"Carl,, that little Italeri is shaping up nicely too,, dicey work on those drive sprockets,, (I know). The fender springs are brilliant,, nice job."

Thanks Bill . After looking at your Italeri Pz.1 i knew i had to get mine cleaned up as well as you did .

"CARL - Nice work on everything but really digging the fender springs I see you have improved your technique, no black fingers. Will be trying this when I start my Pz I "Kleiner"."

Rob thanks . Still havent picked up any vinyle gloves ............oh well this time i didnt freak out my wife with my black fingers at the dinner table . Looking forward to your Kleiner . That camo is coming out spectacular .

WE HAVE COLOR

Masked off the running gear and sprayed flat black in the louvers to start.  Then sprayed Chestnut for the first color.  After dry, masked and sprayed RAF Dark Green, let dry and masked.  Next sprayed Panzer Olivgrun "43", let dry and masked.  Final coat on rear was with French Dark Blue Gray.

While this was drying decided to redo the right side of the turret.  Was not happy with the shape of the camo I had originally had.  Don't have a picture of this but was very happy with the outcome.  After everything was dry, pulled all the masking off except for on the running gear.  Then went to work with the small black stripes.  Instead of a Sharpie brand I tried a new permanent marker.  It was a SCHNEIDER OMP S permanent marker.  Found this marker to draw on much easier and it made extremely fine lines.  Was extremely happy with the results.  Now after saying that the problem was next in line.  After pin stripping, sprayed on a coat of Dull Coat.  This is what happened:

The permanent marker bleed everywhere   It only did this to the turret though?  On the rest of the build the width of the black line got bigger but did not bleed.  Broke out the paint brushes and touched up all of the bad spots.  Then sprayed light coats of Dull Coat and this is how she now looks:

CARL - Nice work on everything but really digging the fender springs   I see you have improved your technique, no black fingers.  Will be trying this when I start my Pz I "Kleiner".

MARC - Man and Tank!  What kind of name would that give you?  Charnut.  Thanks buddy.

MODELER#1 - You have me drooling with anticipation.

ANDYT - Looking real good almost ready for flight.  Those control wires might be a pain but they shore add to the build and look great.  Well worth the effort.

Hi guys..    been working on the pz I command pup...    hope to get some pics up in the next few days. I finally received the Verlinden internal detail set....  although it states it is for the Italeri / Zverda, the fit is just about spot on.

Kvelduffer,,    I have that same MB pz I munition buggy.....  I'll be watching your critique

wBill,,  your updates are top notch,, super informative, thanks.      And good luck with the MBA next Thursday

Rob,,   the Somua is looking great,,,  nice change out on the hooks and I also like that drivers port open.. nice touch

Carl,,   that little Italeri is shaping up nicely too,,  dicey work on those drive sprockets,, (I know). The fender springs are brilliant,,  nice job.

AndyT,,   your bi-bird is looking great too,,,,,    superb job!

My pleasure Satch! I'm in El Paso so it would be a fair bit of driving for a beverage (540 miles or so one-way), so I'll settle for a virtual one instead!

Here is the latest.

 The control wires are a real pain.

Wire nut tire mask time again .

wbill76

No problem Carl! I always "blog" my builds and try to capture all the little pitfalls and such that are out there...if it helps someone else avoid a similar problem and enjoy their build a bit more, then I've done my bit so to speak. There's also another building doing the same kit in this GB so I have added incentive in that regard. Thanks for the kind words!

Bill, I thank you heartily for your blog on this kit.  I have a laptop on my workbench open to your blog.  Come to Spring Branch and I'll buy you a beverage.

Satch

Boy it's been crazy the last couple of weeks.

Great job everyone your builds look awesom.

I some detail work done today and will post some pics this week.

Vit13

Hello ,

Excellent models here .

Silly Putty? do you have a link to see this product?  TaMIYA ? GUNZE or other ?

Here is a link to a site all about Silly Putty. If you can't find it let me know.

Hi Guy's

I Know I have not been active recently however I am putting the finishing touches on the R-35 so expect pics soon.

wing_nut

Great work down the line from everyone. Rob... I believe a quote is appropriate here. I love your Ft-17and want to marry it.

No problem Carl! I always "blog" my builds and try to capture all the little pitfalls and such that are out there...if it helps someone else avoid a similar problem and enjoy their build a bit more, then I've done my bit so to speak. There's also another building doing the same kit in this GB so I have added incentive in that regard. Thanks for the kind words!

