Landships II

Pierantonio · Lieutenant-Colonel

RE: Woodworking issues!?!

Tonys · Field Marshal

Incredible work, Helen!

When will the Mk IVs and Vs start appearing?

MK1 Nut · Hero

Thanks Guys x

More photos to come, unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me on Sunday so will be picking up some more from a friend tomorrow.

As for a MKIV or V well lets just say those plans will done using a crayon held in my feet, due to the straight jacket and a padded room. I think I will stick at just the one Tank. :)

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Still no more photos yet from the show , but I did reach another landmark in the build... the Wheels are done! Well kinda. :)

The wheels are in one piece although there is a fair bit of tidying up to do yet. Feels good to be getting close to the end of this build. Be nice to just run it and talk about it, instead of having to keep telling people what is yet to be built.

For scale I thought an old MKII Airfix model would do the job. :)

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Video footage of the Tank's second outing. The Southern Model Show was wet but still a good day out.

Link to Display Teams Page.

Helen x

PDA · Legend

Helen! Your tank is green with WRW stripes! Nice weathering on the track, though. smile

MK1 Nut · Hero

For authenticity with my Airfix MKII I went with Museum standards of accuracy. :)

In my defence it is a very old model and I only keep it because the old Airfix model was what opened my eyes to how little information was out there on the MK1 Tank. Ten years, one set of plans and a very large model later, I think I can at least say I helped a little bit to rescuing this mark of tank from it's 'Near enough!' representation of all those years ago.

Helen x

m83 · Sergeant

Helen, its been wonderful to see the progress you have made on this over the past weeks / months and indeed years, and great now to see it running on its second 'outing'. I am looking forward very much to seeing the tail wheels fitted and indeed, how it runs with those in position.

As nice as it looks with the bright immaculate aluminium finish, I cant help wondering just how fantastic it would look with an authentic paint scheme. Looking at some of the static models that have been done by members I wonder how you would go about this? Factory fresh finish or battle weathered? Personally I think the quality of the build would be enhanced by a weathered look, you already commented on the 'rusty track plates', is this an indication that you too like the 'worn look' or am I being presumptuous?

you must be so proud of your work - enjoy!!

Kev

CrashandBern · Field Marshal

Wow Helen that's a hugely impressive task you've accomplished, I've been watching your progress throughout and am truely amazed at the level of detail and engineering that's gone into it.

I love the shot of the tail with the Airfix kit, it really puts it into perspective just how big your model is... is there such a thing as tank envy confuse

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the kind comments x

I'm probably going to disappoint a few of you now, in that I'm thinking along the lines of having the Tail Assembly lifting off the ground as the model starts moving. To be honest I don't think the mechanism would be strong enough to do much other than break if it tried to effect the steering.

As for paint... I actually can't wait to get started. Grey with the Russian Cyrillic message and some subtle weathering as they were kept as clean as was possible by the crews. At some point next year I may though Camouflage it.

Helen x

TeeELL · General

Hi H, going to be visiting my son in October so, if you don't mind, I may ask to pop round once again?

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi T,

Yes that would be fine, just let me know when.

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Well just about managed to get the model running with its Tail Wheels for the Model Show at Bovington Tank Museum. The Tail wasn't working so I had to leave it in the raised position for its own protection. Did look good though to see it on there at last. Had a great time... even if the model failed at the last with a speed control fault.

Armortek managed to gather together over one hundred of their models in one place. Awesome sight! Also inside the museum, was an ever growing selection of Static Kit Clubs and Suppliers. Outside was the Southern Armour Group and the 1/16th Battle Group with the model Village.

Long may this show continue to grow.

Helen x

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Saturday 17th of October 2015 11:28:57 PM

CrashandBern · Field Marshal

Great Pictures Helen, it really must be something else to see it on the move. Next time your at a non-static show I may have to make a pilgrimage to see it out on manoeuvres.

MK1 Nut · Hero

Thanks x Not sure when the model will get another outing, there are a lack of shows I can actually get to at this time of year.

I will though post on here when ever any shows and myself coincide.

Tonight for an experiment I tried mixing a little bit of grey paint. First I was looking at RAL this and BS that, but then I remembered that early colours were simply measured out in proportions to one another. So I had a look around and decided on 4 x White to 1 x Black for a quick test patch.

I painted a few of the panels on the Tail Assembly and I really like it. The grey you get this way is less blue than they've used on the real tank at Bovi.

If I can get some daylight photos tomorrow I will post them for some opinions.

Helen x

MRG · Major

Oh wow!

