Breaker Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Really nice work on this one. Gearbox should lend itself well to some extra detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Hi all, It's been a while since the last update. I haven't really done any modelling for the last couple of months but i'm now starting to get back into it. I thought I would get back into this build by doing some simple assembly but as with most things in this kit, it wasn't that straight forward! I started of with the torsion bars and swing arms (54 parts in total). Work on these parts quickly slowed down due to the amount of clean up required. There is a slight mis-mould on the torsion bars which leaves 2 large mould seams. The swing arms have also have some large mould seams and there is some flash in places. The torsion bars ended up taking quite a few hours to sort out and I haven't yet got around to working on the swing arms yet. I've also done some work on the gearbox cover but there is still plenty more to do. Here is how it looks now, with the torsion bars dry fitted. Thats all for now but I hope to have more regular updates going forward. Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykay Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Looks complicated, enjoy, Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngloSaxon Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Nice one Matt! Great updates and top work Mike D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ayrey Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated So I carried on where I left off, building the torsion bars. Again a fair amount of clean up was required but I got there in the end. There is an issue with the 8 swing arms for the inner road wheels. Left how they are, the inner wheels will not fit correctly. This is how the wheels fit if they are not corrected. Notice that the swing arm dosen't fit flush with the wheels. To correct this, I had to cut down the length of the axel. And now the wheels fit flush. I then moved onto the firewall. Due to the way I will be displaying the model I decided not to do any extra details and just use the kit parts. Before: After: Finally, I built the fighting compartment fuel tanks. These still need some extra work and the fit of the parts was pretty awful, lots of filling and sanding to do Test fit. Next I will continue working on the fuel tanks and start on the fighting compartment floor. Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Very nice so far. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykay Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Great thread, keep up the good work, Jk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted October 10, 2013 Author Share Posted October 10, 2013 Thanks guys, glad you enjoying the build Well I moved on to the fighting compartment floor, which had to be completely rebuilt. First I added the supporting brackets for the floor onto the fuel tanks and side walls. Here is what the kit provides you for the floor (slightly mutilated as I used them as templates!): There are a few mistakes here: - Trumpeter provides 3 panels when the real floor had 8 - The forward center panel is not in the kit - All the lifting holes are missing - All the tread pattern faces the same way which was not the case on the real panels So, I made all the panels from scratch Dry fit: It all looks a little wonky at the moment because the fuel tanks are still loose and it still needs a little more work. Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Hi all, Time for another update First off I added a few more fittings in the lower hull. I've added the main power conduit which supplies power to all the forward electric equipment. Also added were some mounting points for the fuel tanks and two brackets on the hull floor. I also got started on the throttle linkage. Next up I built the turret power take off and the batteries. The power take off still needs some extra detailing. Starting to look rather full in there! Next up I performed some surgery on the hull roof. From the beginning I wanted to have interior viewable without having to touch the model. Obviously the only way to do this is to have cut outs to view what is inside. So... I cut the roof and some of the side armor off Cutting the roof off solved the viewing problem but introduced a new problem. For some reason Trumpeter went to the effort of replicating the armor thickness for all of the plates except the side armor. To fix this an extra 3mm needed to be added to the thickness of the side armor. Sorting this out was a major headache and was far from fun. I've still got plenty of clean up to do Finally, this is how it looks now. Cheers Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngloSaxon Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Excellent update Matt. Your work is very clean and the extra effort is certainly showing through now If I ever get round to starting mine I will be happy if it's half as good as yours! Mike D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Stunning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Hi Mike, Marytn, thanks very much for your comments Mike, I don't think there is any good time to start this kit, you just have to take the plunge When you start your's, will you be blogging your progress? Sometimes I look back at when I started this kit and can't beleive it's taken over 5 months to get this far! However I'm starting to feel like I will be reaching a big milestone when the fighting compartment is complete. I think this part of the kit requires the most dedication due to the amount of missing or incorrect detail. I will most likely take a break once I finish construction of this area do a nice easy build to avoid burnout. In saying that, I have edged a little bit closer. I have completed the throttle linkage which is all scratch built. Even the