Quax's Tamiya 1/35 Challenger 2 (Desertised)

[Quax]

This is (or will be) my entry for the SIG, it even has desert on the box!



more to follow later

cheers

Paul

[Tomcat64]

It's a shame you couldn't go with the original Trifle plan but this looks to be a good alternative mate

[Twokidsnosleep]

OH a Tank!..but of course
Good to see you building in the GB mate
Best wishes for a good one

[Stokesy44]

OH a Tank!..but of course
Good to see you building in the GB mate
Best wishes for a good one

Don't mock the armor builders buddy, we'll drive right over you and keep on rollin!

[Stokesy44]

Good choice. I have this in the stash but out of respect and the joy of diversity, Charlie the Chally will sit this one out.

[Quax]

As today was a rainy Sunday I decided that it was time to kick this off, that and the fact that the Revell 262 that I was building suffered from a disaster that even Mr Stupid of Stupidville would consider stupid I needed to re establish the fact that my intelligence is slightly higher...

So the sprue pics, its a standard Tamiya kit that comes in plastic bags with the irritating staple



















So that's the contents of the

As its a Tamiya kit it goes together like a dream, but it does have the odd bolt that holds the front suspension arm on and of course the obligatory wheels but as the Green jobs decided to hide the wheels on the desert Chally you don't have to go mad removing loads of bits (and to be honest there wasn't much anyway)




Then it's onto the end plate so I got that started



Cheers
Paul

[digger303]

That's a very nice kit although I shuddered when I saw the vinyl track. However all reviews heap praises on them so it must be me and the way the light bounces off them. I was surprized to learn the Japanese found a way to incorporate space between the links.....well done Tamiya. Yet they don't do anti slip texture on the hull....strange.
Looking forward to how this goes together.

[digger303]

OH a Tank!..but of course
Good to see you building in the GB mate
Best wishes for a good one

Don't mock the armor builders buddy, we'll drive right over you and keep on rollin!

that wasn't even a speed bump

[BigWall]

Very cool kit! It's going to look great!

[Kevthemodeller]

How have I missed this

Off to a good start there Paul

[Stokesy44]

Cracking start mate. Looks like dream to build

[Twokidsnosleep]

It's out of the box and glue on it...away we go!!!!!

[Tomcat64]

Great to see it underway and a very tidy start mate

[Casper]

super looking kit

[Quax]

many thanks all for your comments so far!

I do have to say the great thing about Tamiya kits is the ability to, open box, pour in glue, shake for 5 minutes and a perfectly formed tank appears! Unfortunately its me doing it so not quite so perfect

so far:
The rear plate is complete if slightly skew wiff... (dont tell anyone and they might not notice...)



Im building the top of the hull separately so as I can take all the wheels off and get the track on when painting. I've tried to open out slightly the bottom of the skirt but not sure if it'll be obvious. Time to come clean here, most of the ideas in this have been stolen from Gregs Models on Youtube (his Challenger 2 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnSG2khqI2s ) I quite like his attitude to building but his Chally is far better than mine will ever be but I digress....



attached to hull



the front armour is built but separate



barrel glued but its a two parter so will take a little work



barrel mounting



The turret has been constructed with a removable bottom so as I can add all the glass after painting (thanks Greg! )



I've started adding the bits to the turret roof now but more photos to follow another day.

thanks for looking

Paul

[digger303]

I 'm sorry , but if you really want this to hold together your going to have to buy another bottle of glue tape won't hold forever.....







great work which is going to become a great build ....

[Quax]

I 'm sorry , but if you really want this to hold together your going to have to buy another bottle of glue tape won't hold forever.....

it does when reinforced with 6" nails.....

only two pics today, a mockup of the assembled thingy:



thingy dis assembled for painting...



cheers

Paul

[Casper]

lovely looking kit Paul, so much detail. I'm gonna have to have a go at a Tank at some point, always fancied doing a British heavy tank
casper

[Stokesy44]

Makes the Abrams look like a fat old banger!

Lovely work so far

[Quax]

Thanks for looking in guys

A bit more paint action Ultimate black as the primer with some blocks of Tamiya dark yellow to start to add a bit of tone



Then starting to add Real Colors British sand







I also got a start on the tracks, they're almost invisible because of the skirts so I'm not worried about using the vinyl ones



Cheers
Paul

[Stokesy44]

Very nice work. Great to see the paint going down and the effect of the shading

[BigWall]

Agreed! The paint looks great!

[Kevthemodeller]

Lovely panel shading Paul

[DBMiller]

Wow! You got that moving along right quick!

[Quax]

Thanks guys, its the nice comments that keep the mojo alive sometimes!

So some more assembly photos, its Tamiya so it all went together with minimal issues. I didn't overdo the wheels as you just can see them but to prove I did actually paint them...






So then it was the tracks, they stuck together nicely without resorting to staples as in the good old days



They don't sit on the top return wheels but again all will vanish





Glass in the turret is provided as a clear sheet, I painted this green and added just before close up







Still a little way to go yet with the weathering, oil's etc and a bit on the visible track plus the crew of course but I thought I'd knock up a quick base so this is using a rubberised sheet that Hobbycraft sell that already has a texture on one side so I'd bought for just this purpose




Looking at the photos it still needs a bit more sandy effect..

Thanks for looking

Paul

[digger303]

Very smick as usual .

[Stokesy44]

That is looking superb Sir. Cracking work.

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh yes the shading/weathering is top draw Paul.

[Parker]

thats a good looking tank. well played.

[Quax]

many thanks to everybody for your kind comments and encouragement, it is now done, Please see the full reveal here
but heres a taster:



cheers

Paul

[Twokidsnosleep]

Love that you put her on a base...and an excellent one too
Nice finish off

[BigWall]

Nice!