I decided to start building my Special Armour SdKfz 11, I have wanted to complete a model of this vehicle for some time and had the Italeri one initially, not that good, but I hadn’t bothered to investigate the Special Armour one until recently. The model is an improvement on the Italeri one, but not without its own problems. Here are some photos of the model…







http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x44/Spacewolfdad/SdKfz%2011/SdKfz%2011%204.jpg





I will be using OKB-Grigorev SdKfz 250 tracks for this build…





I commenced the build by cleaning up all the running gear provided in the kit…





But the more I looked at the road wheels the more I felt that the Dragon SdKfz 250 running gear was better detailed. Having one set spare I decided to see if it would fit the Special armour kit…


It appeared to be a viable option, Here with the Dragon drive sprocket added as well…




With the OKB tracks initially attached, although this method of fitting them was not as successful as the method used on the other side…








Both tracks fitted. The original method for the one side was one I have used on several models where I fitted the OKB tracks and involves placing one run first, from the sprocket to the bottom of the running gear, then attaching the next run to the end of the first run nearest the sprocket and taking it around the idler and to the bottom of the running gear. This didn’t work perfectly, so I resorted to method 2, which I used on the Grant recently, this involves super-glueing two lengths of track together and placing the now long length of track along the top of the running gear and bending the track around the sprocket and idler to meet on the underside of the running gear. Handling this particular track has to be done carefully as it is very fine and quite fragile, bending was done using a hair dryer to soften the tracks and facilitate the bend around the sprocket and idler. There was one problem, one of the road-wheels decided to disintegrate as I glued the track to it, never had that happen before, quite startling actually…



The fit around the sprocket and idler was really good using the hairdryer, I was pleased with the result…





While I was using the Dragon kit as a donor for the tracks I decided to use the front axle instead of the kit one…



I blanked off the connection point for the kit’s front axle…



A small block of styrene sheet was required to get the axle stays to fit, but that was all that was needed…









The petrol tank, compressed air tank and exhaust were added…







I test fitted the driving compartment bottom to the chassis and realised I had a problem. I had installed the sprocket axle the wrong way around, a silly mistake and it needed a lot of filing to remove the area of plastic that was proud and stopping the driving compartment bottom fitting…



Next I turned to the driving compartment and began to detail the areas that lacked it. I first fitted these pedal s, but the small one was incorrect and had to be replaced…



They should have looked like this…


I also fitted a gear lever and drive selector lever made out of stretched sprue with the ends melted into gear knobs, there was also a hand brake.



Now the front of the bonnet (hood) has more sink holes than any other piece I have ever seen, one on every side!





These were filled with model filler, but when I tried it against the bonnet (hood) there was another problem, it was a little low, a shim of styrene card is called for to raise it to the correct height…





The side of the mudguards should have the characteristic three stamped lines running along them, these are absent and I am replicating them with Evergreen plastic strip, which I will sand down to the correct thickness…





Well that is it for now, not too bad a build, just a few issues. Hopefully I will have the driving compartment and the rear compartment finished this week and can prime it ready for painting. I am thinking of doing it as a DAK vehicle towing a Pak 40, but that could change. Thanks for looking , all comments welcome.

All the best,

Paul

[b]@Paul (spacewolfdad),[b]

My oh my, looks like you've really got the gears moving to do a major rebuild on this beast! I must commend you on a very detailed set of photos and step by step commentary. Not the sort of endeavour that many will have the resources (extra parts etc.) to attempt. May I offer my thanks to you for sharing this with this forum and look forward to your further progress. Oh, despite what you've needed to do, at least it wasn't an older Italeri kit?

Cheers,
Jan

Hello Jan,

Thank you for your kind comments, most appreciated. I was basically 'hors de combat' during 2015/16 with cancer and other medical problems, so modelling was sporadic to say the least, 2017 looks like a better year and I will be posting as many of my builds as I can. I enjoy doing the build logs as it affords me the opportunity to see how I did something when I look back at the builds, if it is of use to other modellers then I have been of some use . I have so many kits in my stash, I will not build them all and the odd one being 'sacrificed' for another build seems a good idea. I have the Italeri offering and was dreading trying to make a decent model from it, I might do it as a wrecked vehicle in a diorama at some point, at least it will be used .

All the best,

Paul

Paul, I can truly understand and sympathize with the situation that you found yourself in as I have unfortunately been experiencing some health issue for over a year and a half myself. It also has negatively affected my productivity in all things hobby related as well as “normal” life. Your Blog is the type of thing that stirs my inspiration desires to “get back in the saddle, again” in my own right!




Isn’t it surprising how we can find going back and rereading our own Build Logs to reteach ourselves some things we originally accomplished.




I have a couple of Italeri kits myself and it’s amusing how despite having a desire from time to time to build one and despite losing some knowledge and skills while on my forced sabbatical from the hobby, I fully remember the trauma that some of the ones I build in the past caused me!

—that was quite the run-on sentence?

Good luck with your endeavours,

Cheers,
Jan

I haven't been able to devote this build much time this week as I have been concentrating on other projects. However I did manage to get a little more done on the half-track. I began to build the rear compartment and it looked pretty straightforward, but there were a few problems ahead. I began by constructing the bulkheads...





