Hi All,

I am just about to begin an ambitious build and thought that I would record a build log of my progress, research and mistakes on the forum.

I am going to be building a Panzer 1A combining Dragon and Tristar kits enhanced with Aber PO and resin sets. My intention is to use the best elements from each kit, providing comparisons along the way and hopefully ending up with an accurate model.

Here is a list of the parts that I will be using:

Dragon: Panzer 1 A Modified Version W/Interior (6356)
Tristar: Panzer 1 Ausf A (028)
Friulmodel: Panzer 1 Tracks (ATL-20)
Aber: Upper Hull for Panzer 1A (35066)
Aber: Turret for Panzer 1A (35A65)
Aber: Vol. 1 basic Kit (35118)
Aber: Vol.2 Fenders (35119)
Aber: Vol.3 Interior (35120)

I will be using Panzer Tracts 1-1 for reference along with any other images that I can locate on the web.

Thanks

Steven

Hi All,

Quick update, working on the transmission, rather slow progress due to all the small detailed parts!

Hi Steven. You have no idea how much I love threads like this. Hopefully you can keep the momentum going throughout the build ... it will be surely worth it. Nice start.

I concur with Frank, it's a large part of the reason that I joined Armorama. Your work on the transmission assembly is looking good already. Looking forward to future progress updates

Nice building Steven.
You've got some massive work ahead of you, but I'll keep my thumbs up on this one. It is going to be awesome model once it is finished with all these bits and pieces.

Looking good, can't wait to see more...

Hi All,

Latest progress report.

I was unhappy about how elements of the transmission looked so decided to give it a makeover.

I drilled holes in the front of the transmission and added the correct brackets and arms - please forgive me if I am using the incorrect terms. I was also unhappy about the top of the transmission, the Aber set is quite crude here so I decided to remodel it based on pictures that I have obtained of the destroyed Panzer 1 transmission at the PanzerMuseum in Munster as well as a few images from Toadmans excellent site.

Thanks for looking

Steven

Steven great detail on your transmission.Take a look at Mastercraft nuts and bolts I use them and they are great. I will be starting my build very soon on a panzer 1 by Tristar .I look forward to when you start on the Aber hull and turret. Keep up the great detail work. Bill

Thanks for the comments.

I have only recently completed this Panzerjager 1



Only the lower hull, running gear and transmission in this tank are Dragon the rest is Aber.

Hi all,

Another update.

The transmission is moving along. I have almost completed the front section and added the rear of the transmission.

Its going together quite well so far.

Looks great!
keep up the good work

Quick update,

I have been working on the control arms on the transmission and they are attached and nearly ready for final installation.

They have taken some time to construct





Thanks

Steven

You are brave to work on the interior from Aber- it is daunting, like what I see so far.
I recently sloughed my way through it as it was part of my current build of a Tristar training Panzer I/A.

Check out my build log over at my website Armour Workshop, maybe something there that may help?

Good luck with your build.

http://panzerfaust.ca/ArmourWorkshop/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=103

Hello James,

Its good to hear from you. I actually I have studied your build log and it gave me many ideas about how to go about constructing my Panzer 1, but I dont think that my soldering is at your level yet, but its getting better.

My PanzerJager 1 (pic above) is heavily modified with Aber parts, almost everything is Aber apart fropm the Hull, so I wanted to try something more ambitious with this build.

I am trying to lift the Aber Transmission with more detail than it currently has and the more i study the picturers of the destroyed transmission at Munster the more work I see I have to do. I am not planning to glue on the upper hull to the completed model so I dont feel that all the interior work will be hidden.

One thing that I am eager to try is to construct the cast maker marks on the transmission - I think its best to attempt it with thin brass wire? do you have any thoughts?

Also I am trying to replicate the electrical wiring for the transmission can anyone help????

