Car in the kit is deffo a Citroen 11CV TA. No doubt the Big T scaled down their 1:35 kit…
Actually Tom, they issued the Citroen 11 CV in1/48th scale kit in 2005
The 1/35th was 4 years later:
The “Traction” included in the name is not actually correct and is not in the official name. ‘Traction Avant’ simply means front wheel drive. The ‘11 CV’ is the French designation for '11 Fiscal Horsepower ’ - the CV rating determined the car tax calculation!
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This is cool info, but dude, how do you know this stuff?
A very trivial mind. I have been banned from all work related trivia competitions…
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Hello,
if I may, in France this car is really known as Traction Avant. It’s the first front wheel drive of Citroën (french manufacturer steel existing) in 1934. Its history is linked in the collective memory to the Occupation, Gestapo car ride and icon of the Resistance. For the French this Traction Avant is as iconic as the beret and the baguette… and the croissants.
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Yes, but in the same way a Sturmpanzer 43 is commonly called a “Brummbar”, the Renault FT is commonly called a FT 17, and so forth. Whilst it may commonly be called a Traction Avant, that is not the official name - it was the statement of it being front wheel drive like a Toyota Hilux 4WD:
Traction Avant in quotation marks to denote the unofficial name:
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@bwilt nice work on the AMX. Congratulations on finishing.
I managed a bit on the Mirage today. Just little jobs and fitted the strakes on the rear fuselage. Nothing really worth photographing. Hopefully I’ll have her ready for some paint next weekend.
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Thanks, I am sure the Mirage is going to look grand… with that kind of a chair inside of it…
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I got a bit more done on the Char 2 over the weekend. The big thing was to get the tracks reglued. I tried drilling them for pins but found the material surrounding the holes to be very thin in places nd the drill broke through. In the end, another attempt with fresh CA glue did the trick. The only other progress was to glue the gun & top hatch cover on and do a bit more sanding with the newly arrived sanding “twigs.”
Next will be a good scrub in dish washing soap and some primer to see where we are at.
The only pictures I could find online are these:
The color appears quite light so I have selected a khaki that might look good. Any other ideas? The pictures show no markings at all.
Paul
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I have another French project in mind down the road some after I build a few easier ship models to work up my chops. It is the ironclad battleship Hoche, a 1/350 resin kit from Combrig. Its a neat looking thing, much in my pre Dreadnought interest level. Looking online for information I found some useful photos in black & white and this wonderfully atmospheric painting:
I LOVE the red color in the painting but have to wonder if the ship was really painted like that? Possibly it was just a primer that was later painted some other less interesting color?
I thought that some of you who share an interest in French subjects might know what color should be used on this model.
Paul
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A few more here which do not appear as bleached as the other two:
Only 1 or 2 were made, neither actually armoured, and who knows what the manufacturer used to paint it. Tank encyclopaedia has an illustration in grey, but possibly it was a Khaki Green? With no actual information, what you choose can’t be argued within reason. You can always go what if and do what you like.
Thanks petbat, the site you found had a lot more photos than I was able to find. On my best guess I’ll shoot it with something in stock that matches the light color.
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Just a little progress to report here. I shot some rattlecan primer today, the first model painting in something like 4 years. Its still winter here & I’m up at 4200’ so its cold. The area is also often windy so finding a good time to paint is not easy. Today it was cold but both the model parts & the paint were indoors so I brought them outside and had at it while still in the morning calm. Just as I started to spray the breeze came in but I was able to work between gusts. So here it is:
One nice thing is that the raster lines look like they have largely disappeared under the Krylon.
Paul
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I ran into some paint issues on the Char 2 build. After shooting the Krylon primer I applied some Rustoleum camo color. The paint session started well but as I was painting the breeze kicked up which resulted in some heavy spots and some light spots. I stopped before I considered the job done to wait for calmer weather. A second coat just made the situation worse.
I have just sent a message to the kit maker to see if the paint can be stripped off without harming the model and if so how. I may have to start again with another kit.
Paul
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Some fantastic models getting put together in this campaign! Great to see all these interesting French made things in one place.
I’m going to jump in myself now with a little rocket from Renault.
I’m sure some of you will know the Renault 5 by sight. This is the Mk.1 (R5) Alpine which was one of the first hot hatches. It had 93hp from a 1.4 and is a bit of a cult classic these days.
The kit is a rebox of a 1981 Esci offering and, if I’m honest, is showing its age.
Building starts with the engine block and that’s just where I’m at.
I’ve also had to rescribe the door panel at the A pillar which was poorly defined.
Thanks for reading and best of luck with your own builds!
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Ahhh, the days when the ‘Butterbox’ on wheels shape was all the rage…
Nice to see one of the car builders join in - welcome Karl.
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Okay my start pic - a different Renault to Karl’s!:
As previously mentioned, I will be doing mine in Bulgarian Army markings…
and where I am at:
The upper hull has two sections that need to be glued to the hull sides for the distinctive curve above the fender line. The fit on mine was not the best, it seems the two thin sections were slightly warped, so I glued one end in place and when set, moved backwards to glue the remaining length in place. A little filler was needed to blend it together in places.
I have started the bogie assemblies now. One done and a little filler needed at the join at the ends, but no issues otherwise.
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I am at the same spot. I have the insides pre-painted and was going to paint the wheels before assembly.
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This sure is becoming a very widely varied collection, very nice!!
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Bulgarian marking should make for a very interesting piece- I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a model of this in their markings.
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