The Hydraulic Traverse Motor.It's very nice OOB but it can do with a little more detailing!I've added the two springs, a few missing hex bolts,safety wire and a cotter pin on one of the levers!I swear that the wire is much thinner than it looks being 0,03mm (1,05mm in actual size looks the part IMO and I use 0,8/0,9mm safety wire on some of my bike's 13mm bolts!) but I've taken the pictures with my iPhone and editing them has made the whole thing look less clean than it actually is,so please bear with me!
The pear-shaped housing for the turret rotating mechanism has been further detailed with two hex brass bolts and added casting texture.It's been painted with a mix of 60% RAL 2014 and 40% RAL 2015.Today's RAL 2014 is a perfect match to the original Elfenbein found in many un-restored German tanks,especially inside Bovington's upgunned D...of course it doesn't show in my crappy pics,looking more light light gray primer!:-X
RAL 2015 is onother good match compared to a few original parts in my collection but I've opted for a mix of the two which gives a good in-scale effect!
I've also started adding weld beads here and there!
Cheers
Manu

I've scratchbuilt a new commander's/gunner's foot rest and cover for the compressor of the bore fumes evacuator,which is a little jewel in its own right.I could have used a PE thread plate wit the same dotted pattern as the rest of the turret floor but I've opted for a different pattern to give more interest.After all they'd have used scrap plates or even old fenders to save on materials!
Cheers
Manu

Time to tackle the gun assembly for a change in the routine!The multi-part breech is a bit tricky and I suggest to scrape off some plastic in the marked areas to make things fit.The unavoidable gap can be easily filled with multiple applications of diluted Gunze White Putty with a pointed brush and sanded smooth afterwards.
This is one of the very few areas requiring particular care on behalf of the operator but the end result will be quite nice!

The gun assembly needs weld beads and I've started adding them.Some suggest the use of stretched sprue softened with liquid cement but I think that there are much better ways,in fact if you use stretched sprue regardless of the size of the weld bead you'll need quite a bit of glue to "melt" it and in the process you'll soften the sorrounding styrene too,and when you'll work the "bead" you'll run the risk to mar the sorrounding areas.I don't use two-part putties either!My method is a bit cleaner and allow you to shape the "weld beads" as you like,see the cap of one of the recuperator tubes!
As a support for the gun I've used a WW2 9x19 German cartridge,identical to some found inside the magazines of the crew's side arms!

Don't forget to add the two rectangular grooves on the sides of the breech block!

I've primed the gun with the Red primer to make sure that everything is ok and to see if there was still need of putty or sanding higher spots.I've also scraped off the two cables and replaced them with 0.32mm and 0,24mm copper wire.The crappy pictures make the wires looks thicker than they actually are,especially the yellow one but they're perfectly in-scale!

With the gun shield I'll call it a day!It needs its dose of weld beads,cables and the ejection marks must be filled in with my trusty mix of Tamiya Ultra-Thin and Gunze White Putty!Only one or two will be (hardly) visibl but,as they say....better safe than sorry!
Tonite I'll prime the lot and tomorrow I'll hit my elfenbein!
Cheers
Manu

So what do you use for your weld beads ? They look very nice.

Sean

G'day Manu

I've used another method for filling gaps. take all the little mould nodes that you usually bin, say about a dessert spoonful or so, and add them to half a bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin cement. Give it a couple of hours to dissolve and it makes a very effective putty.

When it's used, and the glue evaporates, what's left behind is the same plastic as the kit is made of. Very simple.

Regards

Rob

G'day Bob,
thank you so very much for the tip,mate!It's just about the same thing we used to do in the 70s when we used to dissolve sprue pieces in trichloroethylene!
I do the same thing by scraping the sprues over coarse sandpaper as it was parmesan over a cheese grater and dissolve the dust in Tamiya Extra thin!
The dissolved putty will give you the same results over small areas but it dries faster!Truth be told,the method you've suggested is certainly better, in that you'll fill te gaps with just about the same stuff the kit's made of!
Cheers
Manu

Hi all,
looks like Photobooklet ain't working so I've switched to IMGUR!
The KwK 88 is nearing completion so I've started painting and weathering the whole assy.
The scratches are "real" scratches and no "sponge" method has been used this time around!I'll try to focus on "mechanical" wear and tear only,with the odd pin wash,misting of highly diluted paint to tone things down and bit of dry brushing!
I've used a surgical blade,a glass fiber pen,a bit of #0000 steel wire and 3M polishing pads.Care must be taken not to scrape the layers of paint to the plastic!
The decals may look thick while in fact they're amongst the thinnest I've found in a kit to date...blame it to the flash and my photographic skills,or lack thereof!
The plumbing will get a coat of black and Krylon silver while parts of the breech still have to be painted with oily steel after a good polishing!
When I'll be finished I'll give the whole assembly a misting with highly diluted clear satin to blend everything together!
All in all I think that the whole thing is coming out quite nicely!
Cheers
Manu

I could only see the work you done on the gun,PB strikes again,but what I saw looks great.