Progress on Day 2 made great strides and I managed to get quite a bit done. Picking up from yesterday with Step 4, I assembled the rear hull plate and installed the mufflers, tow points, and trailer tow bracket. The trailer tow bracket was a feature added in Sept '42 and the instructions indicate this is an option in the small sub-assembly box and you should use part B29 if you don't want this feature on your vehicle. I used a pin vise to deepen the already hollow exhausts to add to their look. The top four fins/tabs that are parts A6/A5 are a little tricky to fit just right due to the fact that they have a very small contact area on the plate and test fits are crucial with the lower hull tub to get them in the right alignment to avoid problems in Step 6 when the plate is permanently installed into position.
Step 5 calls for all the road wheels and running gear to be installed so that was skipped for now since all that will be added after the hull has been painted.
Step 6 installs the plate from Step 4 and I highly recommend you do this step immediately after Step 4 to avoid possible fit/alignment problems due to the fin alignment I mentioned above. The plate is a snug fit and the fins have to line up perfectly with slots in the hull tub for everything to work out right...and if your fins have set up in the wrong position, it can result in a major headache.
The step also calls for the installation of the rear smoke candle rack in the form of parts B10/11 however if you decide, like me, to mount the turret smoke launchers then the rear rack needs to be omitted. The turret mounted launchers were also a Sept '42 feature so if you go that route you also need to not use part B2 for the angled rear hull overhang plate and use part B28 instead. B2 has the bolts for the rear rack molded on while B28 doesn't...a minor detail but since the kit includes both plates it's possible to maintain that consistency even though the instructions don't indicate any of this as an option.
This step also installs the rear air vent deflectors and the PE mesh screens for those vents. The mesh sits on small raised square tabs so I used CA gel to secure them in place, making sure they were flush to avoid fit problems with B2 or B28. I also needed to use small amounts of putty around the idler mount housings to close up a gap on both sides there, easily done with some Squadron white and a little sanding.
That led to Step 7 which begins work on the fenders starting with the left side fender first. The instruction diagrams incorrectly indicate you should install the small marker lights P2 or A8 but this is an anachronism for the N since those lights weren't installed after June '42 and the fender doesn't actually have the mounts molded there despite what the diagram shows, so just ignore this in the instructions. I installed the Notek light, the fender support brackets, spare wheel mounts, tool box, and rear mud-flaps as instructed. I opted to use the kit-supplied PE part for the rear mud flap latch hook and also added the small PE strip that fits over the air intake cut-out. Since I'm going to be doing this in a whitewash scheme, I left off the fire extinguisher and jack for the time being and will add those along with all the other tools and jack block later.
Step 8 deals with the right side fender and it received similar treatment as the left. Again, the tools were left off until later and I added the antenna tray, opting for the style that had the front foot pointing backwards vs. forward.
Step 9 is a very simple step, it assembles the engine deck hatches and armored vent covers.
Those are then used in Step 10 to assemble the rear engine deck along with all their hinge points. Those hinge points are small and have 2 contact points to clean up on each so you have to be careful to avoid them getting eaten by the carpet monster. The lifting eyes were also added along with the side intakes and their PE grills. The grills were added using Gator Grip glue around the edges to avoid glue potentially clogging the screens and I pre-bent the small bolt tabs to insure they would sit flush against the deck once installed. I used small amounts of liquid glue and pressure with the tip of a wooden toothpick for those tabs to avoid a potential CA mess.
The step provides the choice of mounting the tow cables in their holders or just the empty holders and I opted for the tow cables in position. The cables were cleaned-up and are only dry-fit now, they will be removed and painted separately and permanently installed later on.
Step 11 is another simple step, this time dealing with the roof of the fighting compartment. The option is provided to install the angled shot deflector, part A24, and since this feature wasn't fully phased out until Oct '42, I decided to add it to my vehicle in keeping with the other Sept '42 features I'd been adding. If you decide not to install it, you need to remove the 4 small mount pins molded into the roof, something the instructions don't indicate to do but is obvious to figure out on your own. The three lifting eyes were also installed to round out the step.
Step 12 deals with the hull glacis plate and installs the front crew access hatches. There are two holes that need to be opened up from the underside to take the base of the Vorpanzer armor in a later step, this was done with a pin vise and micro-drill bit. The armored brake vent housings were also added along with the front headlights. I opted to fit the black out covers vs. the clear lenses also provided as parts M1.
Next up will be the rest of the upper hull and tomorrow may also see work start on the turret, have to see how things go!