Back again Bill, what MK sprocket housing did you use, 12? Also did you have any issue with the sprocket halves not seating properly all the way? On mine there's a small gap between the halves...I did check the track links and it might be really tight fit with no gap so maybe a kit issue after all.

I noticed the Idler wheel holes don't line up front to back, is this normal? I can't see these details in your pics.

I like the Gunze early sprockets, nice detailing.

Looking great!

Paul

Paul,

The correct MK final drive housing for the early Pz IIIs and StuG IIIs is part # 7, not 12, and this is properly called out in the MK instructions. 12 is the later style. I didn't have any issues with the sprockets fitting together and test fit the MK links to be sure they had the right clearance. Since these particular links are the 36cm variety, they fit just fine. 40 cm type links would likely fit tighter as a rule, are you using the same set I am or a different one? As for the idler holes, that's the way they are supposed to be. The lightening holes on either side are offset to allow them to better shed built up mud/dirt and avoid the track getting thrown. HTH!

Bill,

I didn't know they considered the G an "early" PZ III so that was why I asked about the sprocket housing.....

I was considering building my Stug III A, I have an Aber set for it but no MK tracks just the kit tracks which are good just alot of flash.

I used this same MK sprocket set on the Dragon Sig 33 B which is still a shelf queen at the moment. I mated the Tamiya Stug III G early hull with the upper Dragon hull parts. I used number "7" sprocket housing on that one too.

Keep it coming....Paul

More progress was made today although not as much as I had expected and I blame it all on the NFL! The Niners game got moved to an afternoon slot due to all the snow in Philadelphia and that totally wrecked my day schedule plans. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

I did manage to complete Step 8 despite losing quite a bit of time assembling the Voyager smoke candle rack only to not be able to use it in the end. The rod that Voyager provided that is crucial to securing all the parts together was the wrong diameter and all I had was some brass rod to replace it with. That turned out to be too stiff and ripped out some of the delicate parts while I was trying to assemble it so I salvaged the smoke candles themselves and the chain and mated that up with the kit parts. The kit doesn't include the candles so that's the critical part to add here anyway IMHO.

I also installed the engine deck hatches and the Tropen vent covers along with the lifting hooks for the rear deck. Last but not least, I installed the crank starter port cover using part C14 instead of the kit directed A43. A43 is the wrong style for the G but fortunately the right part is available on the sprues, just not called out properly.



Step 9 was also finished today, this called for the installation of the side air intakes and the front tow points. The side intakes had a little bit of flash that needed to be removed on the insides and some sanding was necessary to smooth down the tops to allow the Aber PE screens to fit properly. The screens were added with some CA gel and the intakes installed into position.

The front tow points required a little bit of work before they could be installed. They had ejector marks on their outer faces that needed putty and sanding to correct and also some sanding at the top to remove the join seam that would be visible there. The points installed without issue and I went ahead and added the front headlights as well even those aren't called for until Step 12 to round things out.



Didn't get to the fenders yet since those will require a lot of rework and shuffling of gear, that's up next on the agenda.

This one is shaping up nicely.

Yet another nice one. I can't wait to apply some techniques you use to my current build I'm starting tomorrow. Hopefully this young guy can keep up with the likes of you.

Thanks Jim!




Sean, glad this one's helpful for you and look forward to seeing yours as well. As for "young guy can keep up" I'm not exactly "old" at 33 but then I guess that's all relative! I'm sure you'll do just fine with your project too and I appreciate the kind words.

33? Thats not old at all. 12 years older than me, although I began building 12 years ago. Still wondering how you make construction flawless

No way Bill you and I are the same age. Thats too cool..........

Age is just a number...or at least that's what they keep telling me every year!

I started an extended Christmas vacation yesterday so was able to get some more time in on this one as a result. Work continued with the fenders and focused in on Steps 10-14.

