Another weekend means another project started...the next victim on the bench is the old DML Imperial Series kit # 9032 of the Pz III G with the tropen modifications for N. Africa. I'll be using a few goodies on this one but won't be staying 100% true to the vehicle shown on the box art in terms of how I end up equipping it. While I have one reference photo showing it missing a good portion of the left fender and loaded down with stowage gear, I'm not going to replicate it faithfully since it's not going into a dio but will instead use that photo as inspiration along with some others of Gs in Afrika.

Anyhow, it will give me a chance to build something with the first "Tropen" scheme ordered in March '41 using RAL 8000 and RAL 7008 as I've been wanting to do that scheme for a while and have some fun with along the way as well! Stay tuned for updates as work progresses.

Hi Bill,

Ive still got one of these only part built. I think I managed the turret and hull. I really should get in finished. I'll be following your progress for some inspiration.

Des

OOoooohhhh another another Pzr III. It must be Christmas!!
Looking forward to the build .... love the IIIs.

Bill I will give you one day to finish this build. .... JUST KIDDING.... ROFL... Enjoy it have fun. That's all that counts. I'll be back at the bench later this week. I have three days of school left. I have been behind. Stayed up till 330 this morning. Still not awake yet. Its now 920 I think I'll go back to the sack for a bit.

Thanks Des! Hope this gives you a spark to return to your project.

Frank, the III family is one of my favs as well and I've been slowly working my way through the collection of these Imperial Series kits on the III. I figure I need to get them done sooner rather than later before DML releases all new-tool versions!

Jim, sorry to hear that you've been kept away from the bench, get some sleep!

Thanks Bill, managed another hour plus after I left the last message. Have a good one.

Hey Bill, another brilliant project. It's good to see an old timer on the bench. As always I'll keep a close eye.

cheers
spit

Glad to have you along for the ride Spit!

I started work on this project yesterday and between then and today managed to make some decent headway. Since this is an older kit, the parts clean-up is higher with mold seams, flash, etc. taking more time to resolve than you would expect with a modern kit but nothing that basic model skills can't handle.

I started where most kits start with Step 1 dealing with all of the road wheels, the return rollers, sprockets, and idlers. The road wheel halves and return roller halves were left un-assembled to make it easier to paint and detail them later. Each of the halves had its mold seam sanded down with a sanding twig on the rubber portions and the external half of the return rollers had a prominent ejector mark on their faces. These were carefully removed using the tip of a round needle file since they are in a particularly tough spot to work in.



Moving on to Step 2, this deals with the lower hull and suspension. Since the hull is one that DML uses/re-uses in several Pz III/StuG III kits, there are some surgical modifications necessary to make it suitable for a III-G and the instructions call these out. The first return roller mount on either side that is molded as part of the hull has to be removed and replaced with an add-on part to put all the return rollers evenly spaced and level with each other in order to achieve the correct early Pz III arrangement. I cut down the molded-on mount with sprue cutters and then carefully removed the rest with a #11 knife, finally sanding down the remnants until the hull was smooth. Using a metal ruler as a guide, the new mount was installed at the correct height and spacing. One of the mount holes that isn't used was filled with putty and sanded down and I also removed the molded-on locator line for the crew escape hatches with a micro-chisel and sanded it down before installing the hatches. Last but not least, the mount post for the final drive housings was cut down in order to make use of the MK parts that allow the sprocket to rotate instead of installing static as the kit parts are designed.



Speaking of the MK parts, I replaced the final drive housing with the MK parts and adapters and added the sprockets to insure everything would rotate freely before installing them to the hull.



The rest of the suspension was then installed as called for in Step 2. The instructions have an error in that parts B13 and B14 are reversed in terms of which side they install to but that was easily worked out and corrected. For the idler, I carefully assembled the idler mount so that the tension arm rod could remain movable and didn't glue the base of the mount to the hull. This allows the idler mount to be slightly movable and will come in handy later on when working with the MK tracks to get just the right tension arrangement when those are mounted.



Step 2 also calls for the installation of the rear hull plate and the air exhaust vents. These installed smoothly and without major issues and I added the rear mufflers as well. The exhaust pipes were molded partially hollow but I decided to drill these out a little deeper using a micro drill bit and pin vise to give them a more realistic appearance. The rear tow pintles were also added and these had some ejector marks on their outward faces that had to be carefully removed before installation.



Step 3 calls for the road wheels to be installed and Step 4 for the tracks so both of these will be skipped for now. The next steps will deal with the upper hull but that will have to wait until next weekend!

Fun to see a older kit being built, Bill. Dragon has come quite far in the last few years.
Dan

Thanks Dan, you're right about DML's progress for sure.

I'm def subscribing to this one, as I have often wondered if the older DML kits are worth bothering with. But given how few early versions of tanks they release now, this is the way to go (and you know I don't shy away from AM, LOL ).

Thanks for following along Bill! The older DML kits still build up nicely IMHO but definitely are of a different standard. I'm going to add a Voyager smoke candle rack to the rear and am contemplating possibilities for the tow cables as well but have to see how that will work out before I commit.

