Hi Steve.
Thats a lovely clean build so far mate,top job
Thanks for the heads up on the kit interior as I was going to buy it as a guide for my 1/6th build,but at 40 odd quid it seems a bit much for something thats wrong , how bad is it???
Cheers
Andy

Hi Gary, Andy,

Thanks for the comments.

Andy, the kit is compromised shall we say, and the interior is a mix of parts for a Marder 2 and a Panzer 2 so you will either need to make some modifications like the floor or just build an interior that is plain wrong. I also would have liked an engine, but Dragon does not seem to do them either.

It is not that difficult to make a new floor, I will need to add some brass supports and a few other details to enhance the kit.

Dragon has "form" over things like this, the Panzer 1a interior is inaccurate and crude, the engine fire wall looks nothing like it is supposed to. The floor is completely missing the tread pattern.

Its almost as if they leave the exterior of the tanks to the experts but the interiors to the work experience lad

Responding to your earlier question, the Panzertracts book is good, but not nearly as detailed as the Panzer 1 version.

That's an amazing bit of scratchbuilding on the interior. Are you going stock on the machine gun barrels? This must have been dificult on the infantry.

I will be using After market MG barrels, Aber offer some great sets. I am considering replacing the fenders but have not seen any, think Voyager do some but I dont know a UK distrubuter.

Actually I am not too pleased with the interior, I will take out and reinstall the central floor plate, it looks a little rough. There is some overspill of glue near the sloping PE floor plate which is not really visable with the current pics but will be when its under paint. So not really good enough overall.

Whats left to do:

1) Add bolt heads to the interior (should be around 30 - 40)
2) Scratch the Drivers and Radio operators chair
3) Add the Scratch built Drivers steering arms and associating linkages to gear box. This is a complex and thankless task. Cant wait.
4) Add pedal and gearbox linkages
5) Add electrical wiring and connections where feasable

and thats what I can think of at the moment.

I have another exam in November, but I will try to keep up the pace now that I have momentum

Thanks

Steven

Hi All,

Another update, I have been working on the interior and it is slowly shaping up.
Firstly I have added the steering links to the transmission, they are made from springs soldered onto brass sheet cut into shape.



The next image shows a larger image of the linkage



I have begun to add detail to the rest of the kit, here the airfilter, unmodified



and installed on the kit, with air holes added, this is basically stock,



I have added the handles in brass wire and will need to add a ammo box container for the 20mm rounds which Dragon ommitted to add, saving a few bucks again Dragon?









I have taken up the floor and relayed it adding in extra details. The top ammo boxes were provided by Dragon, but they did not bother with the bottom section, so I added it. These are for the MG34.

I have added the steering arms made from brass sheet. The Dragon ones were way too crude.







The next images show the Panzer 2 as it is now. I have yet to add the chairs but it is almost complete.

Thanks for looking

Steven

Hi All,

Another update,

I have been working on the interior adding in the radio and 2x20mm ammo racks, each containing 6 magazines. Dragon does not include them so I made them out of brass sheet.





I have also added the steering arm grips from the Panzer 1a Aber set. I drilled them out and glued wire to them and epoxy resin them to the brass arms.



The Fu 5 radio set is made up of a sender and reciever, a telegraph key and a electrical junction box, its not quite there and needs some details added and some drill holes sealed in the radio set. But is about 90%.





The next two images show the top of the hull. Filling in all the ejection pin holes was quite easy and I added a second 20mm stowage bin as well as the vision slits. It took me three weeks to achieve this on the Panzer 1a only three hours here. However the level of detail cannot be compared. (Obviously !)

I have purchased Griffon Model 20mm ammo, magazines and ammo boxes a replacement 20mm cannon barrel as well as set of Aber MG34 machine gun barrels. The kit calls for two MG34's to be used but I very much doubt that I will use them both on this model.

Thanks for looking

Steven

It's nice to super-detail, even if nobody can see the finished product.

Really looking good Steven

Hi Steven,

Everything looks great! i enjoy watching your projects come together. what do you use as reference for the radio equipment?

