Well, we had a realtor and a (hopeful) buyer in the house Saturday, so that cut my bench time down a little bit, but I still got in there and did the lower hull and suspension. I'd been doing the Friuls a little bit at a time, and had groups on 10 and 20 links in runs, so that part was quick. I wanted a "nose-down" attitude on this one, like the "super" but I"m building a Zebra Mission unit, to be in a very late war setting, probably posed hull-down on an incline (over- looking a river?). The rear swing arm is at the fully extended position, as limited by the locating pin on the hull, and the front arm and idler (linked together) are about 1/2 way lowered. The center 4 swing arms are free to swivel.
The upper hull is just laid on the lower in the pics, and all I've done on the turret is the basic assembly, no details yet. I did remove the stiffening ribs on the final drive housings and plug the hole in the rear hull for the infantry phone and tow cable brackets. I plan on having the cable draped over the front of the hull, up one side and secured, ready for quick use. That's the plan anyway, all of this is of course, unofficial.
I really like building this particular kit, it is truly one of Tamiya's better-engineered kits.
