SMJ's 1/35 Takom Mk IV "female"

[ScaleModelJedi]

This is my build of Takom's 1/35 Mk IV "female". I will be building this straight out of the box and doing the scheme on the box art.

Kit info :
Takom, Kit #2009, Year 2014, There are 14 sprues, a small fret of PE and a small length of chain. There is a figure of a German photographer included on one of the sprues. There is also a small decal sheet. There are two schemes in the instructions, Annchen, Panzer 107, Abteilung 12, Near fort de la Pompelle, 1918 and Flirt II, F company, Cambrai, 1917.

The box



The kit goes together very well with no major issues of note so far. The centre section is built up from six parts that all fit really well. The exhaust is built up from three parts with the one section coming in two halves that does require a little bit of filler to hide the seem on the one end. There is also two PE straps that require bending and fitting over the exhaust again this was fairly easy to do.



There are some parts for the drive chain and sprockets included in the kit although there is no way of showing these of without modifying the side parts. As they will not be visible I will leave these unpainted. The riveting detail is very nice all over the kit.



The kit comes with workable tracks and also gives the option to fix the tracks in place should you choose to. For the workable option you need to build up each link from five individual parts. This doesn't look to difficult to do just very time consuming. As I have no interest in workable tracks I decided to just attach the links straight to the tank. This option doesn't require the four smaller parts fitting on the under side of the links.

The first set of tracks done. The wheels are very fiddly to fit and get lined up to get the two sides on.



Both sets of tracks on. I still have the two side sections to build up and fit in place as well as a few small parts on the centre section.



That's the progress so far on the build. Overall I'm very impressed with the kit and looking forward to getting some paint on it.

Thanks for looking !!

[chops1sc]

For some reason I cant see any of your pictures. All I see is a black box with a white X and "Image" next to it.

UPDATE: New PC at work= I can see all the pics now!!

[NorthernModeller]

Beautiful thread so far mate

[rcfanuk]

I have just finished this kit, great model.

Steve

[DrSprue]

Looks really cool so far Si.. nice photography too bud.

[TheNordus]

I love the photography, it looks very professional. And your build looks really clean too. I always end up with dust and glue stains all over my vehicles.

[ScaleModelJedi]

Looks really cool so far Si.. nice photography too bud.

Beautiful thread so far mate

I love the photography, it looks very professional. And your build looks really clean too. I always end up with dust and glue stains all over my vehicles.

Cheers Guys

[ScaleModelJedi]

Progress on the build is going well, The kit is fantastic and the fit really is very good across the whole kit. I made a slight mistake in putting the two side sections on the wrong way round. They are handed and I never checked when attaching them . I did try to remove them but they were well stuck down.
The PE and chain on the unditching beam was a bit fiddly to do but looks good when done.

The completed build

FB_IMG_1517818506537 by Simon Jones - Flickr2BBcode

All primed on Ultimate black

FB_IMG_1517818511902 by Simon Jones - Flickr2BBcode LITE

Base coat applied using AK/Meng color German grey MC-246 from the AK/Meng WWI German colours set. The paint sprays reasonably well but for some reason it seems to dry extremely fast on the tip even after adding some flow improved. Tried thinning, adding flow improved and lower pressure but still had the issue.

FB_IMG_1517818496599 by Simon Jones - Flickr2BBcode LITE

Camo was done using pander putty to mask and using Ak/Meng color MC-250 Brown clay and MC-248 Ocher earth.

FB_IMG_1517818477705 by Simon Jones - Flickr2BBcode LITE

The tracks were painted using Mig ammo track color primer. This was applied with a brush by hand as a base.
I applied a pin wash using Mig panel line wash A.MIG-1618 Deep brown and some chipping using AK chipping colour AK711. The chipping was done using a small brush and a piece of sponge in some areas.


FB_IMG_1517820157750 by Simon Jones - Flickr2BBcode LITE

That's were I'm up to with the build and so far I'm very pleased with how it's looking . Now to do a bit more weathering by adding some dust/dirt and streaking. I will also be adding some mud to finish it off.

Thank you for looking

[Stokesy44]

That is really nice work Sir

All those flat sides and bolt heads - a painting and weathering dream! Camo looks stunning too

[Tomcat64]

Beautiful work so far mate - looking forward to seeing how you finish the weathering and muddying up.

[Stokesy44]

I know I've already commented but I wanted to add I really like tank builds where the modeller manages to retain the vibrancy of the camo through the weathering process. Its something I am striving for in my own builds and yours is a beautiful example of getting it right.

[TheNordus]

I'm not sure what side bit you put on the wrong way around because I can't tell there's anything wrong with the model. I'm wondering if I want to build a female or a male out of my Mk IV kit right now, but I'm definitely aping your beautiful camo job!

[sheppsea]

Excellent work - I love the camo scheme!

[DrSprue]

Wow just amazing build and that camo is just awesome!

[digger303]

awesome work