you say just repackaged existing products modified for the purpose. Although there are a couple I am not sure what they would be.
 
The wood effect was just a base colour; in this case deck tan as that’s what I had on the shelf. I think starting with a lighter colour is better than say a brown as the effects are more visible and the overall tone darkens with the oils.
The ‘grain’ is a couple of different oil colours. I tried placing dots of oils and trying to blend but the better effect was to paint ‘grain’ streaks with the oils and then use the thinners to work and soften/blend the edges. That’s it.
The ‘wood’ areas of this kit does have a moulded grain (over scale) which worked in my favour as the oils can go into the moulded grooves to help the overall effect.
There are other methods using acrylics but for me more difficult trying to blend and short working time of these as well as can’t go back and rework once dry like you can do with oils.
 
Cheers
Slog

I have not done any military modelling since my early 20s back in the mid-1970s, but I do recognise and appreciate a good paint-job 👍  Techniques have come a long way since, when 'dry-brushing' was all the rage among modellers.
 
I always wondered, whether all these speciality products are really worth the money ?  In many cases they just seem to be diluted paints or specially packaged and labelled pastels. 
 
I didn't have the time to sit through the videos - how did you the excellent wood effect, what paints (I don't mean brands) did you use for it ?

Hi All,
 
Relatively short update this week.
 
The kit provides photo etch for the large cargo basket, which is attached to the chassis under the drivers cab.
 
The video touches on how I work with photo etch and, in this case, soldering it up.  I am used to soldering small 0.2mm brass wire but nothing as large as this and tried new to me flux and low melting point (179 degrees Celsius) solder. Back side photo etch could have been fitted better as a gap, but won’t be seen so all good.
 

 

 

 
 
 
Cheers
Slog

Hi,
 
Part 11 is now up. This is a relatively light one covering only the radiator and the fuel tank.  The exhaust, originally going to be included, is missing from the video as explained below.
 
 
The radiator was pretty straight forward other than the filler/cap is attached to a block which fits into a large cut out in the header tank and the fit is very poor requiring a lot of filling and shaping.
 
Weathering wise only the radiator got some pigments. The header and surround left at base colour stage until fitting, which I am holding off until I can fit the bonnet which needs the drivers cab fitted.
 

 
 
The fuel tank has fit problems also with the filler neck which required lots of filling and sanding also.  I really wanted to try a lot of things with this, some successful, some less so.  It received both sponge and brush chipping, pigments (polished again!) streaking grime (need to improve here and will likely do again once fitted and can do a unifying all over weather) and some fuel staining which was hit or miss.
 

 
 
Now on to the exhaust, I actually filmed this but when I was done I just wasn't happy with it enough to include in the video.  I tried to emulate one of Night Shift exhaust weathering methods and I feel failed miserably.  This style was to use grey and white to show heat affected pipe work.   I ended up trying to recover it by throwing on some rust pigments but that's not what I wanted.
 
Of course Night Shift is a master at what he does and has his particular style so I can't be expected to pull it off first time trying.  I know where I failed and will either strip it back and try again or try a different technique.
 
Oh, the exhaust pipe isn't fixed to the muffler yet until time to fix to exhaust manifold and chassis.
 
  
 
Probably only got 2 or 3 videos to finish it off now.
 
Cheers
Slog

Great looking weathering on the truck bed. Looks real. 👍

Thanks for the nice comments guys, appreciated.
 
The Pioneer was first produced in 1927.  The R100 variant, which this is model is of was introduced to the British army in 1935 to serve as their heavy artillery tractor.  The recovery variant (SV1S & SV1T) in 1936 and the tank transporter (TRCU20) in 1937. (from Wikipedia).
 
Thunder Models have released all 3 versions.
 
Cheers
Slog 

The weathering you're doing is excellent and the vehicle certainly now has a "well-used" look.

A very nice job!
 
I looked on the kit box and on your previous posts and could not find the date, the real thing, not the model.  I assume WWII?
 
Roger

Excellent work  - fantastic  weathering.
 
OC.