Hello,

I have signed up. Here's what I plan for the campaign -- a beute T-37:



At 3200 kgs, I guess this one won't have much issues on tipping the scales



Cheers,

Tat

Cool I'll sign up with the Leopard, I have some pe on order so I'll not be starting just yet.

Got all the bits together for Panzer II, so made a start on it this evening. This is my first WWII German kit, so progress may be slow while I look for references and pics!



Cheers, Paul.

Thanks Fabian for the info and pics, I'll put them to good use.
I was thinking about getting the CMK resin engine, the fruil model tracks and the passion models PE fret but there quite pricey so still undecided.

no prob..
I´ve decided against all that AM-stuff, mainly because I wanted to proof that you can actually build this kit ooB without looking too crappy (although I couldn´t resist to do some scrating).
And IF I wanted a really detailed model, I would have choosen the Academy one instead...

Back to the T-26:
I´ve skipped the nasty suspension thing and went straight on to the hull and turret...

the kit is falling together quite nicely, almost like a real Tamiya. No flash, no clean up, but sharp and crisp moulding... guess it´s the best kit I´ve started this year...

Nice job on the 38t and good work so far on the T-26, Fabian. Keep up the good work guys.

T-26 is looking great Fabian! An interesting idea with the road sign, I'll follow your progress closely
I've attachted the fittings to the engine deck on the Bt-5 but theres still lots of bits and pieces to scratch build. Ill post some pics tonight.
sam

Plodding along slowly as I get the time. Doing a lot of research too, trying to decide what markings to use.







Cheers, Paul.

Assuming I can wrap up my GREIF for the 250 campaign in a timely manner, here's what I'll be doing for this.



Grabbed it during an unexpected trip to the hobby store in Tokyo yesterday, and really wished I had taken the time to catch up on the campaign thread ahead of time to find out about the track issue. I'm not looking forward to either blowing the dough on Fruils or the spending the time on sprocket salad surgery.

Oh, well. I'm sure it will all work out for the best and be lots of fun!

Well, after several concerted, and ultimately futile, attempts at making the track links and drive sprockets mate up, I finally hoisted the white flag and sprung for some Fruils.

Had given consideration to Bob Woodman's solution, but ultimately decided against it, as I'm still not a fan of painting tracks and wheel together, plus I just didn't see those sprocket teeth going in the holes from the outside any more than they would from the inside. Oh, I also discovered for the benefit of anyone that still thiks they can defeat this monster that the horns on the links are too tall--they have to be clipped off or else they bottom out on the interior of the drive wheel.

I'm now well and truly POed at Hobby Boss because this little monstrosity of a kit was more than I wanted to pay in the first place, and the addition of the tracks has now TREBLED my investment in this campaign. But I'm too stubborn not to throw good money after bad...

Oh, I also decided the louvers on the engine compartment ventilation are entirely to chunky and will have to go. Was wondering how Raul and the other PzIc'ers are looking at those. Like many other scratched up parts I am cutting up beer cans because they are cheeper than brass and plentiful around my house.

Hope everyone else is having better luck than I.

Forged ahead with replacing the engine ventilation louvers last night. Rather pleased with the result. My thanks to the Asahi Beer Co., Ltd. for the use of their can...

Before:


New out-of-focus louvers ready to be installed:


After:


Need to dig out some mesh to put inside the engine compartment to screen it off from prying eyes. Not sure how accurate that is, but has to look better than the gaping holes...

I forgot to enlist. I should be able to start on the Stuart, in a couple of months.

I'm almost finished with my kit. Just reattaching the pioneering tools after repainting them, spraying another clear coat on and I'll be done. How's everyone else's project going?

I've been a bit slack with mine. almost done with the weld beads though!

Progress has not been as fast with the HB Panzer I Ausf C as I would have liked because I just can't stop finding things wrong with the kit.

Here's the front end with re-worked toolboxes and scratched smoke projectors. I had to go all Dr Frankenstein on a couple of beer cans...


The plastic barrel on the main gun might be the worst I've ever seen, but having already invested so much in the new tracks I wasn't going to spring for an AM barrel, so I made my own. Chucked a piece of brass tube in the drill and filed to the diameter I wanted, then soldered on the details from some scrap PE. Not perfect but better than the original. Here they are side by side for comparison:


And the new barrel dry fit in the carefully drilled out mantlet:



Hope that's the last of the major surgery before I can wrap up assembly and get to painting.

Mark;

Making a new metal barrel for that EW141 gun.... mighty cool! That took some effort and looks mighty crisp.

The Pz 1C had a EW141 gun as its "main armament" - a rather wierd spin-off from a pre-war heavy MG built into a semi-auto, belt-fed AT Rifle in 7.62 x 92 calibre! Lots of folks apparently believe that little gun was a 2cm gun, but not so. The Pz 1C was the only vehicle to carry the EW141 into action. The EW141 had a very heavy (today some might call this a "bull" barrel) quick-change barrel with two smallish gnurled grips...

