OH MY ...what have I gotten myself into?

take it slow you will do fine with it. just remember measure twice (maybe it should be fit twice) and cut once. hope to see pics of your progress soon.

joe

I can only handle about 4 kits like that a year. In between i do OOB stuff exclusivly and work on painting and weathering. THe results from PE are fantastic, however they are a lot of work. Also don't be afraid to slectivly use or not use parts. Aber makes great sets, however i never use every part, just to much detail. Take your time, work slow.
bill

Photoetch is hardly for everyone , the end result is pretty kool for sure , but some of the tiny details can be a good reason to check yourself into the local mental ward at the hospital, as said above don'y be afraid to use just a few parts from the kit . If you are going to enter the kit in competition , it just gives much more room for mistakes , stock is probably the better way to go there ! I like PE kits a lot they are really challenging , but man are they frustrating ! I do suggest you skip the detail on that wooden box if you have an ABER set , the hinges on that are going to drive you up the wall to the point of tossing the whole kit out the window ! Take your time , and do a little bit at a time , then put it away and do a fun stock kit , just so you may feel you are making progress! I have been working on a marder 3 kit for around 4 months now off and on , if I feel I am getting frustrated I just put it away , at this rate she may be ready for paint by this fall ! Oh and hint for cementing those really small parts together put a drop on waste paper and use a dull needle or toothpick to apply the cement to it , if it builds up on the needle tip ( and it will ) just burn it off with a lighter . Hackle pliers (from flyfishing supply) are great for holding fender type parts together while the glue dries or the solder cools ( solder will not stick to them ) Good luck ! And stay sane !

Keep in mind, my respected colleague to the North (Spector822002) has a pic of tweezers embedded in his wall from PE frustration.

The only advantage I see to dealing with the fenders is if you plan on bending them to the point of creasing. It happened plenty in actual use, but the subtle dents and dings can be achieved with the kit plastic parts. You can cut and seperate the kit piece and just change out one or two for PE. I can post or send you some pics of what I did if you'd like.
Good luck and post progress.
If you get too frustrated, there's a few older posts around that you'll find a laugh and share the pain.

HEHEHEHE! Ausf is right there , I have commited the said crime ! That was the result of that darn wooden box detail on my jagdtiger ( the same that the Tiger 1 has ) I up to that point had spent almost 5 hours on that alone fixing ,finding, fixing ,finding ! But it got done and I don't even notice the wooden box myself , except with fond memories everytime I look at my beloved jagdtiger ! That was a fun build overall , and as I looked at the single fret of PE and said this will be a cakewalk , only to find out later there is no such thing in PE modeling ! It is almost scratchbuilding as you have to do all the angle bends and rivetwork yourself . But its all fun and why we are in this hobby to begin with , we all love challenge ! Have a great weekend all !

Thanks for the encouraging words. Will just take it slow. Ausf would love to see the oics. of the fenders you mentioned. Thanks . Mark

As per request...These are the fenders in basecoat, both sides. The only PE are the cable hangers and skirt bolts in the missing area. This was my first attempt at PE (actually modeling in general after a long hiatus). The turret track hangers have since been removed.
I'm still working on this one...