SPA Modeler

My Armor builds which still survive date back even longer than my aircraft. In 1984 I decided to standardize in 1/35 and until just this year, I had not built an AFV in any other scale since then. The oldest ones are from my teens. And of course AFVs are still my primary build area, with more usually completed that aircraft or ships any given year. Of my "teen" builds most were rebuilt/repainted early in my 20's although a few are still as they were completed back in the day.
But I will start with my fist "adult" build, where I cleaned up mold lines, sprue attachment points, etc. I recently overhauled it to repair damage or replace lost parts that had occurred to it over the years, but the paint is still the original Pactra colors hand brushed on in an approximation of the MERDC colors...

Back to the 80s!!!

1/35 Tamiya M151A2, with a Tamiya WWII Cargo Trailer and stowage added, new photo


1/35 Tamiya M113 w/Combat Models ACAV kit


1/35 Tamiya Tiger I


1/35 Tamiya Jagdtiger


1/35 Monogram, Tamiya, and Monogram M-48s...


There are many more older ones never photographed except on my shelves as part of collection display photos... I will try to get those added here in the near future... As well as add all of my other previously photographed AFV builds to this thread for one complete collection

My two oldest surviving builds... a Monogram 1/32 StuG IV and Tamiya 1/35 StuH 42. Both were built in the sometime by me in the early to mid 70's and reworked in the late 80s... the StuH was one of my early airbrushing test projects...

Some really "dated" builds! Should encourage me to show some of mine... What I always liked on armour builds was to have a figure added to get an impression of the vehicles size. Good to see on your Jagdtiger!

You guys must have been born with a silver airbrush in your hands! Even the early years are great pieces and to me, look like a great build.

Thanks guys! Yes, I do really like having crew figures in my builds. They do give a perspective as to the size of the real thing. I would like to rework that Jagdtiger one day, as I used the Tamiya instructions paint guidelines for a quite now inaccurate scheme. But she is still a beautiful big beast.

Lyle, my earliest airbrush uses (which now longer exist) look about as good as if it was done with a rattle can... it was certainly a crawl, walk, run learning process.... and I spent a good amount of time crawling in the mud... LOL!

More oldies to follow here in the coming days....

ok, I am trying to post from my new laptop, so lets see if this works...
These are the rest of my oldest surviving armor builds, built in my youth. Most have been reworked, but not all were... yet anyways...
the one that has yet to be reworked and repainted
1/35 Italeri Leopard IA4



These were just repainted, and some had stowage and/or figures added in the late 80s or early 90s
Tamiya 1/35 M3 Stuart




Italeri 1/35 Jeep w/trailer


Italeri 1/35 M7 Priest HMC

and finally I have this batch of oldies from way back when... built in the 70s and rebuilt in '88/'89 or so...

First up a pair of 1/32 Monogram Shermans, a M4A1 and M4 which I swapped turrets on to backdate the M4A1 and update the M4 due to their late and early mantlets

M4A1



M4



and another 1/32 Monogram M4A1 that I rebuilt with the applique armor plates


and finally for here an Italeri 1/35 M4A1 76mm that I rebuilt in the mid 90s with some stuff from the spares bin and a Tank Workshop up armor set, based on a couple of photos I ran across


and there is also a Monogram 1/32 M3 Grant that I forgot about and will get added here tomorrow... built in the mid 70s and reworked about 20 years later...

I pulled out the Grant and got it dusted off and photographed today. I also remembered a couple of other old Monogram 1/32 Panzers from that same era when they were new releases that I had used for airbrush practice then set aside...

The Monogram 1/32 M3 Grant, built when a new release, then reworked in around 1993/94 when I had better airbrushing abilities... I would love to see this kit re issued again one day



Monogram 1/32 Jagdpanzer IV, built in the mid 70's and reworked 1988 or so as an early airbrushing testbed then set aside, never quite fully redone...



Monogram 1/32 Flakpanzer IV Ostwind, also a mid 70s build and 1988 rework set aside....



and those are the last of my pre adult builds...

Good to see those old Monogram kits build up. I only know them from a very old catalog but never got my hands on these when being a schoolboy then. I think I still have this catalog from 1976.

Another "evolution of a modeller" gallery, cool stuff Stik.

My brother in law has one of those 1/32 monogram tanks, I think an M-60 which he would like to use for a Vietnam dio. It was very expensive.