There is not much to Step 9. Just a few more parts to add to the rear wall.

Instructions


I forgot to take a pic of the parts. But, they are pretty clear from the instructions.

Assembled

Step 10 just has 4 parts for the gun recess. The parts fit together very well.

Instructions


Parts


Assembled

I'm liking the cast texture on the, what is that a mantlet? Doesn't look overblown with detail.

Step 11 assembles the hull MG34. Nothing special to look out for in this step. All the parts fit together well. The only issue is that the part all of the sections fit into, is not identified in the instructions. The part is J16

You have a choice of J25 or J26 with nothing to indicate what the choice means.

Instructions


Parts


Sub-assemblies


Painted MG34

Step 12 only has a few parts. I'll install T2 later in the build. I'll also install the MG34 and main gun assemblies later

Instructions


Parts


Installed


Interior painted

Step 12 covers the gun barrel, muzzle brake, mantlet, and armored covers for the hull MG and driver's periscope.

Instructions


Parts (forget part L40 in the pic)


Assembled

Step 14 assembles the rear engine deck. This is a very busy step and has five sub-steps. For the crew compartment heater, you are given the choice of having the cover installed (G48) or removed (G44). For the right radiator exhaust fan, you have two choices for the armored cover. Which you choose is up to your preference or if your building to a picture. You have the choice of the shutters open or closed on the right side radiator inlets.

I've left the tools off as these will be installed last, after painting.

Instructions


Parts






Assembled










Fitted to the superstructure. The fit is tight.
I installed the aft left & right inlets first.
Then glued the engine cover & hatch.
Then the radiator outlet fans.
Then the forward left & right inlets.
If you do it in this order, it will all fit without any problems.

Step 15 deals with the rear face of the superstructure. One item to note is that the fire extinguisher is shown as G38 in the instructions. This isn't correct. The correct number is J38.

The instructions also show the track cable coiled around the right radiator fan. I haven't seen this configuration in any pictures. Maybe this was an optional location. But, I have only seen this cable coiled around the jack block on the right side.

The shovel will be painted and installed at the end of the build.

Instructions


Parts


Assembled

The wife has returned, so my time at the table is greatly reduced. I have finally finished Step 16. This adds the right side schurzen rail, spare track hangers, and tow cable mounts. There is a lot of PE to be bent in this step. Attaching it gave me a lot of headaches. Once dried, not everything was perfectly square, but the tracks still fit in the brackets. So, I consider that a success. The jacking block will be painted and installed at the end of the build.

Instructions


Parts:


Assembled


Track links test fitted



The other four pins and cables will be installed later.

Step 17 is basically the same as step 16. The PE track brackets are a pain. there is very little surface area attaching them to part C40. They easily snap off. Patience is a must. The seam on the storage tube will need to be removed. The fit of the end covers is not the best. I'll probably add a little putty to fill in the gaps.

Instructions


Parts



Assembled





This completes the basic assembly of the superstructure. The clear roof assembly will be addressed later in the manual. Next starts the assembly of the lower hull.

Looks like a great kit. I follow this with great interest. Very nice and detailed blog you write, bookmarked and it will help a lot for a future build.
Thanks for sharing this.

Kind regards,

Robert Jan

Yes I agree all build-logs should look this good, gold standard work Mark

Thanks Robert and Tim. Appreciate the support

Sorry it has been awhile since my last update. I had some minor surgery and haven't been able to do any work. Before starting the hull assembly, I decided to paint the superstructure and complete its assembly first. The camo pattern has been applied and I'll finish the tools and add the main gun next.

I started by painting it in the dark yellow basecoat. This would be RAL7028 in the real world. But, I only have Tamiya XF60 available.


I then masked the areas that will remain yellow. I also tagged the areas that will be redbrown with a piece of tape with the letter "B" on it.


I then sprayed the green color (Tamiya XF61). In the real world this would be RAL6003.


Then I masked over the green areas and sprayed Tamiya XF64, red brown. In the real world this would have been RAL8017. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic for this step. But, it will be obvious where this was masked.

Here are pics of the finished product.




I still need to spray the clearcoat to seal the basecoat. I'll do this after adding the rest of the parts for the superstructure.

One item of note is that the PE brackets for the spare track links are a nightmare. The easily pop off at the slightest touch. I've had to reattach several of them as many as four times.

Hopefully, my next update will be soon.

I am continuing to work on completing the superstructure. I just need to paint and decal the fire extinguisher, and assemble the track cable.

Here I will show the assembly of the track cable.

Here is what the instructions show as part of Step 15.