In truth, there were no "high-relief" rings - just milled gnurl-grips smaller than but otherwise similar to those seen on 2cm FlaK 38 barrels. The other oddity of this barrel was that it included a sort of jacket (the tube we see) which had a row of small vent holes along the top, and some additional holes positioned around the muzzle-end.

Strange to say, but HB actually did an OK job at capturing this feature! I'm building this kit for the "Normandy" campaign (where 1C served briefly) - I considered making a new tube from styrene rod, but elected instead to drill-out those vent-holes provided as shallow pits by HB, and drilled out the muzzle... noting that the actual barrel opening is set into the larger tube hosing a small amount, and that it should not be drilled as if it were a 2cm gun...

Here's the EW141 "on the table":



and "in-situ" on our lovely little 1C friend...



Pictures borrowed from public-access websites and posted here for discussion purposes only.

I'm watching your build, M, and hoping that I'll learn a couple things which may influence my doddering about with this one!

Bob

Bob,
Thanks for those comments. Was aware of the gnurled nature of the rings and that my rings are over-scale (although the discoloration of the brass makes them look higher in the photo than they really are) but I wanted to represent the visual effect. Still, acting on your input a may well go back and file them down a bit more, or reconsider using the kit barrel. When you drilled out the muzzle did you free hand it, or use a drill press? I'm not sure I can trust myself to get the muzzle right, although your idea of drilling the vent holes is something I hadn't considered. I may take a look at that.

I also see from your photo that the wire I used for the handle on the driver's hatch is too heavy a gage. Haven't decided if I'm going to try to rectify that or not.

Mark;

Free-hand. It came out OK - not the best centering but good enough. I carefully flat-cut the muzzle face (end) first to have the best flat surface for to find a nominal center for a first tiny hole, followed by a larger bit.

There is no perfect solution, here!

I was going to hold my water on that handle - do fix it if you have some tiny stretched sprue or thinner wire.

It's going to come out looking pretty sharp however you go.

Cheers!

Bob

Yeah, I have all kinds of thinner wire. I made the rooky mistake of grabbing a short piece of a slightly smaller gage than the kit handle because it was near to hand rather than checking the reference photos first.

@Mark

Good work on your Pz IC. Nice detail on the toolboxes and smoke projectors!

Looking at this pic (enlarged by me, that´s why the quality drops) they look thick, to my eyes at least.



They measured 0,5mm thick In the HB kit and that´s some 17mm for the actual louver. Upper armor according to Thomas Jentz in his Panzer Tracts Nº1-2 is 10mm with a tolerance of +/- 10% (some 0,3mm in 1:35). That´s why I´ve decided not to replace them, I´ll sand the edges a little bit to create some thinner louvers’ illusion (in the end, that´s what modelling is all about, illusion).

What I did is to prevent light going through the turret hatch was closing the engine bay with a piece of plasticard.



About the gun. I agree with Bob that the HB is not really bad. I´m managing two options here, one is Bob´s suggestion of drilling holes to the HB piece, the other is to replace the barrel with an appropriate diameter plastic tube, drill the holes and scribe the handles with some coarse sandpaper, a much demanding alternative but I´ll give it a try.

I hope to get some modeling time next week end.

Raul

Raul,
Thanks for the info and comments; really appreciate those. Unfortunately your photos aren't showing up on this computer, so I'll have to have another look when I get home tonight.

My decision on the louvers was based on two things:

The first was that using the thin aluminum allowed me to make an L-shape that that was much easier to keep straight and aligned as well as attach. I had considered using thin styrene sheet, but decided it was going to be too fiddly to get just right.

The second consideration was a conscious decision (and I'm about to speak heresy here, so cover your eyes if you're easily offended) to pursue an option favoring visual impact over accuracy. Most of the people that see my work are not history buffs or armor officianados so I try to present something that "looks good." In this case, that means that even if the louvers are technically right, they "look wrong." At least in my view.

For me the hobby is as much about the artistic expression and mastering of techniques as it is about achieving perfect technical accuracy. But that's okay; I never expect to win any awards anyway.

Regarding the gun; yes, I'm revisiting the kit gun. Drilled the vent holes, but hopelessly cocked up the job of centering the muzzle. Am now looking at chopping the end off and replacing it with just the muzzle from my brass gun (which will also need to be filled and redrilled to get closer to the right caliber. Still--and it may just be my old eyes--the kit gun doesn't look entirely straight to me. Seems like it's got some sort of a dogleg in it.

And, yes, Bob; I did replace the handle on the driver's hatch with something much closer to the proper gage.

Keep that feedback coming! I may not alway take everyone's suggestions, but I love the discussion and the exchange of ideas. If nothing else, maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes.

Well I'm nearly at the painting stage I think - uncharted territory for me, having not painted one of my models yet! Bit nervous about it, but found loads of tips on here to get me started.

I have a few more bits to add on later today and will try to scratch build some some stowage bits (tarps, crates, etc) to give the kit a bit of originality.







Cheers, Paul.

Well, Paul, painted or not, it still looks better than a lot of my builds at the final building stage.

Keep up the good work guys.

Mark,

No offense taken. I know it’s a hobby after all.

Cheers.