Retired Bob Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 My kit for this GB is the Dragon kit of the 8 wheel armoured car armed with a 7.5cm short L/24 gun. This weapon had been fitted to the older Sd.Kfz. 233 armoured car and also to some Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track vehicles. Around 90 of these 8 wheeled armoured cars were built between June to December 1944 and issued to reconnaissance Panzer Units and Panzergrenadier Divisions. There is one preserved vehicle left in world, WH-1751008. This is at the Bovington tank museum, but not much use as a reference item, it's not complete and has been re-painted in a spurious grey colour. Dragon brought out all 4 variations of this vehicle during 2007 and Cyber-Hobby released a late war conversion of this /3 vehicle in 2008. More expensive but much better detailed than the old Italeri kits. Here is the kit, it's been untouched in my stash for 15 years, time to get it built! Not long to the start of the GB. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Nice to see someone is building a “grown up” version of the 234! Looking forward to it. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Going to watch this one Bob, the kit looks fascinating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 Nice one Bob. I will enjoy following along. Good luck.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 30, 2022 Author Share Posted October 30, 2022 Started work on the steering and suspension, the 8 drive shafts (B4) have pins that go into the hub units (D19). If the pin is removed and the steering linkages are left off, then the wheels can pivot on the suspension arms and be positioned in any steering position. One more pin to remove. Suspension and steering parts all assembled onto the lower frame and leaf springs added. These kits are really well engineered and go together without any problems. I have started assembling the wheels, 9 of them including the spare. There is a choice of 2 hub units with either 2 or 5 ventilation holes for the brakes. This kit is different to all the others in that it includes 3 radial tyres, not sure if I will add all of them to this build, I might mix them into my other 234 armoured cars. The unattached hub units are to add to the other side of the chassis, my clumsiness knocked off some of the pivot pins so I have drilled and replaced them, just letting the glue harden. Next, I will add the lower chassis to the lower hull half, then I can start adding the interior parts. Any comments or questions are always welcome. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Looks like good progress Bob I'll try to remember your approach to the steering mechanism if I ever get a Dragon 234/4 (been on my wish list for a while now). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 Todays update, I glued the chassis frame to the lower hull, I have pushed the wheels on and angled all eight wheels to show the effectiveness of the steering. If you are putting these armoured cars into a diorama or just gluing the wheels at an angle, the steering linkages can be adjusted for length and attached, Dragon made all the steering in the neutral position, with all eight wheels inline. You can see the different tyre patterns but there are only three of these nice radial tyres as a kit bonus feature. All the parts that are in base colour have been attached to the lower hull, the steering wheels have been tacked on with some PVA for the photo, it shows the two driving positions with the front one at that weird angle because of the sloping frontal armour. The rear steering wheel has to have a cut out in the fuel tank to accommodate it. While the other Sd.Kfz 234 armoured cars have a same internal layout the 75mm armed /4 is slightly different, there is a floor mounted frame for the 75mm gun that the driver has to crawl under to get to the driving position and there isn't a fuel tank next to the rear driving position, which is strange as the external filler cap is still in the same place on the kit. Thanks for looking any questions or comments are always welcome. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 That does look good. I've always liked the big German armoured cars. I'm getting build envy... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 very nice work, love the steering too. I am considering the same for the Rosomak, how did you ensure the angles of the wheels were parallel once angled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 25 minutes ago, robw_uk said: very nice work, love the steering too. I am considering the same for the Rosomak, how did you ensure the angles of the wheels were parallel once angled? In reality, steered wheels should never be parallel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry I find, on a model, it sometimes pays to exaggerate the angles slightly more than they would appear in real life. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 3 minutes ago, Heather Kay said: In reality, steered wheels should never be parallel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry I find, on a model, it sometimes pays to exaggerate the angles slightly more than they would appear in real life. oohhh makes sense of course.... will see how I go 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 2, 2022 Author Share Posted November 2, 2022 1 hour ago, robw_uk said: very nice work, love the steering too. I am considering the same for the Rosomak, how did you ensure the angles of the wheels were parallel once angled? Just Mark.1 eyeball method. In normal conditions the rear wheels would be locked into line as the driver would be just using the front wheels for steering. 1 hour ago, Heather Kay said: I find, on a model, it sometimes pays to exaggerate the angles slightly more than they would appear in real life. Agreed, but how I have the steering in those last photos would have the vehicle turning in such a tight turn it would have the gun crew hanging on for dear life. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartH Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 Great start and looks to be a very nicely detailed kit 👍 I like the variation in the tyres...makes for an unusual look. Is there any basis for the radial tyres? Is it to do with steering or ride comfort? I see the box art has them on the centre axles? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 12 hours ago, StuartH said: Great start and looks to be a very nicely detailed kit 👍 I like the variation in the tyres...makes for an unusual look. Is there any basis for the radial tyres? Is it to do with steering or ride comfort? I see the box art has them on the centre axles? There seemed to be several variations in tyre patterns seen in photos of these 8 wheeled armoured cars at vehicle collection points after the fighting had ended, I think it was a case in the last year of the war that if it fitted, it was used. I can see that those radial tyres would have been better on paved roads but not off road. None of the other kits in this series of 8 wheelers had those bonus tyres as an option, well, not when I bought them 15 years ago. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Many thanks for an informative thread! The steering mod is really neat - presumably if you didn't glue the pins at the top and bottom of the outer "cup" you could have moveable steering? And the interior shot clarifies a lot which is not clear from the instructions. I was wondering how the front driver got to his seat! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 2 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Many thanks for an informative thread! The steering mod is really neat - presumably if you didn't glue the pins at the top and bottom of the outer "cup" you could have moveable steering? That's how I have done it, the friction of the ball mount and the top and bottom pins retains the wheel hub and allows it to be turned. Today's update, I have attached the rest of the internal parts, mainly the visors, they are workable if you are careful with the glue. The 7.5cm gun still needs the recoil guard fitting, I will attach that after some detail painting. I keep mentioning the unfinished armoured cars that were above the 25% rule, so I have dug them out for a photo line-up of the different versions of this series of late war vehicles, hopefully I can retain my motivation and get them finished now I have the AM and p/e that I paused their build to wait for. (Metal barrel already fitted to the Puma) It's funny how you forget things, on checking out the Sd.Kfz. 234/4 I found the gun compartment is enlarged further back than the other variants, so the fuel tank and its filler cap were moved, not sure where they relocated it to, it's pretty busy in there. Also, I had forgotten that the mudguard middle stowage bins were deleted on this vehicle. Tomorrow will be time to start painting the interior so that the upper and lower hulls can be glued together and that will allow the final exterior parts to added. Thanks for looking, any questions or comments are always welcome. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo1966 Posted November 4, 2022 Share Posted November 4, 2022 Coming alone nicely Bob. I like your line up showing the different variants of this vehicle, they all look good. George 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 Painted the inside of hull, I used a MRP silver primer so that I can do some wear and chipping. On top of this I sprayed Tamiya XF-88 dark yellow, and it looks a good match to the paler late war dunkle gelb. Just needs some washes, shading and wear to make it pop. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 On 11/3/2022 at 6:21 PM, Retired Bob said: That's how I have done it, the friction of the ball mount and the top and bottom pins retains the wheel hub and allows it to be turned. Today's update, I have attached the rest of the internal parts, mainly the visors, they are workable if you are careful with the glue. The 7.5cm gun still needs the recoil guard fitting, I will attach that after some detail painting. I keep mentioning the unfinished armoured cars that were above the 25% rule, so I have dug them out for a photo line-up of the different versions of this series of late war vehicles, hopefully I can retain my motivation and get them finished now I have the AM and p/e that I paused their build to wait for. (Metal barrel already fitted to the Puma) It's funny how you forget things, on checking out the Sd.Kfz. 234/4 I found the gun compartment is enlarged further back than the other variants, so the fuel tank and its filler cap were moved, not sure where they relocated it to, it's pretty busy in there. Also, I had forgotten that the mudguard middle stowage bins were deleted on this vehicle. Tomorrow will be time to start painting the interior so that the upper and lower hulls can be glued together and that will allow the final exterior parts to added. Thanks for looking, any questions or comments are always welcome. An impressive 8-rad line-up! 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Nice work Bob, great info on the steering too. (Wheeled vehicles always look better with a degree of steering deflection I reckon). Hope to try and keep up with your build....🤞 Atb Darryl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 That looks very nice, lots of nice detail, will enjoy following this one... Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 On the parallel wheel issue, wouldn't the middle wheels on each side be angled slightly more than the ones at front and rear due to them being closer to the pivot of the turn ? I hope that makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 16 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said: On the parallel wheel issue, wouldn't the middle wheels on each side be angled slightly more than the ones at front and rear due to them being closer to the pivot of the turn ? I hope that makes sense I seem to remember reading that the steering was "differential" for want of a better word, - ie the middle wheels angled less that the front/rear ones, but I may be wrong! I also believe that the rear wheels could be locked to stay straight so only the front ones turned, but could be unlocked for tight turns and/or when driving backwards. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 5 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said: On the parallel wheel issue, wouldn't the middle wheels on each side be angled slightly more than the ones at front and rear due to them being closer to the pivot of the turn ? Erm, ask me one about Sherman tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 14 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said: On the parallel wheel issue, wouldn't the middle wheels on each side be angled slightly more than the ones at front and rear due to them being closer to the pivot of the turn ? I hope that makes sense Like this one.... https://images.app.goo.gl/iZwrWBfBn32pXSrAA Darryl 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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