To begin with, the instructions are not quite accurate in terms of the tool layout particularly on the left hand fender to represent the stowage as seen on a standard G. The instructions call for the jack block to be installed at the front behind the Notek light when in fact it belongs on the rear fender and the jack's position as well as the fire extinguisher's are not placed correctly on the second-to-last section. In that case, the jack should be moved forward to the point that the "claw" end overhangs the fender support rod slightly and the fire extinguisher moved to the rear of the same panel instead of the front. These mods are easily done without too much trouble, just a matter of filling the mount holes with putty and clipping off the pins and gluing the parts in the right positions. I replaced the kit-supplied FE with a better detailed spare from a DML Smart Kit from the spares bin.

Other modifications were called for in terms of removing the entire first full section of the fender to replicate the missing portion seen in the reference photo for this particular vehicle. This was done using sprue cutters and then carefully trimming down the remainder with a #11 blade in order to leave the mount tabs for the fender support in place at the junction of the lost section and remaining fender. This vehicle also had a spare road wheel mounted next to the tool box so this required moving the S-hooks forward one section and placing them next to the wire cutters. I used some generic Griffon clamps and "clean" S-hooks without molded on clamps also drawn from the spares bin. The photo also shows that the rear fenders were removed, so this was also cut down using sprue cutters and the stub plate added courtesy of spare parts from the DML Pz III N Smart Kit.

Other kit parts were also replaced with better detailed items including the jack block with one from a Tamiya Pz III L, the rear Notek light and spare road wheel from the DML Pz III-N Smart Kit, and wire cutters from the spares bin (these had to be trimmed slightly to fit the Griffon clamp).



The fender braces were added and then the fender was installed to the hull. I also found some spare wing-nuts while digging around in the spares bin and added a couple of those to the jack mount for a little extra detail. After reviewing the exposed area of the hull around the drive sprocket, I decided to use some putty and add a little bit of weld detail to the plate joins there as well.



The right side fender was not quite as complicated an area to work with...although it too needed some modifications. The rear mud flap was removed to match the left side and the stub plate added. The brake light was replaced with a modified spare part from the DML Pz III N kit that had better detail, ditto for the width indicator light and siren at the front of the fender. The front mud flap was carefully cut down and removed as well and the additional tool box added behind the siren/indicator light using the parts available on the F sprue as parts 20 and 21. These are marked as "not for use" but were commonly seen on Gs and Hs, so I added it for greater accuracy.

The axe was left off in favor of adding a field-installed jerry can rack...although that side of the vehicle isn't visible in the photo, this type of rack was a common feature in N. Afrika vehicles, particularly the 8th Regt. So even though this is a 5th Regt vehicle, I took a little license and decided to add it. The kit provided the jerry cans already and the rack was scratch built using strips from an Eduard PE fret cut to size and glued together with CA gel. The starter crank had its molded on clamps removed and Griffon clamps installed in their place. Last but not least, the antenna tray and supports were assembled and installed to complete the fender layout for the time being. The shovel will be added later after painting.



The braces were then added and the fender installed to the hull. Once it sets up, I will add the radio antenna mount and swivel arm to round things out and move on to the turret.

This one is taking shape nicely Bill. Very nicely indeed. Very nice.

Thanks Jim! If I'm lucky, this one will get done before the end of the year and will be the capstone for 2009.

Today was another productive day with all major construction completed. Picking up right where I left off, I added the wiring conduit from the siren/indicator light down to the main headlight with 0.5mm diameter solder. This was carefully bent to shape and then glued in place with liquid glue. Once that had dried, I added small retaining brackets using the flexible bits on the Eduard frets that are the connection points for regular PE parts that were bent to a curved shape around a piece of solder with tweezers then glued into place with CA gel.



The remaining element from Step 14 was also dealt with by installing the mount for the antenna swivel arm to the hull side. The kit doesn't provide an antenna, so I clipped off the stub that was molded onto the swivel arm and drilled out a hole with a #72 finger drill and installed a Lion Marc 2m brass antenna with CA gel. To protect the antenna, this was only dry fit for the shot to be sure I had the alignment correct for the mount and will be permanently installed later.