Hi, Bill, a complete list of your AM goodies at the end would be appreciated. I'm interested in DAK kits and Barbarossa armor.

Will do my best to catalog them for your interest Bill!

Thanks!

After much thought and deliberation, I've decided to use the reference photo below found in Trojca's Sdkfz 141 Pzkpfw III and will attempt to recreate some of the key features shown. Specifically, I will be modifying the fender to remove the forward section and rearranging the gear on the fenders as well.



Interestingly enough, the MK track set box has a photo of a build of this same vehicle replicating everything including the stowage and figures that will also provide some valuable insight. Work is getting ready to start on the upper hull and fenders so this was the right point to make a decision one way or the other!

Bill,
This guy is loaded for bear!
Dan

Bill ive been waiting a long time for another one of your superb blogs, the way you explain things step by step always makes me even MORE interested in axis armour.

Dan, have to agree with you there! Looks like in this particular photo the crew has packed all their gear and is on the move to somewhere! The caption says this is June 1941 but doesn't provide much more beyond that.

Calvin, thanks for the kind words and encouragement! I'm glad you enjoy the blogs and find them as a source of motivation. I often get the same motivation from reading other builders' efforts so it's good to know mine have a similar effect.

Bill,

I sure will be watching this one with interest.

Darryl

It looks it will be a nice model you won't see that much.

I'm following!

H.

Thanks Daryl and Hilbert, appreciate the interest!

Hey Bill,

Always fun watching your builds...

Looks like a cool project, this is the same lower hull as the old Stug III A which I have. I believe the lower hull and running gear are from Gunze as there's no Dragon logo on the sprues? Well detailed parts but mine have the same issue with the return rollers...matter of fact I think the road wheels are some of the best narrow type in plastic.

Regards, Paul

Thanks Paul! Yep, the Gunze heritage is very prominent in this kit. Still, it's the only game in town for the moment for the earlier Pz III and StuG III types so they will soldier on for the duration I guess.

Progress was good today, I started in on the upper hull since that was the next item of business in the instructions. The upper hull foundation is actually that of a StuG III so to convert it over to a Pz III hull there are several modifications that have to be done. Step 5 outlines most of these although there are some that are also called out in Step 8 that I went ahead and did at this point in time just because it's easier to do it now vs. later. These modifications include adding the hull side panels appropriate for the Pz III but these have several bolt heads that have to be shaved off as well as some locator marks that aren't used on both sides. This was easily taken care of with a sharp #11 blade and a little bit of sanding. At the rear hull there are some indentations on both sides that need to be filled with putty and there are 6 holes that need to be opened up in the engine deck hatches to take the Tropen cooling vent covers in a later step. Last but not least, the triangular stops for the engine hatches also needed to be removed and sanded down.

For the right side hull panel, two holes have to be opened up to take the armored port cover there for the hull gunner's position, unfortunately I wasn't paying too close attention and opened up the two holes at the rear of the panel instead of the two at the front...so the wrong holes were carefully puttied over and the right holes opened and the port installed. The front hull brake access hatch panel was also added at this point to complete the step.



Step 6 adds the hull roof and the superstructure front plate and both of these require modification to conform to the G layout. The roof needs the two corner lifting hook mounts removed and the indentations for the hook itself puttied and sanded. Three holes need to be opened up for the turret splash ring to be added later. The front plate requires some significant surgery as it doesn't have the square opening for the MG34 ball mount. The opening is outlined on the back side but it has to be cut out, so I drilled out small holes in each of the corners and carefully removed the square with a razor saw. The ball mount was added to the plate and the glue allowed to set up.

Before I installed the plate to the hull, I test fit the brass Armorscale MG34 barrel and needed to enlarge the opening for the barrel to install properly. This was done with a combination of a drill bit and pin vise and a round needle file to get the diameter required both front and back on the mount until the barrel fit snugly. The G featured the perforated type of cooling jacket and the kit part just didn't have the level of detail needed to do this justice and I checked the length of the barrel against the scale plans in Panzer Tracts 3-2 before gluing into place with CA gel. Due to the tight space behind the plate, I had to trim down the rear portion of the barrel a couple of mm with side cutters so that the plate and MG would line up properly.

I added the armored visor for the driver in the up position and then glued the hull roof into place using liquid glue to get a good join along the perimeter. While Step 6 also calls for the installation of the bolt-on armor for the glacis plate, I decided to wait to do that until I added the nose plate and the upper and lower hull were joined together to insure proper alignment of all the various components.



That led me to Step 7 which joins the upper and lower hull components together. The mating surfaces aren't large between them and some flash on the lower hull needed to be trimmed away in different places to get a good join. I used regular glue and a series of rubber bands to secure them together and left it to dry for a couple of hours. I also added the bolt on panels for the glacis and nose as well as the armored covers for the brake vents.



Once the join was set, I removed the bandages and the patient came through just fine. The remaining items from Step 7 were added in the form of the superstructure front bolt-on plate, splash guard for the turret, and lifting hooks for the hull roof. The bolt-on plate fit generally well but some small gaps were the roof tabs met the hull roof needed some putty to fill them and simulate the welded on nature of the connection.



Next up will be working on the rear hull and fenders!