German 7.5cm Pak40 Fgst.PZ.Kpfw.Marder III Ausf
Tristar-35030


Hey, this is my Tristar Marder 3 H build log.


The Kit.
the kit has quite a few sprues,15 to be precise, including clear sprues.
it also includes 1 pe Fret, and 1 Sheet of Cartograph decals.
all looks to be of a high quality at the moment,
three of the sprues are the individual track links, and on each of the 3
sprues there is only one e/p mark on the actual parts as opposed to the sprues.
the clear parts look fantastic, and are some of the best clear parts i have
seen.

For this build, it is more than likely that i will use a German grey
camoflage, i am debating whether to include a whitewash on the finish, and
will decide this at a later date.
50 p!!!!!



Recently i picked up The brilliant Black Star Advanced painting techniques
By Rubén Gonzàlez, so for the build that will be my guide, although i must admit,
i have less then half of the materials used in this book, although hopefully a
trip to the local MIG supplier will commence soon.


Current model soundtrack: Time-Pink Floyd

After a Sweat inducing 2 and a half hours of intense PE work,
i have decided to stop for lunch.
please feel free to comment & point out missing details e.t.c

^^^the cuved parts have been annealed, and were glued by gluing one end, waiting
for that to dry, then coating the rest of the contact area with Ca, then rolling the item like a wheel to get a good curvature



the washers and arms are a bit wobbly, but it all fits, and the eges will recieve light sanding to line it up a little more.

Off to a good start James! I recently built the Tristar interior for a Tamiya Marder III build and it provides a lot of great detail but definitely involves a lot of parts and PE to get it all together.

Hey Bill, i saw that build, came out looking great

Great, I've never had any tristar model but I thought about this one for a long time. I'm really interested in how the building phase will be. Looking forward to see more progress.

spit

Hey Pawel, the parts so far fit like a glove, and the pe, is a lot simpler than i looks to be.

A quick shout, does anyone have any idea what colour the drivers large RHS cussion would have been, also the transmission?

I'm working on the same kit, with Lion Roar PE and barrel.

Watch out for the transmission / cover fit. I had to shave the cover paper thin just to make it fit without hitting the top of the transmission. Also be sure to fill the ejector marks on the interior hull panels before you glue them together... Doh.


Aside from that, it's been smooth (albeit SLOW) sailing. It's a complex kit. But not totally overwhelming like some Dragon stuff.

Hi Jason, ill take note of the fit issue,
what colours did you do the interior, im working from my interpretation of a B/W pic i found on another build log, most pin marks are filled:D

i was thinking of leaving off the lower seat cushion, would this have been done on the real vehicle?
i am painting the drivr side wall at the moment, and am unsure wether to paint the floor grey .
pics when the camera is charged, now im off to town to pick up a white paint.
ciao

some build pics!





the pic i am using is here half way down
the black wire cover is black to make it a little more interesting!
i would touch it up, but the paints have gone up ovrenight

hello, should the floor be painted grey, i do like the white, but in these pictures of the non marderfied 38(t) it looks to be a darker colour.
FOR DICUSSION PURPOSES ONLY

Looks very interesting so far. I'm not familiar with Tristar but it sure looks worth trying!
I'll be watching your progress with this one!

Andrzej

Thanks Andrzej

now, the kit is great, but the radio PE is going to Sh*t,
pics on my failed radio tomorrow

the most frustrating moment of the build so far has been the Radio, and the hull floor,
the Radio was a pain due to the frame, frame went horribly wrong,
and the hull floor was painted grey, and that looked gross, so in favour of
aesthetics over accuracy the floor will be white!

Good start James. The steering mechanism is a daunting build, even for the most experienced builders, and you managed it with no apparent problems. Don´t get too hung up on the floor colour ... heavy weathering will fix the worst of that. If the radio frame is so problematic, buy some "L" profile plastic rods and build a copy around your radio ... and remember ... the finished view will be limited, so it doesn´t need to 100% perfect. This is a complicated kit, so don´t panic.

Hey Frank, its odd, seeming that the "hardest bit " was a breeze an im hung up on a bad radio:D heh, its togteher, bu a ittle wobbly lol!
im gonn strip thefloor again, as some detals have become soft,

this looks great so far

Thanks Mike

In cinemas soon

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.

the good,




the bad



and the ugly





sorry for the uber cheesy post:D

Very nice build, a pity with the radios.

OFF:
About a month ago there were bad rumors about Tristar. I haven't heard anything about them since then (except a "nothing is true" statement), but none of their previously announced kit had not been issued either. Any news?

Good Evening Armorama,
Làszlò (sorry the second accent is the wrong way round :[ )
thankyou for the support, the radios, i finally am pleased with,
they arent perfect, but they are ok:)
i did not hear about Tristar proposing to release kits and not coming up with
the goods, although i suggest for them to continue making kits, and i encourage
other modellers to "get their feet wet" with tristar.
Dragon kits feel very clinical, but here tristar have hit the balance perfectly.

well , here is todays progress although i aim to do more tonight unless im browsing the Big A

you have gotten so much done, and it is looking amazing

cheers Mike! im fairly pleased with how its going at the moment,
i will probably detal paint the radio tonight

Good morning viet...... oh wait,
Good morning Armorama.
i have decided to dedicate this build to the greatest Australian-American ever.
Mel Gibson.

back to all seriousness, here is a shot of wheels, and radio

I still don't see Clint Eastwood anywhere...
Your build is going very fast... and it looks great so far! As for the radio... well... Your build is going very fast!
Don't worry about PE... you should be happy that you did not buy some AM PE parts to figure out that they're made of sh1t material...
I just hope that parts you will use on the outside of model will be better than these used inside.

Take care and have a great Sunday (which is not so sunny here in Poland...)

Andrzej

Oh, BTW... something is sure wrong with our photobucket accounts, don't you think?

Hey Andrzej
the forecast for today, mild
i hope im not moving too fast
im glad the PE with this kit is pretty good to work with.
my photobuck account has reset the counter again i might
have a cleanup and see if that helps.

i hope the weather starts being soon!
thanks mate!

hello. i have started the r/o side suspention,

see, it moves!




here, take a seat