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Full Version: Pak 44 - 12.8cm Anti-Tank Gun (1:35)
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Mike
As soon as I saw this one arrive from airbrushes.com, it piqued my interest, as it was just crazy looking, with its 6-wheels and giant perforated flash-hider. You can see the review here, and I decided straight away that this would be the next item up on the build pile.

The kit's instructions are complex, and as such I resolved to follow them closely, to avoid any mistakes on my part during the build (if possible). The build starts with the "legs" that support the base, which have a few bits of added Photo-Etch to busy them up. Here I spotted a goof with the instructions, and the bases of the side legs B32 and B33 should be transposed, as they're handed incorrectly on the instructions. There's a helpful positioning diagram to help place the PE in the proper places, which is full-scale, so makes that particular job easier. The "front" leg is rigid, while the side legs hinge sideways. The rear leg however raises, but there doesn't seem to be any pivot point included with the kit, so it wobbles and falls off once complete, as you're told not to glue it. I might put a brass rod through it later on to allow it to pivot if I feel the need.

I decided to build the kit with the supplied plastic barrel and flash hider, as Airbrushes.com were out of the upgrade set (which looks great btw), so I glued the parts carefully, paying attention to the alignment of the parts. This paid off, and the seams were soon obliterated with a bit of sanding. There is a strange shallow depression at 90o to the seam though, so that also needs some work. The flash-hider went together nicely, but due to the restrictions of tooling, all of the perforations pointed in one direction. To remedy this, I inserted a suitably sized reamer in each hole, and reamed it out slightly to the same size for each one. The result is a much more pleasing look to the part. I also replaced some rather weak raised lines around the barrel with some styrene strip, as they had got damaged during sanding.

Next up was the front trolley, with working suspension. I had my doubts about whether this would work, but apart from a bit of three-handed juggling of the parts during assembly, it worked out well. I found that gluing the two top suspension pivots together around the chassis and the wheel back, then inserting the spring, and finally adding the bottom suspension pivot worked well. Far fewer hands needed, and you get plenty of time to fill the small sink marks in the parts. I've yet to add the soft wire representing the brake hoses, and I think I'll leave those until later.

Anyway - a picture of all the assemblies so far.

daz greenwood
Looking good Mike.

Looks like it's a nice kit.

Looking forwards to seeing more smile.gif
Deon
Its good to see it going together, I wont be able to start mine till October, so hopefully you'll catch all the pitfalls smile.gif
Skii
gahhhh you wouldn't want that bugger pointing at you !

Nice looking kit that Mickles, very sharp mouldings smile.gif
magman2



Nice Kit
Mike
See what I mean? wicked.gif
Mike
A bit more progress in the build to report.

I've now build the 2nd suspension unit, which is a torsion bar affair, with lots of fiddly parts to break off, and the occasional bit of PE. I replaced one of the winder shafts with a piece of brass wire, but everything else went together just fine... it's just time consuming removing all the seam lines on the parts smile.gif

Work on the gun mount has also begun, with the breach causing the most work. It appears that it's milled from a single block of metal from photos, so I set about removing the mould seams, which took a bit of doing for no apparent reason other than my own ineptitude happy.gif The rest of the gun support was easy to build, although a prominent seam needs obliterating underneath. The side parts that mount the rams are laminated from two parts, which you glue together after sandwiching the end of the ram slider in its socket.

The instructions give you an option of having the rams stuck in one position by using a one-piece ram, or using a separate slider (supplied), and taking a 3mm drill bit to the ram after cutting off the protruding slider. I gave this a whirl, but drilling 19.75cm into a narrow plastic cylinder is tricky unless you have a drill press, so I gave up and decided to scratch the rams. I had some Evergreen tube of o/d 4.75mm, which helpfully had an i/d of 3.5mm, only 0.5mm wider than the slider. I cut two pieces to length, glued an end-cap on from thin sheet, shaped it and drilled through with a 3mm bit. Then I stopped the other end up with some rod, and cut off the top mount from the kit parts with a razor saw, sanding it back so that only the mount an octagonal(ish) mounting plate were there. This was glued to the top of the new ram, into which the slider fits nicely. To simulate the outer sleeve at the top end I cut, annealed and rolled some 0.1mm brass sheet, which I glued in place with wicking CA. They stand out a bit at the moment, due to their white finish.

