@Michael so long as it is a command version, it fits

Hello Everyone,

I have made a start on the Roden Sd.Kfz. 263, which I am building almost totally OOB. I am following the instructions faithfully, not my usual 'build what I think is best first' method, with just a few tweeks to make it a better model. Anyway the suspension is first on the agenda, so that's where I began. Like most Roden kits it is a bit fiddly, but it eventually goes together quite nicely.

Here are the progress photos:

All the parts for the suspension cleaned up and ready for assembly.


The basic axles glued together.


The wheels atatched.


All the parts assembled to form the wheeled unit.






I intend to do the vehicle as a command car for the 7th Panzer division, France 1940, so it will be grey/brown camouflage. The finished item will be part of my Early War German wargames army. I will post again when I have done some more on this model.

All the best,

Paul

Matt, ha ha. Good question! Like Michael, I also signed up for Midway on Aeroscale, but both are waiting for two builds lingering on my workbench yet. Soon! I have a call in to the local hobby shop, hoping to find the discontinued Tristar Panzer 38(t) Befehlswagen, but no word yet from them. I know they're on E-bay all the time, but I'm loyal to my guys at the LHS.
cheers!
-Sean H.

Have made some progress with the suspension of my Panzer I but as soon as I came to the point of building up the tracks everything came to a halt

I've put together some bad kit parts before but these really take the ####. 5 minutes fettling each link? More than 100 of the little fellas to do? No way

Now I'm looking for an alternative track set or failing that, a complete new kit. Any cheap 1/35 Pz.Kpfw 1 kits out there with decent tracks?

Photos to follow when I've sorted out what I'm gonna do

I managed to get the fenders finished today and will move onto the hull tomorrow, here's what I ended up with:



More tomorrow, until then,

All the best,

Paul

@Spacewolfdad The Roden kit is not a command version.

Could you please explain why you make that assertion?

Because I looked up that kit.

Sounds like it was a command version to me.
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/misc/military/sdkfz263preview.htm

My bad. Build on.

Thanks Gary, I had mentioned that the version I intended to build was from the 7th Panzer Division. I knew that Rommel had used one as his personal command vehicle during the 7th's rampage through the Sedan area of France 1940, my wargames army is based on the 7th Panzer.

All the best,

Paul

Aloha All,

Some progress on my end. Boy there's a lot of stuff on them fenders... The jack doesn't really fit yet, so I'll have to muck with it some more.





Happy Modelling, -zon

Some great stuff going on here guys

I was just saying to myself this morning I wonder how Zon is making out with his Command PzIII Looking good there bud, but I dont remember there being any fit problems with the jack Your front armor plate turned out really good that was a bit of a pain in the a** Looking forward to seeing more

Aloha Sal: trying to catch up with you, but moving slowly I think my jack problem is actually the pry bar, which is too far back, so the jack hits it when I put it on the flat parts of the fender. Should be an easy fix, but late last night it seemed worse And yes, those little bits holding the front armor plate were a joy to clean!! Thanks for the compliments.

Have a good one and Happy Modelling, -zon

Hi Folks,

Zon, that Pz.III is looking really neat, I was going to do the K command version in 1/72, but decided to do the 250 and 263 instead. I look forward to seeing the next stages.

I have managed to finish the hull of the 263 and all that remains to be attached is the aerial. I did use a little brass rod to attach the lights and some spare tools for the front of the vehicle. The moulded on tools were too flat and needed replacing.

Here are some photos of the progress so far:















Just the aerial and then to the painting stage, fortunately it is a straightforward colour scheme.

All the best,

Paul

Paul,

Thanks for the comments. Your 263 is also looking good. Nice to see the form come together. I always admire you braile guys. I can't see that small

Happy Modelling, -zon

Spacewolf,
Your build is coming along nicely. Would you recomend the kit, so far? Even though my main focus is modern and cold war armor, I still like to do a WWII build once in a while.

Hi Matt,

Roden kits are well produced and quite well detailed. They seem to have the odd thing that needs attention, like the tools on the front of the vehicle. They build up into nice models and are worth a look if you want to do a German wheeled AFV.

Here is a link to the 'On the Way!' review:

http://www.onthewaymodels.com/reviews/Roden/SdKfz263prev.htm

And here is one I finished earlier:



I hope all of this helps you, all the best,

Paul

Hi Zon,

Thanks, I'm on to thick glasses and a magnifying glass. The next stage is a guide dog to get me to the modelling bench and trained monkeys to do the detail work. Seriously though, I really enjoy the challenge of the small scale, however, my Son bought me a 1/35 Dragon Panther A for my birthday and I have come to realise that big doesn't mean easier, quite the opposite in fact. So the respect travels both ways.

All the best,

Paul

Paul,

Great story. I had the opposite effect when I bought my daughter (7 yrs old) a 1/72 Stug III from Dragon, to work on together, thinking it'd be easy enough for her, only to discover it was just as complex as 1/35, only a LOT smaller!! It certainly does go both ways.

All the best and Happy Modelling, -zon

Hi Folks,

I just couldn't keep to a straight OOB build, I guess I am a 'dyed in the wool' detailer. Anyway after seeing several photos of the subject, I realised that the width indicators were a prominent feature and had to be modelled. I made them using fine surgical wire with 5 minute epoxy blobs on the end. The trick is to allow the epoxy to dry whilst hanging down, it then forms near perfect spherical balls. Here are the photos, including after it was primed with Tamyia Fine Surface Primer, in my opinion the best primer on the market.















Well that's it for now, just the painting to do. I will be doing it early War with the grey and brown scheme, which was appropriate for France 1940.

All the best,

Paul

I got hold of 2 ICM ural trucks cheap and 1 of them is a command version, is it ok for this campaigan?

Paul: she's a beauty all primed. Looking forward to the paint scheme.

Scott: I believe the criteria is "any command vehicle", so it should fit right in. Welcome aboard.

Happy Modelling, -zon

Jealous that all you are getting time to build, been too busy with work (bad) and family (good!). Finally got a few hours yesterday and got the rear details, such as they are onto the rear hatch area. A few details up top and onto a prime coat. Cheers.

Quick update for photos as promised:

The completed back hull (Note: I will probably change the location of the handles above the hatch doors)


The new center antenna (I do not know the name of this thing)


The "weld bead" such as its going to be


The crew serve weapon mount (pirated from the Trumpeter kit "Thanks Adam!" and slightly modified)


That's it for now. Cheers.