popeye the sailor

Looking forward to seeing all this come together Andy, the vehicles look great. 👍 

This  will  be good   -  looking forward   to  this.
 
OC.

So I've been kicking around this diorama idea since I started working on my Vickers Wellington bomber. Although I haven't yet begun construction of the diorama, I've been busy messing around building the little detail bits that will add to my fictional scene.
 
Airfix provides a couple of useful kits for this purpose. The largest being their WW2 RAF Bomber Resupply kit, which I picked up back in November last year. This kit includes a variety of appropriate vehicles and other paraphernalia that would have been right found on many airfields. I have been slowly picking away at building these elements over the last little while. I don't have any in-progress shots as I found this kit a bit of an annoying one to build. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel that way about this particular kit, but there it is. It's not like it was particularly challenging to build, it is somewhat repetitive (hand painting the tyres on 32 different wheels), maybe that's why it begin to feel like more of a grind.... but I am happy with the results.
 
Over a year ago, I also bought a set of RAF figures, also from Airfix). I will be using these to populate my scene as well as a couple of the vehicles. They are marked as being 1/76 scale, but they don't seem to be out of proportion for the 1/72 vehicles.
 

 
I had some fun before Christmas painting this gang of miscreants. Not sure how many I'm actually going to use, but I feel I have a nice selection to choose from. For whatever reason, they were moulded in a soft acetyl plastic. It was a bit of a pain to remove the flash, and although the paint seems to have adhered, it won't stand up to too much abuse.
 
The first vehicle in the bomber resupply set is a Bedford MW:
 

 
The kit comes with provisions to build the Bedford as either the MWD cargo version or the MWC water carrier (some people think it is a fuel truck, but it is not). I elected to build the cargo version, as the water truck was for refilling the radiators of liquid cooled engines (Merlins, or Napier-Sabers). Since my bomber has a nice set of air-cooled Bristol Pegasus radials, the water truck was pointless.
 
The next vehicle in the kit is a 12Hp Austin Utility (Tilly):
 

 
Another pretty straight forward vehicle. I performed some surgery on one of the Airfix figures, so I could show the Tilly being "driven". My Tilly doesn't exactly follow the Airfix prescribed paint scheme, but I think it still looks good.
 
Following the Tilly is a tractor/tug:
 
 
 
The kit tractor is a David Brown VIG1, but I made some non-prototypical modifications. I thought the front fenders on the VIG1 looked kinda hokey, so I cut them off to make my tractor look more tractor-ish with the open front wheels. The kit also supplies parts for a recovery winch and anchor spades, but I left those parts off as my tractor will only be hauling bomb trolleys. I suppose I could have hunted around for a 1/72 Fordson. But I'm going with my version. As the tractor was an open vehicle, a figure also had to be surgically modified to fit. He kind of looks like he's driving, although he's a bit casual looking, leaning back staring up at the sky.
 
Speaking of bomb trolleys, the kit provides 3:
 

 
There are two Type "C" trolleys. I built these as per the instructions. Nothing too fancy.
 
The remaining kit supplied trolley is a Type "D". This trolley was designed to carry the HC 4000lb and 8000lb bombs, both of which are too big (and too late) for my Wellington (the later Wellington Mk III and Mk X could carry the 4000lb "Cookie", but that required changes to the internal framing of the bomb bay). In most photos I've seen of Wellingtons being re-armed in the earlier part of the war, the bombs were hauled on a Type "B" trolley. This consisted of a suspended centre beam with the bomb cradles sticking out like ribs. To be able to show a more complete load out for my Wellington, I decided to try my luck at scratch building one of these types of trolleys:
 

 
I found a few useful photos on the internet to help get the basic structure. I did keep a couple of parts from the Type "D" trolley, the front and rear axles, the wheels and the draw bar, the rest was styrene strip and a little bit of brass wire.
 

 
There is a fair selection of other bombs included in the set I have yet to add the decals to these yet. The grey boxes are Small Bomb Containers, these contained the incendiary (thermite) bombs used by the RAF.
 
