Bullbasket Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share Posted October 5, 2017 11 hours ago, PlaStix said: Great work on the turret! Kind regards, Stix Thanks Stix. Appreciate the kind words. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share Posted October 5, 2017 11 hours ago, Badder said: I could actually cry..... I wish my fingers worked properly! I couldn't ever hope to make those brass grab handles nowadays, let alone pick them up with tweezers and glue them in place. They make so much difference, and yours are works of art in their own right. Off to mash some spuds with my fists. Rearguards, Badder Many thanks Badder. I know what you mean about fingers not working properly. I visited the rheumatologist yesterday because I'd had a flare up in my left hand. Now it appears that as well as RA, I've got osteoarthritis as well. Don't you just love getting old! John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 The turret is looking real good john lovely job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 The turret looks great John, magic work as always. We are lucky to be able to get old but all the bits and pieces that stop working properly or decide to start misbehaving can be a major pain............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 5 hours ago, Hewy said: The turret is looking real good john lovely job May thanks Glyn. Appreciate it. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 5 hours ago, Gremlin56 said: The turret looks great John, magic work as always. We are lucky to be able to get old but all the bits and pieces that stop working properly or decide to start misbehaving can be a major pain............ Thanks Julian. Yes.......literally! Even though medical science can keep these kind of complaints under control, every so often, it flares up, as it has done for the last couple of days. Makes me an even bigger grouch than I am normally. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 I thought that it would just be a straight forward job to assemble the Panda tracks, using the jig that I'd made some time ago to assemble other sets. The problem being that these are skeleton tracks, and so therefore don't have any meat on them so to speak. This meant that the links just flopped around in the jig. So to make life easier for myself, I made a couple of new jigs. I won't go through the procedure that I went through in doing this, but if anyone is interested, it can be found here in my IDF Sherman M1 WIP. As is usual with Panda tracks, they assembled very quickly. I made them over two nights, taking about three hours in total. It helps when SWMBO is watching the drivel about Weatherfield and I can go under the headphones and listen to Tangerine Dream…….bliss! Another job that I had overlooked is the turret ring. I should have remembered from the first time that I built Champagne, that the Asuka turret ring on the base of the turret is much larger in diameter than the opening in the Dragon hull. It needs to be enlarged by about 4mm. Another job before painting. Just for once, I won't have to worry about painting the tracks separately, as whoever did the real thing sprayed everything olive drab. When I had finished, I checked out the photos from the Shaddock site for Champagne and discovered that not all of the rubber was burnt off in the fire. At the rear on the left hand side, three rubber chevrons remain, so before any paint goes on, they will have to be added. There probably won't be much time for another update for a while, as the household authority will have me doing a thousand and one jobs before my trip back to Blighty next week, so in the meantime, thanks for looking. John. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 The burnt tracks look good - well, the whole thing does really! Enjoy your trip John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Many thanks Clive. Yes, I certainly will. A concert next Friday, Telford a couple of weeks later, and the best part of it, I see my Grandson. Happy days. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 Nice going John your hull is looking very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Many thanks Ozzy. I appreciate the encouraging words. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 Excellent progress John with the hull and tracks and hope you have a great time! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Thanks a lot Stix. I'll try my best. Hopefully, if my failing memory doesn't let me down, I'll have my laptop with me so that I can keep in touch. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Wasley Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 Fe Fi Fo all Thumbs looking good to me,Great work as always.(we are our worst critics!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 Thanks Jim. As always, appreciate it. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Looking the part john, the tracks are really making it stand out Glynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 The tracks have a singular appearance, very curious ..., cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etienne Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Very interesting update ... Champagne is taking shape, I look forward to seing the following steps E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 2 hours ago, Hewy said: Looking the part john, the tracks are really making it stand out Glynn 2 hours ago, FrancisGL said: The tracks have a singular appearance, very curious ..., cheers John 1 hour ago, Etienne said: Very interesting update ... Champagne is taking shape, I look forward to seing the following steps E Many thanks for the kind remarks. Apart from the shell holes in the hull and suspension unit, I think that the tracks are what defines this build. They're certainly different. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Good job with tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 On 18/10/2017 at 19:39, Kris B said: Good job with tracks. Thanks Kris. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Certainly is a good job on the tracks (although the very delicate light guards are an excellent display of craftsmanship too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentG Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Marvelous work sir. A true tribute to the original. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 7 hours ago, Gremlin56 said: Certainly is a good job on the tracks (although the very delicate light guards are an excellent display of craftsmanship too). Thanks Julian. I think that the etched brass light guards are a vast improvement on the kit supplied ones. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 1 hour ago, AgentG said: Marvelous work sir. A true tribute to the original. G Thanks a lot G. Much appreciated. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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