PzIII Ausf. B, Poland 1939

[Six97s]

Here's my entry.   I don't have much free time at weekends, so it may be a few days before I can make a start.

 

 

[PlaStix]

Good morning Six97s and welcome to the STGB. And it looks like you're going to be making a rather impressive looking kit there. I'm looking forward to seeing it underway when you get chance. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[Ozzy]

Welcome to the build Six97’s, Miniart do some nice kits looks an enjoyable build.

[Six97s]

It's my first Miniart kit.  It does look good, but they like to use a lot of sprue attachment points, don't they?  The flush cutters will come in handy on this one.

[robw_uk]

5 hours ago, Six97s said:

It's my first Miniart kit.  It does look good, but they like to use a lot of sprue attachment points, don't they?  The flush cutters will come in handy on this one.

yep - the Ausf D is full of attachment points (I guess a fair chunk of the kits are the same)

[Six97s]

Got stuck in this morning.  I'm still working on the suspension - it's very fiddly.

 

 

 

 

That's as much as my eyes can stand for one day.  😵

[Hewy]

Mini art kits are well known for the fiddly and tiny parts , somtimes seemingly unnecessary,  but when built the detail becomes apparent ,still a good start 👍

[PlaStix]

That is looking excellent but I can certainly see why it causes a bit of a strain on the eyes! The detail will look excellent when it's complete. It already looks superb now. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Ned]

I feel your pain. You lot with internal torsion bar suspension don't know how lucky you are!

[Six97s]

Relieved to have the suspension finished.  I managed to break three of the eight damper links, salvaged two of them, but one of the clevis ends flew off never to be seen again.  I'll cobble a facsimile from plasticard when everything's set.  108 parts to get to this point.

 

[Ozzy]

Nice job on the suspension, looks an interesting setup.

[PlaStix]

Well it certainly looks very impressive but it's a shame that it's quite so delicate. Good you've got it mostly sorted now.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Six97s]

Spent a few enjoyable hours attempting to glue PE vent ribs edge-on into the openings.  Some small slots on the underside in which to locate these would have made all the difference, Miniart... God knows what they'll look like when I get some paint on it. 🙄 

 

Also assembled the wheels, bar the bearing caps (assume that's what they are?).  Did the first one (leftmost in the image), but they're fiddly and there's no positive location to centre them on the wheels, so I'll come back to those when I'm fresh.

 

[Six97s]

I'm not sure why the edges of the hatches look furry, they don't IRL.   🤔  

 

Assembled the hull MG too, although most of it will be hidden.   As above, it looks better in person than in this brutal close up.

 

[Hewy]

Miniart kits are never speedy builds, looks great so far, mg looks spot on

[PlaStix]

Hi Six97s. That looks like excellent progress. As Hewy mentioned - these MiniArt kits do have amazing detail, but they do take some work. I'm sure you will get it into shape!

Kind regards,

Stix

[Six97s]

Thanks for the comments. I am enjoying it really!  Maybe my tone is a bit dry,..  Fitting those vent ribs was a trial though. 🙃   On the upside, no multipiece photoetch rings on the idlers and no Zimmerit to worry about, so I have it comparatively easy.

 

 

[Retired Bob]

I agree about the Miniart parts count, I only have one Miniart kit, their T-34/85. The old Tamiya t-34 has about 7 parts to the hull, Dragon has 20+ but Miniart has about 70 parts?? and that's not counting the wheels. 

[PlaStix]

Hi Six97s. I hope you are well. I was just wondering if you had had chance to do any more on this?

Kind regards,

Stix

[Six97s]

Not had much spare time lately...  🙄   I did get a bit more done yesterday, will update later. 

[WarhammerAdjacent]

It's looking really good, I hadn't realised how different the suspension was from later marks.

[Six97s]

Here's where I'm up to.   The photo seems to show a gap at the front plate of the upper hull... better check that because I hadn't noticed.  What appears to be a gap at the sides is a recess, which is there by design.   Still have 15 more of those fiddly bearing caps to add to the road wheels.  🙃

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Six97s

[PlaStix]

Great to see your progress. It is a much more complex suspension arrangement than it became later. Good luck with the caps!

Kind regards,

Stix

[Six97s]

Tracks...  took me a morning to get this far.  🙄  I've left cleaning up the ends of the pins until it's all set.

 

[Ned]

How are you finding the tracks? I've got this kit in my stash, and had to rob a track from it for my Bronco Ausf.A (long story) and found the quality really poor. Loads of flash around the guide horns, and one unusable link on every sprue with no hole for the pin to go through. If you run out of links, I've got loads spare, I only needed to make up one side.

Seeing your build so far doesn't make me want to make a start on mine anytime soon.