Hi all, this will be my first time posting a build in this forum, and since this will contain a few 'firsts' for me I figured this is the perfect place! This build will probably span a few months, as I'm not a very quick builder, and I'd appreciate any advice along the way. I'm planning on incorporating this one into a dio showing it getting restocked from a Munitionswagen, but that's way down the road, time wise.

Anyway...the victim and his friends.......



A review of the kit hasn't been done, but the PE set has been reviewed Here. I've completed a bit so far, and will post up my progress soon. Thanks for looking!

As in the other newer 38(t) series that Dragon has been pumping out, this one includes a very decent interior. The Griffon set enhances this a bit in the driver's area, and nothing in the engine compartment with the exception of a better sized battery holder. I've done a few of the DML interiors in other builds, so won't bore you with too many details on that part of the build. Here's a shot of the driver's area, which before painting I ended up repositioning the seat and the brake(?) lever.



And the interior awaiting a final touch up to remove some of the excess pigments...



Starting on the exterior, the travel lock that Dragon provides is nicely done except for the spacing issue near the bottom. This can be sanded down a bit to give a better appearance, but the Griffon set includes a new one, so that's what got used....



Next up....hull changes and trying to fix the driver's hood

Great start James. The interior looks perfect ... considering what´ll be seen when complete. Will be following this build!

Excellent start James. Your interior has turned out well. Nice etch work. Looking forward to seeing more of your progress.

Cheers -
Tim

Frank, as always I'm glad you're along for what will probably be a long journey

Tim, thanks! I should be pretty good with PE by the end of this one

A few things need to be taken care of on the hull before construction gets too far along. First, the fender 'guide' should be removed, which runs perfectly straight. So, either using the kit supplied fenders or PE ones, remove this so that the slight 'bend' along the fenders can be added. The rivets along the side by the driver's hood, and on the other side, should be removed also, as this was carried over from the earlier hull style.


As with the other Dragon kits from the same series, I'm not happy with the way the driver's hood fit to the front armor, as the lip was too pronounced towards the rear. Of course, the photo shows this exaggerated, but trust me it just doesn't look right





A little modification and well....I can live with this easier than the way it was....







Still need to add the welds around the hood.

Next up...working on the left side casemate. We'll title that one 'Fun with PE' or 'How to lose your sanity for under 40 bucks'

Great job! I found some photos of this tank at the end of the war that has a camo scheme as late war Hetzer-something much differant from the cover art.
Dan

Thanks Dan. I'd like to see that camo, I have a hard edge camo photo which was late war around the Czech territory. Haven't decided what paint/marking scheme I'll attempt yet

James, glad your back on a 38t variant, not that I don't like the other items you do. You just seem to have a good handle on the 38t vehicles. I'm watching to learn about this vehicle.
Joe

Hey Joe, good to see you here I'm happy to be building one of these variants again also, I'm not sure if I have a handle on them but I sure do enjoy them!

You did remind me of something, though. I've had trouble fitting the engine in place following the instructions, which has you place the firewall and then the engine. In the previous builds, I've ended up cutting off the locating pins on the bottom of the motor in order to fit it into the firewall.

This time I installed the engine first, cut off the pin on the driveshaft and removed a section of the firewall (circled in image below) so that it can be slid into place. This not only made it easier but gave a stronger bond for the engine.

Hi James

I love what your doing to the model so far,especially the PE travel lock wow. This is going to be an awesome model when done, just too bad you have to paint it.

Rob

Thanks Rob, hopefully this one will come out half way decent

Yeah, I pretty much stink at the painting part.....it probably would look better unpainted...alas, a necessary evil

Maybe someone can help me out here....any idea what these two 'boxes' were used for? The lower one was removable (just the holder in place in the photo) and the upper one has a swing down door with 2 brackets inside. TIA!

James, Off the top of my head there is a older issue of AFV Modeller that has a article about this-sorry, but can't think of the issue number.
Dan

James, there is a small photo of this area in the MBI book "Marder III & Grille". They look like..boxes in the photo. Not trying to be smart about it!
Dan

Thanks Dan!

Not much to show in the way of progress....especially since after I constructed the radio rack I realized I had the receiver and transmitter in the wrong places, and to top it off one of them was upside down Got that straightened out amidst much swearing and the such. The left side is just about ready for paint, the radios will be added later along with the charge storage that fastens directly above it. DML shows another charge box on this wall, though I don't see it in any references I have, so I'll leave it off for now.

Good build you have going on there James.

Will keep an eye on it.

Wow she's looking beautiful wearing all that gold, I mean the PE. Some times it is a shame to paint a model that has all the extras on it. Now I'm itching to get my hands on one of these kits.
Looking forward to the next up date.

Rob

Coming along nicely James, your progress is impressive. Have to agree with Rob, going to be a shame to cover up all the 'gold' with a nice camo job, but hey...we're liking it!

Keep at it, looking good! Cheers -
Tim

Jeff, Rob and Tim....you guys are too kind, thanks for the comments And thanks to Bill Plunk for the help and knowledge of the storage boxes in question.....the upper one is for the gun sight, hence the holders inside. The lower removable one may have been for the swab, or the finer tools for the front gun adjustments.

Work continued on getting the shell holders complete...the other dozen that is. Rolling PE was never a strong point for me, but I got into a production line mode and got them done! Just about the last 1 or 2 I started getting pretty good at it, I may just continue and get the ones ready for the Munitionswagen ahead of time. All the straps were soldered on, and why I'll never know, but the last 9 holders I reversed the straps (buckles on the left instead of the right). Didn't notice until I was done...I blame it on senility Needless to say, they are staying that way, gives it a bit of personality!



After getting those done, I needed to get working with styrene again, so constructed the gun. Still needs a bit of touch up, but went together pretty well. DML did a very nice job here, and the Griffon PE adds just a little highlights.

Ah the Plastic-Goddess has struck again. James it's been a very bad week for all modelers, seems like a lot of us are getting careless and may have to go back to the basics. I dropped 2 T55 turrets, next day was a hull. A few others here and else where have had similar blunders.
The ammo holders look great as does that gun. I don't know about you but I think Dragon is getting carried away with the clear parts, yours looks very good.
How about a pic of everything together so we can see all the bling bling. This is looking great, and if the rear comp looks as good as the front then it's a definate winner.

Rob

Yes, I wasn't spared from making an offering to the Goddess....I also broke the travel lock and had to get that back together.....ahhhh, modelling is such a stress reliever.....

Sorry to hear of your misfortunes, though it's nice to know I'm not alone! Still a ways to go to post up some progress, thanks for checking in

Looking good James. NIce progress. Keep it going.

Looks great James! fantastic detail work!

Yes, I too made a offering to the Goddess. I accidentally pinched my Sdkfz 251chassis against the work bench, and my Pz IV ended up falling on the garage floor. Ouch! Seems to happen in bunches.

Jim...good to see you...how's those Tigers coming along?

Mark....thanks! Hopefully your 'offerings' can be repaired. I think she's finally appeased, as things have been quiet in the 'screw-up' department....knock on wood

Hopefully will have more progress posted soon.

Coming along real nice James. very nice PE work and the photos of the wiring for the radio may come in very handy for someone else I know