Thanks Andy, appreciate the comments!
doc, thanks as well, as for the top it will be secured in order to support the turret properly and allow the hull sides to be joined up properly. I will be doing some surgical work to the roof and turret sides though to allow more of the interior to be viewed. Stay tuned! [;)]
Some serious work accomplished over the weekend there Bill! Looking real nice!
I have to admit when you said you were cutting out the turret sides I cringed a little bit[:O].
So what are the exterior paint plans for #100 will it be early say Polish or French campaigns or maybe one of the later anti-partisan vehicles with a camo scheme?
I love that interior and want to move into it…
Damn squatters[(-D]
Manny, awfully cramped on the inside but still better than sleeping out under the stars on the steppes! Thanks as always for looking in.
Thanks Steve! I readily admit that I had to think very long and very hard on what to do in regards to showing the interior. The standard kit provides a lot of detail in terms of the gun and breech as well as the commander’s cupola and the Interior Set supplies the other missing elements in the form of the ammo cans for the turret rear and the traversing gear. None of that is visible through the top hatch so some cutting on the turret is inevitable if you want to show it off in any meaningful way.
As far as the exterior paint plans…I had originally planned to do a French Campaign vehicle in the 25th Pz Reg, 7th Pz Division (the Ausf Bs weren’t available in time for the Polish campaign) with a two-tone scheme. That was before I discovered that the tracks provided in the kit (and the MKs as well for that matter) are the “lightened” style that were introduced with the Ausf D and used on all 38t’s thereafter starting in Nov 1940, so that ruled out a French campaign vehicle from an accuracy standpoint. So far as I know no one makes the correct style of early-war tracks for the 38t. Add to that the fact that I’m going to cut away large portions of the turret and the prominent French campaign markings would be largely wasted anyhow. So this one will get a straight Panzer Gray scheme but will still be marked as belonging to the 25th Pz Reg, 7th PzDiv but in service on the Eastern Front in 1941 instead of France 1940.
Bill- This build is really coming together, excellent progress on the interior! Really can’t wait to see what’s up your sleeve next. [^]
Ah, Bill? Are you aware you’re really kickin’ some butt with this build? Just thought I would let you know[;)]
Thanks Frank and Marc, appreciate the comments and support. [;)]
Bill the progress is brilliant so far. Wow on the interior, watching this will take any guesswork out of it for me, when and if I ever get to it, ha!ha!.
Looks brilliant ,
Terry.
Thanks Terry, glad to help out by doing all the legwork in advance! [(-D] [;)]
WOW! Bill this build is looking SUPER!
[:)]
This one is NICE, Bill.
You may reacll I supported, ahem, the OTHER candidate, but I have reconsidered my position.
AS for teh interior, I propose a tiem share arrangement so Manny and I can both have some time in there.
Thanks Orion!
Bill, there’s always room for reconciliation! As for the time share, I think an agreeable rate and contract can be worked out. I’ll have my Eastern Front Real Estate agent contact you shortly. [(-D]
A little bit of a mid-week update. Work has been slowly continuing on the details in the turret a little bit at a time and I finally got enough progress together to justify the pics.
Due to the narrow confines of the two-man turret, the turret sides themselves are devoid of detail except for the commander’s traverse gear and the light communication system with the driver. This was added courtesy of the Interior Set and detailed based on the reference photos in PT13. The 38t turret doesn’t have any kind of exhaust or ventilation system and the vent gasses from firing the main gun were expected to escape out the commander’s hatch, the vents into the engine compartment, or out the lower hull air port next to the radio operator. Bearing this in mind, I allowed for a little more grime accumulation inside the turret than I had in the lower hull but used the same formula of a Raw Umber wash followed by repeated dry brushing of the Panzer Interior Buff to vary and blend it back into the base coat. I also detailed and installed the commander’s periscopes and bump pads into the cupola. As a small touch I also made sure to paint the underside of the small signal hatch Panzer Gray to match the exterior even though it’s molded closed…it’s the principle of the thing! Much of the turret sides are going to be drilled out and removed but what remains should look consistent with the rest of the interior from a weathering perspective.
The main gun and turret front plate also received their share of detail attention. The kit parts for this provide a lot of detail all on their own and I dutifully detailed the gunner’s scope, the spent shell basket, and the leather padded manual shoulder traverse (I can only imagine what pushing THAT would feel like!). The same wash/dry brush treatment was applied as well. I still have yet to install the coaxial MG, that will come in later steps once I get the turret built but before I add the roof.
That about rounds things out for now in the detail department, now I need to focus on getting into the exterior construction and start pulling this baby together!
Nice look, the drybrushing paid off.
As far as that manual shoulder traverse…childs play…try lifting the trails of a towed howitzer to traverse when needed for a fire mission…big onions required [:O] In reality on both it is knowing how and leverage (it also helps when you are in army shape)
Remember, even today, there are no OSHA standards for the military!! Nothing is for comfort…just use!
Rounds Complete!!
Bill,
As always I watch your builds like an Oscar 
winning movies and this one is yet another stupendous build. I am always amazed at the level of detail you put into these.
If you have any 1/35 figures and they ever come to life you can kiss these goodbye because I swear they will drive off in them.
Looks great Bill, I’m waiting with anticipation to see how you open her up with the hatched and cutaways. [tup]
Great paint on the turret!
Mike, that’s true about the military fitness…and the turret did have a decoupler mechanism that would allow the turret to move within the ball bearing race using that shoulder pad once the gear had been disengaged. Considering the commander was also the gunner, he’d have his hands full all the time. Still, I can only imagine trying to do that for a full rotation…I guess that’s why the floor decking is there, you’d have to have solid footing for that sort of pushing vs. just standing on a regular steel plate.
IB, thanks for the comments…the thought of one of the completed builds firing up and roaming around the work bench at night brought a smile! [;)]
Will, thanks as well and glad you’re enjoying the ride with me.
Looking VERY nice Bill.
After seeing all your 38t based vehicles, I am motivated to build one myself. I picked up 3 kits at the AMPS show yesterday.
Tristar Marder III ausf H
CH Geschutzwagon 3 cm flak ausf M
Dragon Geschutzwagon Grille 33 ausf m
Boyd grabbed the Tristar 38t and Tristar interior before I had seen them. I tried talking him out of it, no luck there. I checked for the PT and nuts and bolts ref. books at the show, no luck there.
When I start one of these kits I’ll be hitting you up with LOTS of questions if I have any.
Keep up the awesome work Bill, It’s very mtivating and and inspiring work you heve.
Rob
Thanks Rob! I say you should’ve stalked Boyd and threatened to “wreck” his models unless he turned over the B with Interior! [(-D] Just kidding of course, sounds like you made off like a bandit with the other kits. The Tristar kit includes the full interior sans the engine and I happen to have a left over engine from when I used the Tristar Interior kit on my Tamiya Marder III build. It’s yours if you need it, just let me know. [;)]
While you guys were all having fun at AMPS yesterday I spent the whole day creating the cut-away sections. It took a lot more time/effort than I thought it would but it paid off. Pics/progress to come later today. [;)]