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Friday, 9 March 2012

Skill Level 1 (Off Topic #22)

I first made one of these Airfix 25pdr kits when I was twelve and I remember that it was a right old fiddle. That one was painted green and saw service with some first-issue Airfix British Infantry (the tiny rubbishy ones). This one is joining the Desert Rats and despite being labelled as “Skill Level 2” I found it just as fiddly as before with several vital bits disappearing forever in the pile of the carpet. I have concluded that my own skill level is definitely “1”.

I am however very pleased with my conversion of an Airfix machine-gun loader to a gunner holding a shell. I cut away the ammo box attached to his leg and fashioned a shell out of green-stuff. I had to do this because the gunners that come with the kit are huge and blobby and slightly sinister looking. The figure with the binoculars is from the newer 8th Army set.

Anyway, now this little diversion is out of the way I'm going to knuckle down and paint more Hinton Hunt Prussian Jagers.
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3 comments:

  1. Paulalba9 March 2012 at 13:21

    LOL Brilliant Ian,
    Brings back a lot of memories, I think I still have a couple in a shoe box in the loft. My bug bear was the Airfix churchill, it was a killer to put together.
    Cheers
    Paul

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  2. lewisgunner19 March 2012 at 10:08

    My gripe with Airfix was the tracks on the tanks. They were stretchy plasic and you held them together either by heat deforming the ends of the lugs or us ing staples. Either way they ended too tight. At first this was just inaccurarate because tracks sag on the idler wheels, they are not taut, but as time went on the tight track would bend the drive and return wheels inwards as it applied twension to the plastic axles (often already weakened by the application of too much glue.

    And yes, the Churchill running gear was a particular devil, all those fiddly little wheels!!

    Roy

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  3. Stryker19 March 2012 at 19:15

    Hi Roy, yeah you're right about those tracks. If you stapled them up correctly they were too small to get on the wheels without bending the whole assembly. I think in the end I stuck mine on with loads of glue leaving a gap underneath. I never attempted the Churchill (luckily by the sound of it!) but did do the Sherman and the STUG assault gun. My favourites were the polythene one-piece ones they brought out - no assembly at all!

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