Mike Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I've grown out of the habit of building an armour subject alongside an aviation subject of late, and I've been dabbling with Sci-Fi too, thanks to Bandai, the internet and that pesky Madmonk, who tempted me to re-build my Millennium Falcon with added lighting Anyway - I was helping Caz's mum scan a photo of a relative sat on a tank in Germany in 1945, which turned out to be one of these beasts. It wasn't wearing anything fancy like Zimmerit, but it got me thinking about the one I have in the stash. That in turn got me thinking about the ET Model sets I had for it, and from there on it was just a matter of time before I was looking in the box and wondering what else I'd need. After some research (after a fashion), I decided I'd be better off with a metal barrel, and once I'd studied the track links, which were of the Magic Tracks individual link variety, I was tempted to pick up some metal tracks to save me from having to cut off two ejector pin marks from each link, which was already irritating me (as well as not going that well) within four links of the test. There's also the fact that if I'd used the plastic tracks I'd have to paint them to mimic dirty metal, when I could just have dirty metal if I used some of the Ultimate Track Burnishing fluid. I've pinched a figure from somewhere, so will probably have the commander poking his head out of the hatch to add a little interest, and to use up all the fancy PE and springs provided for the hatch covers.This is the final list of guff: Dragon kit 6589 ET Model Basic Set E35-122 ET Model Fenders E35-067 Griffon Barrel with bonus PE ammo box & decals Friul tracks RB Models Kwk 42 75mm turned shells Quite a list, and I should add that although the ET Model sets are for the Dragon kit, they're patterned to the earlier 6397 issue, which shares a lot of parts save for the newer tooled ZImmerit coated external panels. I've already come across one or two bits that are slightly different, but not so much that they'll render the set useless. At worst I foresee a few bits left on the fret at the end. It'll be my first time doing a fender set, so wish me luck! Work started with the wheels, which had to have their seams sanded off to make the rubber tyres smooth. No sooner had I done that, than I took to them with a triangular file, wrecking all that cleaned-up "rubber". I sanded the roughness off with a sanding sponge to give some of it a worn damaged look, and also took a few chunks out of the tubular idler wheels, just to simulate a few dings. The return rollers are supplied in a batch of six, next to each other in the sprues, with two pieces per wheel. Guess what though - there are eight stand-offs for the idlers, so I'm two short. If anyone has some spare in their parts bin, I'd be grateful of a couple, or I'm going to have to use some of a different design & pretend they were battle damaged. Have I been thick & misunderstood, or did Dragon really supply two less return rollers than I need? Can I have two more of these return rollers please Mr Dragon? I substituted the kit jack-block with a piece of obeche, cut to shape. Meh The exhaust was built up, had the moulded-in straps removed and a coating of stippled Mr Surfacer applied to give it a rougher texture. I also reamed out the exit, which was horrifically thick. The PE parts were added, and it's been put in place using friction to hold it there, so I can get at it later to paint it. The rear deck was built up with little in the way of drama, but I've left off most of the PE for now, as there's quite a lot that might be damaged during construction, especially those delicate little tie-downs for the pioneer tools. There are two PE baffles under the deck vents, but you'd never know they were there unless they catch the light. Gun straight with the roof off, exposing the breech detail & sighting gubbins (technical term).With roof, and the gun traversed to the right as the gunner would see it. Note the position of the periscope. not where the hole in the cover is! With the new barrel having arrived yesterday, I built up the gun breech, which is included in its entirety (as far as that goes) although the rest of the hull is empty apart from a few roof mounted bits and a radio pack on the rear bulkhead. Some careful painting should show off the top-most edges without too much effort, as I'm going to leave the top hatches open for the commander, and a glimpse into the dark interior. I've not attached the roof yet for that reason, that and because there is a lot of work to do on it to install all the PE for the hinges, which I'll do on another day when I'm not feeling quite so clumsy. Same goes for the fenders. The breech & barrel were mated with some CA, then the Saukopf was slid down the barrel and attached to the end of the breech with liquid glue, and is currently being held centrally in the shroud by some small slips of fine grade wet'n'dry. The mantlet is in two parts, and clips together over the end of the breech before getting glued to the glacis. There's a stereoscopic driver's vision port to the left, and a faired over coax MG mount to the right, the reason for which I did know once, but have since forgotten. The clear gunsight periscope sticks out the top of the roof in a long curved slot, which is covered up by a sliding armoured panel so it can keep the exposure of the crew to a minimum when the hatches are down and the lead is flying. Dragon didn't think to replicate this in the kit, so if you're going to traverse the barrel off-centre, you will need to fabricate a new cover with a repositioned hole to match the position of the periscope top.There's still plenty to do, and I haven't even given the colour scheme a moment's thought yet. it's not my strongest point with AFVs, and I've never yet modelled a specific vehicle. I'd have liked to replicate the one in the pic, but for the fact I don't have the correct kit, couldn't see much of the thing for the sheer weight of Tommies on the top of it, and I'd have had to wreck it by simulating a shell penetration at fender height on the bulkhead between the engine & crew compartment. It's difficult to tell conclusively, but there looks to have been a fire. Why haven't I posted a copy of the pic here? Because I've been asked not to, as it's part of a private collection that I'm going to have to see more of after this 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Good to see you back on some Armour Mike, it's been a while :-) Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Looks a lot better shaped than their godawful hunch-backed 1/72 monstrosities. Nice chunking on the road-wheel tyres, defiitely adds some character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 This looks like a major project starting! Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 good start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Thanks fellas. I've been working on it on & off for a few days now, so it's not all the product of one session I'm still wondering what's going on with the return rollers, and have checked & rechecked the instruction so see whether I'm losing the plot or not. They definitely only supply 6 rollers, but show you installing 8. There are no more parts of the same style on the sprues, so it looks like it's a Dragon cock-up, rather than me accidentally eating a couple or summit. I don't quite know how to create a couple of new ones, because my casting resin is way out of date, and as I type this I can't even remember where it is, or whether I threw it out during the last tidy up I think I'll build up the road wheel stations next I hope there are enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gustav Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 (edited) As far as I know the number of return rollers on the Panzer IV was reduced from 4 to 3 on each side in 1944 (because of resources?!). So maybe Dragon wants you to build this version? Quote from Wikipedia: "...By late 1944, Zimmerit was no longer being applied to German armored vehicles, and the Panzer IV's side-skirts had been replaced by wire mesh, while the number of return rollers was reduced from four to three to further speed-up production.[41]..." Edited June 28, 2015 by Gustav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewE Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Great start. Shame about the missing road wheels but with the side skirts on it looks like you will not see then any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Good point Gustav, but this is a ZImmeritted machine, with solid shurtzen and four roller "posts". They also show four fitted on each side, but only give you six! I'll do a test with the side skirts when I've got the fenders built up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gustav Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Oh, yes Mike, you're right, it should be 4 return rollers per side for this version . One guy at Armorama did a build review of the exact same kit. He ran into the same problem as you and ended up using spare parts A13 and A14 as replacements... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Oh good, thanks for confirming I've not totally lost the plot I'll probably do the same or similar - especially if they're covered by the shurtzen afterward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Mebbe give Dragon UK customer support a shout.....They've been incredibly helpful for me. (01908)209481 (spares[at]hobbyco[dot]net) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Ah - Hobbyco... I know them. Might be an idea at that. Thanks Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 I've been quiet on this one, but not through lack of effort. I've been soldering up the fenders (first time for me), and learning a lot as I go. I'm not quite sure yet whether they're fit for use because of my novice status as a PE solderer, but I'll clean them up and give them a coat of primer soon and see what I think. Meantime I built up the suspension units, which were fairly easy, but again needed a good deal of parts clean-up to remove seams & so forth. The end result is worth the effort though, as they look pretty good. The Friul tracks arrived yesterday, so I set about building them up, using my pin cutting jig that I built from the parts that my good friend Dave 3D printed for me. It's a blinkin' godsend, allowing you to set the length of your pins and cut them all quickly and with minimal wastage. I took about an hour making up each side, which included making good any casting stubs on the rear edges, cutting the pins, and gluing up the ends after. I was on a roll, so I mixed up some of Ultimate's Burnishing Liquid that Dave reviewed the other day here. I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that it's REALLY good stuff. I mixed it up around 50/50 with water in a container and threw the completed track runs in, agitating to get rid of the bubbles. They went quite brown almost immediately, but I left them for a couple of hours before I removed them and rinsed off the fluid under running water. The colour is perfect, and so is the level of variance between links and parts of the links. After a quick swipe with a narrow sanding stick to shine up the contact points on the inside and outside of the runs, they look pretty bloomin' impressive! Add a bit of muck along with the rest of the weathering, and we'll be good to go. TBH, there was probably about as much work involved in doing the metal tracks as there would have been in removing all the ejector pin marks from the plastic tracks, after which I'd have had to work very hard to get them looking as good as this. I think I'm a convert to putting metal tracks on all my armour from now on... dammit! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 They do look the business.....Metal tracks make quite a lot of sense really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 You betcha! I'm really really really pleased with 'em. I can probably do another set of tracks or two with what's left, but it'll just take more time to get the required effect. Works out at quite good value, and it's amongst the cheapest per litre out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Any luck with Hobbyco? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt182 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Great work Mike, looking very smart so far. The tracks certainly came out well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Thanks chap Any luck with Hobbyco? Not yet Andy - silence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsPhil Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Looking good so far, I really must try some frulis for a build soon. Silly question about the missing rollers but do you actually need them? I only ask because they won't be seen if you fit the skirts will they....we will all know but we'll keep quiet.... Edited July 3, 2015 by SaintsPhil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 That looks good will follow this with interest Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Not yet Andy - silence I wouldnn't bother with e-mail.....Give 'em a bell, if you are lucky the lovely Gemma still works there and she'll sort you some spares out in a jiffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 More quietness from me, while I finished off the fenders for this. I've not really used solder with PE much so far, so it was a bit of a leap for me in terms of learning new skills, but after a few painful experiences with standard solder, I switched over to the solder paste I've had for quite a while. I decanted it to a syringe I had lying about, which enabled me to put a dot hither and thither with much more accuracy than with the previous "end of cocktail stick" technique, and with a bit of care and a lot of re-dos, I've managed to finish them. They look rough in bare brass because of the heat discolouration and the sanding marks from removing excess solder, but after a coat of primer I've decided that they're of sufficient quality to replace the kit parts, and although I'm no expert at soldering brass, I am now better than I was, and not majorly scared of it. I'm going to pick up some lo-melt paste for next time though, as once or twice I ended up re-melting a joint that was too close, which caused a little gnashing of teeth. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 They're looking pretty good, not bad for a first attempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 I've just remembered that I also have a shedload of bolts to simulate later, using PE nuts (ooer!) and short lengths of rod... that'll be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now