Tiger, I printed up a list of kits and the participants. I want a kit that is out of my comfort zone. My skills are average. I'm hoping for help from the participants whose skill levels are excellent (It's the same with the Panzer III GB)!! I can't wait for the IPMS AMPSEAST 2011. I hope to meet some of you. Two whole days of modeling fun! My lovely wife won't be able to attend since she has no interest in the hobby whatsoever.  I guess I might do a bit of imbibing.

Sorry I don't live out East, otherwise I'd say hello. Have a good time at the show and bring back a bounty of kits.

Hi guys,,,  I hope to actually get into building sometime next week....  I've not put glue-to-sprue as of yet  (tis a sad thing, I know)       I have a friend  requested working gig that is going to last two frikkin days, and it is a five hour drive both ways...  grrr         But, it is for a friend...  so you have to be       a friend.           Anyhow, enough of my dreary story - - -

Stik,,    I'm not sure why, but I do have a penchant for many of the early war petite armor pieces,,  great subject.

AndyT,,  Nice start on the bird,,  well done with the pit too..

Tread,,   You've got that bad boy moving along too,,,  amazing progress and it is looking awesome.

Hope to get some pics up when I get my butt moving on the build....

Bill

treadwell

Hey Shell... :  )

At least I got ya to look .... Off Topic..... I like the wall your building there and the grand daughter is a cutie.... mine is 13 and just started HS..... just shoot me now..... LOL  ... 

Sounds like a good topic .She's my youngest sons daughter and she is 5 . I know what you mean . Bang bang bang ! Wall is done now .

So Grandpa's going to be holding the shotgun? Have to go through YOU! That won't be an easy chore.

For Shell :  )

I guess it is a bit smaller

Hey all, looks like everybody is making good progress, that armored carrier is looking good stikpusher. Its a kit thats in my wishlist.

It looks like my earlier questions got lost in the shuffle but, This is the first time I've seen Magic Track, how are they? They look pretty amazing. Any special glue I should use or anything?

I took a look at the decals and they are all for units in Russia in '42  So does anyone know where I could find the right markings and where I could find decals to match?

tigerman

So Grandpa's going to be holding the shotgun? Have to go through YOU! That won't be an easy chore.

treadwell

For Shell :  )

I guess it is a bit smaller

                 

Whood ahh thunk it ! Just like them smart Germans to replace the turret of a French tanky  with a superior Fatherland made piece ..................

Tonights Tread special , Pz. 1 parts served on corn tortillas .  Brittle gray styrene layed over zero cholestrol tortillas . Enjoy .

I thought I'd show a little update. Sorry for the pissy photos.

and comparing th eH-39 to an Abrams turret

Guess my question got lost in all of these great builds. I will have to create my own decals for the 615th squadron. Any reeomendations on decal inkjet paper?

GeneralDodonna

Hey all, looks like everybody is making good progress, that armored carrier is looking good stikpusher. Its a kit thats in my wishlist.

It looks like my earlier questions got lost in the shuffle but, This is the first time I've seen Magic Track, how are they? They look pretty amazing. Any special glue I should use or anything?

I took a look at the decals and they are all for units in Russia in '42  So does anyone know where I could find the right markings and where I could find decals to match?

 

• Make a jig to align the tracks as you're building them.
• Build one side at a time.
• Build one long run, then apply Testors liquid cement in the pink bottle with a brush.
• I dab it on pretty good, then let dry an hour.
• After that, they should be somewhat dry and won't break when you pick them up.
• Next, you should be able to shape them around the sprocket and idler, down towards the bottom. Leave one link unglued. ( might be helpful too leave the one unglued link between the idler and bottom wheels
• For sag, place cotton balls or wadded tissue where you want the sag.
• Let dry 24 hrs.
• Remove and they should be ready to paint.

Now, that's how I do it. If you paint everything, including the tracks on the vehicle, then ignore leaving a link unglued and removing after 24 hrs.

