Hi All,

This latest update is about having fun with batteries !

First off I started building the 2 x 4-volt Rechargable Radio Batteries. I am not sure about how to wire these up but I assume that only one of these batteries was at use at any one time (The one on the step) and it was replaced with the other battery when necessary. Obviously they will need to be linked up to a transformer.... I wonder if Aber supply one of these or if if I will have to dig around in the Tristar or Dragon Kits.



Next is the starter battery I believe that this battery is a rechargable 12 volt.



Thanks

Steven

Steven, I wonder if you with the position that you have mounted the Luftmotor (smoke extractor fan) its going to cause you some issues when you go to put the front bulkhead in place?
I found the fit to be very tight and left everything unglued until the last moment as I didn't want to commit until everything was dry fit all during the build up of the transmission.
I mounted my fan as per the Aber instructions. That is on top of, and at an angle to, the front part of the transmission overlapping slightly.
Also in the drawing below it shows that it is tilted up and not mounted flush to the front of the gear box as your example.


Here are some zoom ins I did from there photos.




a photo from my build




Also can I ask your source material on the differences you mention and that Aber perhaps got it wrong. What was it that made you question whether it is the correct type?

I wish I had zoomed in on these pics for my build as when viewed on the paper sheet some of the detail is not as clear as these pdf versions that I downloaded from their site.
(Note to self, download future photos on any builds by Aber)

Hi James,

You have a point, maybe I have installed the break fume extractor in the wrong place.

On the Aber website they have a gallery of pics from a range of contributers, I have reproduced one such pic here:



Image presented here for discussion purposes only.

You can see here that the fume extractor is in the same place as mine.

I have taken a few more images of my build:





As you can see from my build it does not really matter how I mount the fume extractor as the transmission mounts when inplace provide enough room for the extractor to be current position or orientated above the transmission.

If I decide to change the orientation of the fume extractor it will be an easy fix.

Thanks

Steven

Change made to the fume extractor and the transmission still fits well next to the front armour and the transmission mounts.

Thanks for the help James

This is nuts! I thought I was crazy about detailing, but your work Steven is absolutely fantastic. Gota say that German armor dont usually do it for me, but I shall definitely be following this with great interest.

Glad my comment was of use.
I can see that the Aber instructions are not all that clear ans in my build some details were missed because they are not even mentioned in the drawing part. You have to discover them from inspecting these photographs!
Oh well live and learn. I have another of these Aber sets that I hope to use on another Panzer I/A build.
Have you tried to see how all the stuff behind the transmission fits with how you have the transmission situated? the main parts like the rear engine wall and the drive shaft tunnel?

What books and or references do you have for this build?

Thanks for the comments Rob.

I agree James the Aber instructions are not very clear in some places and different interpretations are possible. Interestingly the Aber instructions contained within my kit are slightly different to the PDF not a big problem though.

My primary sources for information are Panzer Tracts 1 -1 and the Nuts and Bolts for the PanzerJager 1 which I had left over from my previous build. Even though the tank destroyer is based on a Panzer 1b chassis the book still proves valuable.

I am also using reference pics from Aber's gallery located on their website, your build over on Armourworkshop and the pics from Toadmans site.

I have not yet installed anything past the transmission yet. I have removed the Tristar engine firewall from the lower hulll and this will probably give me a few extra 1-2mm to play with. I will see how it goes.

I also have a plan B, if I incounter problems with the length of the Tristar chassis I could always use the Dragon version, since I plan to use the Dragon suspension it could make things easier anyway.

Plan C involves building a new chassis from brass plate.

Thanks

Steven

Hi all,

Not much of an update tonight. I have spend the evening trying to replicate the ZahnradFabrik maker mark on the transmission, the results are not perfect but the best I could achieve bearing inmind that the mark is about 1.5mm wide.

In the pic below you can see the ZF on my transmission and the ZF on a real Panzer 1 transmission.



Now that is out of the way I can achieve something more productive tomorrow.

Hi All,

Comprehensive update this time.

I have been working on the interior of the Hull. I have been reconsidering my decision to use the tristar kit for the hull but I am leaving my options open.