I also drilled a 4mm hole in the rear of the barrel part, so that no plastic is visible in the breach when open.

Slippery Jim
My word, what an impressive Bang Stick !
Siggi
That's beginning to look very impressive Mike, especially the scratch-built components. Are you going to mount it on a dioramic base? That kind of fine complexity needs it I think, to really set it off. smile.gif
petetheplane
What was the intended prime-mover for this weapon ? The Sd.Kfz.8 or was anything else available ?
daz greenwood
I guess the intended Prime mover for the 12.8cm would have been the SdKfz. 9 FAMO.
Mike
QUOTE (daz greenwood @ Aug 30 2010, 04:38 PM) *
I guess the intended Prime mover for the 12.8cm would have been the SdKfz. 9 FAMO.

I think he's right... shame it's not a model I have in my stash though doh.gif

Cheers guys smile.gif Just attaching some of the smaller bits such as the sights & adjustment wheels now. I figured out how to hold the rams onto their attachment pins though - I heated a screw-driver tip and melted the ends of the pins, widening them just enough so that the rams wouldn't slip off wink.gif
andym
QUOTE (daz greenwood @ Aug 30 2010, 04:38 PM) *
I guess the intended Prime mover for the 12.8cm would have been the SdKfz. 9 FAMO.


More likely it would have been SdKfz. 8

HTH
Andy
daz greenwood
Well the FAMO was heavier than the SdKfz.8 thats why I thought it would be the FAMO.

I'll check my references as I do love the FAMO
daz greenwood
Ok I stand corrected the Sd.kfz.8 was used to tow the PaK 44. The SdKfz.9 was used to tow the 24cm Kanone 4 and the Karl mortar in broken down assemblies.
andym
QUOTE (daz greenwood @ Aug 30 2010, 05:21 PM) *
Ok I stand corrected the Sd.kfz.8 was used to tow the PaK 44. The SdKfz.9 was used to tow the 24cm Kanone 4 and the Karl mortar in broken down assemblies.


No probs. I only knew it was SdKfz 8 myself as I had been looking up what was a likely tow vehicle for PaK 44. Now it's a matter of waiting for an injection SdKfz.8 or getting the expensive Des resin one, are you listening Tamiya/Trumpeter/Dragon? As for Pak 44 you wait ages for an injection one and then two come along!

Andy
Mike
The majority of construction is done - surprisingly easily really. I just kept building up the little assemblies, deciding whether to glue them or not to ease painting, and it wasn't long before it was all done. I've left the carriage parts and their wheels loose, the gun shield loose, and so far, the barrel too. That should allow me to get in everywhere with the paint.

I've also decided to model it in the firing position, so there's the possibility of a diorama at some point... another first for me unsure.gif



The gun shields were interesting to build, and have the potential to trip you up if you over-think it. Using liquid glue, just laminate the two pieces of each face together, and glue the back-side of the triangular cowling for the rams perpendicular to the other part, then let them set up for a while. Once they're set enough to not slip & slide around, slip the flange on the ram cowling in between the two layers of the front shield, then glue them. Leave them for 5 minutes to set up, then do the same for the side of the shield. If you're careful, you can get them perfectly aligned, so you won't need ANY sanding of filling. Once I'd got these parts together, I then glued the support bars inside the shield in place, being very careful to get them aligned in their nicely raised positions. Make sure everything's still aligned, and put them to one side to cure properly. smile.gif
andym
QUOTE (Mike @ Aug 31 2010, 04:22 PM) *
The majority of construction is done - surprisingly easily really. I just kept building up the little assemblies, deciding whether to glue them or not to ease painting, and it wasn't long before it was all done. I've left the carriage parts and their wheels loose, the gun shield loose, and so far, the barrel too. That should allow me to get in everywhere with the paint.

