IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 1 Sexton II 25-pdr SP Tracked - Smart Kit by Eric Christianson, IPMS # 42218

Scale: 1/35 Price: $61.95 Product/Stock #: 6760 Company: Dragon Models USA Provided by: Dragon Models USA Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com/ dmlusa/welcome.asp

Dragon Models has released the Sexton II Self-Propelled Gun 1/35 scale. Out of the box, the detailing looks absolutely stunning, even for Dragon. The engineering and detail of the on-board stowage, radio equipment, driver’s compartment, surface texture is as good or better than any release I’ve seen. Their The contents of the box include: excellent 25-pdr Mark II main weapon • Main lower hull, packaged • The kit comes with five schemes 13th Regiment, RHA (HAC), has been pulled from a previous release, separately. represented using the ubiquitous Northwest Europe 1944 and the chassis contains all the good stuff • 11 main sprues in soft, light grey Dragon blue-and-white Unidentified Unit, Northwest from their equally superb Dragon Models plastic, packaged separately. three-view drawings, and a small Europe 1945 but perfectly registered sheet of M4. The Commonwealth makeover of the • 2 lengths of yellow DS track • Paint callouts are provided for decals from Cartograph of Italy. Model Master, Mr. Color and U.S sports over 150 new parts, • 1 small photo-etch sheet, • 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Hobby Color. including a completely reworked driver’s including a box straps, an engine Regiment, RHA, Normandy 1944 exhaust grille and a radio 4th Field Regiment, RHA, 4th compartment and transmission, radio compartment screen. Armoured Brigade, Weert, 1944 sets, ammunition lockers, etc., etc. An • 1 8-page blue and white Unidentified Unit, Northwest engine is not provided, but everything instruction sheet with 18 steps. Europe 1944 that is exposed is brilliantly represented.

The Kit The Instructions Things to consider before starting: I’ve always thought the British Sexton There are sprues from several different Like most self-propelled artillery, the was the ‘cooler’ version of the venerable Dragon kits included in the box. As a open-hull design of the Sexton leads M7 Priest Self Propelled Howitzer. result, there are some minor problems to a rather complex assembly sequence. Lower, streamlined silhouette, flat muzzle with the relationship between the parts brake, gun shields...this is one nice- map, the instructions and the parts looking AFV. As with most Dragon kits, actually in the box. That said, the slip-ups once you pull the sprues out of the box are minor and the overall effort is a they aren’t going back in. The single- marked improvement – Dragon is piece DS ‘rubber-band’ track is highly stepping up to improve the instructions in detailed on both sides and a good their kits, and the results of this effort are choice for this vehicle. evident. It’s a good thing too, since their kits are excellent in every other respect. IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 2

Dragon’s instructions are generally recommend that you instead attach them The radio compartment is beautifully on-target with some minor detours to the rear plate of each bogie (Part V5). executed with highly detailed consoles, recommended. There are nine major covered by a PE screen door. parts that make up the upper hull, and The transmission housing and firewall Unfortunately, the detail here is mostly these must come together perfectly for come together fine, but I had to perform hidden unless you shine a bright light everything to fit. A single piece out of some minor surgery later when it came directly into the bin from the side. Adding whack and you’ll have fit problems time to attach it to the hull (below) and a small internal source of light to this through the entire build (as I did). main floor (above). The firewall did not area would look great, the detail is really The main weapon can be completely want to fit, or I couldn’t figure out how to that good. assembled and finished apart from the fit it to the main hull with the instructions rest of the kit. provided in Step 4. I ended up cutting off The 25 pounder Main Weapon two vertical locater tabs and making the Step nine brings together the 25-pounder There are several places where parts are best of it. main weapon, and, while it results in a placed on top of other parts, all of them nice-looking howitzer, the journey getting exposed, so the build-it-all-and-then- Things got a little frustrating in Step 5 in there is a challenge. There is a small paint-it approach won’t work with the regard to the headlight guard placement. widget that you attach one of the Sexton. Plan ahead and proceed slowly. There is no assistance provided for these oddly shaped parts in the way of locater hand-wheels to that is not in the parts The Build pins or surface impressions so I just had map or numbered in the instructions – a to try my best at making them look the mystery! I sort of just stuck in to the side Lower chassis, bogies, and drivers same on each side. In addition, assembly of the main housing so the wheel looked compartment of the air cleaners would have been right when finished. Be very careful Having built the chassis from helped by better drawings, or at least assembling the horizontal housing that several different model manufacturers, my more drawings using different angles. hands-down favorite has always been Fortunately, most of the detail on the rear Dragon. In my opinion, their design plate is hidden when completed. In the decisions have produced the best balance end, the fit of the rear plate to the hull is between accuracy and complexity, always perfect so you leave this step in a good with the modeler in mind. spirits after all!