Don't know what other words of appreciation I can say which I have not already.Errm... if I see correctly you are shooting that cannon on the second image.. any details on the inner life of that and all the rest (please biggrin )?

I can only make out that transparent hose leading into the sponson.

Best regards,

Martin

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi Martin,

How's the 1/16 Fleet of Landships progressing?

Ha ha, yes you see correctly... wondered if anyone would notice that! :)

I'm hoping to have a wiring diagram and parts list finished this week for the working inside the Sponsons. The parts are mainly from PoloLu Maestro and I will probably post something there first, as they helped out with the coding side of things.

As for the Puff of Smoke... well it's a secret! :p

Only kidding!

It was all a bit rushed and cobbled together for the Bovi Show, I am working on a more polished version at the moment. Although I have worked with pyrotechnics this is all smoke n mirrors. Gun flash, recoil movement, noise and smoke from a can.

The idea is not new, just for some reason no ones thought to put it in a tank. If you have a can of air propellant for an airbrush laying around, connect it up as normal but turn the can upside down. What you will get is a cloud of smoke. This is actually the liquid form of the propellant leaving the can and rapidly expanding. Warning though as it will all get very cold.

The cold is probably what may have put people off. The system I made for the show stuck open a couple of times and froze the barrel to the point of ice forming on the end. The barrels being printed in three parts didn't appreciate the cold and later it fell off, needing a quick super glue repair.

As soon as I have something more reliable I will post something here.

Had a good day today, a friend came round and we managed to get the Tank out for a short run.

Last night I painted a section of the top of the tail assembly. Today in sunlight it did have a bit of a blue hue to it, but not as much as the real Tank at Bovi. It does though exhibit the ability to go from light to dark grey depending on the light you see on the original.

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi Martin,

I've just added a post to the Pololu website, these are the people who helped me sort through all the issues the Sponsons threw at me. There is also a link back here. :)

Sponson Post

Helen x

Oh and you'll have to wait on the gun smoke... still working on it. :p

MK1 Nut · Hero

Some more photos from earlier in the week...

simongman · Private

Looks fantastic Helen.

BLOWHARD · Lieutenant

AMAZING!!!!! :D :D :D :D

MK1 Nut · Hero

Thanks Guys x

Not had chance to do to much of late, but have started painting.

To get a feel for painting something that is basically Grey all over, I decided to start with the tail wheel assembly. Having fun weathering! With me this involves looking at photos of the real thing, applying paint, realising I've over done it, then adding more paint to tone it all back down... it's my method and kinda works for me. confuse smile

I couldn't resist adding a bit of camouflage, just to hint at what the Tank would look like if painted all over. (just an add to this, the Brown is now more the correct Red Brown since taking this photo).

Hope you like!

Helen x

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Sunday 15th of November 2015 11:22:01 PM

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi, Just adding a photo with the Red Brown, plus a black & white version just to show how difficult it is to guess colours from one.

The reason for playing with colours now is a recent purchase from the Australian War Museum. The early colour photo of Tank C1 Champagne has been known of for some time, but on realising the A.W.M. had access to the original and downloadable versions could be purchased from them... I just had to! :)

Even before any colour correction it is clear that the Tank is not bright and colourful, in fact its camouflage would not be out of place on a WW2 German tank.

I guess the idea that they are brightly coloured is maybe more to do with the fact most other equipment was mass produced in brown or green. So to see a large machine like a Tank in Grey, Cream, Mid Green and Red Brown, could easily be over talked into something more colourful than it really is.

Anyhow, I have a few friends having a go at colour correction for me, also had a go myself and when I am happy that it looks right and not overly done or false, I will post a before and after photo for people to look at.

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi,

Well I undercoated the model in grey primer before the Christmas period then played it up out of the way until there was more spare time to start the final paint job. This last week I have finally been pulling all the parts out of storage and begun painting.

I'm going with the Grey all over factory finish with the dodgy anglicised cyrillic writing on the sides. This is after all were it all started and part of the mythology of the renaming of the Landships as Tanks.

The primer is a shade darker than the top colour I am going with, this helps with the weathering. As I work with fast drying acrylic paint, I tend to work up in layers rather than blending as you can with slow drying oil paints. One thing to note is that although I have an idea of what I'm going to do paint wise, I am inclined to changing my mind as I go along. Also if I'm not happy I will go back to a section of the model several times until I am happy. :)

Hope you like

Helen x

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 12:42:45 AM

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 12:44:10 AM

MK1 Nut · Hero

Grrrrr It seems to have altered the order of the photos and now won't let me alter anything!!!!!

Anyhow, I will try and get some better photos at some point.