I've also decided to model it in the firing position, so there's the possibility of a diorama at some point... another first for me unsure.gif



The gun shields were interesting to build, and have the potential to trip you up if you over-think it. Using liquid glue, just laminate the two pieces of each face together, and glue the back-side of the triangular cowling for the rams perpendicular to the other part, then let them set up for a while. Once they're set enough to not slip & slide around, slip the flange on the ram cowling in between the two layers of the front shield, then glue them. Leave them for 5 minutes to set up, then do the same for the side of the shield. If you're careful, you can get them perfectly aligned, so you won't need ANY sanding of filling. Once I'd got these parts together, I then glued the support bars inside the shield in place, being very careful to get them aligned in their nicely raised positions. Make sure everything's still aligned, and put them to one side to cure properly. smile.gif


Looking good.

Now we can only hope that someone will release a decent kit of the Krupp version.

Andy
Mike
Cheers Andy - that's the 4 wheeled jobbie, isn't it? Now about this Sd.kfz 8 - I saw a mention of AFV Club doing one... was that wrong?
Skii
BOOOOM so this is the same gun as fitted to the JagdTiger ? I bet that playd havoc with old eardrums ohmy.gif

Nice work boss, START PAINTING IT NOW !!
Mike
QUOTE (Skii @ Aug 31 2010, 05:27 PM) *
BOOOOM so this is the same gun as fitted to the JagdTiger ? I bet that playd havoc with old eardrums ohmy.gif

Nice work boss, START PAINTING IT NOW !!

Das right boy... wink.gif

I will be painting it shortly, you impatient oaf! fight.gif Probably a black undercoat of Alclad primer, to leave some shadows in the less accessible areas smile.gif
andym
QUOTE (Mike @ Aug 31 2010, 05:15 PM) *
Cheers Andy - that's the 4 wheeled jobbie, isn't it? Now about this Sd.kfz 8 - I saw a mention of AFV Club doing one... was that wrong?


Yup, four wheeled one. As for AFV doing a SdKfz 8 I hadn't heard this but it would be great if true. Anyone else?

Andy
Mike
Primer on. Alclad's lully black primer - goes on a dream, and dries super quick happy.gif

Skii
Nice smile.gif This isn't the glossy black stuff that never seems to dry presumably ?
Mike
QUOTE (Skii @ Sep 1 2010, 03:50 PM) *
Nice smile.gif This isn't the glossy black stuff that never seems to dry presumably ?

Newp... this is their new stuff. Don't you ever read my reviews? fight.gif
Siggi
Wow, that's a quality finish! thumbsup.gif
Skii
QUOTE (Mike @ Sep 1 2010, 03:57 PM) *
Newp... this is their new stuff. Don't you ever read my reviews? fight.gif


ahhhhh ... no missed that one.. ohmy.gif
Mike
QUOTE (Skii @ Sep 1 2010, 05:30 PM) *
ahhhhh ... no missed that one.. ohmy.gif

Pay attention at the back! fraidnot.gif

Just putting some dunkelgelb on it slowly to build up color density smile.gif
Mike
A general coat of Lifecolor Dunkelgelb was applied last night, and touched up today, as I always find I've missed something that I don't spot on the day. This is going to be faded with a lightened highlighting coat, after which I'll decide whether to put some stripey camo on it or not. The wheels need a brush coat of Vallejo Dark Rubber yet, as they're just oversprayed with Dunkelgelb at the moment. As yet, the shield, double bogey and gun barrel haven't been glued, as I've got a bit of detail painting to do which would be a lot harder with them installed.

