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Andrew Gledhill
Update 1, 08.04.24. Hi folks. I have become a beneficiary of Models for Heroes. I was sent a large box of models to build, plus some tools etc. This is the first of the models they sent me, that I have decided to build. This is a Canadian tank with a mine plough attached to the front. I have never built a Hobbyboss tank kit. But, so far, I am not that impressed. I have been working on the lower hull, wheels and tracks. The wheels had to be glued onto the torsion bar ends. There is no provision to have them rotate via poly caps. Even the drive sprockets do not rotate. The overall Green colour is the same as Tamiya XF-89 Dark Green 2, according to the instructions. So, that is what I have painted the lower hull and wheels with.
The tracks were of the individual link type. These had to be glued together, link by link. There was a jig on the sprue (not mentioned in instructions) to get the required gap between the track links. But I found that when I glued the links together with extra thin cement. The glue would just run down onto the jig and I would end up with the links stuck to the jig. So, I had to abandon using the jig, and just put the links together, flat on my bench. Instructions said about 80 links per side. But in the end, I used 81 links per side. I made 4 sections of track. Painted these sections with Mr Hobby Super Metallics Dark Iron. Once dry this was buffed up with a soft brush. I then painted the tops of the rubber track pads with Rubber Black. Once dry, I used super glue to join 2 track pieces together to form 1 length of track. These then had to be carefully wound around the wheels and glued into position with super glue. I was I could say this was simple. It wasn't. My track links would break in numerous places. These had to be glued back together with super glue. Then I had to glue parts of the tracks to the wheels and drive sprockets. The result is not the best looking pair of tracks. In fact, they are pretty crap. I fully expect them to break at some point in the future. Look at the picture of 2 tanks in the album. Top is this model, and bottom is my Tamiya Challenger 2. The Challenger 2 has wrap around vinyl tracks. Can you tell the difference? I can't. Sometimes good old vinyl tracks are good enough. Especially when most of them will be hidden behind side skirts.
Anyway, the kit has a fully detailed engine, and that is what I am doing next. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 2. 08.04.24. OK. I have finished the engine, apart from painting it. I must say. What a waste of time with all that PE etc. After test fitting the engine to the hull, I have found that you will hardly be able to see any of it. I suppose you could do an engine removal diorama. But that would mean cutting more of the engine deck hatches open. I won't be doing anything like that. I will take the engine out again for painting. That will be the next job. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 3. 14.04.24. Well, for what its worth. I have painted and installed the engine. But look at what will be viewed through the one open hatch on the engine deck? Total waste of time including a detailed engine. The only way to display it would be to cut the larger hatches open. Which I am not going to do. Also note the 4 large ejector pin marks in the top of the piece above the engine fan. Why couldn't they just put the ejector pins on the underside of the part? Way to go Hobbyboss. I am rapidly getting pissed off with Hobbyboss kits.

Gary Victory
Nice progress Andrew, I can only guess how big that thing is....! Following your progress.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Andrew Gledhill
Update 5. 13.03.24. I have had a major change of mind. I was not happy with all the white dots painted on the aircraft tie down points. When I had the model on the bench with the sun shining on it, I found that I had missed painting a good few of them. Plus I had put the white dot in the wrong places in some parts of the deck. Plus on checking reference photo's, I found that they were the same colour as the non slip deck paint. Plus a guy that served on carriers told me they were the same colour as the deck too. So I have painted them all out now. This has left some brush strokes on the deck. Put hopefully I can hide those under a matt coat and weathering.
I have also finished putting all the bits and pieces onto the deck and the side crew spaces. Hose reels and life raft containers etc. The next thing to do is paint and build up the island control centre. That's it for now. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 6. 14.03.24. Well, things are coming along quite nicely now. I have finished the island control centre apart from the rigging. Waiting on some gel super glue to come to do that. If you look at the photos, you will see that I placed some of those Eduard PE figures inside the bridge areas. Not that many because you can hardly see them. I have placed one guy saluting in there lol. The kit does not come with clear parts for the windows. I made window parts from cuts of a clear acetate sheet, then glued them inside. You can get a pack of 10 sheets of acetate from Amazon for £5. Great for making windows out of. The last gun emplacement has also been fixed to the ship. All that is left to do now, is the cranes and tugs etc. Then its onto the aircraft. I have also got to fit all the aerials to the hull. But I will do that last. Anyway, that's it for now.

