Takom MkIV - Female

[Chris B]

The kit arrived yesterday and I managed to wait a couple of hours before diving in.

Before the pics a few of suggestions

1 If making the Female - be sure to look at step 40 in the instructions . Twelve of the rivet heads need scraping off and it's much easier to do this BEFORE any assembly of the sides.

2 The instructions have one assembling the central body plus all accessories thereon before starting on the sides. This seems to me to risk the body distorting and I'll assemble it onto the completed sides (before attaching the sponsons).

3 I wouldn't do step 12 until the sides are fully assembled - it's much easier to glue the framework (pic 1) if the side can be laid flat.

4 Check that the holes in both sides are large enough to take the axles - one side was a bit tight and needed enlarging slightly.

5 Nothing will be seen of the driving chain assembly once the sides are together so I'll probably leave it off the other side.

6 The plastic is on the soft side so it's easy to over sand the sprue attachments.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Chris B

[Will Vale]

I like the way they build up the track/drive plates in one go, that seems like a good approach. Nice details too!

Cheers,

Will

[Chris B]

A bit more done.

The instructions say not to glue the wheels to the axles (27 axles per side with 2 wheels on each) and not to glue them into the side frames. Given that I don't need the tracks to be workable this appeared pointless as well as inviting bits to fly off everywhere when putting the sides together. I used MEK to hold the axle/wheel assemblies onto one side of the frame then glued and clamped the sides together. Not all the axles lined up with the second side but a bit of prodding with a file they all went into the holes.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Chris B

[Chris B]

A bit more done. Having made the second side but leaving off the unseen drive chain, I moved on to the central body panels. Contrary to the instructions I glued each body panel in turn to one of the sides, ensuring that each was seated hard up against the locating ledges - pic 1 below..

When dry the moment of truth arrived and I offered up the second side. Lo and behold it clicked into place and everything was square. In the second pic below the 2nd side is not glued but lightly clamped. There are no obvious gaps and I'm confident that when glued no filler will be needed.

If you haven't yet seen it there's a full build review on PMMS - http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/whatsnew.htm - that's going to be very helpful as I get further on with this Female and the Male that is yet to be started.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Chris B

[Hamden]

This is a very interesting project I will follow with interest

Roger

[Chris B]

A little progress, delayed by my failed trial attempt to assemble a short run of track as per instructions - of which more later.

All the top bits on the body now stuck on and as with the side pieces I glued the individual pieces onto the body rather than as separate units. Everything fitted OK.

I think it will be easier to put on the tracks before the sponsons so the the sponsons are being assembled separately. Not wanting the guns to elevate or the turrets to turn I've glued the pieces that Takom suggest not to glue. It makes for much easier handling of the sub assemblies when putting the turrets together. The instructions suggest gluing the 2 side pieces making up the mg turret followed by the front through which the mg protrudes. I stuck one of the sides to the front piece - let it nearly dry followed by the 2nd side piece. The mg turrets were still a bit fiddly to assemble but do-able but with a little filler needed when fully dry- see pic

The instructions would have you glue the strip or ledge (part H33) that you can see just below the opening for the sponson onto the bottom of the plate with the 2 bail out doors that fits below the sponson (part H31). Both parts are extremely 'floppy' and I found it much easier to glue the ledge directly onto the side frame - it buts at right angle against a strip of the same length that's moulded on the frame.

As regards the track - I found that cleaning up the 4 tiny pieces stuck to each of the 186 track plates bad enough but then trying to glue them into the locating lugs in such as way as to enable the tracks to join was beyond my patience not to mention dexterity. So a cunning plan - I'll stick the track lengths together (EDIT 25 9 14 - in the event I found it far easier to keep the track plates aligned by sticking them onto the 1mmx1mm strip INDIVIDUALLY) then glue some 1mm x 1mm strip along the line of the connectors (EDIT - the strip was therefore glue directly onto to the wheels and skids NOT to the track plates) which should be just enough to raise the tracks slightly above the frames. Getting round the drive and idler wheel will need some thought - Individual pieces of 1x1on each plate perhaps. Alternatively if cunning plan 1 fails - go to cunning plan 2 - wait for Takom's click together track to appear.

And here it is with the completed sponson resting over the locating hole. A pretty good fit and should be OK when glued after the tracks are on.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Chris B

[Sgt.Squarehead]

This looks a very cool kit!

This site might prove useful to you: http://www.landships.info/landships/index.html

[Chris B]

Don't know what's going on here re the pics. I can't now get photobucket to resize the next pics to post so here's a description of what you would have seen.

I glued strips of 1mm x 1mm Evergreen over the 2 skid rails that run along the the top of the sides, finishing just short of the drive and idler wheels.

At the drive wheel I glued small strips of 1x1 strip onto each individual track plate - 7 needed per wheel - and when dry filed the strip to fit around the outside of the wheel and inside the bodywork. As an aside I've now bought some 0.5mm x 0.8mm strip that may fit around the wheels without adjustment. The individual plates were then glued around the wheel. (EDIT 25 9 14 - although this worked, it was largely invisible so for the second side I just glues the track plates directly onto the drive wheel and each other. To my old eyes the result looks the same)

I then carried on glueing the individual plates along the sides over the skid runs as raised by 1mm..