Also it's helpful if you leave the idler and sprocket unglued, for it's easier to reassemble. Also it was advised by another member to add one extra link, because of shrinkage when it dries.

Good luck. 

AndyT

I am making progress. I will try to post some pics later tonight. I have discovered that the kit does not include the markings for the 615th squadron, so I will have to make my own decals.

Anyone have a reccomendation on decal paper?

I moved it up here Andy T in case someone has an answer .

Shellback

AndyT:

I am making progress. I will try to post some pics later tonight. I have discovered that the kit does not include the markings for the 615th squadron, so I will have to make my own decals.

Anyone have a reccomendation on decal paper?

 

I moved it up here Andy T in case someone has an answer .

I've used a small pack Testor's makes for their decal making system before, it comes with three sheets of clear and three of white. They're a bit thinner than normal since you're supposed to run though your printer and then spray them with Testor's decal bonder to seal them. Not sure how well that works since I only used the white decal paper to layer under some other decals I had that were translucent.

Superscale does clear and white too.

All around great work guys!

You guys are really on a roll. I'm cutting sprue right now over coffee.

Has anyone had experience with Colorado decals from Portugal?

hello bondoman ,

never use , i just know it's the new name of carpena decals.

Maybe same quality.

Jc

bondoman

You guys are really on a roll. I'm cutting sprue right now over coffee.

 

Has anyone had experience with Colorado decals from Portugal?

Funny, a guy brought some by our club meeting just last night. He hadn't used them yet so I have no idea how well they work but the print quality was excellent. I'd buy a set after looking over the sheets myself.

Had my first moment. There are 3 microscopic hooks on top of the turret hatch. I was so proud of myself for getting them glued on with a little fuss. Well dumb me got ahead of myself and I was dry-fitting the bottom of the turret and when I was done I noticed two of the hook thingys gone. There is no hope to recover them. I couldn't believe that I was able to clean them more-or-less and was bursting with pride. Now i'll have to putty and sand the top of it.

Here's a bad picture:

Hi Eric ... sorry about your turret hooks... could you not fashion new ones from scrap?

don't sand down the turret... you need these details... you CAN figure out a way..

tread 

P.S. I have a pretty simple way to make these...don't putty yet!

Some progress on ol' Krupp...

Wheels are on and the moment of truth...

Touchdown...no floating wheels.

Man o' man ... the bare naked chassis looks beautiful !

tread

treadwell

Hi Eric ... sorry about your turret hooks... could you not fashion new ones from scrap?

don't sand down the turret... you need these details... you CAN figure out a way..

tread 

P.S. I have a pretty simple way to make these...don't putty yet!

Not the turret itself, just the dome hatch. Those parts are so fricking small! The box art doesn't even show them.

Managed to get work started on my entry...have to start somewhere so am tackling the tedious stuff up front!

The DML "Super Kit" line of early-war Pz IVs boast a parts count of over 1000 parts and that means that even simple things involve a lot of parts and assembly. Work began in Step 1 with the assembly of the sprockets, idlers, road wheels, and return rollers. I opted for the simpler 7-part sprocket assembly instead of the 31-part (24 separate tiny bolts) and used the PE options for the idlers.

The road wheels are provided with the rubber rims separate and have a tight friction fit, so they are dry-fit for now and will be used to mask the hubs later on when I get to the painting stage. Having built the IV-E kit some time back that utilized this same design, I know that it's important not to get any paint on the hubs as that added fractional mm to the diameter can cause the rubber rims to not fit or even split if forced on. Each of the rims had their molding seam removed with a sanding stick before being dry-fit. The hubs each have 2 sprue attachment points that have to be carefully cleaned up to avoid damaging the delicate rims. 

Total parts count to get to this stage: 118 

Step 1 is still not finished, next up will be the suspension bogeys (8) which are another multi-part assembly (8 parts each).

