SPA Modeler

So... they actually drilled holes through the armour to aid vision, or did I read that wrong?

Looking very nice indeed Carlos - this is shaping up to be a nice build.

Incredible scratchbuilding work! Well done!!

Outstanding work. Flak Bait really lit the fire!

Thanks guys.

Stuart wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2026 5:35 am So... they actually drilled holes through the armour to aid vision, or did I read that wrong?

It was a slot in the armor for vision, that had an internal sliding flap to seal it up for protection.






It was pretty common feature on pre WWII AFV designs before armored glass and periscopes came into widespread use. Those vision slots were an aiming point for those large caliber anti tank rifles that were used by so many countries early in WWII.

BlackSheep214 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2026 7:33 am Incredible scratchbuilding work! Well done!!

That’s easy… just finding stuff in my spare parts or Evergreen bits that look of the appropriate shape and size. Shep Paine’s “creative gismology”. Not exact replicas, just give the right looking approximation.

LyleW wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2026 8:36 am Outstanding work. Flak Bait really lit the fire!

Not quite Flak Bait here. I’m trying to avoid that deep dive…

Thanks for the explanation Carlos, I hadn't heard of that one - I'm glad the guys had some form of protection to slide down but yeah, I was thinking it was a weak point.

Lots of progress over the past few days and especially today…

On the interior floor areas I added a wash, some dry brushing, and lastly some pigments





I also glued the main gun in place on the turret base





The tank that I’m modeling had some added bars on the rear hull near the stowage boxes, so I used some strip styrene to represent those





I had built the auxiliary external 25 gallon fuel tanks, but they were missing a few details. I added the bars for the quick releases using some Evergreen rod, amd then I added the fuel lines with insulated wire



I added the vision slot internal protective flaps from 3D parts that I printed up





and lastly I glued the auxiliary fuel tanks, most of the hatches, and a few other bits in place.





I still have a few more bits to add, but it’s nearing completion of construction now…

Thanks Bruce! It’s starting to look like a Stuart now.

Everything Bruce said. What stood out to me was the flooring, looks perfectly “seasoned”!