fatfingers Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 How do chaps, Now that I'd managed to finish the M4A3E8 (in RFI) I decided that it was time for a bit of a workshop upgrade. I've been considering some of the Hobbyzone modular units for quite some time. Its my birthday at the end of the month and mrs fatfigers asked if there was anything I wanted. So here we are. Arrive in lock down Leeds from Poland in under 5 days! Turns out I've now got more drawers than stuff to put in them - but I'm sure that will change! Once I'd got it the way I wanted it was time to start another build. Due to the last 2 being allied, green and Sherman shaped I decided to do something a bit yellow and German and this was hauled from the stash... Sprues laid out for a look see. I got this a good few years ago from Hannants in Collindale. I can remember getting the turned barrel for this but forgot I'd also got the Eduard Zoom Set for it too! Lower hull knocked up in short order. the kit dates from 1995 and still looks god and goes together well without any particular problems or pitfalls. Etch grill added to the rear overhang. Work then started on the upper hull and gun mount. Again no problems to report except the see through sponsons! Test fit of the gun assembly. A good view of the gaping hole in the lower sponson. Etched smoke grenade launcher brackets fitted. I think i fitted these a little low but not to worry! Launchers in place. Now in regards to the holes. These were blanked off with plastic card. Not overly neat or precise but they do the job nicely. Before... And after... Hull top dry fitted with hatches in place. And now with everything buttoned up and the gun assembly fitted. Brass Notek light bracket fitted. The intakes were given a quick splash of black prior to the etch grills being fitted. And with the grills in place. The kit comes with the option of either a 7.5cm or 10.5cm gun. Personally I've always liked the look of the 10.5 as it looks more 'brutish' and purposeful. The metal replacement I got is sans muzzle brake, has rifling and gives the model an even more 'thuggish' look! Well this is were i left it for the time being. Next up will be the running gear and once this is done it'll be ready for the paint shop! More to follow soon. Regards, Steve 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 The HZ stuff is really good, I invested a few months ago and it’s transformed my work area and how I work. Nice start on the Stug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 1 minute ago, Dads203 said: The HZ stuff is really good, I invested a few months ago and it’s transformed my work area and how I work. Nice start on the Stug I'm really pleased with it. Had been thinking about it for ages then a mate sent me a pick of the load he got and how his bench looked with it all set up, and that was the clincher for me! Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoat2966 Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 Nice kit this one Steve..... yet to finish mine though🤨, need to update my build blog, as I did some tinkering with the colour. I went for the 105 with the break.....and your right a brute of a look it gives this Stug. Looking forward to following Regards Simon p.s.....nice looking bench 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanReed Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I like that tree holder. Dan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaastav Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Looks to be a stunner. The barrel is very nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Hi Steve, great kit, built one a year or two ago really enjoyed it, like the kit supplied figures too with the dog. What a work area though, clean light and bright with plenty of storage, perfect. Atb Darryl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 that work space is amazing, am not jealous at all. I build on the dining table (table protector, wooden board & cutting mat) and paint in the spare room that is not 5/7 my Wife's office... and the kit - looks great. That gun is brutish but bloody slow to load in world of tanks 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Smashing workshop! Looks excellent. Really tidy. Not letting Mrs SD see that! And the STuG is coming along nicely too! Neat, clean work. Well done so far SD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Hi Steve, What a workshop envy! I am not complaining, because I have a site with enough space for modeling, which is not small in these times, but I would love to have everything so well distributed and permanently ordered, because with the passage of time, they end accumulating a multitude of various useful for the hobby ... and the chaos and disorder arise as soon as you neglect ... lol I remember when I was a child and a little later, with a couple of boxes, I had everything I needed for work ... Nice subject, and the point with the cannon, a hit. Cheers and TC Francis 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Those units look really good Steve, but come on! For goodness sake, mess the work area up a bit, or you'll never be able to find anything! Nice work with the Stug. John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Hi Steve, A superb WIP, as neat and tidy as your workstation and your build. My workstation looks like a rubbish tip. Keep up the good work, Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Hi Steve, no idea what your plans are for the tracks on your Stug but I used the kit supplied rubber bands with a gentle stretch and was quite pleased with the results. Gave it the traditional "sag" as you might want without the expense of after-market. (Don't want to hijack your thread but if you want more info I can happily oblige). Atb Darryl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 9 hours ago, Jasper dog said: Hi Steve, no idea what your plans are for the tracks on your Stug but I used the kit supplied rubber bands with a gentle stretch and was quite pleased with the results. Gave it the traditional "sag" as you might want without the expense of after-market. (Don't want to hijack your thread but if you want more info I can happily oblige). Atb Darryl Morning Darryl, By all means hijack away! Info on how you did the tracks would be good for this kit and the Tamiya PzIII i have in the stash 👍 Regards, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 12 hours ago, fatfingers said: Morning Darryl, By all means hijack away! Info on how you did the tracks would be good for this kit and the Tamiya PzIII i have in the stash 👍 Regards, Steve I'd read somewhere about someone stretching there rubber band tracks over a boiling kettle. Now I'm sure there are less painful ways of doing it, poss a bowl of boiling water or whatever, but I kept the kettle on the boil and warmed the track whilst gently stretching it over it's full length. Didn't need much stretching to get sufficient length (sure there's a pun there somewhere...), if it splits easily repaired with a little black cotton. Once satisfied with it glue it onto the relevant upper guide rollers to get the required look. See pic: Hope it's of use. Cheers Darryl 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Jasper dog said: I'd read somewhere about someone stretching there rubber band tracks over a boiling kettle. Now I'm sure there are less painful ways of doing it, poss a bowl of boiling water or whatever, but I kept the kettle on the boil and warmed the track whilst gently stretching it over it's full length. Didn't need much stretching to get sufficient length (sure there's a pun there somewhere...), if it splits easily repaired with a little black cotton. Once satisfied with it glue it onto the relevant upper guide rollers to get the required look. See pic: Hope it's of use. Cheers Darryl Aye up Darryl Thanks for that great tip. 