I will now be working on the tank’s electronics and RC equipment. Once those are complete I will be focusing again on the model’s details.
I have uploaded 3 mpeg video clips of the tank running under it’s own power.
Forward test drive.
[size=18][color=red]Test Drive 1[/color][/size]
Reverse Test Drive
[color=red][size=18]Test Drive 2 Reverse[/size][/color]
Obstacle test drive
[color=red][size=18]Suspension Test[/size][/color]
Really conveys an impression of power.
This thing is killer. You should be proud to own one of these.
While waiting for some of the electronics to arrive I was able to complete the lower hull of the tank.
I replaced the tank’s first two piece aluminum drive shafts with a one piece steel version. The aluminum versions did hold up the weight during tests, but I felt that they could be a weak point in the drive train.
I also reworked the tanks drive sprockets to make them more accurate.
The Lower Hull and the road wheels were primed and painted in its base coat. The Transmission final drive armored chin was also added. This piece was made out of PVC
I have made some progress on the tank’s rear details. I have started on the rear storage bins; I should have them ready shortly.
I completed the tank’s functional exhaust system. For the exhausts I used the supplied kit metal exhaust covers, but scratch built the rest of the mufflers.
The kit supplied resin tow hitch / starter plate was reworked and re detailed
I also re worked the kit supplied resin U shackle mounts.
That is one hell of a build your doin there and not an easy one either.[bow]Ive got a Tiger 1 late in the garage , i saved for years to get it and now i dont use it. Criminal really.
Thanks Bodge, I know what you mean. I spend more time building them than I do driving them. I realy need to take a week off of building to drive my models
I completed the tank’s rear storage boxes. I replaced the kit supplied box lid and resin hinges. The X crimp, and mounting braces were also added.
Stock BRA Boxes folded and soldered together
Bins reworked
The bins have been installed and the tank’s rear wall has been completed.
I added the tank’s rear tail lights. The lights are powered by LEDs. They will be connected to a circuit shortly. The LEDs were turned down to have them fit in the small spaces of the light canisters.
I have also added scratch built the tank’s Jack mounts. The mounts are fully functional. and are soldered directly to the tank’s hull
I will now be working on the tank’s lower front.
I have made some more progress on the Jag.
I have completed the lower front of the hull. I scratch built new lower transmission final drive mounts, The kit supplied resin versions were too large and didn’t fit properly.
While working on this portion of the tank I added the tank’s weld seams in the correct locations. The “Puzzling” was engraved into the steel and the weld seams were added with the solder technique.
I also added the Kit resin front U shackle mounts. The way that the mounts are installed allows me to lock the tank’s hulls together. The whole upper hull front plate slides onto the lower hull. This is similar to the way the Old Tamiya and Academy 1/25th scale motorized Panthers would fit together.
When installing the resin mounts I added the torch cut lines and the U shackle Bosses. The Bosses are made out of turned Aluminum. I have also added the Bosses to the product line in a set of four.
http://eastcoastarmory.com/germanparts.htm
I have started on the tank’s Gun Mantlet and other front details. I should have them ready shortly.
I have completed reworking the tank’s gun Mantlet. The Kit supplied Gun Mantlet is comprised of a three piece Vacuum Formed Styrene components. The Vacuum Formed Mantlet back mount was very thin and needed to be reinforced.
To make the mantlet mount more ridged I filled in the Bottom portions of the mantlet with resin
To Reinforce the thin back portion I used Fiberglass Cloth and Resin.
The Completed mantlet with casting marks added
I have also adjusted the suspension to have the tanks sit at it’s proper height.
I installed the tank’s main power switch. The switch is hidden inside of the tank’s rear storage Bin. The other storage bin will be used for the tank’s Battery recharge Jacks.
Currently I’m calibrating the model’s speed controllers, once they are calibrated they will be installed. For testing purposes I have wired the tank so it is motorized. Click on the Lin to see the Video clip
I have made some more progress on the the tank.
I reinforced the tank’s upper hull with fiberglass cloth and resin at the inner seams. I have had no strength problem with the tank’s original solder seams however; I felt that with the added abuse and wear and tear from the RC, and the need to have access into the lower hull the joints needed to be reinforced. If the model was static I would have omitted the fiberglass reinforcement.
