First of all, no, it´s not the new Tamiya kit... sorry if I have dissapointed you.

After the capitulation of France quite a number of French Somua S35 served now under German markings, now designated as "Pz.Kpfw. 35 S 739 (f)". An even smaller number of them (my surces point in the direction of 3, maybe, but not likely more) were converted to command tanks, fitted with an extra frame antenna over the enigne deck.
As it seems at least two of them had the modified original, and not a Pz. II or III cuppola.



So far I´ll use:
Somua S35 (Heller #81134)
PE (Eduard #35313)
Replacement Gun and MG originally for Char B1 bis (RB Model #35B79)
2m Antenna (RB Model #35A02)
Antenna Mount (RB Model #35A15)
quite a lot Mr. Surfacer and most probably Fruils.

One note before we start, I know there are quite a lot of things wrong with this kit, most of the changes will be of "cosmetic" nature. I´ll ignore most of the shape issues, as I do want to finish some day

Frist steps included removing unwanted "detail":



adding casting numbers form sprue labelings


Comparison with the original in Bovington


modification of the cuppola into a German one with the PE rim from Eduard

Fabian,
Great job with the casting marks from the sprue label, I have been using that technique for 35 years and have only known a few modelers that have as well... now that's modelling, great job.

Fabio-- how about a quick run down on how you transfer the casting numbers
thanks
DJ

Thanks for stopping by guys,
@DJ No rocket science, just snipp them off with you modelling knife and fix them with plasic glue. Works best if you´ve got one of the more liquid ones (Tamiya Extra Thin for example).
Make what you don´t have, my N for example is made by combining "1/1". If you want to modify something do it when it´s still attached, as it´s more likely your letter keeps its shape. So far Trumpeter seems the best way to go, as you get the letters and the Numbers in the same size, while beeing almost the right size for 1:35.

Alright, further reshaping was done on the joint of upper and lower hull:

The upper hull is supposed to be a bit recessed and the little bulges where the bolts are supposed to be should be shaped less round.
As this isn´t the way the kit is supposed to be glued together, fit is pretty bad there. Made worse as the PE fenders add 0.2mm on all the four edges. Still, after a few hours of pressing, gueing and filling, it seemed to have worked out...
The white dots are supposed to be the "sprue" attachment points of the casting process, beeing visible on all the engine accsess hatches. There should be casting numbers on some of the plates, but they are much smaller and would be barely visible in 1:35... maybe I can think of a solution for them...

Back to the turret: Well, it seems wrong, terribly wrong cpmared to the Bovington vehicle. Withouth bothering to check with plans I could make quite a list of angles, details or shapes that is wrong, simply by lookin at pics.
BUT as few of us know there was actually a different lower hull (can be indentified by a bulge in the middle of the front). As it seems it might be that there was also a slightly differnt turret, but better not quote me on that... would have to spend a few hours more on reseach...
Anyway, I cut out the turret ring to set the turret a bit lower which should slightly improve the look. But I´ll leave it like that, re shaping the turret would probably end in a desater. So: Casting texture with Mr. Surfacer, but I might do some sanding to get the suface a bit smoother again.



That´s it for now, I´ll be back with some more "upgrades" in the turret area next week.

That number transfer is AMAZING!!
You should post a picture of that on the "Rivet Counter" forum going on!