TinCanTadpole · Legend

Very nice!

Morgoth · Major

Wow, amazing :D !

BLOWHARD · Lieutenant

MOST EXCELLENT!!! (This I am enjoying)

MK1 Nut · Hero

Thanks everyone xx

Well the model is getting close to the finish line, main body is painted and the sponsons are close, now it's all about the detail.

The track is now weathered. Borrowed a trick the Armortek MKIV guys used and brushed on some brick cleaner to speed up the rust process. I then decided to go with the idea that the track would have been painted at the factory. I have a few photos that hint at them being the same grey as the body, but it could just as easily be a trick of the light and bare metal. Personally I cont think they would leave these nice shiny metal plates bare, although of course they would soon ware and rust. Which is the look I have gone with.

So I now have a large Grey Coffee Table in the living room. As it carries water I shall name it a 'Tank'. :)

Helen x

Paul Bonnett · Hero

That's fantastic Helen. Whilst looking at the photos' of your tank outside (pre-paint) with just a few parts with grey paint on, it was easy to see the full range of greys dependant on the time of day and the angle of the light source. This really bought home how difficult it is to decided on colour identification from black and white photos. Also given that the original paint mixes are lost to time it will take a lot of research to recreate those same colours. Your choice of colours will be watched with bated breath methinks
(when you decide to go camouflaged that is lol )
Paul

-- Edited by Paul Bonnett on Monday 21st of March 2016 01:04:24 AM

thorst · Colonel

It's looking so real, even in your living room without a matching background. Your painting skills are perfectly in line with your design and building skills. Hats off!

Thorsten

MK1 Nut · Hero

Thanks Guys!

Not a lot has changed since the last set of photos, although it does now run once more. Once finished then my friends have insisted on a photo shoot. Shouldn't be long now.

Paul... bad news I'm afraid... I like the grey to much to paint over it!

The colours on the tail wheel will be the only camouflage visible. The idea I'm using as my excuse for the mixed livery is that this is Creme de Menthe not long after its arrival in France. It has had trials and is about to get its new paint scheme.

Helen x

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Tuesday 22nd of March 2016 12:07:52 AM

CrashandBern · Field Marshal

That is stunning Helen and huge, the sofa really gives it a sense of scale. I'm glad the grey scheme is staying as you've done such an incredible job of it.

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi All, The Tank had its first outing in its new coat of grey pain this weekend. Entrusted it to my friends in the Display Team who were showing at the Overlord Show in Denmead. I unfortunately couldn't make it.

It managed a couple of runs and then proved it was so scale it broke down and needed rescuing. :)

Only 'Oh Poop' moment is there's all these lovely photos and all I can see is the front drivers flaps are lifted up to far. My fault as I haven't fitted the little bar that limits their movement.

Hope you like

Helen x

Druid_Ian · Lieutenant

Excellent Work now all you need is to start work on the Mark IV, since you have nothing to do now ;)

thorst · Colonel

It's looking beautiful! The only thing which is missing to get the perfect illusion is scale grass!

Alpha Six · Lieutenant-Colonel

Helen, my сongratulations, that's great!

MK1 Nut · Hero

Hi Everyone and thank you for the kind words x

Not added to this for a while, life got rough for a bit as my Father who I cared for and loved dearly passed away. Myself and the tank, which also broke down are all back together and will be at the Southern Model Show at Headcorn Aerodrome tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be nice weather, just got to see if I can keep the tank running... it's an exact replica right down to the reliability, or lack of it.

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

Phew! managed to get the MK1 running in time for Bovington Tank Museum Model Show in this Centenary Year.

It actually behaved it's self and rather than break down, this time it kept going until the battery went flat.

Had a great day, a lot of kind comments and some nice photo opportunities for the tank.

Helen x

MK1 Nut · Hero

So a long overdue update to this tank thread... after a few years in its factory grey the model is finally getting its camouflage.

To build my confidence I started with the tail assembly. For the factory grey I had used Revell acrylics 36374, now I added a beige 36324, then a red/brown made of two parts 36184 and one part 36137, finally the green 36148. On top of this a stippled a slightly lighter version of each colour. A black line was added around some of the colours and the tail now awaits weathering effects once more. The main body is being slowly painted in the same colours.

The paints I went with I felt best represent standard Edwardian colours and I am happy so far with how they look. he beige is a bit of a revelation as it can look a pale cream to an almost lemon yellow depending on the light, which is something similar to the variation seen in temporary paintings.

A lot more painting to go, I hope you like.

Helen x

-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Tuesday 7th of August 2018 12:20:23 AM