Drew Z
That cooling pack looks absolutely perfect. same with the rest of the MGS!

Andrew Gledhill
Thanks Drew Z. They supply PE fan covers for the 6 fans of the Air Con Unit. But there are no actual fans behind those screens lol.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 7. 25.02.24. I have now done the first stage of weathering. I sprayed some Ammo Mig Jet Exhaust Burnt Iron into the engine intake grills. Then a Dark Dirt Florymodels Clay Wash was applied to the whole vehicle. Once this was dry, I went over it with a cotton bud. Rubbing most of the wash back off. This left dirt in the recesses, panel lines and around bolt heads etc. I then did some streaking with a Green Oil Paint. Once this was left overnight to dry, I covered the whole thing in a Matt Coat. I also finished painting the 2 jerry cans, and got these mounted in their rack. The next thing to do is to put some pastels of dust and muck over it. Then try some mud effects around the undersides and wheels. Then a dust coat will be applied. That's all for now. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 8. 27.02.24. OK, I am going to call this done for now. Today I finished off the weathering. First I rubbed a Dirt powder from a Tamiya weathering set all over it using some make up eye dabber things. I rubbed this all over the tyres too. This gave it a dusty look. Next I mixed up some Ammo Mug Enamel Liquid Mud with some Ammo Mig Earth Pigment Powder. I then painted this mixture all over the undersides behind the wheels etc. Then before it dried, I dusted on some of the earth powder. Once dry, this gave the effect of dried on mud. First time I have used this stuff, and I am quite impressed with the results. I will add some pics of the stuff I used to the album. I then sprayed a light coat of heavily thinned Ammo Mig Dust paint along the lower portions of the front, sides and rear. I have gone for minimal stowage items at this stage. Just a couple of ammo boxes, a small pack, a ration pack box, and a M60 Machine gun. Then I finished it off with some stretched sprue aerials. Unfortunately, due to the tiny hinge parts. I could not make the hatches to be open-able. There is no interior detail anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I may add other stowage items at a later date. But for now, I am going to say that this mostly enjoyable build, is now complete. Thanks for all the interest and positive feedback.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 8, 30.01.24. Things are coming along nicely now. Last night I tried spraying the Light Florymodels Clay Wash over the model. But I have the older wash. It was a bit too thin and was not spraying that well. So, I ended up painting it on liberally with a brush. It looked awful last night when it was still wet. But this morning when it had dried, it didn't look too bad. The good thing about these washes, is that you can remove it with water. So, by dipping a cotton bud in water, I was able to wipe off the wash in areas where I didn't want it. Areas such as the number plates and division markings. I was also able to rub parts of the wash with the dry cotton bud. I think it looks not too bad. I imagine that this vehicle is coming to the end of winter, and parts of the white wash have been lost over the months due to rain etc. I have also now fitted the acetate windscreen glass, and done some dry brushing of the canvas cab cover. Then the whole thing has been sealed in with a matt coat. I have some tools to paint next, then it will be onto the figures. I may try to paint some rust effects on the back bed of it. Not sure yet on that one. Enjoy, and thanks for looking.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 9, 19.02.24. OK, the tools have been painted and glued onto the side screens. Next I have done some rust effects on the rear deck and mudguards etc. I put some Mr Surfacer 500 down first. Let it dry for 15 minutes. Then stippled it with an old brush to roughen up the surface. Then I painted over this with Ammo Mig Rust paints of various shades. At first it was a bit too much. Especially on the rear deck. So I toned the rust effects down a bit by adding more of the light Florymodels clay wash. I am calling the main painting and weathering done now. Next I have to build up and paint the 5 figures, plus all the ammo boxes and equipment etc. Enjoy.

Olivier
Quite nice so far. I like the underside. What colour will you chose for the tarpaulin ?

Andrew Gledhill
Hi Olivier. I used Tamiya Khaki for the canvas cab roof.

Andrew Gledhill
Thanks for all the great comments.

Jennifer Franklin
That is a lot of stuff in the back. Where did you get all the paraphernalia? Nice model.

