Neil,

Yes, I’m in total agreement that it will not only turn out to be a great model but one of the longest armored vehicles posted here in the Braille scale forum!

I just can’t imagine the amount of stress those track rails must have endured with the total tonnage riding over them on the real train ensemble. With your patience and reference books your using to build this train with, it’s turning out to be quite an accurate representation of what the real train looked like in its day. Will you be placing the completed ensemble on a diorama? How awesome would that be?

Keep it coming!
-Eddy

You could replace the 38(t) with the Dragon kit.

Hey there Nlyall.
Great work on a tricky train.
Where do you buy your music wire from as I need 0.15mm stuff for some aircraft models.
Cheers
Warren

Hello

@Alexander Thanks, I'm making regular progress, enough to keep me going

@Eddy You know the wagons are not as heavy as they look, as the armour is mostly quite thin. The germans would love to have been able to put thicker armour on these wagons but the axles couldn't take more weight. As a result of the thin armour these trains fared badly when attacked by russian tanks. I think the armour varied from 15-30mm (or about half an inch to about an inch thick).

I will have to put the train on some kind of base on its track. I haven't decided what other details to add in the way of a diorama, as it will take up quite a bit of room already, but it will have additional figures and vehicles near or around it, as well as scenery. Thanks for enquiring.

@Kevin yes the T-38 has to be replaced, I don't think Dragon make one (yet?) so I'll probably use a UM T-38.

@Warren Hi Warren. thanks its a tricky train alright, doing my best to make it a bit more presentable. Mr Toys in the Queen Street Mall, near the Treasury Casino, stocks K&S Engineering music wire, if you are in or near Brisbane.

Since last posting I have added a lot of rungs, and handles, still more to do on this loco, but its mostly ready for an undercoat. pics are below.

cheers
Neil

Neil,

Nice additions to the engine. What did you use to make all the hinges and grab handles?

P.A.

Uff, you are making a hard work and seem better and better. The end is near.

Congrats.

Pedro.

Hello

I now have half the train almost completed (actually 8/13ths as there is just one locomotive, and two tenders, all of which are complete)

The locomotives and tenders needed all the hand rungs, handles and steps to be made from wire, and the locomotive had access hatches in wrong places & no access hatches where they should have been (if Trojca's plans are correct)

I have started on the paint job. The only colour photo I have seen of one of these trains has it finished in dark grey with a poorly applied winter whitewash on it. This must have been a BP-42 completed in the last part of 1942.

This model is a BP-44 (as it has the late war 10.5cm artillery guns, & the panzerjagerwagen with Panzer IV turret).

As its a BP-44 I am going with a dunkelgelb base with red-brown and green overspray similar to the colour plates in Trojca's book, except with the shades toned down. The camo shapes appear similar to what can be seen on some Black and White photos of BP-42 & BP-44 trains

here are some of the painted components. The still need more work, washes, grime, dry brushing, etc.

more updates soon

cheers
Neil

Hey Korpse looking good. Buy the way the Panzerjagerwagen in the kit is the late type. The early type Panzerjagerwagen’s hull had flat sides with a slit inward taper at the bottom edge. As for as I can tell the box was either for storage or for the batteries. The Panzerjagerwagen was self powered. It could disconnect from and move away from the rest of the train under its own power. The latter model had a fully sloped hull.

It is a good beginning. Great work with the airbrush. Now, you have a hard work ahead.

Regards. Pedro.

Neil,

The paint on those cars is really bringing the train to life. You did a great job on the camo and I can't wait to see more. I admire you patience and persistence with such a monumental and troublesome kit. This thing is going to be a one in a million when its finished. Keep up the great work.

Cheers,
Jan

Neil,

That camouflage looks kick-ass! You haven't even started with the aging or weathering and already your efforts to upgrade this kit are paying off. Can't wait to see more.

-Eddy

Hello

Fred, Pedro, Jan & Eddy - thanks for your comments, I appreciate you taking the time

Fred thanks for the info about the Panzerjagerwagen - I've always been uncertain if this was the first variant or the second version of the Panzerjagerwagen.

I now have the Panzerjagerwagen about ready to paint

I have tweaked this build a lot

Lots of filler & sanding was needed on the hull.

From checking the scale plans in the Trojca book & photos, the model required large rivets on the hull sides and cow catcher, which I have added - using Archer transfers.

Photos of the upper plates seem to be non existent, but it makes sense that anti-slip tread plate would have been used, if it were available. Again I used Archer transfers.

Many small details were not provided in the kit, or were so badly cast that I had to scratch build replacements, including all the steps, handlamps, & cables to the handlamps.

The kit turret was replaced with an Esci turret with a Hasegawa cupola, and turret doors

An RB Panzer IV H barrel was used.

The turret skirts are metal etch, custom made by Ilian Filipov for this build. They are too good for this kit, but I used them as they are much thinner & finer than whats available in polystyrene.

a few photos are below

cheers
Neil

@Korpse – Neil,

My goodness, can I come over and play too? Man, looks like your having a blast building this train.