Overhaulin
Coming on very nicely.
T-Tango
Starting to look real good now Mike, go for the stripey.
daz greenwood
Looking right tasty is that Mike.
Mike
Cheers guys... got the fading coats on now, and chipped up the insides of the shroud. I've got one attached, and will be attaching the other shortly smile.gif
Skii
Nice.... NICE wink.gif
Mike
QUOTE (Skii @ Sep 2 2010, 07:33 PM) *
Nice.... NICE wink.gif

Cheers Brudda wink.gif

Updated pic:



Wheels blocked in with Vallejo dark rubber - you can probably just make out the distressed look that I gave the rubber tyres with some files and a scalpel blade. I'm just toying with the idea of adding a filter coat to the Dunkelgelb... time to test out a patch on the underside, methinks smile.gif
David_in_Fremont
My, what a big gun you have there, Mike. innocent.gif
Mike
QUOTE (David_in_Fremont @ Sep 3 2010, 06:14 AM) *
My, what a big gun you have there, Mike. innocent.gif

All the better for shooting you with, David wicked.gif

I put a coat of filter on last night, and although it changed the hue subtly, it's not worth photographing smile.gif
Paul Brickles
Looking nice Mike - you going to camo it??

Paul
Mike
QUOTE (Paul Brickles @ Sep 3 2010, 10:49 AM) *
Looking nice Mike - you going to camo it??

Cheers fella smile.gif Yeah, probably wink.gif
Mike
I've put the initial draft of the camo on today, which just needs a few touch-ups to remove overspray here & there... what do you think? hmmm.gif



I've converted my 2nd Infinity to a 0.2mm needle so it gets used more, so I can have 2 brushes filled with camo and background colors to speed up the process... it's also shown up a dirth of spares in the 0.15 and 0.2mm area frantic.gif

All paints Lifecolor except the dark rubber, which is Vallejo smile.gif
daz greenwood
Looking good so far Mike.

That camo is effective.
Deon
Looking good Mike anbd that Vallejo rubber is spot on too, must get some
Mike
QUOTE (Deon @ Sep 3 2010, 04:25 PM) *
Looking good Mike anbd that Vallejo rubber is spot on too, must get some

Cheers chap... when you do, get Light Rubber to go with it, as it's great for highlighting smile.gif They're both from the Panzer Aces line btw wink.gif
Skii
QUOTE (daz greenwood @ Sep 3 2010, 04:09 PM) *
That camo is effective.


yes it works very well against that blue backdrop tongue.gif biggrin.gif



T-Tango
That thar stripey looks reet good our Mikey.
Mike
QUOTE (Skii @ Sep 3 2010, 05:25 PM) *
yes it works very well against that blue backdrop tongue.gif biggrin.gif

Trust you to spot it! doh.gif

QUOTE (T-Tango @ Sep 3 2010, 06:11 PM) *
That thar stripey looks reet good our Mikey.

Thanks Pete... it's not perfect, as my airbrush was a little clogged up (I found out later) during the 2nd phase. It's definitely a 2ft camo job wink.gif

I've put another layer of filter on it since I posted - Mig Tan for tri-tonal camo. It's added a bit of a brownish tinge and seems to have lifted the saturation of the camo stripes a bit. Next job is the chipping after I've added the pioneer tools to the cheeks of the gun shield. smile.gif
Mike
A bit more progress.

I've painted up, weathered and attached the pioneer tools, tidied up the overspray here & there, and applied the filter, as mentioned in my previous post. I've also glued the wheels to their hubs, so the next job will be the long, laborious process of paint chipping. Out comes the Lifecolor Panzergrau, W&N 000 Series 7 brush, and my finest magnifying visor... what a nerd.png I must look! laugh.gif blush.gif

stringbag
You have progressed well with this one since I saw it last Mike.
Most impressive indeed.

Chris.
Mike
Cheers Chris... still a way to go before I can call it finished. I'd forgotten how time consuming armour can be when you're weathering it rolleyes.gif
T-Tango
Very impressive, Oh Lord and Master, bow.gif
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