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Kugelblitz


SoftScience

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I can't say no to an armor GB. Especially not in January, when the tank building bug always bites hardest.

 

Thanks to the hosts, for doing this one.

 

My contribution will be the Dragon Kugelblitz, AA-panzer. Only a handful of these were built before the war ended, and it remains uncertain whether they ever saw combat.

 

The kit I have is the initial release by Dragon, in 1995. This was back when they were still DML and before they became known for the superkits they released during the early to mid 00s.

 

I don't even have a proper box for the kit. It is one of many DML classics handed off to me by my uncle when he did his last stash clearing. He knows I have a higher tolerance for less than state-of-the-art models.

 

Anyhow, here's what it looks like.

 

IMG-20190103-215839716.jpg

 

My, how spoiled we've become with our magic tracks and our slide molded pieces. On this kit, each track link needs to be hewn from a fragment of ironstone gaurded by six cougars!!! 

 

Or maybe just one of these...

 

 

IMG-20190103-223337859.jpg

 

Still! Having to cut off and clean each link takes me back to a simpler time. When state of the art weathering consisted of a wash and drybrush, and when we hunted for our meals with stone tipped spears! :D

 

im not going to build the track at the beginning, but I did clip off a few so I could set up my track building jig.

 

thr jig is from a wooden paint stirrer from the Home Despot, scored and and cracked into four lenghts with two straight edges layed parellel and glued to the largest piece. This forms a thin channel that the guide horn fits into. A four piece with a straight side is glued parallel to the channel, just far enough away so that the side of the track butts up against it.

 

IMG-20190103-222016027-BURST000-COVER.jp

 

The links are set into the groove, a few at a time, and given a dab of Tamiya extra thin, to join them. Perfectly straight runs!

 

For the rounded pieces, runs of a few links will be allowed to partially dry, but will then be fitted around the wheels before the glue fully sets.

 

Anyway, more track further along. I'll start some lower hull assembly tomorrow.

 

 

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Hi SoftScience. Great to see you have decided to take part in this GB and with what looks like it could be an interesting 'classic' kit from Dragon. Great idea with the track jig too! :popcorn:

Kind regards,

Stix

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The lower hull went together quickly. Details are not bad, but as is typical of 90s DML, everything sort of looks like the mouldings were hewn out with a woodsman's axe. Hard edges and blocky. I don't know. Still, not bad.

 

 IMG-20190104-222849606.jpg

 

And I only noticed that I left off the bogie axle covers after I uploaded the photo. Those are next

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8 hours ago, SoftScience said:

.....sort of looks like the mouldings were hewn out with a woodsman's axe. Hard edges and blocky.

Well I think it looks okay in the photo above and will be more than okay with some paint and weathering on. Looking very good so far.

Kind regards,

Stix

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54 minutes ago, Robert Stuart said:

@SoftScience those tracks look remarkably familiar - you are better than I, sticking with them.

I'll watch with interest

The alternative I'm aware of is fruil tracks, which require just as much cleanup, and those dreadful pins, which I inevitably drive right into my thumbs.

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I'm building up the major parts now.

 

Here are the main parts of the upper hull, assembled. The two hull halves do not fit very well. So much for painting the halves separately. They'll need CA to hold together, and no way am I doing that after paint.

 

IMG-20190105-233432842.jpg

 

What I'll do instead is tack the wheels into place, build the track around them, remove the whole suspension, assemble the hull, paint and THEN reattach painted wheel/track assemblies.

 

 

But that's for much later. First the turret.

 

I got to say, I've never built parts like this before :D

 

IMG-20190105-233410362.jpg

 

this is the core of the turret. I'll need to clean up the seams before proceeding.

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On 1/4/2019 at 3:46 AM, SoftScience said:

When state of the art weathering consisted of a wash and drybrush, and when we hunted for our meals with stone tipped spears! :D

Not sure about the stone tipped spears, but yeah, you must be my age. I remember when Tamiya Acrylics first came out... shortly before I left the hobby for 35yrs.

 

Nice choice of vehicle BTW. I once saw a photo of one of these. An actual photo. Printed on photographic paper. I believe it was an instamatic photo of a really old photo.