Thanks

Steven

I'm half expecting the transmission to be functional next time I visit this build log, nice work

Hi all,

Here I test fit the nearly completed F.G.35 Transmission into the Tristar lower hull. The Tristar lower hull itself is quite impressive with lots of detail and compares favourably with the dragon hull which is practically devoid of detail. I have also included the vehicles battery.

Interestingly I think Aber have reproduced the ZF F.G.31 Transmission of the Panzer 1b rather than the AG F.G. 35 of the Panzer 1a this is not really a problem as the units are practically identical but does necessate one or two minor changes which I will outline in a later post (such as maker marks which I am trying to replicate and bolt placement) To be honest I only really noticed this last night and I have been happily copying details from the Munster Transmission (F.G.31) since the build started.



I have attached and soldered on the transmission arms and repaired some minor damage to the top left of the transmission. The resin here is tissue paper thin and was damaged when I purchased the kit through mail order. I have used some thin resin strip and superfine milliput. It looks ok.

Next job is to fully complete the transmission and then I will get to work on the modifications to the Tristar hull necessary to accept the Aber Parts.

Hi All,

Latest Update.

While the Transmission is not yet 100% completed I decided to do a little work on the Tristar kit and the drivers foot pedals. The Axel of the 1st Read wheel is not yet in position and added so I could get more of an idea of how the transmission would look inplace.

The Tristar Kit as expected requires some modification to accept the Aber Interior but what I was not expecting was the poor alignment of the hull sides to the tank floor there are gaps everywhere. I still have the option of using the Dragon kit hull I guess.

I have removed most of the unnecessary moldings from the kit floor now and have filled in the ejector pin marks. I have left in the engine fire wall for now anthough I suspect that I will have to remove it later.

The drivers foot pedals were very frustrating to put together and there is a little excess solder which i need to remove, but overall I am quite pleased with how they turned out. Once the part is glued to the hull i will complete the final positioning of the pedals.







Thanks

Steven

great start. Just take care when glue lower hull side plates - requires some work...

I know, I am suprised that Tristar put so much effort into creating what is really a great kit and then mess it up with poorly fitting hull sides.

I am replacing most of the upper hull, interior and turret because I want the challenge of reproducing them in PE not because the Tristar kit is inaccurate. Over all its a great model of a Panzer 1a, the interior being the most detailed feature and lets not forget it is cheaper than the Dragon offering.

Hi All,

Still building

I have been completing the linkages between the drivers foot pedals and the transmission. Not very interesting but time consuming and frustrating. Between that and having to go to work progress has been slow.

I have been using stretched sprue heated with a soldering Iron at both ends to join the linkages, they look good but are not very strong. About three linkage joints failed and i ended up replacing the failed linkages with thin copper wire. Its very strong and easier to work with.

Nothing is glued to the hull at the monent and my next priority is to fully assemble the transmission and glue the tristar hull together



Thanks

Steven

Very nice mate!
There are lots of PE :O
Keep building

Wow loving this build. Highly educational. Great workmanship. Will be following this one all the way. Good luck.

An impressive level of detail that you're adding to this one Steven, keep us posted on your progress.

Wow this is a stunning PAnzer I project, never seen so much details on such a small vehicle ! Keep up the good work !

I agree with the above comments. Makes me wish I were building the real thing...

Hi all,

Thanks for the kind comments everybody,

Please see the latest update below.

The build of the AG F.G. 35 Transmission is entering the final stages. I have drilled holes on the transmission and installed the housing and hoses for the fume extractor. The Aber hoses were really not very good, so i replaced them with steel wire with small copper wire wrapped around it.

Also in this picture are the front mounts for the transmission, almost completed and just waiting for the addition of bolts.



In this next picture you will see the axel for the front set of read wheels. The Transmission rest that Aber supplier with the set is really small and the holes are not even big enough to fit onto the resin part, so I had to make my own from brass sheet.



In this last pic I thought that I would add a prepainted crew member to the kit, but I think that there may be an issue with scale.



Thanks for looking

Steven