Modelik Mk A Whippet 1/25

[lmsjim]

Charlie, not sure why but they only had the roadwheels I made. The instructions only show the axles for the rest. Of course I could have printed up more but I had done some test track links and realized you will not see any of them at all so did not bother. The alignment problem was because the roadwheels were too big in diameter, which I did not discover until I was trying to install them. Jig would not help here. Almost left the off all together but decided since I had made them up I would use them. Like I have said before several times a lot of the details on the sponsons will not show once the track is on and if I built this one again I would just leave them off and make this a lot easier build.

Now the tracks

I finally got to the point I needed to come back to the tracks. As I mentioned above I had built some test links using all the parts and I was not happy with the results of the details (connectors etc.) on the bottom. I knew there is no way I am going to be able to make the connectors look decent or uniform. Anyway there is only a short run on the top of the sponsons where you can actually see these connectors and then only if you pick up the model and turn it over. I therefore decided to make all the lengths without the connectors. I actually got the idea from my Mark IV kit. I made a two piece male and female form from styrene. When I glued the bottom piece to the top and the glue was still wet I put it on the male form and pushed down with the female form to give the ridge a better shape. When I assembled the track links I used a jig to keep them straight.

Once I had made enough track pads I added the rivets using my 1mm screw punch and card. These were then glued to a strip of card that I cut just long enough to reach around the sponsons. I then glued on the track pads. By the way it takes 51 pads per track. The kit provides a large number of extras. One track down and one to go. I am hoping to start painting soon just a few thousand more rivets to go plus if my grandkids give me time over Thanksgiving.


Jim

[lmsjim]

Did manage to get a few other things done over Thanksgiving.

I continued to add rivets for a couple of days but finally got them all on. Now that the basic kit was completed I started with the extra detail. The Whippets when in the field often had extra boxes mounted on either side of the superstructure. These were for tools and other items since there was no room inside for much except the crew. These boxes varied a lot but I took one style I had seen on several and scratch built them using card stock and brass wire.

I also made a number of track spuds. These were block of wood with metal clamps on either end to attach to the tracks when the tank was having to deal with mud. When not in use they were hung around the outside of the tank. I made these out of bass wood and paper. Bolts were added to either side and both ends. These were made from 2mm punches from a screw punch and 1.5mm nuts from AvantCard. These were first stained then painted.

Jim

[Tim Crowe]

This build keeps getting better and better.

Tim

[Don Boose]

Excellent. Those are superior, and highly detailed, track spuds.

Don

[lmsjim]

I have finally started the painting. As I mentioned earlier I wanted it to represent Caesar II from WWI since I wanted it to represent a tank from then and not the Northern Ireland tank like the kit, which is from after the war. I first sprayed the pieces with acrylic sealer. I gave it three coats to be sure it was completely sealed. I then sprayed with light gray acrylic paint to provide a base and to help check for seam problems. I then sprayed with black to preshaded the model. The next step was to paint the national marking areas with white paint. I then masked off the sides and sprayed with red paint. These were then masked off and the rest of the tank was sprayed with Tamiya olive green which had been thinned a lot. I then added yellow, olive drab and white paint in various mixtures and super thin to highlight the center of panels.

The tracks were sprayed rust on both sides. They were then given three coats of Future floor wax along with the tank. I then gave them a wash of ProModeller black wash.



Jim

[jagolden01]

Stupendous job, Jim. Painting looks great.

[Don Boose]

Looks great to me!

Don

[Tim Crowe]

Great work! Can't wait for more pictures.

Tim

[lmsjim]

Thanks guys.

Well I finally finished it.

I made the decals by scanning in a set of decals from a 1/72 Whippet kit I happened to have and enlarged them to 1/35 scale. These were put on and painted around to blend in. I then sprayed them with several coats of Future to seal before weathering.
The mufflers were weather then glued onto the sides of the chassis. I also added mounting brackets around them made from brass wire.

I used ProModeller black to give the rivets and bolts shadow by using the pen wash method of putting a drop on each one. The model was then dry brushed with a mixture of white, green, and yellow ochre oil paints. Except for the tracks the rest of the model was sprayed with acrylic clear flat. I wanted the tracks to stay shiny to represent the wear that tracks normally gets. The tracks were first glued on the sponsons then the sponsons were glued onto the sides of the main chassis.

I then sprayed the sides and bottom with ProModeller sand to give it a slightly dirty look. I don’t like to overdue weathering on armored vehicles. I think heavy mud just covers up the model and all the work that was done. Of course it also can be used to cover poor construction. Like to just dirty it up enough to make it look like it has been used. Of course everyone is different in this. I then added the spuds and tools in the two storage boxes on the rear. I got the tools from a G scale railroad tool set which I repainted and weathered. I also added the horns last. I have found these guys get easily damaged if put on too soon. By the way they are there to support a canvas strip that was supposed to keep mud from flying up but I have only seen a couple of photos of them on. I gather they were easily damaged and discarded by the crews.

I have included a photo taken with a 1/72 Whippet I built some time ago for scale.

Overall I really liked the kit. It did take a lot longer to build than I expected but I am of course still learning.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement on this project. Next kit I think will be an FT-17.

Jim

[Kevin WS]

Extremely impessive. Well done!

Picture of the week?????