Looks good Dave. i like what you did with the tape for the pins marks. Gave me an idea to use a hole punch in the tape to do that. I too have had some touch sanding session doing it the sloppy way.
Thanks Brother. I was looking at the scale nuts again…man-o-man, I think id have a migraine after that but you executed it perfectly bro.
Bob
Bob,
Thank you for following along on this one. A small drop of glue, a toothpick moistened with spit, Opti-loupes, and no hurry to be anywhere and you can do it. That’s what I did.
Not much done last week as it was busy here. End of year school stuff for the kids. One of the kids and myself testing up for a belt rank. Work. You get the idea.
Well I made up for it this week. The upper hull is coming along nicely. The small fiddley parts will be put on after I join the upper and lower hulls.
ALL of the EP marks filled and sanded. I’ll post some pics later of what I used to sand them. It really cut a lot of time
This was one of the louver assemblies that was warped prior to assembly. I opted to glue it in place and then contend with the aft portions that were warped. Turns out it too care of its self as soon as I glued the rear plate into place.
Bogies, drive sprockets, idlers are all done. Now to figure out what happened with the hull pan.[^o)]
I opted to use the returns wheels that used more parts. It’ll make painting much easier.
Road wheels galore. These are masked and ready for painting. These came off the sprues rather nicely with minimal clean up.
Here is all 32 road tires sanded and ready for paint. I remembered that there was a mold seam in the inner diameter that could be problematic with assembly. If you forced it on you could split the tire. The last two pics show what I used to sand that portion. Just a couple of rotations of the sanding dowel and it was all good
Cheers
Dave
Oh sure, now you are inventing stuff…LOL
Keep the pics coming bro
Bob
Wow Dave, I admire that fact that you filled the pin marks on the underside. I just couldn’t do it. Props to you for going the whole 9-yards.
Bob,
I do believe that necessity is one of the parents of invention. [:D] Trust me, I WANTED the quickest way to sand the insides of thirty two road tires. Otherwise I was going to need sedagives! [8o|]. As you requested there are more pics. What is thy biding my master. Hehehehe.
Eric,
Thank you. The filling under the fenders is far from over. I was worried that the EP marks would show but. it turns out that there is an even nastier beast that lurks under there. You can see it in the pic looking down the left side under the fender. Well at least I got the potential misaligned bogies figured out. Now to fill the newly found gap/seam/not sure what to call it under the fender. I’ll put that pic up first. Some later pics I’ll show you what I used to sand the filled EP marks under the fenders.
The was the best I could get to show the bogies aligned and without toe out. There was a bit of a gap between the bogies and the hull in a couple of spots. These were flooded with Ambroid liquid cement. I’ll go back and fill the remaining voids with some white glue.
I used two pieces of heavy styrene stock to spread the rear of the hull sides. Another reminder about the warped hull pan, that I should have started at the rear and worked forward. No sense in crying about it now.
The bogies where they belong. They do articulate rather nicely. So I’m wondering. I think it is time to get my feet wet with base work. This means that I’ll need to search out an early Panzer commander with a beret.
The lettering and numbers on the sides of the tires and return rollers in fantastic. They were painted with Floquil Weathered Black (Thanks Edmund!!!). That’s all the painting that will get done this week as I will be using Lifecolor to color this beastie. I’ve got a couple of set coming from Great Models early next week. There are still plenty of other sub assemblies to get together.
This is the set of bits that I used to sand the EP marks under the fender. Actually is was the two to the far right. I’ve used the others in the past with good effect.
Just wrap your choice of grit around the bit and have at it.
This is the beast that the bit go to. I originally purchased it to sand the edges of drawers during a kitchen remodel my wife and I did several years ago. I did not use this on the underside of the fenders for the EP marks though, I may be sorely tempted to use it with the new area under there that demands my attention.
Cheers
Dave
Looks like things are falling into place nicely on this one Dave…you have to be careful when using power tools to sand plastic due to the potential for friction to produce heat which in turn melts or scars the plastic in the process. Like the trick on the separate rubber rims, will have to remember that one. [Y]
Bill,
Thank you for stopping in and checking up on my build. Here’s what I’m thinking of resorting to:
Do you think I should use the masonry wheel or the steel grinding wheel? After all it is a very unsightly area![:D]. I’m just pulling your leg. The only time I use a power tool is when I’m grinding an area away with my trusty Dremel (the rotary one, NOT the sander). In reality the area in question really isn’t too bad. Just trying to figure if it’s worth tackling. I probably will.
Cheers
Dave
Looking really good Dave, I especially like the tape trick for filler and sanding, I will have to try it out some time.
Nothing wrong with power tools if used right, but the grinder would be over kill. Unless your going to build a wreck [;)].
keep the posts coming, the Pz IV is my favorite.
Rob
DEWALT BABY! girnd the [cnsod] out-a that puppy
LMAO
Rob,
Thank you for the compliment. The tape trick certainly cuts down on the sanding. I’ve been keeping busy at the bench. Lots of wee parts now, just not a lot of time to post.