I completed the main gun details; the kit supplies you with two straight lengths of PVC pipe. For the main barrel I made the pipe more accurate by turning the PVC pipe down to have it’s proper taper. I also reworked the kit supplied Resin Gun Muzzle. The Kit supplied muzzle is a two piece assembly with very basic molded in details. I added the Baffle rings and wrench slits
To connect the two lengths of pipe together I machined a new more detailed Gun Barrel adapter ring. The adapter installs in seconds, and will work for any other vehicle with the 8.8 cm KwK 43 Gun. The Ring has been added to the product line. http://www.eastcoastarmory.com/germanparts.htm
After the barrel was installed the gun barrel was too heavy for the pivot and the gun drooped. To fix this I added a small length of PVC pipe with two extension springs mounted to the pipe, and the tank’s gun mount. The simple addition fixed the drooping gun.
The front of the tank is mostly finished, For the Bow MG Ball I will be using the Panzerwerk version.
The tank’s “Puzzle” weld seams were also completed using the same method I used before.
I will now be moving to the tank’s rear engine deck details.
really nice build.
looking around the web i see the basic kits are VERY expensive. i wish i had thousands of dollors to blow on a 1/6 scale tank.
i really dont see how the kits are so expensive with basic sheet metal and road wheels in resin, and to make it drive you have to spend houndreds of more dollars… really does not seem worth it.
but any how really nice job so far. cant wait to see it done
These basic static kits cost less then the Tamiya 1/16 full option kits. The Models that I think you are referring to are the All metal RC kits from Armortek, or the Fiberglass RC models from Russia. These models are expensive for the norm. The reason why some of these kits cost the way they do is because they require a lot more material than smaller scale models. The Armortek models specifically use all metal parts that are to scale thickness. There are no Resin or plastic parts in those kits.
Typically the expense on these 1/6th scale models increases when you need to purchase aftermarket detail parts. This of coarse depends on your taste. This model kit that I’m building supplies you with everything that you will need to build a basic detailed Jagdpanther. I have seen many 1/35 and 1/16 models that with all of the aftermarket parts added it will escalate the price. Again because of the size the tooling and the time the price can go up, but that is if you choose to purchase aftermarket parts. If you feel that the parts are too expensive for your budget, then you can always scratch build your own components, as you can in other scales.
On the tank’s front plate I added the Panzerwerks MG ball. For the inner ball I used the one from my Tiger I MG Ball Set, the MG is also able to pivot. I will be adding weld beads later.
I finished reworking the rear engine deck. Due to the way the BRA kit is assembled the stock engine deck is one flat plate, and doesn’t have any of the recessed panels or panel lines.
Stock Kit Engine Deck.
Engine Deck Reworked
The recessed panels were added by plating the entire engine deck with sheets of styrene. The recessed panels also allows for the Engine bay lid bolts to be recessed and flush into the plate.
For the grills I used the kit supplied Resin ones. These grills are very nicely done and were not altered. The only addition that was fabricated was the metal mesh work.
I was also able to add the inner shelf for the engine hatch. The engine hatch shelf is fabricated out of sheet metal, now the hatch won’t fall inside of the tank.
Next will be the remaining details to the engine deck, and the fan grills.
I have made a lot more progress on the model. I have completed the tank’s rear engine deck details.
Underneath the tank’s fan grills I mounted two PC cooling fans. These fans are to keep the electronics cool, but are also visible under the fan grills, giving the model a unique detail feature.
For the fan grills themselves I used the kit supplied resin grills. The grills themselves are nicely casted.
After visiting the real Jadgpanther and Panthers at Aberdeen I have seen that the fan grill edges are rounded off and have a rough cast appearance to them. The corners on the Kit supplied resin grills are squared off. I sanded down the edges to make them more like the real one. Cast marks, slabs and Cast numbers were also added to the grills.
The grills were also scratch built.
The larger Elevated grill required a little more work. The grill itself comes in two pieces. The main grill, and the separate hollow air duct. The main grill too long and needed to be shortened by 1/4 of an inch. I also milled out the portion of the grill that connects to the air duct. The mesh support column was replaced with a new machined one with a taper. Cast marks, numbers, and grill cover mounts were also added to these pieces.