Getting back to the maintenance side of things, the last large "vehicle" is a 450 gallon Brockhouse bowser:
 

 
For reasons I can't fathom, Airfix supplied decals for this as a lube oil bowser (boring). I would have much rather seen this as a fuel bowser instead. These were typically marked with "100 Octane" in large white letters on each side (rather than "OIL" stencilled on one end). As I wanted a fuel bowser, I left the "OIL" stencil off, but snagged the roundels from the Bedford water carrier that I didn't need. 
 
The final item build is this rather spindly maintenance tower:
 

 
It will fit nicely beside the engine that I left open to view on my Wellington.
 
For the rest, there is an assortment of other items like oil drums, fuel canisters, tool boxes, chocks, that will be added later when things get going. I will revisit this log when I finally get underway with building my diorama. I need to purchase some scenery materials as well as a base. I am planning to build on a slab of 2" thick insulation foam. This is common in the model railroad community, as it provides a lightweight, stable substrate.
 
 
 
Andy
 
 
 

Egilman,
 
Thank you for all that - great info.
 
I agree that a Bailey Bridge would make a good setting but the size would not work with my 10" deep shelves.
 
As part of my re-education of WWII events (last time was at school, a long time ago) I had read that the USA had been quite pernickety about standards, especially interoperability between similar USA made equipments, but that would have held for only within the USA itself. Seems a bit of an advantage was lost with the UK and USA building Bailey Bridges to different tolerances. 
 
Anyway, as you mention, I have moved away from the idea of using a Bailey Bridge. I've probably got a shelf footprint of about 10" x 12" to play with...much the same as the Churchill tank.
 
When I bought the Tamiya Archer kit I did so because it looked quite detailed and unusual. It also had an interesting development history, and was used by the Brits, Canadians and Poles. But I hadn't yet finished my Churchill scenario so didn't quite appreciate the enjoyment that designing and building 'scenarios' gives.
 
With 20:20 hindsight I might have chosen a different kit. But now that I am part way through the Archer kit I don't really regret that decision....the Archer could just be positioned on the shelf without a scenario, and then look for another kit but this time with the end-scenario in mind.
 
Regards,
 
Richard

Bronco makes two versions of the Bailey Bridge, A single/triple three bay, (kit # CB-35012) British style and a double/double three bay, (Kit # CB-35055) American style... The British style was a bit different in the details, and although the parts were built according to the same plans, they could not be intermixed... Something about manufacturing standards... The British built theirs to very exacting standards and the American's built theirs to a bit looser mass production standards... the two couldn't mix parts...
 
The Canadian Army used British issue baily bridges.... (although most wouldn't know the differences)
 
Both kits build a fairly decent Baily Bridge, The Kits are for small versions of two distinct types of baily bridge and can be combined to produce larger types if one would want to... But one thing is true, they are expansive to say the least... 
 
Each bay is the equivalent of 10 feet, 3 bays 30' for the bridge proper with two on/off ramps for the approaches, which in real life were 20' (the kit represents this configuration) So, each kit represents 70' of bridge, ie. 24" in 1/35th scale... 
 
Like I said, expansive...  There are a number of Bailey Bridge dioramas out there, usually partial bridges... Since the standard Bailey Bridge was a class 40 bridge, the largest (read heaviest) object you can place on a standard bridge is a Sherman tank or equivalent, (35tons) and only one at that... Bailey Bridges were usually usage limited to one vehicle at a time as well.... There were several instances of Bailey Bridges in Europe collapsing during WWII, this was invariably caused by drivers ignoring the usage and speed restrictions... sometimes they had to place MP's at the bridge approaches to prevent any more collapses....
 
The average length of a Bailey Bridge erected in the European theater? 150 foot span Triple-Double, (without the approaches)
 
The two main features of the Bailey Bridge? the above 150' bridge could be erected in 12 hours, and from one side only, you didn't need to possess the opposite bank to install it... (although it made it a lot easier)
 
I have three of the kits from the days of planning an expansive bridge diorama until my research revealed that the bridge would dominate anything else I added to the scene...
 
