Hi All,
After a brief foray into the world of science-fiction for my last build, I return to military modelling for, something a little different. This time, an SdKfz 233. Here's what they look like:







To build this beast, I've assembled so neat bits:



I'm starting with the Tamiya kit and using the Eagle Cz conversion. For added detail (and because I'm just a glutton for punishment), I am using the Model Victoria etch/detail sets for the SdKfz 231/232. Finally, I'm pirating some parts from a DML SdKfz 234/3. This will consist of tools, various interior and detail parts and the gun, as it is better detailed than the resin parts. Here's where things ended up after tonight's building session:



See you tomorrow with another update!
Regards,
Georg

Good choice of subjects, Georg. This is one you don't see done too often.

always liked the rad-9 type vehicles... looking forward to watching this progress

Hi All,
Moving along, I constructed the wheels and began to assembled the suspension. I also began to prep the body for further detail work by removing the molded on signal hatches. These will be replaced with PE parts later. In addition, I replaced the rear plate with the PE part. Not much of a change, but the detail is sharper. Here are the pics:







With the blizzard bearing down on us this weekend, I hope to get alot done. See you soon!
Regards,
Georg

Great start Georg! Good old Tamiya shake-n-bake. Keep it comin' man.

Gary

Kind of interesting to compare it to Dragon's 1/72 rendering of the 8-rad chassis - looks remarkably similar - point being that what used to be normal 1/35 detailing has moved down a scale.

Looking good so far Georg, a good subject and one I tried years ago and which needs an upgrade due to lack of refer material at the time. Hoping your build will supply me with that, I'll be watching your progress with interest.
The SdKfz 233 is a good looking variant that hasn't been looked at by the kit makers which is unusual and a shame considering the ease it would be with the existing kits available. One for the wish list along with the SdKfz 263 8-wheeler.
Re detail on 1/72 kits, yes they are nice but when you pass 50 your eyes are on the way out and the fingers are all thumbs, I'll stay with 1/35, at least I can still find the pieces when I drop them on the floor!!!

Nice to see an old classic being built.

Hi All,
It's been a bit since I last updated this. My wife is studying for an exam today, so that gives me some time to build. At the end of the last session, I got one of the hull doors on and some of the PE details from the Model Victoria set attached. I decided not to replace the doors as they look fine as is.



I did not replace the mechanism, and in hindsight, I may have to go back and replace it as the PE parts look much more to scale.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
Today's first session included getting the upper hull ready.



As you can see, there's a pretty big pour plug on the front of the resin casting and the vision ports are molded shut. I'm going to need to open these up and clean up that pour plug.

Next, was more of the doors. I've build a couple of these vehicles in the SdKfz 231, 232 and 263 series, but always with the lower doors shut. Since this thing has an open top, I decided to open one of the hull doors.



That's from the inside.





Here are two from the outside. I think the PE door latch looks better, so I'm going to have remove the other one.

Finally, I got the interior floor cut from the resin runner. It's pretty simple, but with enough junk inside, you probably won't see much, anyway.



I hope to get another session in tonight and get some more done.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I did some work last night on the interior, but ended up ripping it all out today! I re-did last night's work and more, using the interior parts from the DML SdKfz 234/3. I'm going to end up gutting the thing, which is a shame, because it's such a nice kit! Anyway, I ended up most of the drivers' areas done, an ammo locker installed and some other oojamaflip (that's a technical term, right there) to cover where the fenders will eventually install into. Little by little this thing is coming together. Here are the pics:





More later! Enjoy!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I got an opportunity to do some work on the 233 tonight. I'm working on the vision ports, thanks to the detail parts in the Model Victoria set. I think it's overaly detailed, but most of the parts will serve my purposes nicely. The parts are tiny! In comparison to the tool clasps on my Panzer II these parts are microscopic! Anyway, here are the pics.







More later this weekend, enjoy!
Regards,
Georg

PS- sorry about the second pic being out of focus!

Hi All,
I haven't posted in a bit, but I have not been idle! Once the front visors were in place, I decided to continue with the rear ones. I used the kit parts (sans rain guards), with the Royal Models bits added.





Next on the agenda was to get the fenders mounted. I'm planning on painting the underside before adding the major suspension components, so I thought it might be a good idea. Also, it will show me where I need to cover the joints on the inside of the hull.



I did run into a clearance problem with the lower hull doors and the fenders, so I gently cut the doors off to be replaced later.







One of the pieces I scrounged off another Eduard sheet (this time for the AFV Club SdKfz 251/9) was the one of the ammo racks. It wasn't too hard to build and it should improve the look of the finished model.



The mufflers have a big divot in them for the kit covers, which will be replaced with PE parts. In order to hide this, they needed to be filled. Here's what they looked like just after putty.



With the putty out, I realized that the gun mount's bottom was not flat. So, with a small piece of sheet styrene and some putty I gave myself a flat base to work from.



Finally, I began to mess around with the radio set-up on the vehicle. AS it's REALLY cramped, I put one set under the driver's hood. The other gets mounted inside the fighting compartment.