The mesh grill supports were scratch built out of steel strips and a turned own PVC retainer ring. There are a few more pieces that need to be added to complete the grill (grill covers, chain) but these will be after the tank is painted.
The engine hatch detailing features the kit supplied metal Engine hatch, Kit supplied Resin armored air intakes. Scratch built engine latch key, scratch built Rear loaders hatch bump stops, scratch built brass handle and scratch built hatch stop. All of the metal parts are soldered to the hatch
For the hinges I used the kit supplied resin ones, but reworked them a bit
Stock
Reworked
The Kit supplied resin rear air intake comes as a solid resin piece. The part was hollowed out, a metal brush guard was added, and welds were added to the top plate.
Stock
Reworked
to Secure the tank’s upper hull to the Lower hull I modified the kit supplied rear cover caps to conceal two Allen Fasteners, that blend in with the detailing, but also screw into a mount that secures the two halves of the hull together. The parts themselves were also reworked detail wise.
I also added a few small fasteners to secure the tank at the sponsons
The final details that were added to the engine deck were the lift hooks, and the Fuel breather hose.
I’m now off to the rear of the fighting compartment, which shouldn’t take very long.
Armorguy-
I see your updates, and a lot of views, but not much in the way of others posting in this thread.
I for one am amazed at this project, it is very very cool.
The fact that it is huge, and motorized, well, that’s gravy.
Keep up the amazing work. And, for those of us who work in smaller scales, thsoe shots with your hand are helpful to demonstrate the size.
I have been following your process. It has been very difficult to keep my mouth shut… jaw drops every time I see new pictures.
By any chance are you planning to bring your toy to one of national shows… IMPS in Columbus, Ohio but it is in August? Or even better AMPS in Indiana? I’d love to see it in person!!!
Well said!
I had to get another keyboard. I’ve been quiet because my jaw fell on the last one, shattering it.
[#ditto] Just awsome detailing, i take my hat off to you.
WOW! That is just to cool.
Thanks everyone for the compliments, They are truly appreciated.
Most of the IPMS National shows are out of my reach. They only IPMS regional show that is closest to me to attend is the NJIPMS Mosquito conn in April. I have entered my 1/6 models there before
My 1/6th M10
My 1/6th T28 Super Heavy Tank
As for the Jagdspanther progress
I completed the rear fighting compartment wall. The kit supplies you with all the resin hatches and the radio aerial base mount and aerial base. I reworked the antenna mount giving it some bolt details, and I will be using my own Resin Antenna base. The RC receiver antenna will be run through the antenna base later.
The Kit supplied rear hatch comes in 4 pieces The hatch, the large Hatch hinge, and the two extending hinge bolts. The parts have some hex bolt details.
The Tank’s stock rear wall has the rear hatch holecun into the plate. The hole itself is too small on the side edges by at least an 1/8th of an inch. There is also a notch cut into the plate where the hatch hinge would be allowed to pivot. The wall sides were extended and the the notch was deleted.
STOCK
REWORKED
On the Real tank the bolts are mounted on the inside of the hatch. All that you see on the outside of the tank are holes and the back end of the bolts. I decided that it would be easier to scratch build a new hatch rather than reworking the resin one. The hatch is made out of several layers of styrene. The lower hinge was used and the molded in bolts were removed and in their spots the holes were milled into place. The interior detailing of the hatch is all scratch built. For the Hinge lugs I used two 1/4 inch Aluminum shaft. The hatch locking lugs work and will keep the hatch from opening during running. The Two end bolts were also not used and new machined ones were used in their place.
The kit supplied shell ejection hatch comes in three peices the hatch, The hatch hinge, and the main hinge.
The hinge is nicely shaped and the hatch has a nice bevel to it, but I felt that the Kit hatch is too large. A new hatch was machined and used in its place. I’m still doing research on what the interior of the looks like, if there are any locking tabs handles…ect. The tank’s rear plate doesn’t have a hole for the hatch cut into the plate, so a hole was added into the plate.