I’ve seen a lot of projects here that are very inspiring but yours is taking that to a whole other level. The amount of care, patience, dedication and motivation that you obviously have, not to mention creativity and skills, will undoubtedly make this train a one of a kind masterpiece.

That cowcatcher really sets this flat car apart and adds so much to the build. The kit-bashed turret with both the RB models barrel and custom-made photo-etch armor skirts are the sweet topping on this dish. I don’t believe that the kit manufactures would have ever imagined just how great their kit would turn out without factoring in your talents.

Will you be adding stowage and figures to this flat car? This is the first time that I have ever seen a personalized photo-etched fret, how motivating is that? Keep it coming!

-Eddy

Hi Neil,

Good job with that Panzerjagerwagen.
From the side photo it looks like the turret is a little off balance in case you have glued it.

- a PE fret with your name on it!
That is uber cool.

P.A.

Hey Korpse, looking good. Sorry but no tread plate on Panzerjagerwagen, just flat steal. Are you going to build the hole train, both ends or just the one? Eventuly I will get mine in 35th scale finished, one day.

Hello

thanks Eddy, Fred and Alexander for your comments

Alexander thanks for the heads up on the turret - the hole I cut was a bit too tight to let it sit properly, I wanted it tight so it wouldn't fall out, but was a bit too tight, now fixed

Eddy, there will be men on and around this train for sure, just where and how many I haven't decided yet

Fred I have the whole train of 13 pieces. Though I'm going to build it as two half trains, so that its a managable size for display, and so I can try a different camo scheme & setting on the other.

I have seen some of your work on the 'Military Railroad Campaign' forum, looks great

That treadplate issue is a tricky one. There is a 50% chance I'm right or 50% chance I'm wrong. Nearly all the war time photos I can find are side only, and the only one which has a bit of the upper area is of poor quality, it appears smooth, but given the photo quality and light, you couldn't convict on that evidence , and none of these exist in real life in museums to check. I know other kit manufacturers have not put the treaplate on. I might go a compromise and not put treadplate on the next one I build (which is still in the box untouched yet)

a little more progress done.

I have tried to improve the camo on the train, touching up the green and red brown. The red brown is a bit light, but will darken a bit with a wash or two. I didn't want it very dark like in the Trojca artist's impressions, as dust covering & weathering lightens the colours.

The Panzerjagerwagen has had a light coat of grey to identify any areas that need sanding or filler.

I have bought a 1200 millimetre long shelf x 200 millimetre wide which will be the base for the train display, which leaves a bit of space either side of the train for some scenery, vehicles, people or other details.

I've also bought some clear acrylic sheet 3 millimetre thick to cut to build a 'case' to put over the base.

here area couple of pics, and for me its back to the train

cheers
Neil

Hello

another update on the train

After seeking opinions, seems the Military Wheels brand Quad 20mm flak gun is best on the market, compared to the old ESCI/Italeri and Hasegawa kits. Its still not great, limited run technology means some smaller parts need a lot of trimming & filing. And the gun barrels need to be replaced too.

All the kits available lack small detail on the front and rear of the flak gun shields.

And no aftermarket is available. I mentioned this to Ilian Filipov who again whipped up some nice etch replacements, that are nice and thin as well as having rivet and other detail.

Ilian does this just as a hobby, and made two sets to help the train build, but if anyone is interested in obtaining a set, PM me and I'll send you his email address, if a few people want sets he might make a few more

Pics are below.

cheers
Neil

Neil,

Super job on this marathon project. I know exactly what you mean about the available quad 20 mm guns. I have looked at almost everything that is available and they are all pretty bad. Your reworked version looks excellent. I recall and have a Nitto "diorama set" that amongst other things had a quad and a single 20 mm that came with it. In my opinion the guns are pretty good and better than the other offerings. Nitto went out of business in 1990 and sold the moulds to Fujimi. Fujimi rereleased the kit but sadly, it is 1/76 scale and may no longer be available.

Cheers,
Jan

Nice work, the flak look terrific, and the subtle camouflage is very nice.

About the 20mm quad you can also check the ARMO resin kit. A bit pricey but very nice.
http://www.tracks-n-troops.eu/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_2&products_id=182

P.A.

Hi Jan & Alexander

yes it would be good to get a new 20mm quad flak from another manufacturer.

Alexander thanks for the Armo option, always good to know whats out there.

Jan I was also told that the old Fujimi set was good, though not quite the right scale being 1/76th . Short of keeping an eye on e-bay for one to come up, they don't seem to be in production, so was happy to go with the MW flak, tarted up with the brass barrels & etch shields it will do the job.

A little more progress on the train

I have base coated the panzerjagerwagen, and painted the flak.

