Rob,,     Holy Guacamole,,,  you are certainly throwing a load of adjustments into that universal carrier. By the way,,,  that piece is one of my favs!     I will certainly be looking for your updates,,,     with anticipation

Carl,,   much thanks,,    I am hoping it comes together well.       I think with all the hatches open, you should be able to see much of the detail.        hopefully

Tread,,,   much obliged my friend.       Yes, I do enjoy those fiddlies too.      Sometimes they can really add to a build.

Eric,,   thank you kindly. Appreciate it!

Bill, I can almost hear the static on the radio.  Nice.

One of the last things to put on this beast is the chains on the back. I had to replace the chains because I put the shiny chain form the kit in some acid to try to take that chrome shine off.  Well... I forgot then and they sat over night.  The acid some how got into the metal and dissolved it completely.  Leaving just hollow chrome rings that fell apart as soon as I touch them. 

The shackles hinge side to side so the chain would pull them a little so I cut them off the part and re-positioned them.  The saw is made with a piece of a broken JLC saw blade and an old paint brush handle.  So don't throw away those broken blades.  They come in real handy.

I am calling this one done(ish).  I am on the fence about adding the jacks.  As far as weathering goes I am going to say that's at 95%.  I wnat to do some light mud (maybe) and some oil stains down the sides.  

Thanks to all the have followed and commented and for all the information that helped me along the way.

wow , very nice looking Marc . The weathering toned down the camo nicely ............looks better now imo . Are those jacks stored someplace on the tank ? Doesnt seem like they would stay attached to the sides ................

That's amazing Marc. Beautiful job with the camo and the weathering.

You may have been late getting into this GB, but you're early getting out. LOL

Carl, I repsonded to you last night before sleep time butnothing here.  Weird.  Thanks fo rth compliments.  The jacks where mounted on the fenders just in front of the exhaust pipes.  After my mystery post last night I went though over 100 pics onlines and not one had the jqack on the tanks so that idea has been 86'd.

Thanks Eric.  And thanks for running a great GB.  Learned a lot.  As far as my in and out it's like in biz... last in, 1st out.  My nephew just learned that one at his job  And besides, it's not how long your at the party, it's how much fun you had while you're there.

Bill: Great job on the radio and I love the scratchbuilt headphones.

Marc: Wow, fantastic job!

Bill, sharp work on those radios...really taking it the extra mile with the details!

Marc, I was looking forward to seeing it weathered up and you didn't disappoint. Knowing that the tracks had to be regularly lubricated explains the greasy/dirty look that the hull sides would get, so adding some oil stains/streaks would be perfectly in line with that IMHO. Very nice job all around.

Marc,,   thanks,   the static will clear up when I get the antenna attached.    Nice idea for the "saw". I had to chuckle on leaving the chains in the acid overnight.    I had a wierd somewhat same thing happen not long ago. I had used Blacken-it on the Friuls (for the pz I) and left the blacken-it residue in a little plastic cup. I laid a paper clip type of piece over the top of the cup, sort of straddling it.   A day or so later I noticed the metal had corroded and almost eaten the metal in half....   and it was hovering well above the liquid.   The fumes ate it away.          

Your build is SUPERB!          Weathering, camo, subject - super job!

Gamera,,   much thanks! I may make another headset if I can find an appropriate spot inside the pz I.

wBill,,,  thank you too!     I hope to finish the interior soon. All the hatch assemblies are multi-pieced, so that should be interesting.

wing_nut

Carl, I repsonded to you last night before sleep time butnothing here.  Weird.  Thanks fo rth compliments.  The jacks where mounted on the fenders just in front of the exhaust pipes.  After my mystery post last night I went though over 100 pics onlines and not one had the jqack on the tanks so that idea has been 86'd.

Thanks Eric.  And thanks for running a great GB.  Learned a lot.  As far as my in and out it's like in biz... last in, 1st out.  My nephew just learned that one at his job  And besides, it's not how long your at the party, it's how much fun you had while you're there.