The remaining steps deal with the turret and Step 15 assembles the top and bottom halves along with the hatch hinges and interior frames and turret front plate.



Step 16 adds the interior portion of the gun mount and hinge pin covers and can remain movable after installation if you don't apply glue to the hinge parts E30 and E31 where they mate up with the assembled E25 and E26. I also skipped ahead a bit to Step 20 since I am replacing the gun and mantlet entirely with the Armorscale barrel and resin mantlet. Adding it now is much easier than after all the details were installed and some small surgery was needed on the Armorscale resin mantlet to get it to fit. The back of the resin mantlet has mount points and guides that are designed to work with the newer DML Smart Kit and these all had to be cut down and sanded smooth to allow a proper fit to this older kit's mount parts. The mantlet was glued in place with CA gel and there's sufficient stiffness in the pins to support the weight of the gun so for now I haven't glued it down but will after painting to pose the gun at the desired angle.



Steps 16-18 deal with various details including the turret stowage bin. The bin assembles easily enough but the base is hollow so this needed to be blanked off using sheet styrene to avoid it being visible once mounted. Some putty work was also needed at the top portions to create the right seamless look.



The rest of the turret details were added as called for in the instructions and everything was going great right up until it came time to add the side hatches. The kit provides some nicely detailed doors and hinges and the doors fit very tightly together. While I was test fitting one side, the smaller half of the hatch pinged off into oblivion...I spent a full hour carefully searching the work bench, shelves, and floor but to no avail. This required a "Plan B" solution which involved removing the hinge points and using the one-piece hatches provided on sprue F and marked as not for use instead. The detail isn't as good but at least I still have hatches!

The turret lifting eyes were the only parts that required some modifications in these steps...the kit parts aren't really hooks as they are molded as solid knobs. I opened them up by drilling a hole in their centers with a #76 finger drill and the carefully creating the "hook" by cutting into the hole with the tips of my sprue cutters and then carefully removing the base to create the hook.



A test fit to the hull showed everything is playing nice together and the turret fits well into the ring opening provided. I had originally planned to fit a small canvas dust cover to the gun barrel but have decided against that as I don't want to cover up the nice detail provided by the Armorscale barrel. That means this one's ready for paint as the only other thing remaining is the track assembly and I can do that while the paint is curing.

Bill,
Looking good here! Should there be some type of strap to hold the jerry cans down? Just a thought.
Dan

Thanks Dan! The pics I have that show these racks populated with cans for the 8th Pz Regt don't show any kind of strap being used. Given the dimensions of the rack and the way it interacts with the hull and the fact that each can weighed around 40 lbs when full with water means this would be a fairly stable arrangement I think. Since the cans are positioned horizontal instead of vertical, the likelihood they'd need an additional strap to hold them in place is very remote IMHO.

While we were spared the really severe weather here in El Paso that the rest of the plains/rockies got yesterday, it was still relatively cold here in the desert with the temps in the mid-to-high 40s. The wind wasn't very strong though, so that meant I was able to get some paint work done in the garage without freezing in the process.

I started in by applying a primer coat of Model Master enamel Italian Dark Brown. This allowed me to check all the putty work I'd done previously and also provides a nice underlying coat over the kit plastic to make sure I don't leave any bare spots along the way.



This was followed by the base coat of MM enamel Afrika Grunbraun '41, Testors' version of RAL 8000 as called for in the Tropen scheme authorized for the N. Afrika theater. I applied this in multiple mist coats to build it up over the primer coat.



Next came the camo pattern of 1/3 disruptive RAL 7008 in the form of MM enamel Afrika Khakibraun '41. This was applied as the light was fading and I can see there are a couple of thin spots that I need to work on, I'll take care of that tomorrow but the pattern is at least on.



