This is another kit that I started and then paused. I think it was the thought of the individual link tracks that intimidated me.

The kit actually went together very well. I assembled the lower hull without attaching the slanting panels - the ones that fit just above the wheels - and then painted the hull. I figured, correctly, that it would be easier to paint the nooks and crannies that way. However, it also would have been easier to paint the wheels themselves before assembly. They rotated after painting, exposing areas that hadn't been painted, so I had to touch them up. I jumped ahead and assembled the turret, and painted it at the same time as the lower hull.

The instructions show a mixture of XF-62:2 Olive Drab and XF-59:1 Desert Yellow for the exterior. A little poking around the web tells me that the exterior of British military vehicles in the early part of the war was Khaki Green #3. To my eye, this color looks more brown than green. This site shows a slightly different mixture, namely XF-62:3 and XF-59:2. I did a test, and the result looked a lot like XF-51 Khaki Drab, albeit a bit lighter. I actually used a mixture of XF-51:3 and XF-59:2. I think it turned out okay.

Now was time to assemble the tracks. The kit comes with parts for 144 track links, of which 138 are used. Amazing, I didn't lose any. Each track link is two pieces, and removing them from the sprues, cleaning them up, and gluing the pieces together was very tedious. I decided to paint them before assembly, which was also tedious. I chose to paint before assembly because I was afraid that if I painted them after assembly, there would be spots in-between the tracks that I would miss. In the end, I should have painted them after assembly, then touched up any exposed areas by hand. Also, I painted each link in two steps, but intead of painting inner and outer, I painted left and right. That was also a mistake, as there are links where the two don't quite match. I used Testors Flat Black, in the 1/4 ounce bottle, for the tracks.

After all the tracks had been painted, it was time for linking the tracks together. This turned out to be trivial - the total process took just a few minutes, if that. Not only was linking the tracks together quite simple, but putting them on the tank was also easy. I don't know if all kits with individual tracks go together this well, but it has relieved any apprehension I had about using single-link tracks in the future. (I'm guessing a Sherman, where there is very little slack in the tracks, might be a bit more difficult.)

I only applied the four decals that were shown in the instructions. The kit also comes with a few slogans, which you can apply as you wish. It wasn't until I was taking the photos that I realized the pool-up of clear gloos on the right side. That decal was tricky to apply, as I had already attached the long tool, and the decal goes underneath the tool. I was actually a little surprised that the decals that go on the hull were one piece - I expected that there would be two decals, one for the part that goes on the hull proper and a second one for the part that goes on the side skirt.

Although I have attempted to weather other armor kits in the past, I didn't do any weathering on this kit.

Page last updated January 23, 2024.