The result is to leave the required slight gap between the track and the side of the bodywork.

Not the most elegant solution but a damn sight easier than trying to assemble the tracks as per the instructions.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Chris B

[siamese]

Chris, I hope you get the photo bucket problem figured out. Look forward to the pictures. Great start and I am starting the female one first but going to do it in the German scheme. Will be following along with interest.

Dan

[Chris B]

Let's see if this works and explains better what my last post tried to say - the pics may however be too large.

If the first pic works, I'll need to put a bit of plasticard behind the idler wheel to keep the 'floating' end of the 1mm x 1mm strip from dipping below the required level.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Chris B

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Simple and effective.....Works for me!

[Oddball]

Simple and effective.....Works for me!

Seconded, nice and simple is often the best way.

Odd.

[Chris B]

Now reached the priming stage.

The only filler needed (apart from that on the 3 part gun shields) was a smear of Mr Dissolved Putty on the edge of the front bodywork where the lower and upper plates collide.

Apart from that, once I'd stopped trying (and failing lamentably) to assemble the 900+ tiny bits that stick onto the track plates and came up with the previously mentioned 'bodge', it's been an enjoyable and for me quick build.

The first pic shows the 1mm x 1mm strips applied to the wheels. Once this was dry it took me 45 minutes to stick the track plates on 1 by 1, working alternately from the front and back. As with the other side the last one fitted more or less precisely so no adjustment was needed.

The unditching beam rails were then added followed by the previously assembled sponsons.

I'll think about how to separate the suggested links from the supplied chain and secure the unditching beam once the painting is finished. This is going to be a Beute and in around half the pics I've found on the web the beam does not seem to have been fitted. I'll see what the Tankograd books show when they arrive.

Chris

Edited September 24, 2014 by Chris B

[Mike]

Some of your pictures aren't showing up Chris - I'd really like to see 'em

[Chris B]

Mike

I assure you that, contrary to what the photobucket box says, I DID NOT move or delete the images - or if I did I've absolutely no idea how or why that happened.

If you know of some way that I can get rid of the deleted images box in the earlier postings I'll have a go at reinstating them.

Chris

[Sgt.Squarehead]

If you edit the post, put your cursor below the image and hit backspace a couple of times it should remove the old image link. Then click the image tab as normal and copy the image url into it to replace the picture.

[Will Vale]

Latest progress looks excellent, I really like your solution for the tracks - assembling them to be workable sounded like a complete nightmare but now I find myself contemplating the tadpole tail version

Cheers,

Will

[Hamden]

Great idea for the track fit. starting to come together now

Looking forward to more of the same

Roger

[Chris B]

Thanks to Sgt Squarehead's most helpful advice re how to do this, I've now reinstated the missing pics on the earlier postings.

I've also made a couple of edits to my postings at 6 and 8 where I changed what I originally intended to do re the tracks i.e I found it better to glue on the track plates individually not as a pre-prepared run and glued the second side's track plates directly onto the drive wheel without gluing individual bits of strip onto the 7 or 8 track plates.

She's now had a coat of grey primer - Halfords acrylic rattle can - and I'm waiting for the Tankograd Beute books before deciding (? guessing) on the colours to use.

Chris

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I for one welcome your input regarding the colour of these vehicles, it's been the subject of some discussion.

[siamese]

Chris, Great pictures. You did a excellent job on it. Look forward to when you have it painted. Dan

[Chris B]

Yesterday being a Sunday I naturally thought - let us spray - XF65, XF59 and XF64. A few over sprays to be 'brushed out' but no great disasters.

Here are the results plus a first base coat of XF84 on the exhaust and gunmetal on the mgs

Chris

[Chris B]

A bit more done. The tracks now finished - base coat of XF84, a very dilute wash of XF68 a second wash of XF57 with a random sprinkle of Mig European Dust whilst wet. When dry a scrub over some track pads with an old stiff toothbrush and finally a dry brush of gunmetal over the raised lip of the track.

My next step is to lay on umpteen coats of Future followed by the decals before a light weathering and installing the unditching beam. Making that beam per the instructions - opening and closing tiny tiny links of short chain around tiny tiny tiny etch - proved a disaster. I'm bodging again and shall hide the ends of the chain under a roll of camo netting.

Chris

Edited October 1, 2014 by Chris B

[Will Vale]

Looks great!

[Chris B]

Morning all

Decals are on over 6 or so thin coats of Klear/Future and they settled down well over the lumps and bumps. I used Set and Sol but there was no obvious reaction though with a generous puddle of Set they could be moved around once on the surface. They are quite thin and I managed to tear a couple of the large crosses getting them into place.

Then a couple of airbrushed coats of XF86 Flat Clear followed by the weathering although I rather liked the pristine finish. A bit of dry brushing with various shades followed by an application of Mig dust mixed with Tamiya thinners.

The pics have highlighted a few areas where the weathering could do with going over that were not so obvious when looking at the model with my aged eyes. Apart from that all that's left is to mount the unditching beam, possibly put some stowage in the top box, to be covered with a roll of camo net and it'll then be on R.F.I.

Chris.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Chris B