A Bailey Bridge Diorama is an interesting idea, until one starts to examine what the actually were and how they were used...
 
Personally, I would pass, the bridge would overwhelm your Archer.... I think the only thing that could be put on a Baily Bridge and still be authentic would be a 155mm gun pulled by it's M-4 HST, the gun and tractor would share the attention and the bridge wouldn't overwhelm it...

Andy,
 
That's a good picture and I have seen it. It tells a reasonably peaceful story.
 
The slight issue with the Tamya Archer is that the three man crew are in the middle of firing off shells. I have toyed with maybe re-modelling them in to more passive positions but that could be a hassle.
 
So I need to come up with a scenario where the Archer is engaging the enemy, but with some kind of side story(s) and in an interesting setting.
 
I do have some 'brick wall' left over from the Churchill build, and Tamiya's Oil Drum and Jerry Can kit. ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tamiya-35026-Jerry-Cans-Scale/dp/B000WNCDLO )  And a decent amount of hedge material, grass etc. Also,  I have a thought about getting some model critters that one would see in the countryside.
 
Anyway, plenty time to get my head round this, but any further thoughts....then keep 'em coming.
 
Thanks,
 
Richard

How about this:
 

 
Lots of interesting pictures of QF 17 pounder guns here, including numerous pictures of Archers: https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/17-pounder-qf-anti-tank-gun

 
Andy

Hi all,
 
Some more build pictures etc on the Archer self propelled gun.
 
There are a lot of parts to it, much more than the Tamaya Churchill tank, so I'm only posting pics of significant stages.
 
Below, shows how the Upper Hull is fitted, plus some of the hull parts.

 
The paint is mostly drab olive, applied with brushes. I've started adding a bit of weathering but lots more to come.

 
Below, some of the internal fittings installed eg moveable gun mount, seats etc. I'm not sure if the seats would have had padded brown leather upholstery, or just be plain sheet steel. But to add a bit of colour contrast I've given the crew the the benefit of brown upholstery, and added some shiny (worn) metal highlights.

 
Another pic of the above, from a different angle. The change of colour is due to me using the Flash on my phone, or not.

 
A good look inside an actual Archer is available here....  'Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: 17PR SPM Archer, Pt 2'
Above - As you can see, everything has been painted drab olive green. This may have been part of a 'refresh' for the museum, but I suspect the paint job isn't that different from what was used in WWII.
 
Talking of paint, I have moved away from the AK Interactive 'wet palette' to a small mixing dish. The palette was prone to the colours running in to each other if moved....otherwise, it's still a useful tool.

 
Now preparing the Fighting Compartment sides for fitting to the hull. The shells should be a shiny brass colour, but the closest I had was a dark yellow.

 
Instructions on how to attach the sides.

 
And now it is beginning to look a bit more like a self-propelled gun.

 
And a final pic from above.

 
I still haven't figured out a compact scenario for this Canadian Archer.... but there are a couple of wartime pictures here that might give me some inspiration.... https://tank-afv.com/ww2/gb/Archer_17pdr_SPG.php ie ...in amongst a few comrades and some supplies - 'The Archer conducting fire support. Goch, Febuary 1945.' and in a treeline - 'An Archer near Nutterden, 9 February 1945'. 
 
Any other suggestions gladly received.
 
Well, that's it for this week, back soon,
 
Richard

Firstly, and as usual, thank you for the feedback and likes.
 
Now a brief update on the Archer hull, wheels and tracks.
 
Below - The build starts off quietly with fitting a seat and some end plates.

I had painted all the sprues primer matt black, knowing I'd probably have to scrape the paint away from mating glued surfaces. I think it's a 50:50 decision whether to wait till the sub-assemblies are ready before priming, or priming the bare sprues. I did wash the bare sprues in warm soapy water first.
 