I've got lots to do. Especially with the gun, so stay tuned!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
The next big part of this project is the gun. The resin conversion does give you one, but it's kinda blocky and looks like a copy of the one from the Tamiya SdKfz 251/9. So, using the DML SdKfz 234/3 kit, I made off iwth parts of the gun to do this one. You'll also note the styrene baseplate and putty. The bottom of the mount was anything but flat and trying to sand it would have been an exercise in futility.











After I took these pictures, I spent some time on the gunsight and elevation/traversing gear. This was again pirated from the DML kit.











I hope to get more done over the weekend, as well as make some more tweeks to the gun. See you soon!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
Welcome to the underbelly of the beast! Since there are so many parts in the suspension and lots will be nearly impossible to paint once they are all in place, I decided to paint as I go.









One thing I have not been particularly impressed with is the Royal models PE. While very extensive, the PE is very thick and hard to cut. This makes keeping the parts intact difficult. Also, I find it to be excessively over-engineered, for very little gain. They use 4 parts when 1 or 2 will do nicely. Just my 2 cents. More later.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
The build continues. Once all of the drive shafts and stearing gear was in place, I gave the underside another coat of Tamiya XF-63 German Gray.



Once that is dry, I'll add the front and rear nose guards, the covers over the drive shafts and the central differential cover.



With the underside complete, I continued work on the fighting compartment. I added the ammo rack and secured the gun mount, as well as added some more interior clutter.



On the upper hull, I got the gunshield secured, after some massaging to get it to fit correctly. It's going to need some sprue weld seams, so I'm going to need to stretch some.

I scrounged up a radio mount from the Eduard set for the SdKfz 251/9. I managed to mangle it when I dropped it, so I'm hoping the addition of a radio squares it up correctly. That's all for now.
Regards,
Georg

You going to have this done by AMPS?

Nice work, Georg!

Dave,
I hope to have it done by then. If not, then you're just going to have to come up to Armorcon in September to see it!

Dave,
Thanks for the kind words. Remember you are always welcome at the NJHMA if your schedule allows.

Regards,
Georg

Hey Georg - I've been lurking on this build since the beginning. You're doing an extraordinary job on, from what I have seen, a very difficult conversion. Keep up the good work!

Bob,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm getting into the home stretch of this build. I've still got alot of OVM to add, plus extra crew gear, etc. All-in-all it has been enjoyable. Hopefully, I'll have some more pictures tomorrow night.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
Not a super-big update today, but I did move forward last night on the 233. Mostly this was OVM and interior bits. I swiped the jack from the 234 kit and repositioned it on the front of the fender.



I had toyed with the idea of using PE for the fire extinguisher brackets, but the Dragon parts looked so good, that I didn't think it was worth it. Also, I replaced the hull doors.





Here's an overhead shot.



Hopefully, I'll get more done tonight. Later!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
It's been a busy weekend! My wife has an exam on Monday for EMT course, so I had some time to work on the 233. Here's some of the progress:




I chumped out on the tool handles. Instead of scrounging up some Aber tool clasps, I just used the handles from the Royal set. I tried the Eduard ones, but they were too big. These tools got pirated from the DML SdKfz 234/3 kit.



I also worked on some of the upper hull fittings. I removed the resin hinges and replaced them with the ones from the Eduard set (they were leftovers). Also, note the lift rings(?); these were swiped from the DML kit, too.



Here's the side (albeit out of focus). I added the trafficators and lamps, as well as more lift hooks. These were a combination of Tamiya (dk gray) and DML (lt gray) parts.



Here's the front hull. I replaced more of the hinges with Eduard parts. I also filled the mounting point for the tools on the nose in anticipation of using the DML parts. Those will be added after the hulls are joined and the outer hull gets its base coat camo pattern.

At present, the interior has been base-coated with Panzer gray (it's drying in the spray-booth) and it will get detail painted tomorrow. I'll do some light weathering in there before joining the upper and lower hulls. Then, on to the outer surfaces for the real fun. Stay tuned!

Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
The journey continues... when we last left it, the '233 had gotten its interior base painted. I've been busy this evening and here's tonight's progress:



These are the rounds from the DML 234/3 kit that I swiped. They got a base coat of "Antique Brass" from the spray can. There will be more detail painting in their future.



I'm such a tool! I got the handles base-coated. They'll get the rest painted later on in the week, before decalling the handles.



Here's the gun with the seat, sight and breach painted. Also in the shot is the rear instrument panel. I made a decal from a picture I found on the web so there was something to look at.



A shot of the driver's compartment upper hull. The radios are in place, as is the MP-40. I painted them field gray and picked out the detail with semi-gloss black.



Here's the face of the other radio.



A close-up of the "outside" radio and MP-40 mount.



Here's the lower hull after base and detail painting. I'll be doing some weathering later in the week. Enjoy!
Regards,
Georg

Just a thought Georg. When I saw the shells, it instantly reminded me of another guy's build I've been following on anther forum. He got the entire interior completely finished before he tried fitting his shells in to the ammo rack. That's when he found out they didn't fit..... can you say "oops!" Now, his isn't the same as yours, but the basic principle would apply, if you get my drift.