Mr James
She's a beauty... Lovely weathering job.

Jos Jansen
Nice result!

Andrew Gledhill
Hi folks. I have started a new project. I have a friend that used to work as an airline cabin crew member. So, I have decided to start this kit that I have had in my stash for a while now. I have bought the TUI decals set for it. So, I intend to make it into a TUI airliner.
Update 01: I have installed all the windows, and the nose undercarriage bay. Joined the fuselage halves together. The windows wont matter that much, because they will be replaced with decals. The tail planes have been put together. The main wings have been taped together, ready for gluing. I have dry fitted the wings and tail planes to see how they look. Pretty good join between the wing section and the fuselage. I should only need to sort out the join seam on the underside of the wing section. Next I will clamp and glue the wings together. Then it will be on to sorting the seam on the fuselage.
Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 1. 13.05.23. OK, I have glued the wings together. Sorted the seam lines on the fuselage. Joined the wings to the fuselage. Sorted the seam lines where the wing section attached to the fuselage. Painted up and built up the engines. I still need to sort the seam lines on the engines. A couple of bits to add to the fuselage. Then it will be time to prime the main components. Engines are only held on with bluetac for now. Will paint them separate and fit them at the end. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 18, 28/02/23. The updates are coming thick and fast now lol. As you can see in my latest photos. I have now nearly finished the tank itself. I have just about finished the custom made storage rack. Done the camo painting and chipping on it all. I might paint some of the simulated weld seams in a rust colour though. I am now concentrating on a commander figure to sit in the cupola. I have ordered a couple of aerials for the aerial mounts, and a metal bucket lol. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 19, 11/05/23. OK folks, I am going to call this one complete for now. I have finished the stowage rack. I have added a couple of aerials from FOG Models.I have painted up the commander figure. I must admit that I am crap at painting faces on figures lol. Tried my best, but I just have to admit that it is not my thing lol. I may mud up the tank a bit in the future. But for now, I am going to call it complete. I even got a metal bucket lol. But there was no hook to hang it off lol. Anyway, that is another one complete. Enjoy.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 11: 10.05.23. Anybody got any Aircraft Armed Placards lol. I have finished the weapon load out and fitted all the pylons. Gone for a simply load out. There are tons of weapons in the kit. So I will have loads for my spares box. Went with 2 each of Sidewinder 9X, Amram 120D, GBU 10 and JDAM. Plus 1 fuel tank on the centre line pylon.
Fit was not great. There are some gaps between the pylons and the wings. Most noticeably under the centre line pylon. But its done now, and I just cannot be arsed to deal with them.
Not much to do now. The boarding ladder has to be made up and painted. Some lights to go on the tail fins, and a couple of pitot tubes on the nose. Then maybe a bit of touch up paint work. Then I can finally call this one done.
I think I will stay away from Hobbyboss aircraft kits in the future. This one has been a right chore.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 12: 10.05.23. OK folks. I am finally going to call this one as complete. I was going to build up the boarding ladder. But I broke a very small rod, and then lost the tiny bit to the carpet monster. So, I decided to just close up the boarding ladder. I have added the red and clear lights to the tail fins. Added the 2 pitot tubes. Tidied up a few bits of painting. I wish I could say that I enjoyed this built. I didn't. The fit of some parts was pretty bad. Esp the bits that covered the engines. Lots of filling was required. Honestly don't know why they included full engines anyway. Then I had a bad experience with decals again. Some broke up. The Blue band with Yellow stars on the starboard side broke and got destroyed. I had to make my own replacement decals. Also the AJ on the port tail fin did the same. My replacement decals were not that great. I had to touch them up with paint using both brush work and paint pens. I have put this build down on many occasions. But I have finally got it complete. At least it looks like a Super Hornet lol. There is one glaring omission though. I have lost the arrestor hook. I cannot find it anywhere. I did build it up and paint it. Then it sat on my bench for months while I did other stuff. But damned if I can find it now. If it turns up, I will put it on. But for now, it will just have to be a missing part. Would I do another Hobbyboss kit? Aircraft, probably not. Other subjects, maybe? Anyway, onwards and upwards. That is another one complete. Enjoy.