Hi all,
This is my first post in this column…. it’s a 1/35 Tamiya Panzer III Ausf.L which I’m currently superdetailing,including a complete interior.The latter will be nearly totally built from scratch,apart from the transmission and its tunnel coming from the Verlinden Panzer III interior set (the only parts worth saving….after adding a detail or six!) and a few others bits and bobs from CMK,MR and stuff.The engine is a Verlinden set too(which was originally intended for the old Gunze kits and which is a bit#h to fit to the Tamiya hull),but it will be substituted for a CMK one,which,truth be told,isn’t much more detailed than its Verlinden counterpart.
The steering levers are made by yours truly and are shaped length of very fine brass rod soldered together.
The transmission covers and driving sprockets come from a Model Kasten detailing set,while the idler will be modified in order to show the hollow rims (rims which look “solid” after the plating over of the channels are Finnish mods imo,made to prevent the hollow rims to get packed with mod and stones)…the tracks will be Friul and the fenders will be Aber PE ones…a real PITA to assemble/solder,but GREAT once it’s done!
Of course…there’s quite a lot to be added,but I reckon I'd better finish the sucker soon, before the friends at the club will call it "Latest Manu's never-ending story"!
More pictures will be added soon….thanks a lot for stopping and watching!
Have a GREAT Easter everybody!
Cheers
Manu

I don't know "nuttin" about this vehicle.
But your craftsmanship is excellent.

Many thanks Dave

Brilliant piece of detailing and superb skill. Looks like it will be an outstanding kit.

Cheers

Al

Very well done. Good luck with the project.

Absolutely excellent!! Now how about making resin copies for the rest of us!! You could make a killing selling those!
Ed

Looking great so far! Looking forward to seeing more progress pix.

You should have made the master for VP's PZ III interior! Dan

That is beautiful work and an inspiration.

Regards, John

Thanks a bunch for your replies and your kind words guys !
I thought about making resin copies for other "Threes" too late...now the bigger sub-assemblies are "encrusted" with too many little parts that would make taking a mold of the formers too dangerous,in that many small pieces like latches,intercom boxes,wires aso would be more than happy to be "trapped" by the silicone and be lost forever...and I sure don't wanna start anew!I oughta planned making copies before starting,but I nevertheless think that these pictures could be useful,after all I've worked after many pictures taken for me (Courtesy of my Credit Card) inside Bovvy's Panzer III Ausf L,which is in as-left-by-the-Jerries-and-taken-over-by-the-Brits conditions and the copies of the five reports on the exhamination of the captured Panzer IIIs (always courtesy of Mr. Fletcher and my faithful CC).
I would tell our less experienced friends not to be afraid and have a go,after all it's only a matter of "look and do".....use whatever material you happen to have handy and start copiying from these (or other) pictures....if you see it you can replicate it in plastic/resin/wood/you-name-it...it only takes a little will
Cheers
Manu

Very nice work. Thanks for sharing. "Q"

A very nice demonstration of super-detailing and attention to detail. Looks very sharp, how many hours have you invested so far in it to this point?

Matthew,Bill hanks for your comments!
Bill....I've been working on and off for the past two years,with a 8 months lull.....I've got at least a dozen other projects going on..this way I avoid getting burnt-out,but on the other hand progress is somewhat slower!
next time I'll post a few pictures of some external details,including the mantlet add-on armour which I won't use...I'll use a PE unit instead.
The tank will be finished in in African livery,so one of the things I've done it's been treating the rubber of the road wheels to a liberal amount of wear and tear.....each rubber band has been "damaged" as per period pictures and they're all different!
The hull has got its share of missing weld beads and conical bolts,while the typical Tamiya "pips" that should be nuts and bolts have been shaved off and their place taken by Grand Line nuts.
Pity I've realized too late that the air intakes on the sides of the engine deck have a major issue to them.....while the ones that come with Dragon's new "smart" Stug III are correct...oh well,,,,they were usually a convenient place to store track pins,so I think that "my" crew consisted of very apprehensive tankers who used to fill their air intakes with dozens of track pins:D
Thanks for stopping!
Cheers
Manu

Excellent for being scratchbuilt!
How are you going to paint the interior? I'm building the Pz.IV Ausf. E and I need some info to have a realistically painted interior!

Excellent work so far Manuel, outstanding attention to detail, am very interested in seeing this completed.