Mead, man you’ve turned from a kit builder to a scratchbuilding fiend! Excellent work and really coming along!
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Thanks! I am having fun with it for sure! Nice skill to add to the toolbox.
Hard thing I am finding about it is telling myself it will look better with paint lol. Hard not to look at all that white card and think wow this looks pretty bland and basic
Yah it was nice and fun!
As far as correcting…Im fighting my OCD to say this but, Im just going to build up the kit as OOB as I can and really just focus on painting and weathering.
Introducing, Churchill chairs Mk II, new and improved for driver and bow gunner comfort!
The first try upon inspection were a little small and out of scale. I’ve remade chairs and reshaped them to better match how the actually ones look
This scratch building thing is addictive. Next up, the gear shift box, and drivers foot pedals and steering crontols, and then time to start making things to populate the inside like MG ammo boxes, haversacks and such
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Yep, you are lost to the Styrene Strip Gods… Frequent offerings of styrene scraps and blood by fingercuts are mandatory.
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Having scratched a bunch of MG ammo boxes for a Cromwell interior, I can thoroughly recommend buying a resin set! They are a real PITA, and doing multiples only adds to the misery…
But those seats are a triumph!
Alright, I think I’m calling this one done (for now). Not completely satisfied, but that’s the story of this kit it seems.
Daimler Ferret Mk. 1 in the markings of 56 Canadian Reconnaissance Squadron as she might have appeared on UNEFservice in The Sinai c. 1956.
This was actually my second time building this kit (Accurate Armour Ferret Mk 1/1), though the first was over a decade ago. From memory, the last time went much smoother.
The original moulds are from ‘98 and they’re starting to show their age I feel. I had multiple casting issues and several parts arrived in powder form. There are fit issues between the hull tub and the top, though I’ve left it removable so it’s not a big deal. The instructions also suffer from a lack of clarity exasperated by the number of variants that can be built and the extensive time these vehicles were in service (over 40 years!)
On the plus side however, it’s a really cool subject! This is the only example in 1/35 (or any other scale) that’s readily available on the commercial market. Casting flaws aside, the detail is actually quite crisp overall and though the instructions were a bit middling, the ability to mix and match your parts makes for a highly customizable and satisfying end result.
Please ignore the lack of steering controls. The wheel and handbrake were two of the parts ground to dust in shipping and I don’t have anything suitable at hand to replace them with.
Here’s how she stacks up against some of her sisters. I’m planning a small desert base for display, but I need to plan that out and order up some materials so that’ll be left to another day.
Next up on the bench, something I haven’t built since I was but a wee ladd… a flying machine!
This will eventually end up in the markings of 430 Sqn. RCAF on D-Day.
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I really like this wee vehicle! It is tiny compared to the others! Never realized it was the size of a jeep. And you have a thing for UN vehicles?
I enjoyed your build and your story. Thanks for that and the endresult is nothing to complain about. Far from!
Thanks! I am really happy with them! I did order some resin ones but the only set I could find only came with 6 I believe and I didn’t want to order 5 sets. I plan on using the resin ones for the out in the open easy to see ones and scratching others
Turned out great! I like the Bren gun 
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Thanks for the kind words Ron.
Not so much a thing for UN vehicles as ones in Canadian Service (aside from the obvious oddballs up there). Just so happens that UN deployments make up a significant portion of the CF deployment timeline.
They also provide a nice diversion from olive drab and building Sherman running gear.
Don’t worry though. I’ve got a Leopard sitting in the stash to continue the green tracked monster theme.
That looks spectacular! The weathering looks awesome as well!
That Bren gun looks pretty cool on there as well.
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Ezra I’m gonna break your heart. What green did you use? It might be your lighting but it looks too far to the yellow side of the spectrum compared to what the CF typically used as their base green.
Also, thanks to you that little bugger is on its way to my house.
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It must be my lighting. I used AK light OD as it looks like a close match to the green in the pictures. In real life the green I sprayed looks a bit darker. I also used this link for trying to figure out the color. If it still seems to yellow I can add a filter to bring the green color back.
Ha! I was just about to send you Here for the same reason!
Either way, your build looks great and I’m most impressed with your craft paint saga. Though I think you brought the black up a millimetre too high on the driver side rear 
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Aghhh your right I did!!! Well time to repaint the rear… 
I did warn you! 
Don, the Ferret is fantastic. You did a great job on her. I know how AA kits can grind you (and their parts) down… you have come up trumps.
Sorry Ezra, but I agree with the guys, that ‘green’ looks like Baby Poop Brown, not that I expect you would know that at your age… AK Light OD is supposed to be used as a very thin highlight colour for their modulation technique. You need their Dark OD Base or their next colour up their modulation scale as a base coat first and a ‘mist coat’ of this at best. I’m not into ‘modulation’ but I do use their Dark OD base as I love the colour.
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Actually Peter I primed the model with dark OD from a spray can first then built the OD highlight up in layers.
I have their OD modulation set as well and love it. Hopefully a wash and some dust will tone the color down a bit.
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