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Western Desert Diorama; 1/35 scale Quad Tractor & 25 Pdr Gun
Topic Started: Jun 2 2012, 11:36 AM (2,075 Views)
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My main entry into the Freestyle GB will be...

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In 1/35 scale, these Tamiya kits and accessories from Eduard (for the Quad Tractor) and Verlinden (a camouflage net) will make up a diorama depicting a Royal Artillery 25 Pound Field Gun on active service during WW2.

I plan to add a couple of other (non-model) accessories to the overall diorama, but I will see how the kits pan out first before committing myself to the extras.

This build has been chosen because my father, who died 37 years ago, was a Royal Artillery Gunner during WW2 and served on 25 Pounders.

I'm not sure how I will tackle the kits just yet, but the first update will only be a few days away, as I will need to get a move on. This will be my first diorama of any kind and I expect to be busy with it!

As this is my main entry to the GB, it implies there may be others - watch this space...
:D
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beowulf
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Lt. Paul 'Red Dog' Rose
seriously cool :cool

look forward to seeing this take shape
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
Cracking Plan mate and a very good reason too

i cant wait to see how this goes
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benskipper
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LCDR Ben 'NITRO' Skipper
Good choice. The eduard PE is excellent for this kit, really brings it out. Good luck.
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UPDATE 1

I've spent a couple of days navel gazing at this build, having laid out all of the components to get a feel for what needs doing. It took me a while to figure it out, but I'm going to tackle this as six different builds;

1. The Chassis and Engine for the Quad.

2. The Quad floor pan and cab interior.

3. The Quad shell and exterior.

4. The Gun Limber unit.

5. The 25 Pounder Gun.

6. Designing and building the diorama base and cabinet.

It's only when I can picture something like this in my mind that I can stop messing about and start the construction - so.....

The components for the rear axle and wheels
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The axle assemblies after their first sanding and ready for dry fitting
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The engine after painting and a dark wash
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Chassis and engine after priming
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The three assemblies that make up the Quad Gun Tractor
In the centre, the floor pan has some dry-fitted etched metal
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The pedigree of the kit is in the roof of the superstructure
For a 1974 kit, the fit is remarkably good, although I don't know the manufacturing date!
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Next up is working on the painting and weathering of the chassis.

Regards,

Nigel
:D
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UPDATE 2

The weathering process has started for the Quad Gun Tractor chassis
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This vehicle is going to be very dirty and grubby, so the weathering has also started on the cab floor pan
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Tha cab will be the focal point of the vehicle, of course, so this will receive weathering, a few dents and dirty windows
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Finally for now, the seats were a very smooth plastic, so I coated them with ordinary glue and once the plastic softened, worked the surface over with an old and knackered paint brush - this gave the seats some good but simple texture once the glue dried
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Next up will be the application of decals to the body, and much more weathering!
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
this is fantastic mate! having now seen some you your builds in the flash this is going to be FAB!!!

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UPDATE 3

"Phase 1" of this multi part project is almost complete. The Quad Gun Tractor still requires some small touching up work but it's pretty much how it will look in the finished diorama as you see it here.
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This vehicle will have the opened doors and bonnet, I have damaged the front bumper (etched metal) with pliers in two places as this type of vehicle had its fair share of bumps and scrapes, no doubt, and I've been around with a heated screwdriver blade to put a few dings and dents into the bodywork.

Work has started on the Limber unit...
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and the Gun and Trail...
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The plan seems to be progressing well so far.

Regards,

Nigel
:D

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I love the weathering on that Nigel, it looks superb :cool
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
this is looking gooooood!
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
any update nigel im missing my fix
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beowulf
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Lt. Paul 'Red Dog' Rose
thats going together really nice :wub:
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
hows this going nigel
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UPDATE 4

Firstly, my sincere apologies for not updating this build for so long - despite a couple of polite prompts.
:redface

The Gun assembly is complete and weathering has started. The wheels have not been touched in this photo as I'm doing it in stages.
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Some detail painting is also required around the sighting and Gun Layers area.
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The Limber doors have primer on and require their top coat.
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That's the good news.

The down side of this update is that I have very reluctantly decided to withdraw this build from the Freestyle GB and I have a number of reasons for this.

I knew it was ambitious from the start, but didn't anticipate how busy I was going to be with other things (mainly around work) and I will simply not be able to devote enough time to build & paint the six figures required and then build the base in the required timescale.

Another reason is to do with the standard of models that feature on this site. I do not want to put a partly finished diorama up which is a "second best" effort and would detract from the high standard that others are producing.

The final reason, and the main one, is that as I explained at the start, my Dad was a 25 Pounder Gunner with the Royal Artillery during WW2 and this build is with him in mind. The eventual build will feature his medals and I will not compromise on putting together a diorama that I'm comfortable with, and up to the required standard I have in mind. The build continues, but without time pressure - this way I can produce something I will be satisfied with.

I'm sorry to pull this one out, but rest assured it WILL appear when completed and I look forward to presenting it.

Regards,

Nigel
:)
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
im sad to see this removed but i totally understand why and i think you have made the right decision

dont rush it and i await to see this finished build, if you want me to move the thread to the WIP section just say the word

well done up to now mate, i wish i had half your skill
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