throttle pedal had to be built from scratch as the kit item is far too small and poorly detailed Next I moved onto the the drivers chair. The kit item is rather awful and lacking detail so I built a new one. I'm still working on the padding for the seat and there is still a couple of extra details to add. This is how it looks in position Cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Looks great Matt... the interior is quite cluttered, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 this build just gets better, excellent work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Mike, Mick, thanks for your comments, I've made some more progress, starting with the padding for the drivers seat (still a work in progress) Next I moved onto the transmission, adding some missing detail. The most complex piece was the secondary throttle pedal which is completely missing from the kit. It took a good few hours to build it. I also built the drivers floor plate and started work on the gearbox cover Finally a couple of pics with all the parts fitted. The oil tank behind the gearbox was built from the kit parts. Cheers Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 WOW!!!! WOW!!! WOW!!! Seriously nice. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngloSaxon Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Your work is getting better and better Matt! Fantastic scratch building, great to see. As far as mine goes, I keep threatening to start but keep getting sidelined. Mus admit, I am enjoying the sidelining issues a lot, so it's half a dozen of one etc. Mike D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykay Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 And this is just the inside before paint... Going to be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hi all, many thanks for your comments, glad you are enjoying the build. I should have another update ready soon. Iv'e now pretty much finished the transmission and gearbox and I have moved onto the engine bay for a change of scenery. I have however made a bit of a gaff with the engine bay fire walls. Back in June when I glued in the fire walls I completely forgot that the connection points for the radiator boxes are the wrong size and shape. The kit parts depict those found in a panther. Now that I am correcting the radiator boxes (kit parts also copied from a panther) they no longer fit well to the fire walls. So, I have to try and cut out and rebuild the connections with the fire walls in situ. Needless to say I'm a little worried about doing this but I've left myself with no choice. If i'm not making much sense now i'm sure the pictures in the next update will explain what i'm rambling on about. Fingers crossed I get this right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I'm in awe at the lengths you are going to acurize a kit that is already bursting with parts. You must be a huge Tiger fan, or have a penchant for the mechanical side of things? Whichever it may be, this is great stuff. regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 (edited) Thanks for your comments Jack. I must be quite a tiger fan to go this nuts on a kit! I do wonder if i'm a little mad I think whats driving me through this build is the challenge of building one of my favourite subjects to the best of my abilities. I'm also learning a lot about how these tanks were built and how they worked. I find it all adds to the experience. Well, as promised I have another update Firstly I finished off the gearbox cover by adding all the rivets, retaining strap, oil level gauge, additional levers and minor details Gearbox and transmission all together although still not quite finished Next, as mentioned in my previous post, I moved onto the engine bay. Trumpeter, in their strange wisdom, decided to base the engine bay on a Panther. At first glance they are quite similar but there are quite a few differences. First job was to correct the fuel tanks which are provided as to seperate tanks linked together. In the King Tiger these fuel tanks were actually one large one. I added plastic card inbetween the two tanks to turn them into one tank Next I moved onto the those fire walls I was rambling on about earlier. The large raised section in the photo below is supposed to be the connection from the engine bay to the fan boxes. This is again based on a Panther and is the wrong shape and profile. I also added some weld detail and some plastic card to the sponson floors. So, I had to cut this section out and reshape the opening into a rectangle. This wasn't a fun job seeing as I had already glued the fire walls in place Then I added the mounting plate to each cut out to finish them off Next I got started on the radiators and fan boxes. Here is a mock up of what the kit provides The radiators go together easily enough but the fit of the parts for the cooling fan is pretty terrible. Nothing lines up! This isn't too much of an issue as they need to be modified anyway. I made the following modifications 1. Drilled out the lumps around the fan housing to represent lifting hooks 2. Replace the fan blades with 8 larger blades. The fan in the kit is again from a Panther 3. Boxed in the sides on the fan housing. Left as they are, the kit parts are completely open and would be useless on the real vehicle 4. Added an exstension to the inner side to meet up with the fire wall cut out Finally, a test fit of the left side fan box and fuel tank Next up is building the right side fan box and adding the fuel lines to the tanks. After that, onto the Maybach engine Cheers Matt Edited November 27, 2013 by Matt182 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Matt, you are certainly in the upper echelons of the large number of talented individuals on this site! Amazing piece of work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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