British Tank Reburbishment Pt. 2.

After spraying the tanks with some nice grey primer, it was time to go about adding missing hatches and tracks. Some of the resulting repairs were a little sub optimal due to shortages of parts.

Left track - an original Airfix rubber Sherman track. Right track - a mix of matchbox Firefly track, plastic strapping, and plastic card.

The Airfix track looks good!

The unholy mixture used to create the right track. Still, a coat of paint hides many sins.

While not the best of replacements, it does the job and looks better than the last resort of using plastic strapping to create both tracks. This has been the fate of more than one refurbished tank...
The replacement of missing turrethatches was to prove easier. I first roughly cut out a circle of about the right size and cut it in half. I then glued it down, and put a bit of card atop on hatch to act as vision block.

Precision craftsmanship at its finest..

This one was only half as difficult...

Given that these are quite world weary kits, I felt that  economy of  effort was justified in getting them up to a useable standard. My priority is to get as many fieldable tanks as possible onto the tabletop, and this current refurbishment reflects this philosophy.

An additional tank has been added to to this batch - a Matchbox Comet. When I was looking for track for Shermans, I discovered a gun from a Comet, so i quickly knocked up a very basic mantlet  out of plastic card, and glued it, and the gun into place.

A very basic mantlet.

I haven't replaced the missing rollers.

Another view.

Side by side with the first comet, which has been sprayed using FOW Late War British Armour.

After the missing bits are added (either pre or post priming), they are getting sprayed with the FOW Late War British Armour spray, and then getting either a black or brown wash. End result: more table ready tanks!