TeeELL Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 Well, here as promised is the state of progress: I will start some painting today - something challenging, yep - the tyres! I plan to finish the rear of the road wheel in OD, I figure the painters wouldn't have bothered painting there, it will also give me a clue which way round to fit them!! I guess the belly of the tank might well have been OD as well, or would it have been put on a ramp or over a pit to have the belly sprayed? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Keep at it TeeELL this is looking good. I know there are a lot of parts. But it will great in the end I’m sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Lovely job Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 Lol, I am going to do a 1/72 version after this! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Nice progress TeeELL, those 1/72 kits do look nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 I’ve spent hours smoothing down the rough finish on the turret. You would think that they would do a better job with the mold wouldn’t you? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 1 hour ago, TeeELL said: I’ve spent hours smoothing down the rough finish on the turret. You would think that they would do a better job with the mold wouldn’t you? ???? It's supposed to be rough! The turrets were cast and not machined and were left with the uneven finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 On 05/01/2018 at 7:39 PM, TeeELL said: Badder, RWY had Crusaders, Grants and Shermans initially and in Syria they re-equipped with Sherman Mk IIIs. I knew they had Crusaders. I have a David Sheppard print of Crusaders at dawn at the Battle for El Alamein. Good luck with the PE. It's all those bits for the tools that do my head in! Reaguards, Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 I wondered who would fall for it! Shame it isn’t April 1st. Lol. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 For anyone building the Dragon Sherman MkIII with sand skirts: today I learnt the hard way that it is advisable to reinforce bends with a bit of solder. My failure to do so means that I must now solder together 2 parts, where previously there was one! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Thanks for the heads up, I've got mine to build next weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Great progress and looking good. Hope you manage to get the sand skirts sorted okay. Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 Today I finally had all the things I needed to do the soldering. In the finest traditions of 'my' modelling this hurdle has caused me to stop any other forward movement, I could have had the wheels primed and painted! Anyway, I needed a soldering iron with a bit of oomph, the 30watt couldn't deliver enough heat (and such a small bit of brass as well!). Today the 40 watt iron was collected and that has a broad tip which I used to tin both pieces of brass with a very fine layer of normal solder: In the photo above, I have positioned the 2 pieces together ready for stage 2. With the tinned parts smoothed with a bit of wet and dry I moved on the stage 2. I set the variable heat soldering iron to its minimum temp, cut off a tiny piece of low melt solder and used that to join the 2 pieces. I use to use the low melt solder on white metal locos 'back in the day' and found my supply, along with a bottle of liquid flux. End result: The end result is tidier than it appears although I now realise I should also have tinned the piece this side! Araldite will have to suffice. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Very nice indeed, looks like a soldering iron is definitely the way forward with bigger pieces of etch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 19 hours ago, TeeELL said: The end result is tidier than it appears although I now realise I should also have tinned the piece this side! Araldite will have to suffice. Doesn't matter what it looks like on the inside as it won't be seen. And it'll be a lot stronger than super glue. Nice one. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 This soldering sounds a little bit more in depth than I first thought, I borrow a friends Maplins soldering iron I will see how it turns out. As long as everything is stuck and holds I will be a happy man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Bullbasket said: Doesn't matter what it looks like on the inside as it won't be seen. And it'll be a lot stronger than super glue. I don't know, but I can only imagine the real thing probably wouldn't have had the tidiest of welds on the inside either.....Plus it's part of the running gear, QED it will get covered in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 Ozzy, the soldering isn’t too difficult. The important things: a. A soldering iron with enough oomph to heat the work area, for me a 30watt iron with a pointed tip was no use, but the 40watt with a chisel tip was fine. b. Clean the area you wish to solder, fine wet&dry and remove the residue. c. ‘Tin’ the surfaces with a fine layer of solder used with flux - look for a shiney finish. d. Either finish by using a little more solder to connect the tinned parts or, use low melt solder (which will grip the tinned surfaces). e. Thoroughly wash off any remaining flux because it is either corrosive or waxy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, TeeELL said: the soldering isn’t too difficult. The important things: a. A soldering iron with enough oomph to heat the work area, for me a 30watt iron with a pointed tip was no use, but the 40watt with a chisel tip was fine. b. Clean the area you wish to solder, fine wet&dry and remove the residue. c. ‘Tin’ the surfaces with a fine layer of solder used with flux - look for a shiney finish. d. Either finish by using a little more solder to connect the tinned parts or, use low melt solder (which will grip the tinned surfaces). e. Thoroughly wash off any remaining flux because it is either corrosive or waxy. I haven't done any soldering since my apprenticeship days at Austin Rover (RIP) but I have recently bought a simple soldering iron for fixing larger PE. As it turns out, I'm not using Eduard's PE fenders on my current build as I believe the kit's plastic fenders are thin enough to pass muster. I doubt I'll be using an iron on the tiny bits either. However, I did enjoy soldering, and remember a few tricks. So, if I may, I would like to add a couple of tips to your list above, and they are : Using a brush, paint flux onto the precise areas you wish the solder to go. Cut tiny chunks of solder off the 'wire' and spread them out over the fluxed areas. Then place the tip of the iron into the flux near to each chunk of solder in turn. Each time the heat will spread through the metal and the flux, and each chunk will soon melt. Once melted, spread the solder over the flux and, keeping the iron in contact with the flux, move towards the next chunk, and repeat until the fluxed area is covered. To join the two 'tinned' parts, re-apply flux to the tinned areas, again using a brush, then bring the two parts together and place the tip of the iron into the join. This will re-melt the solder and it will quickly run into the join. Immediately remove the iron, thus allowing the solder to solidify and then move a bit further along the join, and repeat. Afterwards, any excess flush can be washed off with soapy water. Using the technique above gives a neater and stronger bond, and lessens the amount of solder required. Rearguards, Badder Edited January 10, 2018 by Badder 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Thanks Guys, I shall keep you posted over the weekend I had a look and it's a 40W iron. So hopefully if I follow your advice, I should be ok. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 Ozzy, when I get back home I am going to try Badders method as well! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Something I have to learn to do too.....I hate etched-brass, but did that stop me buying kits & conversion sets made almost entirely of the stuff? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Deleted, not really the right area to post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeELL Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 Guys, can I suggest that further questions be fielded in the appropriate section please. After all, this thread is about my Sherman III build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 On 06/01/2018 at 1:56 PM, TeeELL said: Lol, I am going to do a 1/72 version after this! That's what we like to hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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