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Horch Type 1a +++Finished+++


Foxbat

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The Horch Type 1a was one of the heavy passenger cars introduced as the Wehrmacht tried to standardise it's motorised equipment at the end of the 1930s. The 80hp V8 engine-powered vehicle could hold 8, and was a highly maneuverable piece of machinery thanks to its combination of 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steering. Other notable features were the large radiator - installed with the hot climes of North Africa in mind - and the gas tank, which was split into distinct left and right halves in an attempt to add stability on rough terrain. From Europe to the Russian steppes, and into North Africa, the Type 1a worked tirelessly in a range of roles including transportation of troops and supplies, towing of artillery pieces, and even as an ambulance. This kit is of an early production vehicle as the central spare wheel (an easy spot) and four wheel steering (not so obvious) were dropped in late1940 to speed and simplify production. 

 

The box, a couple of cars in convoy somewhere in Russia:

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Some sprues. A full crew is included which will be a challenge in 1/48.

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Instructions and painting guide. Options are 1st Panzer Division in Russia or Herman Goring Division in the south of France 1942. Basically anything as long as it's grey :)

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Andy

Edited by Foxbat
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  • Foxbat changed the title to Horch Type 1a

First eleven pieces stuck together. Typical Tamiya - everything just fits. Sensible parts breakdown, great engineering, even the plastic is nice to work with :) 

 

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Wheels have to go on next. Time to decide on theatre and levels of weathering already.  The inverted Y marking for 1st Panzer Division makes that easy - East Prussia 1940-41 or Northern Russia 1941 - 42. Russia it is then :) 

 

Andy

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A little more progress. Wheels are painted and attached. I've done a little weathering on them but given where and when I plan to depict the finished model I haven't gone overboard.

 

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Getting my penny shot in early for this build :) garden furniture is also assembled, painted and weathered. One front seat needs a little repaint where I wiped away  a smear of glue and it took the paint with it. Don't know what's the matter at the minute - I'm having glue related mishaps left, right and centre - it's like being 8 again 😕 

 

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Andy

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Thanks Thom, but part of the reason I'm addicted to this range is that Tamiya make everything as simple as possible so a good result takes less effort.

 

I added the seats to the floor pan and built the bulkhead/dashboard. You can't see it yet, but there's a canvas cover on the other side, between the windscreen and bonnet. No idea what it's for and hadn't noticed it in the photos I've been looking at. Dashboard has a big decal for the instruments which I'm very happy about as there are a LOT of dials and stuff. I'll matt varnish it and takeanother pic before it is mounted in place and never seen again :D

 

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Floorpan is just placed on the chassis at this point, makes mounting the rest of the body panels without breaking anything so much easier.

 

Andy

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Hans came to visit the paint shop last night. He described the progress as 'adequate'. Cheeky blighter!!

 

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Hans is no great shakes himself. Detail on the hands and face could generously be described as 'soft', so I'll use him for scale during the build but probably won't paint him or his mates.

 

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So I'd done some painting and basic shading, the glue was standing open and this happened :o 

 

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More later. That's how time works :)

 

Andy

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Oh bum!! For my last few open top German vehicles I've been using shades of brown for seats and folded soft tops as Tamiya specify Khaki and I don't have theirs. Just looking at something else and discovered Tamiya's idea of khaki is a grey green not a million miles from field grey, wich makes sense when I stop and think about it. Too late for the seats on this one, but I can get the right colour and at least do the roof properly. There will now be a short intermission...

 

Andy

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While I'm waiting for the paint I've continued with the bits I can do. Bodywork is all on:

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Bit of matt varnish on the daashboard and you can see the instruments now. Looks quite good for a decal I think.

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I lost the horn to the carpet monster but it's buried at the base of the mudgaurd behind that huge bumper so I hope it won't be too obvious. Might try and make something anyway, just to fill the gap.

Andy

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Thank you Thom, seats really seem to suit my painting style :)

 

I've been doing more bits and bobs while I wait for paint. Got one door on, then mithered about having the driver's door open because I could. After taking the picture, decided not to bother as I'd then need figures to give context.

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Went round and tidies up some paint where the glue was obviously showing. You can see at the top of this shot that it'll need another grey wash to blend it in but that's no hardship. Painted the tail lights while I was on. Tamiya say red for everything but I watched a Youtube video and it showed the big lens on the right is orange over red, so it was out with the pink undercoat and add the necessary splash of colour.

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On to the ancilliaries. The exhaust is too prominent and noticeable for me to leave it off, but I'm not entirely happy about it. I'm getting better at painting them but they never feel right. Maybe it's a biker thing - exhausts should be gloss black with polished alloy end cans or hidden away and completely invisible. 1940's truck exhausts are outside my scope so it's a bit hit and hope 😕 Like how they had to route this one through the boot to get it past the rear steering and independent suspension :) 

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Time to add all the fiddly bits. From front to rear on this side, there's towing hooks, headlight, width indicator, notek light and hatchet with a shovel hiding behind them. All that weight on the mudguard couldn't have done much for the steering. Still a little bit of tidying and detail painting to do there like the white heads on the wisth indicators but it's coming along nicely.

 

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I love the little details - the spare wheels are different to the main wheels, as they're only held on by a couple of bolts instead of six, and they're missing the central cap. Picture format is a bit odd as they're taken on my phone and posted to Facebook, then downloaded on my laptop so I can add them to Imgur to post here. Isn't modern technology a wonderful time saver? :D 

 

Andy

 

Edited by Foxbat
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Got a bit more done tonight, as I'd like to get this finished this weekend and move on to clearing the GB backlog that's developing.

 

Tools all fitted, wing 'things' attached (driver's side is a mirror, passenger side faces forward an looks more like a spotlight. No idea what it's for), and another round of touch ups done.

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The other side. I've noticed the camera adds a blue edge to the tyre colour I use so the pictures look like I've been sloppy with the panzer grey but I can't see it when looking at the model. I'm not sure what has been going on inside either - I'll have to ask Hans what those stains are on the floor. 

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That exhaust was bugging me. A picture search on Google confirmed that real exhausts just don't look like that. I've stippled it with some gunmetal and it's much better now. Not great, but much better :) 

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You can see my guilty secret in that last shot. I can live with it though, everything else worked well and after this no one will ever see it so not the end of the world.

 

Andy

Edited by Foxbat
More typos than I could live with
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Paint arrived yesterday so I did the roof and re-did the strip just in front of the windscreen. Also painted the windscreen frame and added it (and what a chore that was, I HATE painting clear plastic) and added all four decals. Last couple of touch ups have been done and I'm calling it finished. Couple of phone pics for now. I'll break out the proper camera and do some proper Gallery pictures later.

 

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Andy

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  • Foxbat changed the title to Horch Type 1a +++Finished+++
7 minutes ago, BIG X said:

Nice job Andy - loving the penny for scale too :)

 

Steve

Cheers Steve, it's a tradition or an old charter or something now :) (and I wonder how many people will get that reference).

 

Andy

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