Make sure to take notice of the ‘sided Most of the sub-assemblies in Steps 7 aspect’ of the six bogies, three left and and 8 were left apart and unattached so three right when you assemble them, they could be painted and weathered which is a snap. The instructions will have separately. you glue parts V39/V40 to the hull – I IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 3

the main weapon slides forward and sequence so I could have glued all the Once the sections in step 3 and 4 above back on – these pieces fit together ten big parts at once, moving and sliding are dry, put some slow-drying Testors different ways but only one is correct in them until everything was right before black bottle cement on all the major parts the end. the glue had a chance to dry. called out above in steps 1-4 and put Unfortunately, there is so much going on together your three-dimensional jigsaw The right and left shields are engineered that I let some steps dry before starting puzzle. The two large side panels will fit and fit very well. I left them off for others. The result is that I had to do a lot – but getting there will require everything painting which complicated things slightly, of forcing and clamping in the end to else to be managed into their proper but I saw no other alternative. They make things line up… sort of. place and angle. attach tightly to the rest of the weapon assembly and give the British gun its As a consequence, my Sexton won’t win Go back and attach all the detail left off distinctive look on this vehicle. any awards for sure. Hopefully I can in Step 1, above. break everything down so others might Rear Hull On-Board Detail not make the same mistakes. I suggest The rear hull of the Sexton is covered the following sequence: with beautifully-engineered detail. The Leave off all the detail in steps 12-15 crispness of the pioneer tools is exquisite. for now. There are PE straps to hold down some of the crates and bins, but most of the Prepare, but don’t glue, parts A2/B51/ small clamping detail is molded in and B52/B78/B79/B53/B54 that make up looks great. The spool of cable (C28) and the rear plate, Parts A3 and A4 (top and the two containers (C15/16) were forward plates), and the side panels A5 assembled with their PE straps and left off and A6. so I could paint and weather them, and what lies beneath them, separately. Assemble all the detail parts that go onto to Part A8 (Front shield) since you won’t Assembly of the upper main hull be able to get to them later. Take note parts that parts B76 and the small hatch The Track Steps 12 through 17 are a challenge appear like magic in the construction The two runs of DS track are beautifully – the engineering is good but assembly is images, but are marked as unused in the detailed. They are a chore to paint (why not easy or intuitive. There are no less parts map. can’t these come in any other color than nine major parts that must be besides bright yellow-tan??) but slide on aligned perfectly in order for the main Likewise, attach the two parts (A20) to without any trouble. I used Tamiya Thin hull sides to fit right. In retrospect, I the bottom of the front Part A23, since (Green Top) cement to attach them and should have set up the assembly access later will be a problem. this worked well. There is scuttlebutt on IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 4

Next came the first camouflage coat of Tamiya Olive Drab followed by a second, post-shading coat of Tamiya Olive Drab + Deck Tan, starting from the center of all the panels working outwards to lighten things up a little.

I then sprayed a second camouflage coat of Tamiya Buff for the lighter wave pattern. I sprayed a thin coat of Buff over the Olive Drab sections and a thin coat of Olive Drab over the Buff sections to blend everything a little more.