I also worked on the road wheels, including the spares that will mount on the fender and at the "cow catcher" front with the spare track run to be added later. These were primed with the Italian Dark Brown then had the rubber rims air brushed with MM enamel Gunmetal. The inner hubs were air brushed with a custom-mix for the Red Oxide primer using a circle template while the outer hubs were air brushed with the RAL 8000 base coat color to match the hull, also via circle template.

Looking very great, I always look forward to this portion of your build

Thanks Sean, this is always where the "fun" starts for me as well.

Thanks for sharing your build Bill. Been checking the progress -- anxiously awaiting when you'd start painiting the Tropen scheme. For the disruptive pattern: is it more of smaller patches than larger ones? Have the same DML kit in the stash and plan to do a similar scheme as well. Cheers -- Tat

Thanks for the comments Tat! As for the pattern, the orders simply say 1/3 vs. 2/3, so that's what I tried to keep in mind in terms of the coverage and size of the pattern. There's some leeway for creative license as a result.

Wow, this is another impressive build Bill. This oldy is looking fantastic.

The front MG (not the coaxial one) is correct one? I've used few times the RB model MG 34 barrel (which I think is the same as the one you used from armorscale) not really knowing id it's correct for a tank....

wait to see more
spit

Thanks Pawel! The non-armored perforated sleeve type of MG34 is correct for the early Pz IIIs up through the Ausf G but was replaced with the armored type in the Ausf H and onward. The type is also seen on Pz IVs up through the D as well, so there's some variation there until the standard armored type was introduced. It's important to check which vehicle you're building as to which type should be used for the hull MG.

The RB Model full-length barrel is indeed the same one as the Armorscale barrel, just without the instructions of course. RB doesn't currently offer the full length armored sleeve type in their inventory.

Thanks Bill -- will keep that in mind. Looking forward to your progress pics. Cheers -- Tat

With the inevitable break in bench time that Christmas involves, I was able to get in some more progress today. The day's not over but the next round of work involves assembling the MK tracks so I figured I should go ahead and post what has been done and buckle down and get the tracks built!

First order of business was joining up the road wheel halves and then installing them to the hull. This was done using regular glue to allow for some adjustments where needed to get the wheels to sit level. The return rollers were also added. The hull was set off to the side and allowed to set up for a while to avoid disturbing the wheels.



I stayed busy by working on the fender gear details while the wheels set up. The pioneer tools had their metal portions painted with MM Metalizer non-buffing Gunmetal and lightly dry brushed with Steel while the wood portions were painted with a special "wood" mix that's a light tan color followed by a light wash of thinned Leather. Once the wash was dry, I added some additional color variation using artist pastel Burnt Umber applied with a square tip brush. The Bakelite handles on the wire cutters were painted with Italian Dark Brown and the rubber end caps with enamel Gunmetal. The tools were secured in place with the Griffon clamps and a small amount of liquid glue added to insure they didn't shift around any in the future. I added a clamp handle courtesy of the Griffon clamp set to the shovel clamp for a little more detail as well.

The extra road wheel on the left fender was also added and positioned carefully so as not to interfere with the turret rotation overhang. I also detailed and installed the jerry cans for the right fender. These were first airbrushed with Panzer Gray and the spouts were detailed the same was as the metal portions of the pioneer tools. I added the water can cross markings by hand to simulate the same way the crews did it with Light Gray and also added some scuffing and wear by lightly brushing some Steel along the edges and bases of the cans.

I also secured the gun elevation in a fixed position at this stage by applying some liquid glue on the inside of the turret to the hinge points. I held the barrel and mantlet in position until the glue "grabbed" enough to hold the weight and then let it set up.





The rear hull details also got some attention. I picked out the rear Notek lenses with Tamiya Clear Green and the brake light lenses with Clear Red. The mufflers were also detailed with a basecoat of non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal followed by a wash of Rust and some dry brushed Burnt Umber. The smoke candle chains were detailed with the same Metalizer Gunmetal to round things out in this department.



Now it's off to watch some football and begin assembling the MK tracks!