The cable ends are part L30. These parts are not slide molded. Therefore, you will have to drill them to insert the cable. These parts are also not the easiest to remove from the "L" sprue. The attach points are oversized. Take your time removing them as the diameter is .7mm and will bend/brake easily. You will also need to be very careful when sanding down the attach points for the same reason.

Parts


The "cable" is actually a piece of .5mm dia. solder. It looks nothing like the real thing. I would advise checking your spare parts box or going aftermarket for something more realistic.

The instructions tell you that the cable is .4mm dia. and a length of 160mm, and you need to fabricate yourself. So, the diameter listed in the instructions does not match the diameter of the “cable” included in the kit.

This is what the end of the part L30 looks like.

You will need to lightly sand this flat and then mark the center point with the tip of your knife. I then first drilled a pilot hole with a .3mm drill bit. I drilled to a depth of 2mm. I then used a .6mm drill bit to widen the hole to the final dimension.

Here is how it looks after the hole has been added.


There is very little spacing, so it is critical that you get the centerline marked correctly before drilling.

Here is the “cable” test inserted. 2mm seems to be enough to get a firm attachment.

Final assembly


The instructions have you wrap this around the right radiator exhaust fan housing on the engine deck. I don’t recall ever seeing the track cable installed at this location. I have always seen it wrapped around the jack block on the right side of the structure. I need to look through my reference books before I paint and install this. My next update will have the superstructure completed with the tooling installed.

This is a fantastic build, Mark!

Mark, sorry I'm late to what looks like a fun party ! But will now follow along to the happy conclusion. The cammo looks great and with a little weathering the Tamiya colors will look just fine.
Thanks for your efforts and sharing them with us !

Thanks for the comments.

I've completed the superstructure. The spare track links will be added at the end of the build. I decided to go ahead and place the track cable as the instructions show.









Time to move to the hull.

It's time to begin work on the lower hull assembly. The hull is the multi-part variety, instead of the bathtub style. Step 18 begins with the hull sides.

Instructions


The instructions only show the assembly for the right side panel (F3). The assembly of the left side (F4) is identical. The only difference is noted on the instruction sheet to cut away the area marked in red on F3. There is no similar feature on part F4. You do not need to worry about the orientation of the torsion bar covers (C22). They only fit one way.

The Parts


Assembled

Looking great so far Mark!

Thanks Colin

Step 19 continues with adding more parts to the hull side panels from Step 18. The majority of the parts in this step are PE. All of them require simple 90 degree bends.

This kit has a LOT of PE, over 170 pieces on the two PE frets. So, I thought I would just show what tools I use for handling and bending PE.


Step 19 Instructions


Here are the parts


When installing the PE, just pay attention to their orientation. You also need to remove the indicated raised area and sand it flush. You will also need to get out your putty and fill in the indicated area on the sponson (F3/5). I also filled in some of the sink marks. Not sure if any would be visible, but decided to do it anyway.

Completed

Going steady on this one Mark. Excellent work and nice to show some equipment you use. I always learn something from builders showing their equipment they use.
A real joy to watch this.

Kind regards,

Robert Jan

There is not much to Step 20. It is just assembling the lower hull sides to the floor.

Instructions


Parts


You need to take your time and make sure the sides are square with the floor before gluing. Parts F2 and M46 are simply there to help you square the sides. DO NOT GLUE them.

Once I was happy with my fit, I applied glue to the joints and held everything in place this way. There is tape on the bottom as well, just can't see it in the picture.



After a couple of hours, I removed the clamp and tape. And checked how well it had set-up.




Everything seems to be square and ready for the next step.

VEry nice, Mark! I like that they included parts to ensure that the tub could be put together square.


Gaz

Progress is being made. Step 21 is the torsion bars. There are many reviews and videos talking about problems installing these. The problem is that the parts do not fit cleanly into the hull. That there is a slight bending when test fitting the parts. Folks have discussed having to lightly sand one end to get it to cleanly fit.

Instruction


The instructions also provide you a good layout diagram for fitting the parts.


The parts



The fist thing I did was test fit the parts C20 & C21. I had no issues with the fit. I suspect the fit issues might be related to how the sides are attached to the lower hull in Step 20. I also used one of the swing arms to check the fit of each part as I was fitting it.




I started at the front and glued each part one at a time and made sure it was centered correctly with the swing arm.


After they were all installed, I went back and applied a liquid solvent to each of the attach points to reinforce the bond.

I also attached the reinforcement plate.


I was expecting a number of issues with this step based on other's experience. However, I didn't run into any of these issues.