PlaStix Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 (edited) This will be the kit I will be using for this STGB: As you can probably see from the artwork on the back of the box - this is a simplified Dragon kit with far fewer parts than their usual offerings: I'm also going to include some figures from MiniArt: I may also make base for it to go on. I'm really looking forward to getting started next weekend. Kind regards, Stix Edited February 27, 2019 by PlaStix 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 A nice selection of goodies Stix, I bet your box is brimming with bit too. Those figures look nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Hi Stix, It says on the box 'for immediate assembly' so I expect it to be all glued together one minute after 'opening time' 🙃 Rearguards, and good luck, Badder 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 14, 2018 Author Share Posted December 14, 2018 (edited) On 10/12/2018 at 18:20, Ozzy said: A nice selection of goodies Stix, I bet your box is brimming with bit too. Those figures look nice. Hi Ozzy. You might be surprised to learn that - although this is a Dragon kit - it has far fewer parts than usual Dragon kits as you will see below. So no box full of plastic like your kit. 19 hours ago, Badder said: Hi Stix, It says on the box 'for immediate assembly' so I expect it to be all glued together one minute after 'opening time' 🙃 Rearguards, and good luck, Badder er......we'll see........... I decided to take the sprue photos this evening so I can get straight on in the morning. All the box contents bar the instructions: Some closeups: The decals: The tracks: The instructions: So, in theory, this should be a fairly straightforward build - the kit seems to get fairly good reviews. I can't wait to get started tomorrow. Kind regards, Stix Edited December 14, 2018 by PlaStix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Hi Stix, That certainly looks a lot 'easier' than the usual Dragon fare. I must say that those tracks look particularly good, with open 'eyelets' in the central track guides, and the more open (holey) links in general. Waaaaay better than the Tamiya rubber bands. Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 16 hours ago, Badder said: Hi Stix, That certainly looks a lot 'easier' than the usual Dragon fare. I must say that those tracks look particularly good, with open 'eyelets' in the central track guides, and the more open (holey) links in general. Waaaaay better than the Tamiya rubber bands. Rearguards, Badder Hi Badder. Yes - having seen some of the sprue shots from other Pz.IV Dragon kits posted in this GB - my 5 sprues look less impressive - should hopefully still be an interesting build though. The tracks are nicely detailed - however, because they are bands, I’ve got to think how I’m going to get them to sag a little over the return rollers. I have made a start although not done a lot. Because I brush paint - I needed to cut off the parts I'm going to work on first but leave on some bits of sprue so I have something to hold while painting. The result is this: The sprue gates were a little thick in places and there are some thickish seams, on all the parts, that I'm going to remove before I paint - so probably no painting today: Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 48 minutes ago, PlaStix said: I’ve got to think how I’m going to get them to sag a little over the return rollers. Pretty sure I'm teaching my Grandmother how to suck eggs here, but.... I run a very hot tap into a washing up bowl to a depth of about 1cm and lay the two sets of tracks in that. I let the tracks warm up for a few minutes and then very carefully try to stretch one set underwater, holding each end and pulling fairly hard, but only trying to stretch it by a couple of millimetres. (Stretch just one set of tracks and compare it against the unstretched one) If the first set doesn't stretch, I add a bit of boiling water from a kettle, raising the temperature to one hotter than the hot tap, leave the tracks to warm up more, and then try to stretch the first set again. It may take several more 'top ups' with water from the kettle in order to get the first set to stretch, but I reckon it's better to raise the temperature by small increments until the 'stretching temperature' is reached, than it is to overheat the tracks and risk them stretching too much, distorting and/or snapping. Once the tracks begin to stretch, you want to raise the temperature just a bit more, to allow for the water cooling during the following process: and that is to stretch one quarter of the track length at a time.... ie hold one end of the track, grab a section a quarter of the way along and just stretch that section by a few millimetres. Repeat this for each section from the one end of the track length to the other. This way the stretching occurs fairly evenly over the entire length and with little distortion of the track's connecting edges. Stretching an entire track length in one go, by pulling on each end, can lead to overstretch in weaker areas, but more often the middle section especially, and sometimes the track connections along the edge will snap. BTW, if you DON'T have extensive nerve damage in your hands/fingers (like what I do) you may find the water temperature a bit unbearable, in which case you may wish to stretch the tracks quickly, a section at a time, out of the water, allowing time for reheating between each stretch. Rearguards, Badder 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Ohh that'll save some hair pulling out, all the wheels being done already As badder said I imagine this will be quick, I'll only just have the wheels together and you'll be on the decals😛 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Hi Badder. That's great thank you. I'm going to try that. I think I have been lucky so far that, either the band tracks I have used didn't require this type of sag, or I have had individual track links. The Sherman I built for the Sherman STGB had an adjustable idler position which gave me enough spare to create the sag. From what I have read about this kit the tracks are quite tight when fitted as is. So I will be using your method.....thank you. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 1 minute ago, Hewy said: Ohh that'll save some hair pulling out, all the wheels being done already As badder said I imagine this will be quick, I'll only just have the wheels together and you'll be on the decals😛 Hi Glynn. Yes it should be more straightforward than usual Dragon kits! Not sure about your idea of how far I will be ahead though! Maybe...... Kind regards, Stix 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 23 hours ago, Badder said: That certainly looks a lot 'easier' than the usual Dragon fare. I must say that those tracks look particularly good, with open 'eyelets' in the central track guides, and the more open (holey) links in general. Waaaaay better than the Tamiya rubber bands. I wonder why in my Dragon Pz IV H the tracks are solid 😞 you would think they would do the same for all the versions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 13 minutes ago, Yetifan said: I wonder why in my Dragon Pz IV H the tracks are solid 😞 you would think they would do the same for all the versions. That’s not good! Not checked all my Dragon Pz.IVs but the A I got recently has similar tracks with hollow guide horns. Sorry. Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 The Panzer IV used several different types of tracks during it's production, the main variants being early (Ausf.A-E) types were 36cm wide & late (Ausf.E-J) versions 40cm. There were also special winter & Ostketten tracks that were even wider to deal with the mud or snow. As you have noticed some also have solid guide horns & other had holes in them, some later versions also have cleats on them to give them extra traction. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 2 minutes ago, Mig Eater said: The Panzer IV used several different types of tracks during it's production, the main variants being early (Ausf.A-E) types were 36cm wide & late (Ausf.E-J) versions 40cm. There were also special winter & Ostketten tracks that were even wider to deal with the mud or snow. As you have noticed some also have solid guide horns & other had holes in them, some later versions also have cleats on them to give them extra traction. Wow Mig - you are mine of information - are you 'putting one in' for the GB - I'll certainly follow along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 I'm currently moving my model stuff to a new room, I hope to join in the GB in a few weeks once I'm done. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 15 hours ago, Mig Eater said: The Panzer IV used several different types of tracks during it's production, the main variants being early (Ausf.A-E) types were 36cm wide & late (Ausf.E-J) versions 40cm. There were also special winter & Ostketten tracks that were even wider to deal with the mud or snow. As you have noticed some also have solid guide horns & other had holes in them, some later versions also have cleats on them to give them extra traction. 15 hours ago, Mig Eater said: I'm currently moving my model stuff to a new room, I hope to join in the GB in a few weeks once I'm done. Thank you very much for the great information and I'm looking forward to when you can join in with a build! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 Well in amongst checking on other people’s builds I have been doing a bit of work on mine. I had to glue a whole TWO parts together to make up each suspension units!: ...and then, following getting rid of all the seams and sprue gate join areas, I did some painting. I used Revell's Aqua Tank Grey Matt (No.78) which I applied quite thinned with water using an old flat brush. All the parts together: Some closer views: The detail looks nice even under the paint: All the above now needs to have the weathering started but I think I will do some work on the lower hull next so I can get it painted too and do the weathering on it and these parts at the same time. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 1 hour ago, PlaStix said: All the above now needs to have the weathering started but I think I will do some work on the lower hull next so I can get it painted too and do the weathering on it and these parts at the same time. I really like the manufacturer's marks on the tyres. This is why I always like to look at sprue shots - you can see where other kits are better/worse than your own. Fetches my coat and legs it. Rearguards, Badder 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 17 hours ago, Mig Eater said: The Panzer IV used several different types of tracks during it's production, the main variants being early (Ausf.A-E) types were 36cm wide & late (Ausf.E-J) versions 40cm. There were also special winter & Ostketten tracks that were even wider to deal with the mud or snow. As you have noticed some also have solid guide horns & other had holes in them, some later versions also have cleats on them to give them extra traction. Hi Mig Eater, Thanks for the info, here and on my thread, But perhaps you can tell me.... did the Nashorn ever get Winter/Ostketten tracks? I ask because the one thing I don't like about the Nashorn are its 'puny' narrow tracks. I think it would look (and perform) a lot better with wider tracks. Rearguards Badder 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Yes the Nashorn was fitted with the wider winter tracks, Friul make these too. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Superb info @Mig Eater! Thanks, and I apologize to Stix for going off thread! Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 (edited) Maybe I should just make a post in the reference thread about the different track types with photos & links to some of the AM ones available. Edited December 16, 2018 by Mig Eater 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Paint already, ohh come on, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted December 16, 2018 Author Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Badder said: I really like the manufacturer's marks on the tyres. This is why I always like to look at sprue shots - you can see where other kits are better/worse than your own. Fetches my coat and legs it. Rearguards, Badder I should think so too! 😜 10 minutes ago, Hewy said: Paint already, ohh come on, Yeah but only on the running gear! Still a bit to do yet! This afternoon I got on, as planned, and started adding the parts to the lower hull that I decided I wanted to - I add the parts that I think won’t interfere too badly with the painting and basic weathering. Painting of the lower hull will be next but that will be next week. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 All looking ship .... er tank shape. My advice is to leave all the painting until an hour before the deadline. Rearguards, Badder 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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