I have now started on the tank’s roof. Once that is complete I will then be on the Tool Posts… then off to paint :-P.
I have completed the tank’s roof and Roof details. There was a lot of work that was done to this portion of the tank.
The tank’s top roof was one flat plate with the holes for the hatches and other component mounting holes cut into it. On the real Jagdpanther the roof armored plate sticks over the side panels. Similar to what was done to the tank’s engine deck I plated the entire roof with two layers of styrene. The styrene plate was cut with the exact same hatch holes, periscope slots, and sliding periscope slots as were on the tank. The plate is smaller that the tank’s roof by 1/16th of an inch on all sides to allow for the armor recesses and to allow for the weld seams. The portion of the front glacis plate which intersects the roof also needed to be built up with sheet styrene, only a slope was added.
Stock Metal Roof
Completed
For the roof details I pretty much used all of the kit supplied resin components. These components were a good start for reworking.
The first was the front gunners Periscope mount. The Kit mount is made up of four resin components. The armored ring, the center portion, the flip hatch for the gunner’s scope, and the secondary periscope guard.
A taper was added to the main ring, along with casting marks and cast numbers. The gunner’s scope flip hatch was made functional and will hold the location for the receiver switch. The secondary periscope is my own casting and is from a scrap set of my Resin Puma hatches.
The Kit supplied resin small air filter was also altered. The top was reduced in size, a bevel was added. The four divots were machined into the top portion, and rough cast marks were added. The bottom portion has the correct footings so there was no need to alter the bottom portion.
Stock
Reworked
http://eastcoastarmory.com/forumPic/jagdpanther/roof/DSC00058.JPG
The kit supplied Resin large main air filer comes in two solid pieces. The bottom portion and the top portion
The top portion was too thick and was too large and was not used. The bottom portion has six pegs for the air filter top. The pegs are in the right spots and have the right number, but the air filter top is not mounted on pegs, but several fins that surround a center hole. The hole was drilled into the center, and the fins were fabricated out of styrene. a new top was fabricated and the side mounting brackets were also scratch built.
The Resin kit supplied rear periscope comes as three pieces. The center, the Retaining ring, and the periscope guard
A bevel was added to the retaining ring, and the molded in bolt heads were removed and small reverse bolts were milled into the retaining ring. I was able to make the resin periscope center rotate.
The Kit supplied Resin smoke grenade discharger was reworked by removing the molded in bolt heads, and placing a styrene plate over the oval mortar hole.
STOCK
Reworked
The Kit supplied Resin crane bosses were fine as is and were not altered in any way. They were added to the tank, but with weld seams added.
The Kit’s AT swivel plate is laser cut and looks like the proper shape. The part also comes with a small resin slide plate.
The Resin slide plate was too small and was not used. New slide plates were scratch built. The kit also doesn’t come with the AT scope. One will be added after the tank is painted. To install the part I soldered a brass rod to the bottom of the plate. The rod is bent in a hook so the AT scope will plug into position.
supplied Resin periscope guards are also nicely shaped and casted. They also have a nice rough cast texture to them and were also used as is.
The Kit supplied resin hatches come in six pieces. The two hatches and the hinge components. The hatches have a nice bevel to them, but have no interior detailing.
A scratch built interior was added, as were the fastener details on the hatch tops.
When installing the rear Commanders hatch I realized that the hatch was too close to the rear wall. The hole needed to be moved to the front by a about 1/2 an inch.
The new position of the hatch was marked in green. The black markings were the size of the hole that needed to be made.
Using a large drill mounted sanding drum I ground away the plastic and metal to cerate the new hole.
Once the hole was made I needed to replace the portion that was on the opposite end of the new hole. I used sheet styrene to fill in the gap and sanded the top to a smooth finish.
The Rain gutters were also added. These didn’t come with the kit per say. The Kit does supply you with laser cut strips of steel that are used for the X crimping on the rear storage bins and front fenders. I will not need these strips for this purpose so they were spares and were a perfect size and thickness for the gutters.
Welds were also added to the MG ball and Driver’s vision port
I’m now working on the tank’s sheet metal fenders and tool posts. Once these are complete the tank’s detailing is finished and the model will be ready for paint!
