The project continues!

Having put aside my Dutch army again (am now waiting for inspiration, more funds and a lull in 'tank production') I have returned to 'tank production' and started on my light tank's turret, which unlike the medium turrets, I shall not be relying on my brother to make in aluminium. Instead I built a frame using Evergreen PVC sheet (fantastic stuff but very difficult to get a hold of in Denmark. My entire stock is what the local architect's shop had left over in their stock room and they no longer carry the product as it is too expensive to ship from the USA. Once it runs out, I'm not sure whose product I shall be using) and filling it with Milliput (another great product). The idea now is to file and shape the turret until I get something that looks about right. As usual, I'm taking my inspiration from various British interwar vehicles.

The resin casting starter kit arrived from the UK this morning, and I opened it to find something of a surprise. For a starter kit, there isn't much in the way of instructions (luckily I have found this site to help me) and of the various parts of the product, one is (as yet) something of a mystery. Its called 'stone powder', and I'm not sure what its purpose is. It doesn't *seem* to be a necessary ingredient for casting in resin. I'm thinking that it may be something one adds for texture, as shown here. 

Below, are all the chemicals and paraphenalia I've bought so far. With the plastics, miliput, glues and other modelling parts, the total cost of the project so far is; 2,406kr ($417/£258). If I only have enough to cast the component parts for one model, that will make for a very high unit cost. My plan is to make at least seven seperate tanks, and make a master mold of each. How many I shall cast of each there after I don't know, but I'll want at least four medium tanks to face my Vickers Medium Mk IIs, and three light tanks to face my Vickers MK VIs. At my current rate of enthusiasm/production, this will take the better part of a year to finish.

My next step is to cut the perspex to make the box in which to make the mold for the medium tank's track assembly.

I'm also trying to think of some good catchy names for the first five tanks (designed to reflect the 1930's). They have to be 'tank like', but relatively neutral with regards to culture. So far, I have thought of dog breeds; Bulldog, Boxer, Terrier (would have to be the light tank), Mastif, Wolfhound, Greyhound, Harrier, Great Dane or Greek mythology; Atlas, Achilles, Heracles, Apollo, Ares, Titan, Hermes. Hermes would probably be the light tank I think. On the whole, I think I prefer the Greek names since they carry slightly more 'weight'. Oddly Roman gods just don't sound all that tank like to me.