Hi guys. I'll give my last cat post. It's been 4 days and I'm doing much better. Picked up Katie in her urn and got her paws imprinted. Feels a bit like closure I guess.

This is my baby Kassie, she's 8 and is so my daughter's cat. Sits outside her room and cries for her to be let in. I took her to the groomer the other day to get her "Lion cut", which might not be best evident in this photo.

So thanks again to everyone who took the time to PM me, respond via posts and so on. Means a lot to me.

tigerman

 

treadwell:

 

Hi Eric ... sorry about your turret hooks... could you not fashion new ones from scrap?

don't sand down the turret... you need these details... you CAN figure out a way..

tread 

P.S. I have a pretty simple way to make these...don't putty yet!

 

 

Not the turret itself, just the dome hatch. Those parts are so fricking small! The box art doesn't even show them.

Hi Eric .. I am going to try and explain my system for making hooks similar to the ones you lost

O.K.  ... first drill a hole .020" in a piece of scrap about the size of a dime

#2    glue the dime size piece with the hole in it to a piece of flat glass ( I use a piece of tempered glass from my refrig).... use liquid cement of your choice.

#3 after the glue has dried overnight, you can cut the shape with a brand new # 11 blade and carefully remove the excess...you can even sand it a bit while it is still attached to the glass.

#4  when you are satisfied with the shape, CAREFULLY scrape your new piece off the glass...

it will have a little edge of 'glue flash'.... I attach the part, and then when dry, trim.. usually I just wipe the piece with a brush dipped in cement and it remelts the flash.

I have included a little picture.

I hope this helps you my friend.... Make a few extra dime size pieces.. at least double the number you need... always good to be prepared

my system may sound like it takes a long time but, after you do it a couple times you can make a lot of tiny pieces glued to glass... the cool thing is, because it is glass, the glued down side still comes out perfectly smooth!

good luck Eric  :  )

tread

[quote user="wbill76"]

OVER 1000 freeking parts ! ?......last time I checked , that is a lot of parts... LOL... Bill, I know this is going to be great.... more parts... more detail

I actually wish my Char had more parts.... but then again there will be the complex camo job.... thats gotta be worth 350 parts...I'm glad you have started... I always love your W.I.P. reports

tread

Eric:

I echo the sentiments of others on those bitty cupola hooks: BUMMER

More so, maybe, as the same thing happened to me during my trevails with a Heller Renault R35. So it's genuine empathy!

The suggested fix works -  I did something similar, at least as simple, and a little bit more "instantly gratifying":

Take the scrap bit (I used 0.030 styrene to get the right thickness plus.) and drill it, and then stick it onto a piece of blue tape (I use blue painter's tape - the blue makes seeing almost all colors of styrene easy), and carve your bit to the desired shape. Once shaped, pull it off and do a little sanding or scraping to round off the edges as desired.

Cheers!

PS: Those little cupolas usually had a pop-up center piece that served as a top vent on the turret. Looks like you have sanded this off?

Bob

panzerbob01

Eric:

I echo the sentiments of others on those bitty cupola hooks: BUMMER

More so, maybe, as the same thing happened to me during my trevails with a Heller Renault R35. So it's genuine empathy!

The suggested fix works -  I did something similar, at least as simple, and a little bit more "instantly gratifying":

Take the scrap bit (I used 0.030 styrene to get the right thickness plus.) and drill it, and then stick it onto a piece of blue tape (I use blue painter's tape - the blue makes seeing almost all colors of styrene easy), and carve your bit to the desired shape. Once shaped, pull it off and do a little sanding or scraping to round off the edges as desired.

Cheers!

PS: Those little cupolas usually had a pop-up center piece that served as a top vent on the turret. Looks like you have sanded this off?

Bob

Nope, haven't sanded anything yet. Man you and Tread make it look so easy. I'm still digesting what you guys are saying.

Great progress guys.  I won't be getting started for a few weeks but it's good to see everyone else building.

Seeing all the small parts is making me glad that I chose something with wings......