I dont usually come in here but I just bought a Dragon 1/35 Flammpanzer for real cheap and have no idea on how to go about building it . As you may have guessed it’s my first armor kit , I usually build A/C or Sci-Fi kits but like I said I got it real cheap and it looked interesting , but again I know nothing about building armor kits and while it was cheap my need for near perfection ( [(-D] YEAH RIGHT ) drives me to do my best , so if anyone can give me any tips , I sure would be thankful .
Walt,
there are far better builders here than me, but i guess i will go first.
first of all, welcome to the ‘dark side’ [:D]
it is a good bunch here.
my suggestions deal mostly w/ assembly sequence.
some guys assemble the entire kit (or close to it) and then paint the whole thing.
then they pick out the details.
others assemble most of the kit, paint it then paint the details and add them on.
i think you will want to assemble as much as possible before painting,
but leave off the roadwheels so you can get the paint behind them.
it is a matter of personal preference if you paint your tools on or off the tank.
i have only built three armor kits and i have tried it bot ways.
still not sure which is ‘best’.
if your kit has individual links for the track, you have some real fun ahead.
search this forum for stuff on “indy links” and you will find plenty of helpful info,
both on assembly and painting/weathering.
if it has vinyl “rubber band” tracks, i cannot over stress the imprtance of testing the fit of the ‘rubberband’. mock up the drive sprocket, idler wheel & roadwheels on the hull and see if the rubberband is long enough.
if it is going to be short, you han put it in hot water and stretch it some,
and/or modify the kit to move the drive sprocket and idler a bit closer together.
I can only stress the importance of taking your time when dealing with the Indy (individual) track links. I know a lot of people (myself included) get frustrated with them. Patience is the key here.
Hi Walt
Where’d you pick up the flampanzer? I just got one this past weekend as well
I won’t get around to building mine for a while, but the only thing I can tell you is what Erock said: patience. That kit has individual track links. I’ve only done one set before, gave up and used vinyl ones from another kit. It will take some time to assemble them, but the kit looks like it will be fun to build whenever I get around to it.
Have fun with yours. Make sure you post comments on how it’s going!
Walt, Welcome to the dark side. It’s about time we got you!! lol
Something I’d add to Ed’s remarks are to mask the ends of the axles before you paint the hull. Scraping the paint off to glue the wheels on can be a real pain. Also, if possible, do not glue the drive sprockets down. It makes putting the tracks on much easier if they will still turn. You can put a bit of glue on from the back after everything’s together if you want them solid.
For the indy links, make a “building board” to glue them up on. I got a piece of Evergreen .04 styrene and glued a Plastrut angle to it. Align the angle with a metal straight edge when you glue it so that it will come out straight. This makes into a nice, straight, sturdy jig for building your tracks.
Good luck. Make sure you post any questions. Chances are you’ll get an answer (or 20) from the members here.
Thank you all for all your addvice , it’s all so much I don’t even know how to take it all in . [:)] Darkide huh ? sounds like the Sci-Fi forums LOL . I opened the box and to my surprise and my horror it has the " indy links " looks like I might have bitten off a little more than I can chew for a first armor kit ? but as you all said I’ll ask questions and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of them . BTW to anwser zokissima’s question as to where I got the kit , I got it at my local Hobbytown for $17.00 , it was 50% off so I bought it and some other kits . Thanks all for your great addvice and for the warm welcome to the Armor forum .
Don’t be scared with those indy tracks. They just look intimidating but they can be put together rather easily. It just takes time to put them all together but it is not that difficult.
Try to to link together the portion under the roadwheels as this is usually straight.
Then work your way around the sprocket. It is helpful to glue the tracks to the sprocket, too.
The upper portion of the tracks usually have some sag so some reference pictures should be of great use.