Bill , thanks for the answer on the hose .

Also your attention to the details is a very good reference for anyone building this kit .

Carl,

The hose on the front is a rubber air vent for the final drive brake housings. The end that extends under the antenna tray should be opened up/drilled out to be accurate. Nice work on the fender springs and other stuff. I feel your pain on the sprocket sink hole having been there before on other kits!

Work continued on the hull...since last time I addressed the rear hull it was only fitting that I also take care of the front hull. In Step 20 the instructions call for the assembly and installation of the front tow points so those were added. Their assembly is a little tricky as the parts for the right and left points are all numbered the same but need to be assembled differently to insure the correct toed-in angle on both sides. The key here is the base, part D7, and how it's d-shaped locater pin is aligned on the back. I had to shave down slightly the actual tow pins in order for them to fit properly as well. The PE retaining chains will be added later just before painting.

I also added the front headlights to both fenders along with the siren. The kit parts have a molded on cable conduit but it's too short and doesn't reach all the way to the hull glacis like it should. The same is true of the alternative kit-supplied pre-bent steel wire...so I used a #76 finger drill and 0.5mm solder to provide the conduits instead.

I returned to Step 10 and started work on the fender details and clamps. The instructions provide an exact replica line-diagram to aid in the placement of the tools on the "clean" fender that I opted for vs. using the one with locater holes. The space tolerances are a bit tight so it required a lot of double and triple checking before committing. Only the bases of the clamps were installed, the retaining clasps will be added after the tools have been painted and detailed later on. I also used Griffon PE clamps (2 part) instead of the DML 3-part clamps for the two crow bars. I used Gator Grip glue vs CA to allow for more flexibility and work-time to insure the clamps were all positioned just right. I left off the end-cap PE parts for the wire-cutters and crow-bars as they attach directly to the tools themselves vs. gluing to the fender but will add those later on.

The toughest part of this area bar none was the crew step. The kit only supplies parts in PE for this so there's no alternative and it is a devilishly tricky/complex assembly of multiple parts (8 PE, 1 styrene). This is complicated by the fact that the PE "legs" of the step have round holes to match up with the styrene step bar but the holes aren't the same diameter...so some very careful attention with a round needle file was needed to correct that. I also replaced the kit part for the track-spreader tool with a thinner more in-scale piece of styrene rod.

Next up will be the other fender side.

Rob , thats is sure beautiful details your appying !!!!

So we are back up and running  ? This site takes more maintenance than my old 67 Chevy ElCamino .....................

Anyway here are a few update pics . I was able to get some work done yesterday on the Pz. 1 ..............wasnt anything else to do .

It was just a joy filling in the sink hole between the nuts on the drive sprocket .

I broke off this wheel spindle and used a toothpick to replace it since it had the correct taper .

I replaced the kit fender springs with some scratch built .

Also replaced the kit towing pindle pin .

Kit tow cable .

Anyone know what the pipe is ? I thought it could be an auxilury engine exhaust but the end is capped .

PANZERWAFFE

ERIC - You ROCK

CLIFF - About use of the sharpie, should have just said to look at the bottom half of the Somua that has been painted.  The black on it is done with a sharpie.  Here is the other build that I used a sharpie on, the FT-17, you should also recognize the decals.

Very cool Rob.

ERIC - You ROCK

CLIFF - About use of the sharpie, should have just said to look at the bottom half of the Somua that has been painted.  The black on it is done with a sharpie.  Here is the other build that I used a sharpie on, the FT-17, you should also recognize the decals.

You guys all rock. Keep it coming.

Carl, good to see you back man.

Thanks Bill

For anyone that has the Military Channel, WWII in Color is on and the subject is the Blitz in France.  Has some pretty cool stuff in color.

Nice work on the details Rob, the replacement hooks look like a solid improvement as does all the PE stuff. Having the driver's hatch open is also a nice touch...makes the vehicle look like it's crewed and ready for action.

Not the most exciting update but this is what has been done.

After attaching the kit supplied hull hooks on decided that did not like them.

So cut them off and made my own.

New hooks.  These went fore and aft on both sides.

Next sanded the crew hatch down to about half the thickness of what it was.  Removed the molded on handle and put new PE one.  (Not a very good pic of the handle)

Installed the drivers port cover and added hatch arm and visor to inner part of the hatch.