Most important I have constructed the acetate case. Which fits exactly onto the shelf (I used the shelf as a template for the top and sides)

So now I can get to work planning what will go inside, besides the train & railway tracks

and of course continuing to finish the actual train itself

pics below

cheers
Neil

Thanks for sharing this build with us. I can only imagine all the work that is going into it and you make it almost look simple. It already looks like a show winner and I would be shocked if it didn't win best of any contest. On the other hand I hate to try to figure out how to transport that monster!

Regards,
AJ

Hi Al

thanks for the comments

the base maybe looks longer than it is - its 1200mm (4 feet in the old scale) so will easily fit on the backseat of a car.

Thanks for the suggestion it could be an award winner. I'm doing my best to make this a presentation model for display, but it won't be leaving the room its being made in. No one will see it, except on the web. I don't plan on entering it in any contest, I have no faith in the processes and outcomes that I've observed in those things.

Back to topic, I gave the Panzerjagerwagen a preliminary paint job. Its a lot more contrasted than the rest of the train, I'll work next weekend on muting it down a bit to better match the rest of the train

cheers
Neil

Hi Neil,

How did you made the acetate case?

If you made it yourself please tell us how you cut and glued the pieces.

Looks very neat.

Hi Alexander.

The acetate was in a sheet 1200 mm x 900 mm, and is 3mm thick.

The shelf is also exactly 1200 mm long and 200mm wide so that meant less cuts needed, and clean edges on the ends as already the right length

I researched how to cut, & watched you-tube movies how to cut, and decided the best method was to score with a knife blade and snap, rather than use a saw of any type.

The knife type used was a Stanley type knife with changeable blades (not the type of knife you use in modelling, a much larger knife with stronger very sharp blades).

I used the shelf as a template, laid it on the sheet, and scored the sheet dozens of times over and over, pressing down hard. Probably 30 or 40 times, to get a neat shallow cut.

Then I moved the acetate sheet to the edge of the table, so the groove was hanging over the edge by 1 mm. I left the shelf also on top of the sheet, right next to the cut, and got someone to press down hard on it, so that the whole thing would not move. I then firmly grabbed the overhanging piece with both hands and did a quick sharp downwards motion with the overhanging piece, which caused it to cleanly snap. This gives a cleaner edge than using even a fine toothed saw. That made one side. I did exactly this twice again to make the top and other side. I made the ends same way but were much easier as the pieces were only 200mm by 194mm. The reason for 194mm is because each side piece is 3mm thick, so needed the ends to be a total of 6mm narrower to allow for the thickness of the sides

This is how all the 'cuts' were done. I put a new blade in the knife after every piece done, as running it down a 1200 mm length with hard presure, 30 or 40 times blunts it.

The key is to have the edge you use to score along immovable - if I had a long ruler this would have been difficult, but the shelf was quite heavy and 200mm wide, and I put one foot and one hand on it while I scored, to make sure it didnt move. Wear shoes and take care, cuts with these knifes would need sticthes for sure.

With gluing.

I read up again what is best, which is a liquid solvent made to glue acetate. You can find this by googling or you-tubing. Its not easy to find around here, so I tried some experiments with little offcuts.

First I tried silicone glue in a tube, similar to what glues fish tanks - I found it very sticky and messy, so gave it a miss. If used carefully and very sparingly, this could give a strong clear bond and dries clear

I tried super glue (CA) this gives a good bond and dries clear but near the edge it puts a cloudy effect on the acetate - this would look bad, so gave it a miss.

Then I tried liquid polystyrene cement same as we use on models. This didnt bond at all.

The I tried white PVA glue. I was happy with the result. The key is to just apply a tiny amount along the 3mm edge so that none squeezes out and looks ugly. The bond is not super strong, you could not use the case as a fishtank , or put weight inside it and carry it around - its not strong enough for that, but as its own unit, its sufficiently strong. And it dries clear , so the effect looks good along the joins. If some PVA glue gets where it shouldn't its not a drama, as wipes off with a cotton bud or paper towel, and if you find a little dried smear later, a cotton bud, dipped in water and gently rubbed on it removes it.

The acetate comes with plastic on both sides to protect it from scratching in transit and while you work on it, and you peel this off after all is done and dried. I peeled mine away from all edges to be glued, before gluing to ensure none of it got glued in place, which would be hard to remove and look bad

If you want a very strong bond that could withstand being filled with water, dont use PVA glue, get the solvent and watch a youtube video how to apply, but for a static case the PVA is fine in my opinion, and the smaller the case the stronger the bond will be, as my case is quite heavy given its size, if handled so as to allow all the weight to be one one join, it could weaken,

when the diorama is finished I could use PVA glue to fix the case to the shelf, but want to be able to remove it, so will work out a method so that the case won't move, or cant come off the base if bumped. Not sure how yet, but will work something out.

To make a smaller case would be very much easier in all regards

I could maybe make up some pictures and post them if it might help, or if anything is unclear

cheers
Neil

Wow Neil. Where will you put this monster You have now a hard work with the weathering. Thank for sharing this excellent model.

Cheers. Pedro.