👍 The tracks look really effective! Thats a really nice job you've done with the Stug. Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 How do chaps, Had a good session in the shed over the weekend and here's where the Stug is now at. Base coated in Tamiya XF63 Red Brown. Once this had been left to dry for a good while the base coat of Tamiya XF60 Dark Yellow followed. Tamiya XF88 Dark Yellow 2 was added to the colour cup and then misted on to lift the panels a bit as this colour is a little lighter than the XF60. Whilst this was drying I turned to thinking about the tracks. @Jasper dog gave me a great tip about stretching the kit tracks whilst heating them with steam. But - I've had a set of Easy Metal Links hanging about for absolutely ages and thought why not give them a go. The tracks are connected together by small tabs that are bent to hold the links together. These were bent using the blade of a small flat head screwdriver. Took me about an hour to do the two runs. The length was gauged from the kit tracks with a few extra links added to create some sag. The this happened when I picked them up! After a LOT of swearing and cussing they were scooped up and thrown back in their bag in disgust and disappointment and dropped in a drawer. Decided to paint some wheels to calm me down a bit. Did this whilst watching some modelling vids on the tube. After I'd painted the tyres i decided to seek out any vids on the tube in how to put these fangled tracks together. Watched a couple and what was apparent was I bent the tabs the wrong way! I bent them 'back' instead of 'forwards' So out they came to see if they could be salvaged. After another hour or so of fiddling and faffing this was the end result. Wobbly bendy tracks that stayed together! Next up was a bath in some burnishing fluid. After being left in overnight this is the result. In hindsight, leaving them overnight may not have been such a good idea as they now look like they're ready for the scrappers yard! Nothing some washes and weathering can't solve I don't suppose So that's where I'm up to for now. Next up will be painting the tools and other bits and bobs, then gloss coat and decals (of which there are few) More to follow soon. Regards, Steve 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Someones been busy! Paintwork looks good, as do the tracks. I'm sure you had a right good laugh after the first go at assembling the tracks.... Burnished or not I'm sure they can always be painted and weathered if required. Never tried metal tracks but after assembling 4 multi part plastic links for the Jagdpanther, I've come to the conclusion, lifes too short and more importantly my modelling time is even shorter. Bench is still looking horribly tidy btw! Atb Darryl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 'Morning Steve. The base coat has gone on well. Good luck with those tracks. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 That’s starting to look great, one to watch take shape for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoat2966 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Looking good Steve.....I had to laugh out loud when I saw your pic of the tracks......and then the wrong tab direction. I thought as much, as I love Easy Link.......as half an hour is the time it took me to put them together......glad to spotted the issue. I wouldn’t worry too much about the rust colour being too strong. As this was a late version toward the end of the war, the German supply of manganese was very very low.......this prevented rust.....so they were rustier towards the end Keep up the good work mate👍 Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1960 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Superlative work station👍! your Stu.H is really good👌Well done ciao Filippo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Hi Steve, Similar things happen to all of us (at least to me), but in the end I see that you solved it, which is the important thing. That fluid, IMHO, is great, although for me it is very difficult to get, what happens is that a whole night submerged, has been too much. When I have used liquid for this purpose (MIG and AK (I like the latter more), I have had it for 30 or 60 minutes only. Anyway, I think it is easy to fix. Cheers and TC Francis. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 How do chaps, Many thanks for all the comments - much appreciated Small amount of progress on the Stug. Got a gloss coat on ready for the decals. Only 6 were applied. These being 3 crosses and 3 unit numbers. The unit number were supposed to be put on the barrel casing but I didn't really like to look of them there so they were applied to the upper hull. One of the decals needed a bit of touch up with black paint. Not too perfect but then again it's not too obvious either. Just noticed that the rear 55 has a chunk out of it too. Might just leave that and weather over it. Tools and other bits and bobs were also painted and added. A further gloss coat was put on the seal the decals and hopefully reduce any carrier film shine. Next up will be some weathering etc. My plan is to get this one finished before the T34 GB starts next month. More soon. Regards, Steve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 How do chaps, Well, I started the weathering on this and it just looked totally wrong. Decided to muddle on with it regardless. Came to fitting the tracks and they didn't fit the sprocket teeth and one of the tracks fell apart as i tried fitting it. Suffice to say the model is now scrapped and is in the bin. Its the first time in many years that i've got so hacked off with a kit that i've broken it up and binned it. All the cock ups and problems were off my own creation as it was a nice kit. Problems with the tracks falling apart was due to me bending the tabs the wrong way first time. Bending them back the right way no doubt weakened them hence why they fell apart. May get another set at some point as i did quite like them. Any how........ a few deep breaths later and calmness returns. Who said this hobby was supposed to be fun and relaxing? 😀 Regards, Steve 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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