Gary

YEAH! Couldn't agree more. Love what you have going on and keep up the good work!

Pat.

Hi,

Thanks for all the kind comments, they really do act as an incentive

For a reference I am using Panzer Tracts 2-1, the next time I do a photo update I will include a few images

Steven

Hi Steven,

just started the cyber-hobby 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf.G w/waffel zimm. gonna do the complete interior and need good radio references. thx man!

Gary

That is one fine looking kit:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/3215

Are you using a Verlinden interior or adding to the Stock Dragon Interior ?

[/quote]That is one fine looking kit:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/3215

Are you using a Verlinden interior or adding to the Stock Dragon Interior ?[/quote]


On the verlindenset my heart says yes but my budget says NOOO! ill just use the kit interior but im gonna round up some reference material to try and spruce it up a bit. the kit is sweet. the molded on zimmerit is great.

Gary

Hi Steven. Have enjoyed your Panzer 1 build/blog and this has me already hooked. I love the attention you take to the interiors. Havent really bothered much with them yet, but have collected a few CMK sets for the Stug, Panzer III & IV and the Panther. So all the little tips are not falling on deaf ears.
I have some PzII interior images ... mostly from the AFV Interiors site when it was up an running. Let me know if you want them. PM me with your e-mail address.

Steven

Excellent advances. I am following yours job.-

Omar

Hi All,

Thanks Gary, Frank, Omar for your kind comments.

Frank PM is sent.
Ok, on with the update...

I've been focusing on the lower hull. As you can see from the pictures I have been working on the interior of the tank and it is almost ready for paint. I have added accelerator and clutch lever control links, suspension, electrical wiring and a transformer.











Gary, as requested, here's a picture of the radio.



Thanks for looking,

Steven

Hi Steven,

Thanks for the pic man. will definitely help.

Gary

Hi All,

Its been some time since my last post, I have just finished my last exam and have been playing Battlefield 3 but I am back. My id is quincy262 if any body wants to look me up :-)

Ok, I have been working on the 20mm 10 round magazines, from the fantastic Griffon model set, they also come with some 20mm rounds which sets the magazines off very well. The Dragon kit does come with two maagines which are actually quite good, although the detail is a little shallow. The main problem with the Dragon magazines are there are just two of them, one for the gun and another for storage.



I have attempted to show some wear on the magazines, the Germans would have "recycled" them and some would have been in circulation for some considerable time. Also some of the 20mm rounds have different colours denoting different rounds (armour piercing, tracer etc)

In assembling these magazines I aattempted three techniques, soldering, supergluing and apoxy resin, only soldering proved good enough and all but 1 fell apart and were resoldered together.





The next two images show a primed lower hull and transmission, a little work is needed to remove some excess primer but the next time you see it the tank interior will be painted.

Thanks

Steven

Your interior is very nice. I may have to order some brass sheet. If the exterior follows the same level of perfection, I can see this one as an award winner.

Hi Steven,

Great to see you back at it! looking forward to see more goodies on your Pz.II. MAN! ive gotten stung by the Battlefield 3 bug as well. its a lot funner to shoot at someone instead of sanding and glueing plastic... well i should have said equaly as fun! keepem coming man!

Gary

Nice Steven!

Hi Steven. Nice updates. I sent the images, as promised previously, today. Sorry for the late reply .... hopefully it doesn´t mean any major changes.
/Frank

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great comments and I apologise for the late update. You know what it is like, I was thinking I will just finsh this add that and another week goes by !

Ok as you know I am planning to show a rather battered Panzer 2b, a veteran of Poland, France and the opening plases of the Battle of Russia. My Tank will be in the 24th Panzer Division in Southern Russia in early 1942 and the interior will show heavy signs of the Russian Winter.









The interior colour scheme is similar to the one I used on my Panzer 1a but a little more battered !

There are still some things left to add but its 90% there.

Thanks for looking

S

The weathering on the interior is very nice. I'll be using it as a weathering guide for my Pz. IV and various other future builds.