Hetzer w/engine compartment WIP

I'm in for this one. Nice start.  :)

Nice work!

I did a thorough thrashing of a Hetzer here a few years ago; full interior, engine, etc. I don't know much about the Starr version of it though, so I'll be interested in seing how this turns out!

Dear tellis,

This is looking very interesting,

Please share your WIP with many pictures :)

I have the Tamiya offering that Karl built and published in FSM a couple of years ago.

The WIP should still be available here on the Forum, right Karl?

With Kind Regards

Utoshita

Utoshita, yes there are various posts about it. Here's what I could find that might be of interest to you.

Here's the weathering tutorial I did:

HETZER WEATHERING

Here's the interior and engine compartment

HETZER INTERIOR / ENGINE

Hope these help you!

Karl, my understanding of the Starr version is that it was a late war modification replacing the recoil mechanism for the 75 mm with a recoiless mount to save construction time and plans for a Diesel engine.  Only the prototype received the diesel, the 12 that were built got the Tatra inline 6 cylinder gasoline motor that was common in the Hetzer.  The most obvious visual difference is the large square engine hatch rather than the two hatches on each side of the back deck like the one you did. (I did find the FSM with your article from 2008, props again for an incredible job on it)

Progress update, the engine hatch has grab handles, hinges and is ready to receive the ventilated cover, which has a nice PE grill.  I added two styrene strips to each side if the engine access to allow the hatch to sit in properly.  Have added some lines and wires to the compartment and the engine block.  Also added much of the PE brackets and grill to the body of the Hetzer, and the tow cable is done.  Next step; painting the engine, radiator and details inside the compartment.

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Thanks, Tellis; I appreciate that!

I've seen the new kit and thought about getting it. For some reason I always thought it was a foreign build, postwar?

Sorry to bump this one from last month, but I really hope it's still coming along! It's definitely looking good tellis.

I got the same kit and (other than the paint) am at about the same point you are- though I really like that you're going to pop the lid on the engine compartment.

If you haven't found it, here's a page I found that has a lot of useful information. Wikipedia's got a few lines about it that say pretty much the same thing under their Hetzer page. As far as I can tell the Starr version just squeaked in by the end of the war, avoiding becoming another paper panzer by less than a dozen production vehicles, and a few even saw some combat(?) time during the uprise in Prague.

Czechoslovakia continued to produce Hetzers post war and exported a bunch to the Swiss who called them the G-13, not sure if those shared more in common with earlier Hetzers or the Starr though in terms of the recoil system...

Reading that reference page I posted, it sounds like the idea of rigidly mounting the gun to the frame and using the Hetzer with the breaks disengaged to absorb the recoil of the gun worked... but messed up the gunners hands pretty good if they were on the adjustment wheels and dislodged a lot of internal equipment, including breaking or vibrating the optics so much that it made follow up shots practically impossible.

Chris, thanks for the info. My understanding is that only 12-15 were made at the end of the war.   I've been away from the workbench during spring break. Did a little work this past weekend, painted the engine block, radiator, batteries and fuel filler caps. Also installed the remaining parts onto the upper hull area. I'll try and get some updated pix out.

Tim Ellis

tellis

My understanding is that only 12-15 were made at the end of the war.

Yeah, I've seen similar numbers pop up, the lowest being 10 (9 production vehicles with the gas engine and the 1 prototype version with the diesel engine). Wikipedia says by the end of the war, 9 had been converted back to standard Hetzers and the 10th and final Starr was destroyed on Hitler's orders (or something like that?) rather than letting it fall into allied hands.

Regardless of how much action this version of the Hetzer saw, it definitely has some interesting history.

Glad you've gotten some more work on this one! Hope you enjoyed the spring break time period. Looking forward to the engine details (so I know how to paint mine!)

OK, here's an update; finished detailing the engine and compartment. Did some detailed painting of the carburetors, oil lines, air cleaners and exhaust manifold. Added tubes from the air cleaners to the intake, painted both dunkelgelb, added exhaust pipe from the manifold over the radiator to where it connects to the muffler.  Installed the road wheels and began assembling the tracks. They are indies and require some clean up of flash. The kit comes with a jig to build 10 links at a time. The instructions call for 97 links per side.  The kit 75 mm cannon cleans up well and I may go with it. I'll save the metal barrel I got for another project. Comments are appreciated as always. T. Ellis

photos to accompany the update above.

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Looking good, I really like all your corrected plumbing in the compartment, not sure why they didn't include some of that stuff with the kit. Except for the fact that none of it's viewable when assembled according to the instructions. But that being their reasoning, why include it at all? Just seems like a strange omission as they have about 90% of the engine looking good out of the box.

Eduard made one a while back packing tons of details with a complete interior including the engine.