Hi guys,
OK, so I’ve been holding out on ya’s a little bit…[:I] just to get something to show here on this build. Since it’s such a straightforward build, I wanted to do it generally OOB.
Here’s the box opened up…LOTS–and I mean LOTS–of unused parts to be saved for the spares box.
The torsion bar asssembly–let me tell ya; this takes a whole night to do properly! And they don’t sit as definitively as the regular “old” was of mounting the wheels. It was a bit of a pain to get them to sit evenly.
Well, even though this will probably disqualify it for an OOB entry in a contest, I still coudn’t resist putting in some damage on the fenders. This is evidnet in some of the photos of the M10s in existence during WWII. I used my Dremel to thin the plastic from behind…
This not only let me poke an exacto blade through them, but to bend them simply with my finger, like aluminum.
The light was left out of the socket, and copper wire inserted where it was busted out. The kit is basically built at this point; the turret armor rests upon four protruding “arms”. I’m leaving that armor off until I paint it underneath.
I also added some damage along the side fenders…this too, is evident in some of the photos.
The model with teh turret armor sitting on the mounts. Note the PE parts to secure the spare tracks–pretty cool.
Overall, the detail is impreesive as hell on this model. It builds up quicker than your average Panther because of the lack of many smal details, and the tools are pretty much not there. There is a wire for the Notek light, missing suspension details, wingnuts, and inner hatch details that are impressive. Let me assure ya–this ain’t your daddy’s Panther!
This will be an interesting paint job–American Olive Drab! A new finish for me on the FSM site, I’m pretty sure? Should be fun to get around to it.
I’m also working on my own ride–a Chevy S10 truck by AMT, so it may be a bit slower going, but I’ll have some base coat down tomorrow I’m sure…[:)]