1/72 Comet I cruiser tank

[rockpaperscissor]

Even though 1/50 is my preferred armor scale, I really enjoyed building the 1/72 D-Day grouping for Carlisle earlier this year, so I thought I'd start a build thread of my current small scale project - Rawen and Paran's Comet I.

I selected this 1/100 R&P kit solely because it features a "special 3D carriage". The scale is a little small for me, so I enlarged it to 1/72, and also did a Photoshop recolor to match the Comet I on display at the German Tank Museum in Munster, Germany. This tank's livery is of the 2nd Fife and Fofar Yeomanry, and is nicknamed "Ben Hur". I chose it because it's the subject of a "walkaround" and there are many good photos on line. I'm pretty happy with the recolor, and with some layering, it should turn into a nice looking model. You'll note that I left the bottom of the tank alone, in concurrence with R&P's request aimed at recolorers.

I began assembly with the hull. I rough cut the part free from the page, and did all the scoring first, taking care to score valley folds on the backside for a cleaner edge. After coloring the exposed paper edges with black water color and a fine brush, I "started" all the folds, bending them over only part way: I plan to reinforce the larger inside panels with cardboard, and experience has taught me to start the folds first.

I like to reinforce my models with corrugated cardboard because it doesn't warp. Not the old fashioned pasteboard box stuff, mind you. It has to be the thinner material that sneakers are often packaged in. It has one side that is smooth and that is the side I glue down against the paper. I thinly spread glue on the reinforcing pieces and apply them, sometimes using a book as a weight to ensure everything stays nice and flat.

When dry, just fold 'er up and glue.

Next up, hull layering.

[Don Boose]

Looks great (I have always liked the appearance of British WWII tanks), and I appreciate the building tips.

Don too

[rockpaperscissor]

Thanks for your interest, Don. I've done a bit of layering on the hull since my previous post. Hatches, tow/lift points, periscopes, machine gun on the front and top. On the rear, engine vent and tow attachment. That'll be it for tonight, though.

Tomorrow I'll start working on the 3D carriage.

[Kevin WS]

Very nice Don - the layering really brings it to life...

[Vinalssergio155]

Great start Don, it looks great. As usual, it will be a great model.

[rockpaperscissor]

Thank you, Kevin and Sergio.

The carriage wheels are each made up of inner and outer discs, and a tread strip. Half of each inner wheel half hangs below the hull, and are detailed accordingly. I glued these wheel halves to the hull first, starting with the two at the front. It's important to ensure that with these wheels in place, the rear of the hull sits perfectly flat against the table top. Then I move to rear, gluing one wheel in place. The final and most important rear wheel goes on next. It is vitally important that all four wheels are planted firmly on the table top and that the hull bottom is parallel with it. Then I glued on all the other inner wheel halves one at a time, alternating side to side, and with each new addition, ensuring that all the wheels are planted. Photo 1.

I glued up the rings, and edge glued them to each front disc, ensuring that the paper overlap is always on the bottom, where it won't show. On many vehicle models, the orientation of the wheel discs doesn't really matter, because the parts are often one monochrome color with simple black donuts or dots denoting rivets, bolt heads etc. More and more often today however, model designers are texturing their kits with highlights and shadows for a more realistic look, and the builder must take this into account during assembly. All the wheels must be placed on the model so that the highlights are all oriented in the same direction, or it just looks unrealistic and weird. I decided to have the "sun" be directly overhead. The second photo illustrates my point regarding the importance of proper orientation.

The remaining wheels and sprockets were all glued up in the same manner and affixed to the hull, being careful to ensure that overlap point of the strips will all be hidden eventually by the track.

Next I'll move on to the tracks.

[cfuruti]

Hi Don. Nice job so far, as expected.

Originally Posted by rockpaperscissor

On many vehicle models, the orientation of the wheel discs doesn't really matter, because the parts are often one monochrome color with simple black donuts or dots denoting rivets, bolt heads etc. More and more often today however, model designers are texturing their kits with highlights and shadows for a more realistic look, and the builder must take this into account during assembly. All the wheels must be placed on the model so that the highlights are all oriented in the same direction, or it just looks unrealistic and weird.

How very true. Once the viewer understands how shapes affects shades and highlights, inconsistent orientation just destroys belief. This also means that wheel shape must be studied beforehand: while wheels of most tanks are either flat or concave outwards, the unpaired (usually at the front) wheels of many trucks, and the odd-numbered road wheels of the PzKpfw V and variants - photo by "Jacob" via Wikipedia - are convex, therefore the lighting must be reversed.

[Sidewinder81777]

Looking great so far, I'd love a copy of the repaint if Rawen is ok with it.

[Vinalssergio155]

To complement the clear description of the attention that must be paid when positioning the wheels, an example of bad orientation. In my M53 / 55 do not pay attention to this detail. Great job Don.

[Don Boose]

The suspension looks great!

Good tip about shadowed wheels. Dave Winfield always includes instructions about that with his kits since he also shadow shades his wheels.

Looking at this Comet makes me wish someone would come out with a 1/48-or-so Coventanter, which came between the Crusader and the Cromwell - sort of, it was actually developed in parallel with the Crusader). Not a terrific tank operationally, but to my eye, it was one of the nicer-looking of the British cruiser tank series. It served with the British 1st, 9th, and Guards and 1st Polish armored divisions, although never in combat, except as artillery observation posts and bridge-layers. I still have a 1/108 scale Comet(!) Metal Products (later, Authenticast) Covenanter that I acquired in my youth.

Sorry for the diversion, Don, but as I was typing, my mind wandered.

On with the build!

Don