Thanks for the answer Marc .Again , very nicely done model .

Speaking of corrosive solvents here's one i should tell you guys about so you dont learn the hard way like i did . I had painted some P.E. made by Eduard for an A7D, with acrylic and enamel paints . The part was about 1/4 " x 1/8" . I didnt like the results of the paint job so i put it in a small jar filled with un-diluted Simple Gree cleaner . The next day the P.E. part was gone ! All that was left was the paint outline of the part ............................just the opposite result of what i was looking for . I know the P.E. is thin , but its a metal , right ? Who'd a thunk Simple Green would desolve metal , not me .

Marc, your Char is beautiful! Just the right amount of aging and weathering for a  true "realistic" look. Not overdone or underdone.

Carl,,,      you have a thing for melting things eh?                 Guess the Simple Green wasn't all that simple. I would have never imagined that either.

tread @ Marc

  Real nice man !   She is a beauty .....I really like what you did with the chain shackle ( where do you buy those saws?  I have never used or seen one)

any how all weathered up she really is a sight to be seen

excellent job buddy !

tread

p.s.   I just opened up the little pack the chain comes in.... is it supposed to be in 2 separate pieces  ?  : ( 

BaBill212

Carl,,,      you have a thing for melting things eh?                 Guess the Simple Green wasn't all that simple. I would have never imagined that either.

I dont know if i should laugh or cry about that Bill .........................I need a bloody marry .

Thansk again to all for the noice tings you've said.

Simple Green disolves metal? Like Wayne said to Alice Cooper... I was unaware of that

Tread, I was wondering about the chain too and now that I hear you got 2 pieces it kind of confirm what i was thinking logically.  If the end are on those rear shackles and it was 1 piece, it would be 1 big loop.  Seems that would be a weird setup

Shellback

Speaking of corrosive solvents here's one i should tell you guys about so you dont learn the hard way like i did . I had painted some P.E. made by Eduard for an A7D, with acrylic and enamel paints . The part was about 1/4 " x 1/8" . I didnt like the results of the paint job so i put it in a small jar filled with un-diluted Simple Gree cleaner . The next day the P.E. part was gone ! All that was left was the paint outline of the part ............................just the opposite result of what i was looking for . I know the P.E. is thin , but its a metal , right ? Who'd a thunk Simple Green would desolve metal , not me .

OUCH! I've soaked my airbrush in Simple Green overnight to clean it! I think it dissolved the rubber seals but other than that it still works fine

wing_nut

Thansk again to all for the noice tings you've said.

Simple Green disolves metal? Like Wayne said to Alice Cooper... I was unaware of that

Tread, I was wondering about the chain too and now that I hear you got 2 pieces it kind of confirm what i was thinking logically.  If the end are on those rear shackles and it was 1 piece, it would be 1 big loop.  Seems that would be a weird setup

The thin metal in P.E. anyway Marc ......................

Gamera

Shellback:

Speaking of corrosive solvents here's one i should tell you guys about so you dont learn the hard way like i did . I had painted some P.E. made by Eduard for an A7D, with acrylic and enamel paints . The part was about 1/4 " x 1/8" . I didnt like the results of the paint job so i put it in a small jar filled with un-diluted Simple Gree cleaner . The next day the P.E. part was gone ! All that was left was the paint outline of the part ............................just the opposite result of what i was looking for . I know the P.E. is thin , but its a metal , right ? Who'd a thunk Simple Green would desolve metal , not me .

 

OUCH! I've soaked my airbrush in Simple Green overnight to clean it! I think it dissolved the rubber seals but other than that it still works fine

Desolved the seals ?! Man , i have to be more careful with this stuff .

Sorry tread... back to you again.  Here is a review of the JLC saw.  It's one of those tools that you look and and say, "What do I need that for?"   Then you buy it anyway, since that's what we do, and then you say, "How did I manage all those years without this thing?"

