nice job so far red! she’s looking pretty sweet! [:D]
RedLeg, great job so far. Can’t wait to see the business end of this one.
-Stephen[C):-)]
Camo - Thanks for stopping by and the comments
Steve - Yep, looking forward to the working end myself. Thanks for stopping in.
Rounds Complete!!
hey, i’ll stop by anytime for anything modern!! [tup]
Making some good progress here Mike despite the distractions of the summer chores! Base looks good, just don’t make us wait so long for the next set of pics. [:D]
Cool Redleg, this is looking very good.
Bill - Thanks…I’m hopefully out of the woods with the “outdoor opening” projects…whew! Just have to keep up with the grass [:-^]. That “should” leave me more bench time. Hope to keep up and get back to my weekly reports!
Bill 87 - Thanks for stopping in and your comments
Rounds Complete!!
I sure hope you know what your doing there! [(-D] Gotta luv it!
Aaron - Not to fear, there won’t be a misfire causing the tube to be punched here!!
Thanks for stopping by.
Rounds Complete!!
you this is me, adjust fire, over [tup]
The camo on those trailarms brings me back to slingload school. That old 3-color Reforger look. Ahhh…it’s like Old Home Week. If something happened you could touch it up with a rattlecan, then stencil CARC on it…[:D]
Ya know, maybe I should start building subjects I’ve actually worked with in real life. LOL - never drove a Panzer IV…
J - Adjust fire out!!
Yep, CARC brings back the memories!! Sligload artillery…A34 bags…fun, fun, fun.
If you ever drove a Panzer…your a lot older than you look [swg]
Thanks for stopping by.
Rounds Complete!!
I really like the looks of that gun, especially the camo, awesome job so far.
I hear ya on the yard work part, it’s never ending.
Rob
Rob - Thanks for stopping in and for the comments.
I picked up a new AB at AMPS International and it is great. Keeps the old hand steady and makes freehand camo much simpler for these old shaky hands.
Glad you like it.
Rounds Complete!!
…coming along nicely…good job on the NATO “woodland” scheme…
Manny - Thanks for stopping in and for the comments. Always a pleasure to have you by!
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Looking great Mike. Aren’t the pieces you added part of the “later” version? That is probably why they are not mentioned in the directions. Looks like it will be another great model.
Gino - Great to have you stop in!!
I’m sure the M90 bracket was added later, circa early 80s and not part of the original M198. The brake line meter I thought was an original but I’m sure. At worst it was an early upgrade. They molded the two lines which go into the meter onto the trail but no mounting holes for the parts or mention in the instructions.
Conversly, they have the wire reel on the rear (which I don’t ever remember seeing a 198 with a reel on it) and also no mounting hole.
There are a number of items in the directions which are vague or missing. They give you projectiles, but no markings nor any powder cans. They should have just looked at the AFV ammo set…Duh. They also give you a staff with the rammer on it and a loading tray. I know what it is but most people will not and again no mention in the directions
For the build look, I am looking at circa 1980s/early 90s. There were a number of subtle changes/additions in the early days. I am sure their late version will be more of late 90s/00 with all the upgrades onboard.
Don’t get me wrong, the kit has a lot of advantages and builds into a very nice model. But there are some things they could have done better and other you just go…DUH. They could have hit a home run but we have to settle for a triple!!!
Always keeping the bubbles level!
Rounds Complete!!
Assembling the upper carriage turned out to be a chore. The swivel base connects to the support arms and the lower equilibrators are to be pinned between the two. First the fit was off and required sanding and then trying to connect four pieces at one time is next to impossible. After a few foiled attempts, I cut off one side of the pinning on each equilibrator and glued the other side.
Once the glue dried now I only had to deal with the swivel base as a whole. With that mounted I closed up the seams and masked required areas prior to the camo.
I also mounted the large top screen from the supplied PE. Rounding the screen was a search but the syringe I use for thinner addition was a perfect size, which turns out to be 0.50 inches in diameter
Where the arms meet the swivel base, once again I employed the Archer weld beads. You can see clearer in this picture the lower equilibrator arms, swivel base and the support arms and how they all fit
After everything was masked I hit the paint booth. First a quick overall top coat of NATO Green, then the NATO Black and NATO Brown for the camo.
I let the paint set up overnight, then I "reversed the masking to expose the metal area of the barrel which is not painted since it moves during recoil. The metal barrel and breech area was painted with Alclad Steel.
The entire upper assembly was added to the lower carriage.
View from the rear
Once all assembled this model is big when built in the firing position. From barrel end to trail end is about 13 inches and the trails spread about 10 inches. This make taking overall pics fun to get depth of field!!.
That’s it for now. Next, final hand wheels and gears, travel support, sights and scratch build air lines a left to be mounted. Then we will be onto weathering.
Total hours this update - 8.0 hours
Total hours this overall build - 28.0
Thanks for looking and as always, all comments are welcome.
Rounds Complete!!
nicely done red! now…is it going in a dio or at least are ya going to put some rounds next to her? well, once she’s finished! ya know just for that little extra! [:-^] just curious.
…survey first…!
Camo - Oh yeah…I am planning to set up on a base. HE, HC, WP and Illum broken out. Powder canisters, fuse cans, a pale and bore brush and the scratch built collimeter (Hans…your favorite). Thanks for looking and your comments.
Rounds Complete!!