Hi All, am in the process of building this beasty, and for the main part it is pretty straight forward. Now I'm not the biggest fan of PE, but I have to say that I am having a bit of a nightmare with the PE Tie downs, (part P9). Any tips gratefully received.

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(PS: Put this also in constructive comments to get as wide a selection of views as possible.)

Hi Stephen

Great to see this new model being built, looks like you have a winner!
Cna you comment on general fit of parts and clarity of the instructions - will you eventually get it finished ?

Cheers

Erik Jan

Erik,

Great question. The fit of the parts so far has been excellent, the only bugbear I have is the PE tie downs which are, in my opinion, frankly too small to work with. Luckily there are molded on tie downs which to my mind are perfectly adequate and which look far better than my PE bending skills will allow. There are only two areas that are lacking this detail though and that is the hull rear and the underside of the gun shield so I will have to man up. Anyway I have included a couple of photographs of the build up of the upper hull sides for your judgement. The only pitfall that I have encountered so far and is more than likely to be my fault, is the rear lower hull section that joins onto the upper hull rear, (the drivers vision area on the rear of the superstructure), I initially managed to place it too low to join comfortably and will therefore have to use a little filler to correct my mistake. The instructions are superb, in my opinion Bronco have really improved in this area since their initial offerings and they are perfectly easy and straight forward. Not a quick build with over 40 steps but not frustrating as to put you off either. This will take me the best part of a week to finish with my modest modelling skills and then the headache of how to paint the interior will begin. I know that most will think to leave of the upper hull sides around the gun compartment but with all the extra bits that are added to the hull sides and upper this would be increadibly difficult to do. Thanks for the kind comments I hope you enjoy the second part. PS the upper hull and gun are only placed with tape and not glued down so I hope it will give you an indication of the fit of the parts.

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You have really done this kit justice, and thanks for elaborating on your build too.
I will certainly take your words to heart; I hope to get mine in a week or two.

Keep posting,

Cheers

Erik Jan

Keep at it !

Andrew

Ok, so I get to step 33 and stop. The reason, well the fighting compartment, how to paint the fine details in the fighting compartment if the superstructure is in place. The simple answer to that question is, badly simply because, when the upper superstructure is secured in place the space is extremely tight which will not allow me free reign with the airbrush/brush. The following pictures will attest to this;

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So in my modest opinion, don't glue down the upper hull sides until you have painted the interior.

So after blood, sweat and tears she is finally built. Although built out of the box this kit was still challenging. If typical of modern kits then in the demand for greater detail we have ended up with fiddly, frustrating builds that are questionably not worth it? I don't know but that is for the individual modeller to work out for themselves.

For the extra bits like the wiring for the headlights and smoke emitters I used fuse wire and not what they suggest, stretched sprue, which frankly wouldn't work. Be careful of the road wheel alignment, this can be very easy to knock out and then fitting the track can be problematic. Choose your version carefully, the inclusion of the No 19 wireless aerial is debateable as the only radio supplied with the kit is the infantry/artillery No 43 so the only aerial mount I used was the left hand one as you look at the nose section. Comments are invited please.

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What do you think?

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Hi Stephen

Yesterday I had a look at your Archer - then you hadn't painted it, now I have a 2nd look & find that you've finished it.
Great work!
Looking at your model certainly gives the impression of what a beautiful veh the Archer is- that is, until you realise that the gun points to the rear, then you start thinking WTF?
But that is just how the real veh operated, and certainly isn't meant as a critical remark on your work.

Thanks for sharing

Erik Jan

Your comments are really welcome. I made the mistake of posting my final shots on the 'Constructive Comments' thread and have received one response that is negative, ho hum. As to your question on the No 19, I would have to say no as there is little room inside the fighting compartment, that and the fact that this vehicle was used by Royal Artillery units who mainly used the No48 radio so I would suggest that you stick with what is in the box. Once again thank you for your kind comments they are really appreciated.

Stephen

Hi Stephen

You've done an outstanding job on the Archer, and it also happens to be a favourite of mine.
If mine turns out half as good as yours, I'll be a happy taxpayer.

Cheers

Erik Jan

I have very modest modelling skills, the one major reason for posting this kit is to show what can be done by someone as amatuerish as me. Erik I am more than sure that you will do an outstanding job with yours!

All the best,

Stephen