AVRE work continues

Well Im back!  Yay!! :)   It is good to be home.  For anyone interested in where I spend my weekdays for work click here  Its fly in only or once winter sets in you could drive via the ice roads.  But Ill take a 1 hour flight on a Pilatus over a 18 hour drive with zero civilization on the way any day!

Anyway last week I started on my wife's Churchill platoon.  Specically the AVREs for her Commando Company.  Using a hobby knife and a small file I set about cleaning up the model.  Aside from some flash on the tracks there was really nothing to clean.  I did have to trim out the inside of the turret mounting on the hull so that the turret would sit in nicely and rotate though.  Otherwise It was ready for assembly.  

 These models are huge!  Very imposing on the table top as Im sure they must have been on the battlefield.  The BF model is just shy of 3 inches long!    The details on the track are awesome.  

Also worth mentioning is all the stowage/spare tracks and barrel options you get.  AVRE petard mortars, MK IV,V and VI.  And 3 crew with 2 different variations.  The only thing missing is decals.  Luckily I have a ton of them I just ordered from Dom's Decals.

I used gamesworkshop model glue to affix everything.  Being sure to score the hull and the track where they would meet.  I also used small pairs of clamps to hold the tracks while the glue set.

Once they were all assembled they headed into my makeshift paint booth (Cardboard box turned on its side) and got a base coat of black followed by the War paint British Armor spray from flames of war.  After that had dried I also gave it a coating of Matt Varnish.  Gloss is probably better but Ive always gotten good results with matte.   This coat will help to reduce decal silvering and also aid in washing later.  I also added magnets.

Next step I will paint the tracks using Gunmetal grey.  I  will try to update with progress later this weekend.  At the same time Im also doing up some 6pdrs and crew but Ill save that for another day.  :)
See ya soon!