I have completed and soldered this part of the lower hull. Assembly was quite straight forward but time consuming:



This is the box for spare glass blocks, will fit into upper hull:



Storage Box



Werkzeugkasten 2: (Tool Box 2)



Covers for the left side of the hull:



Final overview of progress so far.



Thanks

Steven

Hi All,

I have been working on the engine bulkhead, the build here was tough trying to get all the details in place before soldering them. I have some work to do on the 2 engine intake openings as some of the holes in them are not opened yet. Mistake in the Aber PE process I guess.

I still have to add a few details but will leave these until the build is further progressed to avoid the potential for damage.



Here is the drivers right stearing arm attachment. Unfortunately the one on the right is more complex



Thanks

Steven

HI All,

A quick update:

I have finally finished the steering arms, believe it or not it took me three evenings to complete this. Well its done



Ok. I mentioned that I was condidering using the Dragon hull inplace of the Tristar hull, well lets look at the pros and cons of each.



Pros

1) The Tristar hull as a good level of detail on the hull sides and lower hull. It has correctly placed bolt details and the two access hatches in the lower hull floor.

2) The Dragon hull has fully assessembled hull sides - as basic as it sounds this is an advantage.

Cons

1) The Tristar Kit hull and lower hull do not join up together flush, there gaps. These will require significant time to make right and in the process I might loose some of the bolt head detail that I like and I may end up having to replace the lot.

Also I am concerned about the strength of the hull. I will be adding heavy lead tracks and a brass superstructure and turret, will the weight cause the hull to fall apart? I doubt it but I cant be sure.

2) The Dragon Hull is in one piece and lacks the fit and strength problems of the Tristar hull. I have just finished a PanzerJager 1 with heavy lead tracks and a brass superstructure hull, it strong enough.

On the otherhand the dragon hull has no internal details and 6 ejector pin marks. I had to add over 100 bolt heads in the Panzerjager 1 and I am not that keen on having to do it again.

Moreover the Aber parts were designed to a Tristar hull, there may be unforseen build problems later on.

I have to make my mind up soon as my indecision is holding up the build what do you all think???

Thanks

Steven

Thanks Juan,

Lets assume that I will be using the Tristar kit for now. Nothing will be glued in but as I will have to make some mods to the Dragon kit it is easier to visualise how it will all come together by utilising the Tristar kit.

Two more pics, test fit of the parts.

Please not that I have made the stearing arms far to long, I followed the Aber instructions which state 14mm it more like 8-9mm. I will have to fix this.





Thanks

Steven

Ok feel like I am about to grab the third rail here but I have decided to convert the Dragon Panzer 1 to accomodate the Aber Kits. I know that they are designed for the Tristar but how hard could it be

Oh I will also have to install the Tristar engine into this kit. I wonder how that will go.

Ok let the insanity begin



I am not just planning a conversion but a full upgrade, going past the detail and deoth offered by ABER. Above i have modified the Dragon front suspension to allow it to be fitted to the modified brass suspension arm.



Here I have modified the ABER front suspension arm supports, (modified to the left original on the right) I drilled a hole through the resin and installed a brass support to allow it extra strength. Just so happens thats how the real one works too.



Test fit:



Obviously the Dragon kit will require substantial modification and cleanup.

Hi,

The conversion and upgrade process continue, I have filled the ejector pin marks and cut the correct access panels in the floor.

I also made the hatch detail from brass sheet.

Hi Steven,

i am very impressed with your photoetch skill & patience. i get so frustrated with the small photoetch that i usually use the plastic kit parts as much as i can get away with. if you have any PE application secrets like meditation, yoga, or a tall glass of beer that you could share with me i could use the help. seriously though great job man! cant wait to see more.

Gary

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the comments, I find that using flux and lead solder is the key.

The Flux is hard to find these days, everyone is moving towards lead free solder that does not require flux, I find it very hard to use.

I use a paint brush to paint the flux onto the metal. The flux allows the heated lead to flow where you have painted.

It works very well

Steven

Hi All,

Still building

It has actually been alot of work converting the Dragon kit.

