It is a new year so I wanted to get something new on the table!
I shoved aside all the old and ongoing builds and I am aiming at a “quick 'n easy” build.
It is Zvezda’s T-26, model 1933 which will be done in Finnish colours. I once got hold of an Arsenal35 infantry figure, which forms the inspiration for this.
The first step is assembling the chassis; 6 pieces which align rather easily.
Sounds interesting.
So far the build is without much hickups. Just a few ejectormarks in really awkward places. And the plastic is soft, it frays when sanded.
And the figure I want to use.
In my eagerness to get going I made a mistake: I took the wrong T-26!
The green one was meant to become a Spanish Civil War version, so that is what I will continue with. This one will not have a figure!
The Finnish one will be this Mirage kit, and that one will get the figure.
Very interesting!
I´m Spanish but I have never modeled a vehicle from our Civil War…been thinking for a while to build the T-26 from Hobby Boss. 33 euros is the price at my hobby shop.
I´ll keep an eye on your build.
Regards
Carlos
I read Beevor’s book on the Civil War, inspiring me to do this build.
I´ve read a couple of books from Beevor and I would say he´s a slightly biased historian…my two cents here: read also books from other authors about the Spanish Civil War.
I know, but books on the SCW are not easy to come by around here.
Any suggestions on authors btw?
The first challenges with the Mirage kit have already been encountered; very heavy sprues and all but useless rubberband tracks, which look nothing like what they should.
But I needed (wanted) this version because of the differences. Mirage has an interesting way of dividing the turret into parts. The entire front has to be attached. Never seen anything like it.
Hey, Ron. Thanks for posting your build pictures for these models. Vickers 6 Ton Tanks are very important vehicles on the tank evolutionary tree. With the very large number of copies, descendants, and variants, a lot of models exist. Some get decent in-box reviews but a build offers way more information. Mirage and Zvezda 6 Ton Tanks have hung out of my list of Models for Consideration to Purchase for a couple decades.
According to ScaleMates, your Mirage T-26(r) is a 2020 boxing.
Your Zvezda T-26 (Mod. 1933) is a 2019 boxing. It would be interesting to know if the Revell boxing uses better plastic (at the risk of sink marks and short shots).
Curiously, some Mirage T-26 models have link and length tracks while others include belts.
Thanks!
The Zvezda I can recommend. You get quite a decent kit for your (few) bucks. I am not sure about accuracy, but am no rivetcounter either. It looks the part so far.
Awesome. I probably should have picked up the Revell version when Andy was blowing them out for $17 US. 
For what it is worth, 27 years ago, Steve Zaloga really liked the Zvezda T-26. Subsequent releases received fairly good reviews. If you want to explore accuracy, some reviews offer useful information.
Mirage T-26 (and 7TP) models are fairly cheap to North America via eBay. I am curious how you will rate that one.
Even one year ago, accuracy was really important to me. At the moment, I will trade some accuracy for easy and fun.
Some suggestions but I don´t know if there´s an English language edition:
The Mirage T-26 is progressing. The fit of the hull is challenging to get together and squared out, the bogies fiddly (ended up glueing it all in place) and the tracks are just junk.
But it is a $10 kit, so you get $10 quality, I guess. But with some effort it should look T-26… ish in the end. If you squint…
The tracks have to be heatjoined, like the Tamiya tracks of old, but these tracks have no lugs that need shaping. You’ll have to ruin any detail and melt it all together and even then they might pop. But I used the low melting point in an experiment to create track sag. Tied them with copperwire, heated them with a hairdrier and drenched them with superglue.
Looking good keep it up.
Zvezda’s T-26 is done assembly-wise.
I did not alter anything, apart from adding a mesh screen for the air inlet and a new corner iron on the leftfront, because the original has been sacrificed to the carpetmonster.
I hollowed out the barrel and exhaust and after painting a clear lense will be added to the headlight.
The Mirage T-26 is assembled now, too.
It is a cheap kit and one can not expect top quality of course, but it does look T-26-ish.
Many small parts broke, because the plastic is brittle and the connecting points to the sprues absurdly thick. That also damaged a number of the larger parts. Fit in places is good, in others less so.
I hollowed out barrel and exhaust and I need to add some more plastic here and there. Some parts need an additional rub down with sandpaper too.
Yesterday was sprayday… and the devil had a ball!
Everything that could go wrong pretty much did; overspray & bleeding, paint to thick or too thin, too much pressure or too low, the airbrush started having an inconsistent flow, either too much or nothing, spilling and dripping and in the end one of the cans hit the floor. Without lid of course.
The colours are too much on the red in these pictures.
Today went a bit better, but was also more challenging. I had to do the Model 1933 turret in Spanish Republican colours.
The general idea I was aiming for:
Masking, spraying, waiting…
Masking, spraying, waiting…
Masking… etc.
The moment of truth:
The results for now:
with only one damage, one of the supports broke off:
Now comes the job of touching up and detailpainting.
Very nice!
But this is not republican, it has been captured and repainted by the nationalist (Franco’s army)
