Old HORCH Logo

Anyone happen to know what the wartime factory paint color would be for the Horch engine?

I found one photo that showed a gloss black engine but that was a civilian vehicle. Another showed a gray engine but that was a straight eight rather than a V8 so again probably a civilian vehicle.

very nice - like the look of this kit as I am currently building softskins/towing vehicles....

A few housekeeping items at this point:


#1. Concerning the rear differential mounting pin -

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Back in step 2 regarding parts D5 and D6 - while the vertical pin in this part appears to be in the middle (it is not indicated in the instructions one way or the other) it is actually slightly off-center. If not installed properly the differential will not mount correctly.

The pin should be slightly off-center to the left as it appears in this drawing. Once discovered, I had to simply cut a new mounting pin from plastic rod and glue it on just to the left of the old pin and the differential would then mount squarely once again.

#2. Forward differential mounting pin:

Step #6 Step #8

In step #6 you are instructed to install the forward differential, however the only points you have to attach it to at this time are the afore mentioned single mounting pin and to the tip of the driveshaft. Not a very solid mounting.

I would suggest that rather than wait till step #8 to install part D47 you install it now. I would also suggest installing a small shim block (shown in red) that will allow you to physically join the differential to part D47 the differential support cross-member.

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#3. Dah ??????



I believe what they actually mean is to stretch a piece of sprue over a candle flame to make this tiny pigtail part. In reality it is a fluid (gasoline) equalizer tube not an antenna. This tube runs between the left and right halves of the forward gas tank.

If you should choose to add this detail I would suggest a short piece of fine wire.


Photo copyright Rosenow Restaurierung - used here for discussion only.

Hi Mike - this kit has your name all over it!! Nice work, and fun to watch as always...

Looking forward to the next post - 12 parts per diff eh?? The optivisor must be forever attached to your head - lol -

Cheers
Nick

Looking at your progress here and the approach you have taken, I think I will need to consider you again for the less than straight forward builds.

Step #8 Complete:

I am not going to show an overall photo here as the few changes made are nearly too small to see. What I will do is focus on one of the most visible updates; the addition of the forward shock absorbers and the four pieces of PE that go with them.
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I am sure we all do this . . . .

Often with etch parts I will make a choice as to whether dealing with a given etch is worth the improvement in detail it will produce in the model. Regarding the part added to the tops of each shock absorber, I just want you folks to know "I did this for you!"

Myself, I would have chosen to forgo these four very small etched metal items.

Not sure if that would be a blessing or a curse!

This build is proving to be a challenge of concentration!

I have to applaude Bronco's mold makers.
This is the first model in my experience where
the design engineers have succeeded in creating
injection molded WORKING coil springs!



Now please don't get the wrong idea; the suspension is still non-functional. No working hinges on the A-arms! On top of that the effect is spoiled in that the Horch used twin coils nestled inside each other. Bronco also models the smaller inside spring and it is so small it fills up the the interior of the larger spring and the whole thing ends up looking, more or less, like any other molded, non-working plastic spring.

I was really tempted to leave the smaller spring out just to maintain the see-trough quality of the large spring.

The first corner of the four suspension units complete:

Wow, very delicate work so far on this, well done, you are living up to your "chassis guy" moniker!

Michael,
I'd been skipping over this build because I tend to get myself unto positions where I use too much time reading build blogs...
But, I'm really impressed by your work. I'll stop by regularly now.



Gaz

Colin, Gary, thank you for your encouraging words! I am glad to know the work may have something to offer other modelers.

Something that up till now I have failed to say: Regarding this Bronco kit the part fit has been outstanding! There has been little or no flash to speak of and all the sprue gates are very small. Freeing the part from the sprue is easily done with a set of sprue cutters and clean up is minimal with just a fine tooth file.

Finally, something that is not often mentioned except in the negative, the plastic formulation used in the molding of this model is perfect. The plastic is workable and not brittle. It reacts well to a modest solvent such as Testor's and something stronger such as one of the Tamiya products might overwhelm and melt the many small parts in this kit. Use caution as to just which glue/solvent you choose to use and test it ahead of time on a piece of sprue.

Please don't think I have fallen off the ends of the earth. Been down with a touch of the stomach flu (big touch.) Also these four suspension/drive units on the Horch kit are just proving to be more of a challenge that I first presumed.

Update soon!

Front end suspension complete:

Top View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bottom View:

Not clear in the instructions exactly where the lower A-arms mount to the frame. No idea if we are supposed to compress the outer coil springs until the inner coil springs make contact with the spring mounts on the frame. I had to take my best guess. I seriously fear the suspension as I have built it will cause the car to ride either too high or too low relative to the fenders. Only time will tell.


As I say, do I squash the larger spring down so the inner spring makes contact with the frame mount? As you can see there is an attachment pin on the top of the small spring but no similar mounting divot in the underside of the spring mount on the frame. I compared it to my old Italeri Horch build of many years ago and decided NOT to compress the larger springs.

The rear spring mounts and A-arms however, are coming along somewhat more slowly:
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It just occurred to me; perhaps the smaller inner springs are overload springs. They are perhaps not supposed to make contact until the primary springs have been compressed to the point of bottoming out. That would make sense. Glad I built it the way I did but will still have to wait and see!

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Opel Blitz trucks had additional "booster leaf springs" added later to increase the vehicle's load rating from 3 tons to 4 tons because the trucks were always being overloaded by the troops anyway.

Hi Michael,

Talk about freakin' déjà vu! … I’ve been following your build from the beginning and I must say, your comments on the kit are absolutely spot-on!

I have the very similar Bronco (35175) ’Mittlerer Einheits PersonenKraftwagen (m.E.Pkw) Kfz.12 (early version)’ about 98% complete on my workbench. The suspension and drivetrain were real ‘time erasers’ for me — had to walk away from those steps several times. Ultimately, with a lot of forethought, parts checking, dry-fitting, and tons of patience, the kit actually fit together perfectly.

I seem to recall having to take very careful note of the part numbers, as I believe there was a difference in hight regarding the inner springs. In addition, the upper spring cup-to-frame positioning was very tricky. Checking and rechecking chassis alignment and level on a flat surface was crucial.

You must be feeling better, ‘cause it looks to me like you're nailing it!

Cheers!🍺
—mike

You clearly feel my pain!

My workbench top is a piece of marble and last night I weighed down the frame and let it sit on a glass shelf all night.

The overall frame assembly is now ALMOST level. I plan to mount the tires and sand some judicious ground contact flats into the bottoms of each tire to give it the final leveling. (Or build a slightly uneven base for the model - which of course, would be cheating.)

And yes, I noticed but too late, that some of the inner springs were longer that the others. I am guessing the longer ones were to go on the rear axles. In the end I simply cut all the inner springs to the same length and moved forward.

A very nice build log which I will be following closely! Just ordered their similar Kfz. 15 (radio car) and can't wait to crack it open!

So sorry folks for the lack of recent posts - my computer suddenly died big time. (All photos backed up on external hard drive - thank the powers above.) Bought girlfriends laptop but having troubles wiping it clean and reloading OS.

On top of that Photobucket is having some strange long term problems where I log into my library, I see it for about 3 seconds then the page goes blank. Cannot upload photos cannot download.

Looking great so far! Really interesting subject. I'm following with bated breath

Again my apologies for not making additional postings. My "new" computer has since made several trips to the "Tech Medic". It now seems to be working swimmingly but am having troubles moving my old computer hard drives into external enclosures so that I can once again have access to my original data and photographs.

I think I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on these many problems but it could just be another oncoming train!