Once the basic structure was complete and surfaces had been applied, it was time to add all of the extra parts and details. I started with the biggest one first, the fenders. I had an aftermarket set of photo etch parts for the Char so I used the fenders from that. They came with their own supports and brackets which meant I needed to remove the ones molded to the hull. Once they were chiseled away I bent the brass brackets into shape and fixed them to the model. The supports were bent into right angles then slotted into the brackets. I put a bolt head on both ends of the brackets.
The Fenders themselves had notches on the back side for you to push through to act as the bolts, then I used a bending tool to get the inside lip and the outer angle. They were then attached to the model.
I moved on to the exhausts. I cut the ends off each side of the Tamiya exhaust piece, threaded on a couple of photo-etch flanges followed by some aluminium pipe that matched the size of the exhaust covers. For the covers I had photo-etched plates that were corrugated. I bent them into a cylinder shape with a steel rod and a foam pad. I soldered the seem to give the join the strength it needed and then I was able to slide them over the aluminium tubes and glue them into place.
I attached the exhaust assembly to the model and secured it with photo-etched bracket clamps, two on each exhaust. I also added some small brackets to the pipes in the middle. The photo-etch heat shield covers were then added. Made up the same way as the exhaust covers, with a steel roller and a foam pad then I bent the straps with the bolt at a right angle and glued them over the exhausts.
I kept working on the top deck and focused my attention on the radio equipment. The radio wire comes out of the hull near the turret and goes through a wire guard and into the antenna. I scratch built most these parts. Starting with the wire guard. It's meant to be a frame like structure and the wire travels in the middle of it, the kit piece was solid. I completely remade this piece from a brass sheet, making a paper template, then scoring it, cutting it out and bending it into shape. From there I soldered the pieces that met from the join to make it strong enough to work with. I cut the legs off the plastic part and used them on my brass piece. they had useful locator pins on the bottom which I used to position the piece on the hull. Once it was glued into place I added brass brackets and some bolt heads from Meng models.
There was a plate covering the opening for the wire to come up from the hull, I removed this with a small saw and the drilled out an opening. I attached a thick piece of sprue to my Dremel and had it spinning while I rounded it off and carved out thin lines in the sprue with a fine blade. This made a small replica of a French radio wire base which I glued into place in the hole I drilled earlier in the hull. I then added the armor collar for the antenna, followed by some more brass brackets and bolt heads. The set up was then ready for the wire and the antenna.
I wasn't happy with the guard rail piece offered, it had seam lines and pin mark indents on it. The work it needed to clean it up would have taken longer than making a new one. So what I did was use a 0.8 mm brass rod, bend it to the shape of the rail, cut three legs for it and soldered them on. after it was cleaned up I made three horizontal bends to give it an arcing shape. The legs fit into the existing holes in the hull and the two ends were cut on an angle parallel with the fenders and glued down.
I had some photo-etched tool holders I bent into shape then glued them down in-place of the plastic ones and added some Meng bolt heads to them. I made some leather straps using some Tamiya masking tape cut very thin and some photo-etched buckles. I then threaded them through the slits in the holders and back through the buckles and pulled them tight. I was then able to slide the tools into place.
For the back plate I added the chain hooks, first adding a small amount of putty to the holes to simulate weld joins then slotted the hooks into place. I also added the rear clevises and an armored cover for the rear hatch.
I moved around the side to the boarding hatch and added a brass grab handle and a photo-etched awning above it.
On the front I added a 'pig tail' lifting hook into the 75 mm gun shield. Using a small chisel I carved out a small portion at the top where I could slot in a base made from styrene then drilled a hole into it. For the hook itself I made it from 0.8 mm bendable wire, wrapping it around a steel rod to get the shape and then I cut it at a sharp angle to get the spike. Cleaned up with sandpaper it was then glued into the base.
I had a photo-etched cover and a knob handle for the black out light. The cover was spring loaded so to make this I cut off the plastic pin, drilled a hole then added a new brass pin, the spring was made by wrapping fine copper wire around the pin and pushed together. The cover and handle were then added. The mechanism works and I am able to move the cover up and down.
I finished off the turret with a few small details including, lifting hooks, a brass ring for the periscope and I added detail to the AA gun mount above the hatch.
There were a few added pieces that needed cast texturing with the putty mixture and then I added a brass aerial to the antenna base.
I decided to open up and articulate the towing shackles, making them look more realistic and easier to attach the chain. I started by cutting off then ends of the plastic pin and drilling a hole through the middle, I then carefully cut the shackles apart. I added the metal chain that came with the kit and inserted a brass pin to hold the shackles together.
The tracks were straight forward snap together, I did have to remove an ejection pin mark on each link though. Before I added them to the tank I drilled out one of the pins, this allowed me to secure them with a brass pin while on the model and I can take them off for painting. The reason being the plastic snap together pins are very brittle and I had already broken a number of them, this way I don't need to worry.
That was it!, the tank is now complete and awaiting its war paint. I was extremely pleased with this build. It was fun involving a lot of techniques and a pretty straight forward build. I definitely will build more French armor going forward!