Some more interior panels and bulkheads being fitted, plus the shell racks.

 
Now getting on to the slightly more tricky (for me) stuff...the suspension and wheels. Apart from the sprocket wheel at one end and a metal wheel at the other end, the middle wheels all have black rubber 'tyres'...in the kit there are no separate tyres....I just need to paint the wheel perimeters black to simulate tyres.

 
Another pic of the suspension and wheels.

 
Now the that the undercarriage is done, next is the tracks.

 
The tracks are a bit fiddly - made of numerous single links, small groups of links and two long lengths of links. A middle guide runner, one each side of the hull, has a single locating pin on it.....a specific locating hole on the top long length of track fits onto the that pin.

 
Below - the instructions showing how the single links wrap around the end wheels.

 
Finally, the tracks are completed. I gave them a base coat of silver paint, then filled in the gaps with some mahogany brown paint and then later went back over the outer part of the tracks with gunmetal grey paint.  Also, earlier, I had started laying some dark green paint onto the hull surfaces. I'm only using Acrylic paint.

 
I haven't recently thought too much about the final scenario/diorama, although incorporating a Bailey Bridge in to the layout was investigated.
 
However, the bridge will be quite long so that will make the footprint of the layout a bit on the big side. On the other hand, Bailey Bridges did have walkways to their side for infantry to use...so it might be possible that the British Army figures I have could be passing in one direction whilst the Archer moves in the other. Thing is, the Archer crew are in the act of firing and I doubt they would draw enemy fire on to a vital piece of equipment such as a Bailey Bridge. Still thinking.
 
All for now,
 
Richard

Exactly! The Germans weren't the only ones who could field effective self-propelled anti-tank guns.

Andy,
 
the most plausible would be Operation Totalize, Aug 7 - 10 1944.
 
I'll have a read up on period. And what happened thereafter whilst I assemble the Archer.
 
It might be that my scenario/diorama is just the Canadian and British soldiers having a brew-up near the end of the war. Mind you, the Tamiya supplied figures look like they are in the middle of sending out some shells...so the brew-up would have to wait.
 
Richard.
 

From what I’ve been able to dig up, the 3rd Anti Tank didn’t receive their Archers until much later in the War. Photos of them after D-day show them using American M-10s or Universal (Bren) Carriers towing 6 pounders.

As for when they may have crossed paths, the most plausible would be Operation Totalize, Aug 7 - 10 1944. In that operation 2nd Can Infantry Div And British 51st H Infantry Div broke out over Verrieres ridge along the Caen-Falaise highway.
 
And from the looks of it, Tamiya really botched the instructions as 2nd Anti Tank RCA was attached to 2nd Can Infantry Div, not 3rd. So far all that means that the Division identifier on the Archer should be a gold maple leaf on a blue background as opposed to a gold maple leaf on a grey background.
 
Andy

Chris,
 
I confess I had to Google Wespes and StuGs! but now I get it...17 Lbs of visitor incoming.
 
Andy,
 
2nd and 3rd....yes, a typo is most likely. Just had a re-read of your Churchill links - very useful. But the downloadable .pdfs do take a while - however , I'm not going anywhere so time is not an issue.
 
I kinda guessed the British Army uniform colours may have been different from the Canadian ones. But I'll figure out a way how their paths crossed in the Archer scenario 😉
 
Richard
 

Regarding the 2nd or 3rd Anti-tank, it’s possible that an earlier issue of the kit contained markings for the latter, they just neglected to update that part of the instructions.
 
And just to note regarding your figures, the Canadian uniforms, while they followed the same pattern as the British ones, the material was more of a greenish colour. If you do a couple of google searches for Canadian or British battledress there are lots of colour photo examples.

Anyway, can’t wait to see this build!
 
Andy

Ha! Take that, all you Wespes and StuGs!

Hi all,
 
Here is the introduction to my build of the Tamiya 1:35 scale Archer vehicle.
 
 First some box artwork.

