tamiya tanks

Bill, I bent mine around a short piece of tubing I had lying around. I'd guess it was about 3/16 to 1/4 inch in diameter.

Good luck with the bends, and the super glue!!

thanks, in both instances. I though that was what annealed meant. I'm doing the headlight guards tonight, so I'll try it out.

QUOTE: Originally posted by buff QUOTE: annealed Does that mean you heated it up first? The pic is perfect. It is just what I needed. Many thanks. I didn't try to bring them up from the Sherman family build. I tried to get them from the Firefly construction thread you started several weeks ago. I have it bookmarked. I tried to get them from my bookmark, and from the archives, and it both cases there was only a red X.

Yep, annealing means to heat the pe part up until it glows red then let it cool slowly (dont' dunk it in water, that's supposed to make it harder). I was dumb enough to try and use a propane torch the first time I did it and it deformed some of the parts (not fataly, though). Some of the thinner fret areas were even melted off! Not a good idea. Just use a candle and hold them with a pliers or tweezers.

The reason the pics from before didn't (and don't) come up is that since they are work in progress pictures, Ron doesn't transfer them to the permanent part of the gallery. He deletes them after a week or two. If there are any you specifically need or want, drop me an e-mail and I'll send them to you. I think I have most, except this last set, loaded here at work.

QUOTE: annealed

Does that mean you heated it up first?
The pic is perfect. It is just what I needed. Many thanks.
I didn't try to bring them up from the Sherman family build. I tried to get them from the Firefly construction thread you started several weeks ago. I have it bookmarked. I tried to get them from my bookmark, and from the archives, and it both cases there was only a red X.

I've never really had much trouble that way with Dragon. Their sprue attachment points are often way overbearing, though. I much prefer Dragon's plastic over Trumpeter's, but that's just my opinion.

Welcome to the forum and the darkside, neil. Glad to have you aboard!

The problem I've always had with Dragon is that they use very cheap plastic.

I've had 2 or 3 kits where the parts have been warped due to, presumably, heat affecting the plastic. I often break many of the small parts, more through the weakness of the plastic than my clumsiness.

In my opinion, Dragon should increase prices by 5% to cover the cost of better raw plastic.

Bill, I hear you about the instructions. Sometimes they are terrible. I think the problem with this kit is that they took the instructions for the first version they made and modified them for the second then subseqently for the third. There are some real errors in it. For instance, anything labeled C35+ (I think it was) is really on the new V sprue with the same number. I can check that when I get home, if you'd like.

The MG cover plate is the beveled one, the diagram was really misleading. I had to ask out here, too, when I did it! I laied putty in around the edges of it and sculpted it a bit to look like weld seams.

I don't know why you couldn't bring up the pics on the Shermie Family build. They are still there. Here's the one I think you want to see:



I hope it helps. btw, the PE headlight guards are really stiff. I annealed mine and still had trouble bending them.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

QUOTE: The newer kit shows the Firefly coming from the right out of a hedgerow or something with a building in the back, I believe

If that is the case, then I have the new one. On your kit, did the cover for the bow mg mount have a flatter shape like a slightly beveled plate, or did it have a deeper shape, more like a box. My instructions show a box, but the part numbered in the instructions is a plate. I went in to the archives to look at the pics you posted in the Firefly construction thread, but they have been taken down. Any chance you could post the one of the hull glacis again? Or explain to me how to get the pics out of the archives. Next time, I'll save the important ones!!
This is really starting to annoy me about DML's instructions. Parts are misnumbered, the parts in the instructions don't look like those on the sprues, and I often have to guess where the part is supposed to go because it is shown in the wrong place, or on the blind side of the kit.

The newer kit shows the Firefly coming from the right out of a hedgerow or something with a building in the back, I believe. That's the 3rd edition of the kit. The previous one has the Firefly coming from the left edge of the box and shows Whitman's 007 tank turret in the background.

QUOTE: Bill, Do you have the new Firefly kit?

To tell the truth, I don't know. Is there a release date on the box or in the instructions somewhere?

QUOTE: Formations has a fantastic acurizing and detail kit for it. But it's a little pricey. About $40 or 50, if I remember correctly.

I've seen it too. It looks great. The price has definitely put me off for a while. I wouldn't say no to another Firefly with the Formations detail kit down the road. Next time though, AM tracks! Maybe we can try to set up a GB in the new year!

Bill, Do you have the new Firefly kit? I think I'm actually going to do another, eventually. Formations has a fantastic acurizing and detail kit for it. But it's a little pricey. About $40 or 50, if I remember correctly.

QUOTE: It just doesn't fit quite right. And I had a lot of trouble with the strip of bolts that goes between the trans housing and the hull.

Ditto that. I'm probably going to cover it with something.
I could make the trans housing fit at the top or at the bottom, but not both. I chose to make it fit at the top. I figured I could hide the problems underneath the tank more easily.

Love DML kits and love tamiya kits too ( cept the older ones of course ) Interiors you mainly have to go aftermarket , see czech masters kits for interiors( CMK ) got one coming for my panther ausf G , they are supposed to be pretty good stuff !

Now that you mention it, Bill, I did too. It just doesn't fit quite right. And I had a lot of trouble with the strip of bolts that goes between the trans housing and the hull. I wound up putting it in backwards by mistake. I guess I didn't read the subteties of the instruction drawing too well! Most of my other fit problems were my own doing!

I had a terrible time getting the transmission housing on my Dragon Firefly to fit properly. Lots of bad words, putty, sandpaper, more bad words, etc, etc. I don't know if it's an older one or not. The kit number is 6182.

hey there wipw,
The dragon kit I have right now is the M1A1HA abrams....#3533

Some of Dragons older kits are indeed ill fitting but I still prefer Dragon.

I don't know of any 1/35 tamiya kits with a full interion, but then again, very few kits actually have a full interior. As stated above, your best bet is academy, which has a few kits with interiors.
Most other companies, Dragon and AFV club included, have partial interiors.

I can relate to Dragon having crap fit. Not all kits. In fact, as many will attest to this here, most of their kits are supposed to fit just fine. However, I'm going to assume then that most people haven't built their MAZ SCUD launcher. The fit of the pieces of that kit were just horrible.

The old 1/25 Tamiya Tiger I has a nearly complete interior.
It's an oldie with a lot of inaccuracies, but it goes together well and looks pretty much like a Tiger I when you're done.

Jeff;

I'm curious. Which Dragon kit do you have that you are having trouble with? My problem with them has always been the instructions being inaccurate.

If you decide to do some interior work or scratchbuild some interiors, this site is pretty helpful.

http://afvinteriors.hobbyvista.com/archive.html

I agree with thundergod. Tamiya, at most provides basic turret interiors in tanks like the King Tiger and the Panther. Aftermarket stuff are really necessary if you want interiors. Academy offers Tiger I, M-10, M-36 and Stuart with full interiors (with some inaccuracies, I believe) and the fit is quite good, too.

Tamyia doesnt make any kits with full interior you can by them seperate from Verlindin, dragon and acadamy do.Acadamy make a Tiger I with good interior as well as a few others. The tamyia sturmtiger has a partial interior but is nothing to write home about. But dont get discoargedby the old dragon kit they build up great .They just tend to need alittle more TLC.