Well I've started work on my Tamiya Pershing ...things are moving along nicely but I'm kinda stuck waiting for a few things to arrive...Waiting for the Mantlet cover from traxz to get here as well as the Royal Models set ...I have been working with the Eduard set but really not much worth using ...except the periscope guards which are very thin and realistic but I will add the only at the end because they are so fragile...here are a few pictures of my very limited progress .....
this an over view where you can see I have changed the stowage boxes for those from the dragon kit ....just better detail on the handles ...

I added ends to the hinges from sprues to show they pass right thru from one side to the other ..Also added two styrene squares on the back engin hatches ..these seem to have been added to help support the hatches when they were open ..

I added casting numbers two the final drives using numbers from an academy kit and numbers taken from the tamiya sprues ..I also added the oil plugs that were missing on the final drives. I added some missing bolts on the fenders using hexagon shaped sprue.

I added a hook under the exhaust system that held the early barrel support

added casting numbers from tiny numbers on a tamiya sprue...note the numbers were cast upside down on the real parts.

Added casting numbers to the hull again using the Academy numbers I also added some strip styrene to the front fenders along with some missing bolts..

Tested out the suspention to see how it will look ...good beer that Kokanee..lol also shows where I added thin strip of styrene on the sides where the hatches locked on when open..I used the locks from the dragon kit as there were none on the Tamiya kit ...better than nothing I guess ..also replaced the closed visor with a Verlinden one from thier Sherman detail set ...

I added more casting numbers to the mantlet but will probably not use it as I'm waiting for the covered mantlet from traxz...also have sanded and smoothed out the kit barrel which looks great ..no need to change this baby..

while waiting for parts to arrive I have started my base here is a quickly dug mortar pit with all the equipement around it handy for the crew ...

an overall view of the base ..you can make out where the pershing will be leaving the road to chase after the crew of the mortar that are trying to get away ..

he wasn't so lucky

and last but not least another view of the mortar pit

sorry for the long post but I hope you enjoy the pictures ...I want to thank Daniel Munoz for taking these picture and helping me put them on-line.

Rick

Your mortar pit is an absolute beauty, wonderfully dirty and ashy. Great job. I'm learning the frustration that you're going through waiting for parts and AM kits to arrive. Keep posting your progress, look forward to seeing the results!

Wow! The dio is coming very well!! Nice idea and figure. and great painting on the mortar! I dont know much about pershing, but keep on the good work!

Hi Bear -

I really like what you have cooking so far...

I'll admit that I really don't know a whole lot about the Pershing, but from the work you have put into this one.... you must have a sickness :-) (I have it too, AMS... lol )

The groundwork on the little dio base is first rate! I'll be interested to see more pics as you proceed....

Later-
Nelson

Yeah I'm really having fun with this kit ....thinking about buying another one as I have an engine that I'm not using on this one ..This kit has sparked an interest in Allied equipement and AMS too ...Just sent an E-mail to Australia for a set of World War II Production tracks for this kit ...More waiting !! but I think it will really make a difference as I don't like the way the kit tracks fit ...Thanks for the comments about the base ...See what happens when I'm waiting for parts to arrive ..lol #:-)

Rick

Great job so far. I really like the mortar pit. Looks very realistic. Since I am new with making dio's can you tell me how you did it? Also great work on the tank so far. Waitings a pain but its worth it in the long run.

What a great dio! About the mortar: It is a tamiya kit, isn´t it?I build this model for the Coverup Campaign but I have to admmit: your is much better! in the forum they told me to "really put the mortar on the ground" and you have done this the right way!! Congrats!

Well the dio base was built up using ordinary white styrofoam....I then just dug a hole with my exacto knife ...I used some of the pieces to build up the pile of dirt beside the hole...The ground work was covered with a spackle compound used for drywall with some sifted dirt and some paint pigments added to the mix this covered the whole base even the sides of the dio ..While everything was still wet I added the long grass from an old paint brush , some static grass was added while this was all still wet ...tracks were pushed into the wet mix ...The mortar was pushed into the wet mix too ...When this was all dry I wanted the hole to look freshly dug so I added pure pigments (raw umber I think) all over the hole to show the darker wet soil I added this to the pile of dirt too ....I added 2 puddles to the road using cristal clear and covered them with 3 coats of future to give them some depth...that's about it ... Guys if you haven't worked with paint pigments yet ...give it a try ...Oh yeah I did go over the tall grass and static grass with some dark yellow sand color mix ..and a wash of raw umber all over to gie everthing a bit of depth...Glad you like it ...The worst thing is I'm not satisfied with the sit of the tank and might just have to do it all again...that is what I get for going too fast ..lol Oh yeah this is the Tamiya kit!!
Rick

are the stowage boxes after market?

great job so far, I'll have to get my kit out from under the bed in the spare room and get cracking!

The stowage boxes are from the dragon kit and fit with just a bit of adjustment ..the handle detail is much better on these parts.....Now drag that kit out and get started ...lots of fun doing it ....I'm using the Squadron in Action ,Shiffer publication and Allied &Axis# 7 to piece together this kit so if you need any info I might be able to help you out...I'm also using pictures found at ..
http://ipmslondon.tripod.com/armourreferencearticles/id14.html

some great stuff there on the pershing too ...getting into this OD stuff !!

Rick