 

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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52 minutes ago, Badder said:

When state of the art weathering consisted of a wash and drybrush, and when we hunted for our meals with stone tipped spears! :D

er..........some of us are still using only washes and dry-brushing..........where's my club.........:fight:

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3 hours ago, Badder said:

Not sure about the stone tipped spears, but yeah, you must be my age. I remember when Tamiya Acrylics first came out... shortly before I left the hobby for 35yrs.

 

Nice choice of vehicle BTW. I once saw a photo of one of these. An actual photo. Printed on photographic paper. I believe it was an instamatic photo of a really old photo.

 

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Don't suppose you remember where you saw this photo? I'd love to get a starting point for camo.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, PlaStix said:

er..........some of us are still using only washes and dry-brushing..........where's my club.........:fight:

What's old is new again. The latest trend with the modulation crowd is to paint high points with a very bright version of the base color. They don't dry brush it on, but the result is the same.

 

So maybe we get you a digital club? ;)

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Only a few prototype Kugelblitz were built before the end of the war, with different sources stating somewhere between 2-6. As such there are very few photographs of the Kugelblitz, most are of the mock-up/scale model & of the prototype test turret. This is the only known photograph of a completed Kugelblitz though, it was knocked out & the turret blown off during the battle of Berlin.  

 m223KUj.png

 

War time scale model
VzXzycZ.jpg

 

Prototype turret

yaT1A3v.png


 

Edited by Mig Eater
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On 1/4/2019 at 1:46 PM, SoftScience said:

guarded by six cougars!!!

 

 

Cougars? Not scary at all, most of them are younger than I am.

 

Oh wait. Ignore that.

 

<cough>

 

Nice wee tanky thing, Mr Science!

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1 hour ago, SoftScience said:

Don't suppose you remember where you saw this photo? I'd love to get a starting point for camo.

Hi SoftScience,

I do remember, yes. I was at school, about 40 years ago. It was what was known as a 'Polaroid photo' (or instamatic) and it was a photo of a photo in a book. We didn't have mobile phones/cameras, the internet and photo-sharing back then. (obvs) A friend took the polaroid photo of the photo and brought it into school as he knew I was into WWII models at the time. I have no idea what the book title was, or if it was a book about AFVs or WWII in general. I just remember the weird AA turret and your thread jogged the memory.

 

I can tell you that it wasn't any of the photos provided by Mig Eater. It was definitely a full scale vehicle with the turret in shot. I don't recall it having any noticable camo, but then it was a coloured polaroid photo of a grainy black and white photo. Ask anyone of my age how good instamatic cameras were at focussing and they'll say 'Focussing?'

 

 

So, I've been no help at all really!

But I'd go for a late war camo if I were you.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

 

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42 minutes ago, Mig Eater said:

This is the only known photograph of a completed Kugelblitz though, it was knocked out & the turret blown off during the battle of Berlin.  

Wow, I wish I'd asked the lad if I could have his book then!

 

Badder

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Here is another common war time concept image of the Kugelblitz that has been used in several books?

h8eio8t.jpg

 

I just found this photo online today too, it looks authentic but production of the Kugelblitz started after they stopped applying Zimmerit 😕 The Kugelblitz turret also required an enlarged turret ring & a modified hull so it can't be an old Panzer IV hull with a new turret etc. Maybe it's a mock-up without the bottom half of the turret, so it can just sit on top of a normal Panzer IV.
germ_flakpanzer_iv_kugelblitz.png

 

Edited by Mig Eater
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Not much to see now. Just assembling wheels. I'm about half way there.

 

The doggie, idler and sprocket are just slid onto their axles, the return rollers are tacked on with PVA. This is just for fitting the track. They will be removed prior to painting.

 

The flashes of red you see, are the inner faces painted with primer. I figure they probably wouldn't have taken the time or labor needed to paint inner wheel faces.

 

IMG-20190107-221857060.jpg

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TIEpanzerkampfwagen IV has the major bits All together now. Just as I suspected, the hull halves needed a good dose of CA and clamping to come together. They're fine now, but there must have been some slight warpage.

 

IMG-20190109-230110115.jpg

 

Time for the little bits now. I'll probably start in back and work my way forwards.

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