No issues that I noticed, these will come later on. I added the side pieces which fitted nicely...



The top section of the rear compartment is visible and ready to be fitted and here is where I encountered a problem. Firstly the bulkhead within the rear compartment was slightly higher than the rear bulkhead and had to be shaved down to allow the top section to fit flush...



With the top section fitting snugly I glued it in place, only to find a overhang on the forward bulkhead...



I checked my Nuts & Bolts book and went on a long search on the internet to see if there was an overhang, unfortunately there is not a lot of interior shots and those that I found didn't indicate there was, so I had to remove the top section and in doing so snapped the two side arms, very annoying. Also I found that the rear curved ends of the top section stuck out too much and the rear section would not have fitted properly.

I glued the piece on with it flush at the interior bulkhead and trimmed the overhang on the rear bulkhead, unfortunately the two side pieces didn't fit too well and required some sanding and filling to make a good job...









There was also a slight indent on the rear plate from where the plastic was removed during clipping it from the sprue...



Here is the finished rear section with wire handles on the rear of the plate...







I also added a little detail to the front compartment, the other light cover and the filler cap for the radiator...



Here are the two sections nearly finished, just a few details to add now...



Hopefully I can get a bit more done on this during next week.
Thank you for looking and all comments welcome.


All the best,


Paul

Hmmm, obviously not the most "user friendly" model much in a similar way I am finding a Mirage kit! While I appreieciate that fixing some of these "annoyances" with a kit can give one a sense of great accomplishment, too many of them can leave the proverbial "sour taste in one's mouth" about the kit or its maker. You're doing a fine job of persevering with this kit Paul but I'm sure it must be somewhat taxing your patience. Look forward to your ext update!

Cheers,
Jan

Hello Jan,

Well the tale gets a little sorrier now, on another forum someone pointed out that the rear bulkhead should be IN FRONT of the locker doors and not behind them, that is why there was an overhang with the top plate. Even though it looked ok, this little detail really irked me, so I set about correcting it.

It is clear that the rear bulkhead is in the wrong position, even though the instructions show it to be in that postition and the locating lugs are there. I set about deconstructing what I had done, not easy and I must use less glue in future . I used a new blade to prise open the joins and wreck my work...











Ooops, well it was inevitable with a sharp blade and brute strength...



I eventually managed to get all the main components apart...








You can see from this shot that the floor and location points were meant to be behind where the doors are, very strange and annoying...



To refit the bulkhead I had to remove the area on both sides that is circled, this shows that it was never meant to be forward of where I had glued it...



I marked the position of the doors on the top of the wall sides, this is where I will be fixing the bulkhead...



With the bulkhead in position I cut a new rear deck from styrene sheet and fitted it, along with the side peices. These needed shortening by 2mm which is an important measurement as I will explain later...



The rear area then had new seat cushions from styrene sheet and was cleaned up, this is the result...









Now I am back to square one, well not really. The 2mm reduction I mentioned, well I measured the rear compartment from the rear plate to the rear bulkhead in my Nuts & Bolts book, scaled it down from 1/35 and got 22mm approx. for the distance. The distance on my 'corrected' rear area is 20mm, I think I should have left well alone, even if the rear bulkhead was behind the doors. Never mind I will press on with the build, but, as you can imagine, I am not a happy bunny with doing all that work and finding that it really was in vain.

Quod incepimus conficiemus

All the best,

Paul

Oh my, Paul, looks like a case of needing a field dressing and the equivalent of miniature hydraulic jaws to pry those parts apart! I wonder if that company had those that make the instructions for a certain Hong Kong company make the ones for this kit. Don't these companies appreciate that people want to build a model not solve a Rubics' cube or do the original translation of a Rosetta Stone! Your perseverance brings to mind that saying about Gunga Din! Good luck with your "struggles"!

Cheers,
Jan

Paul, good work on this, though, Gordon Bennett... it looks like a quite painful kit. I agree with Jan on the sense of accomplishment that can come with beating something like this into submission.

You do wonder what is going on when the designer manages to miss something like the three horizontal pressed bars on the mudguard when they are so visible in every photo. Messing up the design of the interior is more forgivable, and I share your frustration with researching such details, even with such comprehensive volumes as Nuts and Bolts, as there are always seemingly endless pictures of the exteriors, while virtually nothing taken from above.

The Dragon wheel set certainly look easier to build being self aligning, but I wonder if the level of moulding on the kit provided items looked a little more realistic - the Dragon items are quite heavily detailed... but anyway, it is a very nice job you've done with the track units, and on these German half tracks they are always complex and probably the most important bit to get right.

Hello Matthew,

I have put it down for a few days and am doing some painting to recover . The running gear from the kit is quite nice but the detail is a little soft and I am very fond of the Dragon product, it looks good when painted up and finished, I did this some time ago for a wargames army I was doing...



Hopefully the SdKfz 11 will turn out as good. When I have finished all the additions to the rear compartment I will prime it to see if it is ok. I intend to do it as an Afrika Korps one so if it is a bit rough I will pile a lot of stowage to hide the faults . Thanks for your comments.

All the best,

Paul

Hi spacewolfdad,liking your work,the kit is not helping you at all is it,I would have thrown the kit against the wall by now.