Armortek

Hello.

I thought I would start a thread to tap into the vast knowledge that you gentlemen have and as the build goes on maybe pass a bit of knowledge back.
I take delivery of my Grant tomorrow and the electronics later in the year and I feel like a kid at Christmas.
So I'm all ears if anyone has any pointers on build issues that could otherwise trip me up in the early stages they will be gratefully received.

Stu.

Looking forward to follow your build Stu.

Vince

Welcome to the gang, Stuart ! You'll find us a friendly, helpful group (everyone, not just the M3 owners).

For a first model, the M3 will be a challenge, so don't hesitate to ask for help. After all, we all started somewhere .....

Best wishes,

Chris

Iv'e decided to paint my Grant in desert colours so what is the correct shade and where can I buy Enamel spray cans of the stuff?
Or is it cheaper to buy a small spray gun and a big tin?

Thanks in advance.

Stu, I'm sure the Grant Godfathers will step up to the plate but I'll offer my two cents.

In December 1941, General Order 1272 introduced a standard single colour, British Standard Colour No. 61, Light Stone. BSC No 64 Portland Stone also features. In 1942, a more scientific analysis of camouflage needs in the desert by the Camouflage Directorate of GHQ ME resulted in a new General Order. By this time, formations such as 22nd Armoured Brigade and some of the more experienced regiments such as 3RTR were using their own versions of a disruptive pattern camouflage with Light Stone as the base colour. The new GO, 1650 of Dec 1942 introduced a new base colour, Desert Pink ZI, which had been pioneered by the Long Range Desert Group. The disruptive pattern was applied with one of four colours, Dark Olive Green PFI, Standard Camouflage Colour No. 14 Blue-black, British Standard Colour No. 34 Slate or SCC No. 1A Very Dark Brown. The GO provided some templates for the camouflage pattern, although in practice, units "freestyled" it.

Rattle cans are perfectly usable but the range of colours is limited unless you go for automotive paints, which are only going to be an approximate match. They're also relatively crude to use. If you discount the cost of an airbrush and compressor, the airbrush route will be much cheaper in paint costs. You will be very surprised at how economical an airbrush is. You don't need a big can of paint, you can cover an entire Armortek model with about six tinlets or bottles of model paint. If this seems implausible, bear in mind that you will thin the paint by at least 100%, ie a one to one mix. I would probably thin it even further, so your model paints will go a long way. You will also be able to find colours which are much closer to the original. Do have a look at this thread:

http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... ceb9fa572e

There are many options for model paints, which vary considerably in the accuracy of the hue, compared with the original. The AK so-called Real Colours Range purports to be accurate but are generally regarded as being less so. Two ranges which are well regarded by made by Hannants the model shop (Xtracrylics) and Hataka, a relatively new manufacturer who are getting good reviews.

Finally, the acknowledged experts on British WW2 colours are Mike Starmer and Dick Taylor, both of whom have written books on the subject. If you Google Mike Starmer, you'll get a stack of hits with his recommendations.

Hope this helps, Enjoy your build.

Stephen

Thanks Stephen.
Great reply and plenty to go on.

I’ve had a bit of a look through this forum but I can’t find anything about painting tracks.

So are they painted in gum metal or black and then weathered?

I’ve read the tip about assembling them it was the painting bit that I need a bit of advice on.

Hi Stu!

All I do is after they're assembled I lay'em out and spray the end connectors OD. Dirt will quickly 'clean' any wear points especially on any rubber. Or if you're going to paint the tank a desert color I'd just spray the connectors the same as the tank.

When I epoxy the tires on the road wheels I don't worry too much about that either because any dried epoxy will quickly get worn off the flexible rubber.

And on my German vehicles all I've did is give them a spray of cheap flat tan. That quickly wears off on any high points too.

Mike

Stu, as ever, if you're stuck on something, the first place to try is the Knowledge Base. I wrote a specific topic on painting tracks, here:

http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... e7b5a30fa9

Thanks Stephen.

I have to admit there is one hell of a lot of knowledge on here.

Hi Stu

The simplest would be to spray before assembly if you haven't got that far.

If you have assembled your track I would lay them out, mask the treads and then spray the metal parts. Mikes solution of spraying would give a lot of overs-pray that would not happen on the real article - because of size. The spray guns used on the real tanks would not give the equivalent amount of over-spray.

Apologies for no posting anything up until now but meeting some of you at the Armortek open day yesterday has got me in the mood.
Here's where I'm up to.
I'm not one for huge essays, more of a picture paints a thousand words.

But I did pick all this lot up.

Good job your a Techinical industrial electrician Stuart, though I shall be checking if it's up to code when you cram that lot in.

Hi Stu, found a M3 with some extra armor, sadly I don't think it is a Grant.

Cossack is a Lee, used in Burma. Hence the lack of the 'silly top turret' (TM) . So not at all what a Desert Grant would look like ......