Bob,
That DeWalt saved me a boat load of time when I was putting up a cultured stone facade on the house a couple of years ago.
I’ve been able to get some quality bench time in this last week. It’s just not been a high output week. There are even more small parts assemblies. Finicky parts. Just the build I was looking for.
This first shot is of a part (you’ll see where this is going). That is flat and has to bend
That has to go here (in the slot below the cupola)
That ends up clamped like so
And ends up looking like this. You can see where the plastic discolored and threatened to break. I was already formulating a back up plan that , fortunately, I did not have to employ.
I decided to add some weld lines using some stretched sprue. It was glued down very delicately with some Model Master Liquid Cement. This softened it up sufficiently to add the weld beads.The sprue was from some AFV 251 track pads.
I scratched a piece of brass tubing to help with the weld beads.
The lifting hooks are a two piece affair. They work wonderfully. The short sprue that the pieces attached make assembly a cinch. Just let the glue dry and then clip off the sprue.
It starting to look like a tank.
Cheers
Dave
I need to go to Sears and look for those clamps.[Y]
Tony Lee[:)]
Making good progress with this one Dave and you’re right, it’s starting to look like a tank! [;)]
Tony,
Buy a couple of packages of the clamps. If I recall correctly the package contains the following clamps: two ratcheting, two long nose (like what I used on the strip below the cupola), two regular ones (fairly heavy duty for their size) and either two or four small ones. Thank you for following along on this build.
Bill
Thank you for the compliment and following along on this build. The Ausf B was rather odd in that it did not have the bow MG whereas the Ausf A did. I did get some fiddley parts/ assemblies done since the last pic posting. I’ll try to post some Wednesday. Good luck of your job bid.
Cheers
Dave
A small update as I’ve been working with very small parts. [:D] It makes the OCD part of me verrrrryy happy[;)]
And, it’s without the use of meds. My wife says there are not meds enough![:|] Thank heavens for the hobby.
I forgot to include the detail shot of the turret on the last update. Be careful when adding the forward sloping panel on the top of the turret and the ventilation hatch. The parts listed in the instructions do work with each other. There are two different panels and hatches. Both have exquisite screw head detail. The instructions call out for panel La-1 and hatch B-29. B-29 does not fit that panel but it does fit Panel B-31 which, has fewer screws and the hinge plate for the ventilation hatch is different. The hatch that fits is part La-2. Funny, B-29 is grayed out on the parts list as not being used but is called for (incorrectly) in the instructions.B-31’s screws are larger than La-1. I checked my references and could not come up with a definitive answer. I went with La-1 which has more and smaller screws. The thinking being with early manufacturing the process was over engineered and had yet to be streamlined.
The rest are detail shots of the OVM gear on the left side. I do not yet have the jackblock done. I am working out some assembly kinks.
The towing hooks are two separate pieces as well as the clasps and wing nuts.
The cleaning rods are separate pieces and again as with the clasps and wing nuts.
Cheers
Dave
Dave
I’m lovin’ all the detail in this kit! Those Tristar kits sure are nice, aren’t they. You’re doing a bang up job on this puppy.
I’m really liking those clamps. Where’d you get 'em? (As I think about it, craftsman probably means Sears, right?)
BBrowniii, Thank you for the compliment and checking in on this build. Uber detail with these Tristars! Yes, the clamps are sold as a set at Sears. You get different sizes. I’d recommend picking up a couple of packages. Cheers Dave
I’ll go there tomorrow!
Thanks Dave. I’ll be here, lurking, even if I don’t chime in every time you post an update. Loving your progress.
Coming along real nice! I started reading “Armored Thunderbolt” today which is about the Sherman tank but in reality is a pretty good overview of American tank doctrine that led to the Sherman, and the Panzer IV is getting mentioned a lot. I said it before and I will say it again, the IV is my favorite German tank!
Brian
bbrowniii,
I think I finally ended up with either three or four packs of the clamps. Lurk away. No worries about posting. I got some work done on the jack. I had to modify it as there were clearance issues between the handle and the right side of the upper hull. Thank you again for dropping by and the compliment.
Brian,
Thank you sir for the compliment. That beastie was the work horse. I thought it odd that the Ausf A had a bow gun but the B had a pistol port. They put the bow gun back with the Ausf C. Kind of a good idea to have one. I’ve almost got the alphabet for the PzIV in the stash. One that I’d like to see come out is an early Pz III with the complex leaf spring suspension. Anyway, I’m hoping to get some color on it this weekend. We’ll see. I’ll be using Lifecolor for the hull and, I’m trying out Devil Over the Atlantic “Track Brown” for…you guessed it! The tracks. The color looks like a metal with a black brown patina. The company is based out of Florida (I am not affiliated with them in any manner) and very good service the first go around. I ordered on the third of this month and it got here on the ninth.
Cheers gentlemen
Dave