Fixed on the remainder of hatches to the hull and then the upper hull to the lower.

Used PE for the rear brake light.  Had to punch out a disk for the PE to sit on then used small PE "L" shaped bracket to mount to tank.  Another bad picture.

Last attached the luggage rack on the right side.  Still needs gear and straps.

Things left to do: make the front lights and blackout light and rear hooks with chain.  Funny these French tanks always seemed to have chains hanging from them.  You would think the chain would get caught up in everything.

Not much left before painting unless someone see's something I missed?

One question: On the left rear there is a 3 light display in shap of a triangle, two small lights on top and a large one on the bottom.  The bottom one is a clear (white) light, what colors were the two top ones?

Rob , thanks .

WBill , nicely done discription of the build .

This GB moves very fast, couple pages everyday.

CARL - Good to hear all of you had a good time but also good to have you back.

JC - Don't think they sell silly putty in Europe?  My wife is from England and when I tried explaining what silly putty was for the first time she just looked at me funny   She had never seen it anywhere over there.  If you can't find any let me know.

KVELDULFR - Thats a cool looking vehicle.  Nice to hear it had the upgrades in it.  Look forward to seeing how she comes out.  Have never built a Master Box but have always wanted to get the Pz 1 "Brenda".

CLIFF - I'm no expert myself with filters.  I just brushed a very thinned coat and let dry, then brush and dry, etc. until the black lost its shine.  Will post some pics soon of the one I did this to.

STIK - Would love to see you build the Somua (if thats the one you meant).  There's not enough of these seen here.  The Gunze paint markers sound very interesting, will have to take a look for some.

WBILL - Looking real good.  Cant tell you had any fit problems at all.  If you had said nothing no one would know.  Nice work.

I've had to take care of some odds and ends and begin getting ready for my MBA classes which start on the 27th, so progress has slowed a bit on the build.

Before I tackle the fender clamps, I decided to go ahead and address the rear hull details. The instructions put this off to the very last step but there's no reason to wait that long. The main muffler assembles from 6 parts and they all fit together fine except for part D17 to J4. I had to carefully trim the inside of D17 and use a round needle file to sand it down a bit to get it to fit correctly. I also used a micro drill bit to deepen the exhaust mouth a bit more before adding it. The auxiliary exhaust for the turret traverse motor is another 4 part assembly but it's best if you don't add part W32 until you're ready to install it to the hull.

Speaking of installations, I had originally thought to leave the exhausts separate and install after painting but test fits discovered that would have been a bad idea. Possibly due to the gap issue with the upper hull join from earlier, it was necessary for me to carefully sand down the bolt strip edge and the curved support trays before the main exhaust would fit properly. This also made for a tight fit for the curved connection pipe on the auxiliary exhaust (W32) and some careful sanding/trimming was needed on it too to get everything to play nice.

I also added the other details from previous steps such as the brake light from Step 1, the pre-formed metal tow cable hooks from Step 5, and the PE reflector from Step 10. After checking reference photos, I went ahead and also installed the rear smoke candle rack over the exhaust. This is an 11 part assembly with small PE dividers provided and individual grenades, so a lot happening in a small space. I left off the PE pull chains for now and will add those later.

Now I can tackle the fender stuff before moving on to the turret!

Kveldufr: Looks very cool, I've bought a bunch of MBs figures but never any of their tank kits, looking forward to seeing how she fits together.

SP: No problem, you've been finishing so much stuff recently I assume you've just been busy. Thanks! I've seen the Gunze markers in ads but didn't even think about them at the time. Sounds like a great idea.

JC: They should have it or something like it. The American version comes in a small plastic egg. I'm not sure if it would be with the sculpting/modeling clay or not. Good luck!

Gamera, my apologies for not commenting on your Somua sooner. That Camo job is excellent. I am so tempted to have a go at my half finished Somua now  just for the killer paint job. We shall see. I really like the black lines in there. I know its too late for this kit, but, Gunze makes a set of paint markers for the Gundam kits. They are very fine tipped and would go perfect for this. I bought some to do stripes on missiles on my modern jets. They come in various colors including black, of course

Thank you to all regarding my UE. That really is a great little kit that I can not praise well enough. If you have to the chance to pick one up- DO IT!!! You will not be disappointed.

Thanks

there is a toys n'rus in my city , i'll go there to try this .