Firstly the hull sides were 1mm too high. This seems to be a common fault of the Dragon Panzer 1 kits, the PanzerJager 1 had the same issue. I have now sanded them back.



In addition have changed the plastic bolts on the rear engine access cover to metal bolts, they just look better.

The main addition has been the fender, I have soldered 4 pins into it to secure it onto the hull. Aber provide a useful metal stencil for the fender bolt location, I drilled all the holes and filled in all but 4. This will allow me to accurately place the rivet detail later in the build.


More to follow

Hi Steven,

Great build so far and a BIG THANK YOU for you starting this build. I have also the Tristar kit and most of the ABER stuff you have and this build will be an excellent help. I will follow this interesting subject carefully. I am curious how much will be visible in the end.

Hi Spaarndammer,

I am glad that you are finding my build useful. I am planning on not gluing the top of the hull to the main hull, there for I can take it off any time I like to show off the detail.

You may want to consider buying the Dragon Panzer 1a, apart from the interior which is poorly detailed, it is much much better and more detailed than the tristar kit, I am only planning on using the engine and associated details.

Thanks

Steven

Hi All,

I have been busy working on the right fender. The build is quite straight forward if time consuming. Everything is soldered, including the bolt detail. This is very important; in my previous panzerjager 1 build, I superglued the PE fenders and while the result was aesthetically acceptable, the fender itself had virtually no strength. In comparison, this current build is very strong. Soldering is definitely the right approach.

Below I am including an image of the nearly completed right fender. All that is missing are the tool clamp attachments.



Further details of the fender.



Dimensionally the Aber fender lines up well with the 1/35 scale plan of the panzer 1A in Panzer Tracts.



Dimensionally the Tristar fender is about 1mm too long, although this can easily be rectified if necessary. Overall the detail on the Tristar fender is good, however, the holes in the fender for locating the tool clamps are for me a disadvantage.



The Dragon fender has some problems. Firstly, the bolt detail on the fender is too prominent. Secondly, the tread pattern on the fender is too small when compared to the Aber andTristar kits as well as the plans shown in Panzer Tracts. However the most serious flaw of the Dragon fender is that it is too short, almost 2mm. With the Tristar kit it is easy to shave off 1mm but you cannot add 2mm to the Dragon kit.



Next I will be constructing the left fender, a bit monotonous, and then I can finally begin the process of installing the interior into the Dragon hull.

Thanks for looking,

Steven

Hi All,

Been quite busy since last post, been working on the rear of the tank and it has not been easy.



I encountered alot of problems constructing the spacers between the rear armour and the rear fender. They are very difficult to construct and solder. Finally managed it but the results are not quite as clean as I would have liked.



Another challenging build was the rear fender track covers. The main issue was trying to get all the components soldered inplace without unsoldering anything else as you did.

The front of the fender looks ok, the rear not so much, but its strong



Here is the completed rear of the tank with the engine access cover inplace



Soldering all the bolts inplace was actually quite easy and satisfying after the problems with the spacers and fenders.

I have also completed the left fender, just to add the bolt detail



Here you see a test fit of the fender and rear armor, not too bad actually





Next step is to get the left fender completed and then I can begin installation of all the interior parts.

Thanks for looking

Steven

Hi Steven!

Thrilling!

I learn very much from your pictures and comments. I assume that the Panzer Tracts is a great help. Do you need both copies that cover the Panzer I for this build?

Those PE fenders look very good, I think I will add those too.

Do you solder everything or do you use also superglue?



Jelger

Hi,

For this project Panzertracts 1-1 is sufficient, 1-2 deals with the Panzer 1b and later varients so you dont really need it.

The book is a useful reference but it does not contain any walkaround pics of surviving vehicles which is a weakness. Thankfully Toadmans site contains lots of great images of a battered but intact Panzer 1a.

I try to solder everything. Superglue is easier to use but is not strong enough. However the use of superglue is inevitable, I will be gluing the engine inspection plate on because I dont want to risk unsoldering components.

Thanks

Steven

Steven,
Great job! I just found this and am inpressed! I'm a big fan of the I series and am hoping to see a lrge scale version of it one day.
Dan