Once the camouflage coats were dry, I shot the whole vehicle with a liberal coat of Future Acrylic to prepare the surface for washes and decals.

While the Future dried, I used a Q-tip to apply Model Master Dark Anodonic Gray Buffing Metalizer to the cleats and the internet about the Sexton DS tracks I decided to finish my vehicle using the centerline posts of the tracks. being too long and needing to be 147 (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment trimmed by a link or two, but I did not RHA, Normandy 1944 scheme if for no I followed this by adding several find that to be the case. If the bogies are other reason than I liked the placement of applications of a filter made of Paynes sitting flat on the ‘ground’ then the track the markings. Gray to the rubber portions of the wheels tension looks right to me as is. I feel that and the track. I heavily thin all of my if I cut a link or two off, the track, once After completing the main assemblies (see washes and filters with Mona Lisa installed, would cause either of the end ‘Things to consider before starting’, White Spirit. bogies to tilt up from the added tension. above), painting and finishing followed these steps: I painted the wooden portions of the Painting and Finish on-board tools Vallejo Acrylics Old I started by airbrushing a primer coat of Wood and all the steel parts Vallejo Oily The Sexton is a challenge to paint, as are Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1200 since there Steel. For the hand painting I mix a tiny all open-topped vehicles. Having were several gaps and other flaws that bit of Vallejo Slow Dry and water with experience finishing aircraft helps a great needed to be exposed and fixed. each color until it flows smoothly off a deal here, as the armor modeler’s mantra 00 Liner Red Sable brush. of build-first-then-paint approach won’t I followed this with a pre-shade coat exactly work. Tamiya NATO Black (XF-69), including all To give the wooden parts of the tools of the subassemblies. more depth, I brushed on a little Mig The only things I did as far as the interior Wash Brown Oil and let that set parts go is to paint the drivers I painted the DS tracks with Krylon Brown overnight. I then carefully removed most compartment using various Model which is just about the only paint that will of the brown oil paint using a brush Master Buffing Metalizers on the cover these kinds of tracks initially. I could dampened with Mona Lisa, leaving the transmission housing and other exposed have used Tamiya paint and my airbrush areas near the buckles and metal parts parts, Leather on the two seats, and but that just takes too much paint and darker than the wooden shafts. Tamiya Hull red on the fire extinguishers. too much time. I wish these DS tracks The rest of the detail would wait for came in …. Track color.. what what? washes and dry-brushing later. IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 5

I applied the decals for my scheme using I followed this with a ‘road-dusting’ coat is an open-topped vehicle marrying the Red and Blue Micro Sol/Set system of Vallejo Model Air Light Brown and several parts of different machines into without any problems. then shot the whole vehicle with Vallejo one. Unless Dragon can slide-mold an Flat Varnish to kill any remaining shine. entire open-topped upper hull, this kit is Once dry, I hand-brushed another coat I cut each of these 50/50 with Vallejo just about as good as you’re going to of Future over the decals to seal them. Airbrush Thinner to improve flow. find for this subject.

I then gave the vehicle a pin wash using Finally, I applied a light dusting of various I wish I could recommend this kit to Mig Dark Wash (aka Raw Umber). Mig pigments, light earth tones for the everyone but I can’t; reserving that for I worked a slurry of Mig Russian Earth body and wheels, dark rust and black average-to-experienced modelers and Mig Thinner into the areas behind for the track. only. Go slow, pay attention to the the bogies, and then took a little off in instructions, and consider the suggestions Conclusion the open areas using plain Mig Thinner. included above. Dragon makes great kits, and the I would like to thank Dragon Models I then added some oil stains here and company has made real progress with and Dragon USA for providing this kit there using Tensocrom Oil. their instructions. The Sexton was a for review, and to IPMS USA for giving challenge to build and it took longer than While the oil paints were drying, I me the opportunity to build it. usual to finish. In my opinion, however, brought out the detail by carefully most of this difficulty is inherent in the dry-brushing all the protruding bits original design of the subject. The Sexton with Amblin Sliver Artists Oil.