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I guess 12 months isn't long enough for me to complete a Group Build. I bought this last year as my entry but as you might have guessed I got distracted by a few automobile builds. Anyway, I thought I should post this now because I haven't built a tank for a while. The original plan was to build it OOB in a similar manner to Philipps great build. But, the more I looked at the kit and the more research I did, the more I thought about doing a battlefield wreck. Even though I started this build in October I waited until now to post it because, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. After looking at a walkaround of an original example of the StChamond I started with the front plate which would be plainly visible through the open door. Once I had that done I decided to add more to the inner hull including the framing with bolts. I wasted a lot of time making most of the interior fittings, ammo holders, seat for the driver, etc. Once I finished all that I realised that any explosion would demolish most of the delicate details I had painstakingly made.
The next big stumbling block was the engine. I had pics of the interior in the museum example but unfortunately, the engine is not original. Again I wasted a lot of time searching for a clear example and in the end, I just cobbled something together. and here it is mounted in the hull. Once I had the basic interior done it was time to cut open the hull. Out with the Dremel and in quick time, I had this. and a mock-up to see what would be visible. Then I started making up the damaged armour plates. One unique feature of the StChamond is the sandwich style armour on the side plates. I was determined to get that right. Then it was just a matter of adding all the bent armour plate to the hull. This is the result so far. Finally, these are the main subassemblies. I made sure I could paint everything separately. I still have a lot of details to finish off but you can see where I'm headed.
Better get back to the bench.
Thanks for looking.
Vincent

Exceptional detailing Vincent

Keep it up

Makes me feel embarrassed by my quick fix!

Regards

Steve H

That has to be the most amazing feat of scratchbuilding this site has seen in a long time!

I feel so very inadequate now

Philipp

Great work Vincent, not sure I have the patience or skill to do what you do!

Exceptional work as usual, but it looks nothing like a sub.
Great work

Michael

Michael Power wrote: ↑25 Nov 2018, 21:21 Exceptional work as usual, but it looks nothing like a sub.
Great work

Michael

It does have a "double hull".....

Wow. You don't see a lot of WWI wreck builds. Terrific scratch work.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words. Not much progress over the last few days unfortunately but I hope to get more time soon.

Cheers,
Vincent

I have only one thing to say.........PRIMER!! Its just dry fitted at the moment so I can still break it down to smaller sub assemblies.
Now to figure out how to paint it

Vincent

I've been playing around with some rust ideas. The pictures are of the interior (obviously)where I thought I would try a few different things. Don't stress out with the vibrant colours either, in reality, they aren't that bright. Anyway, this is what I came up with.
The front plate I would say is 90% done. It needs a pin wash for the bolts and recesses. This side wall needs more contrasts I think. It's a little bland at the moment but it is a work in progress. I think I will tone this one down. The plate on the left is way over the top and it needs to be darker as it will act as the visual link between the inside and outside areas damaged by the explosion. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for looking. I better get back to the bench now.

Vincent