 
The version I will build is centred on the 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, which used the Archer in North-West Europe early 1945. There is also available in the kit, markings for a 7th Anti-Tank Regiment Polish II Corps, active in Italy early 1945.  I expect I will build a scenario/diorama around the Archer.

 
The contents of the box.

 
The Canadian markings.

 
Strangely enough, the Tamiya blurb inside the box says the Archer was used by the 1st Canadian Infantry Division's 3rd Anti-tank Regiment....rather than the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment? Any thoughts anyone?

 
Over the past couple of weeks I have also built 5 British Infantry figures...I'll try to use them in any scenario I come up with plus, perhaps, some German road signs (probably made by MiniArt).

 
So I'm now off to do a bit of reading up/research on what part of the Canadian forces using the Archer were active in North West Europe 1945, and where and what they were doing. Andy (realworkingsailor) on MSW had already provided some references during my Churchill tank build.
 
Back soon'ish,
 
Richard
 

welcome to the wonderful world of log blogging     that a very nice looking model you have there.   I guess I'll be the first to pull up a chair to watch the continuation of your model.  be sure to take a look at Dafi's Victory......I'm sure you'll get plenty of ideas from his work.   he has really gone in-depth with his Victory build.  love the copper patina     welcome to the forum.

other builds in the same ship configuration and type may also give you ideas.   if your new to the medium, ideas are the basis for creativity.  you'll find that in some kits, the way they show to assemble aspects of the model may not be the best way to accomplish the task........I have found this in kits I've built in the past.  starting a build log on your project is a good thing too.........other folk will get a visual of your progress and issues, and may be able to suggest and share ideas they might have used.  
 

do you enjoy modeling.......you seem to have a knack for it.  what you learn from this model,  can be applied to future models.   I hope by the time your finished,  you will see the fun and creativity and continue   
 
I've had a few bargains in my day,  especially with the Revell series of 1:96 scale kits.   the kits go for around $89.99........I got my second United States kit for $45.00.....I forget what I paid for the Cutty kit on E-bay,  but it was a good buy.   I recently acquired the Constitution kit for $15.00!........couldn't close that deal fast enough!   felt like I was given a million bucks!   
 
your doing some seriously nice work here........look forward in seeing more progress  

as you can see,  the CA makes the rope look darker.......unless you have some paint,  the same color as the rope,  it may distract from the appearance.  I would use white glue....when dry,  the rope will remain the same color.
 
what your doing looks great.......nice fix on the cannon    noticed you have a dollop on the tube....did the tube split there?   sad but fairly common problem with the Tubed products...happens to me with glue every once in a while.   never saw Squadron putty before......I thought they sold one  

that depends on how detailed you want to get.   you can get a nice screw effect by twisting thin wire and bending the twist at the top for the 'T'.   a hole drilled through the shaft at the end of the barrel will accept it nicely.   you can find examples of this in some of the logs........good to check them out to see what others have done.   good to see your still making progress on her   

very nice!   

one thing I forgot to mention.........once you print the decals,  they need to be sprayed with a product called decal bonder,  which is sold by Testor's as well.

I ran into the same thing when I built the Andrea Gail.  I had bought the Testor's 'Decal it' program:  DECAL-SYSTEM    with this program, you can make decals from the list they supply, but with the add on for it, you can import graphics and print them.  

using white decal paper, I made up the name and transom decals.  since the A.G. was painted in Emerald Green,  I was able to change the background color to blend in with the hull.  colors can be changed to anything in the spectrum,  as long as your printer can handle it.  at the time I did this, the only printers I knew of that could do white, were the alps printers.  very few printers on the market were non cartridge printers.  many new ones have come out since then.  paint shop can do this as well.........I'm not sure of the color spectrum though,  but it is a little harder to gauge the sizing of the decal.  metallic colors can't be done with either program

hope this helps you.......black isn't too hard to deal with  

one thing I forgot to mention.........once you print the decals,  they need to be sprayed with a product called decal bonder,  which is sold by Testor's as well.