The blade is super thin.  i just ran down to the bench... i checked it with my caliper.  It is .0045"  For a comparison, a sheet of white mutli-purpose copier paper from Staples is .0035"   I have used it to seperate ailerons on 1 1/72 sclae P-51 and was happy wit the reulkts.  The blads will brake though.  I alwyas save the pieces to make a little specialty saw when I need one.

Hey, you're building the same tank.  You know that raised square that needs to be removed under the end of the antenna cable just behind the turret? I noticed in one of your updates that you did in fact remove that. I cut that off with that same little saw using it like one of the flexible Japanese woodworking saws. Easy peasy 

Carl,,,        it is to laugh,, no tears         but still,,, grab a bloody mary 

I'm not so sure it was Dorothy that melted that witch,,,,  

Thanks Marc... yeah the first thing I did was cut that block off... that saw woulda been nice...

speaking of chemicals.... if ya have to take acrylic, enamel and /or solvent or lacquer based paints off styrene like in our models or evergreen (which is the same , just harder) or brass or copper,apoxie sculpt or anything without worry of dissolving it or distorting it or affecting styrene cement,tenax and the like, the stuff to use is brake fluid. You can soak the part for a short while or what I do is put brake fluid in my wife's coffee cup (lol) and gently scrub or wipe it with a soft auto detailing brush... like a big toothbrush but softer..it will take off lacquer base primer , mr. surfacer and Tamiya primer surfacer.....rinse in cold water and you are done.

tread

They never told you where Simple Green came from did they Shell??? I do see some green here...

For paint removal I am a big fan of Testors/Polly Scale Easy Lift Off, aka ELO (yes I like the band too but it does not remove paint). ELO works great and does not kill the plastic beneath...

treadwell

Thanks Marc... yeah the first thing I did was cut that block off... that saw woulda been nice...

speaking of chemicals.... if ya have to take acrylic, enamel and /or solvent or lacquer based paints off styrene like in our models or evergreen (which is the same , just harder) or brass or copper,apoxie sculpt or anything without worry of dissolving it or distorting it or affecting styrene cement,tenax and the like, the stuff to use is brake fluid. You can soak the part for a short while or what I do is put brake fluid in my wife's coffee cup (lol) and gently scrub or wipe it with a soft auto detailing brush... like a big toothbrush but softer..it will take off lacquer base primer , mr. surfacer and Tamiya primer surfacer.....rinse in cold water and you are done.

tread

I bet that makes here stop better .............................

stikpusher

They never told you where Simple Green came from did they Shell??? I do see some green here...

For paint removal I am a big fan of Testors/Polly Scale Easy Lift Off, aka ELO (yes I like the band too but it does not remove paint). ELO works great and does not kill the plastic beneath...

HA HA ! Stik , good one man . One of my favorite movies . Saw it when it first came out . I was enthralled with the beam and the sounds it made .

Shellback

 

treadwell:

 

Thanks Marc... yeah the first thing I did was cut that block off... that saw woulda been nice...

speaking of chemicals.... if ya have to take acrylic, enamel and /or solvent or lacquer based paints off styrene like in our models or evergreen (which is the same , just harder) or brass or copper,apoxie sculpt or anything without worry of dissolving it or distorting it or affecting styrene cement,tenax and the like, the stuff to use is brake fluid. You can soak the part for a short while or what I do is put brake fluid in my wife's coffee cup (lol) and gently scrub or wipe it with a soft auto detailing brush... like a big toothbrush but softer..it will take off lacquer base primer , mr. surfacer and Tamiya primer surfacer.....rinse in cold water and you are done.

tread

 

 

I bet that makes here stop better .............................

Well it is a large wide mouth cup and easy to but the part and brush in and I don't like the taste of brake fluid

treadwell

Shellback:

 

treadwell:

 

Thanks Marc... yeah the first thing I did was cut that block off... that saw woulda been nice...

speaking of chemicals.... if ya have to take acrylic, enamel and /or solvent or lacquer based paints off styrene like in our models or evergreen (which is the same , just harder) or brass or copper,apoxie sculpt or anything without worry of dissolving it or distorting it or affecting styrene cement,tenax and the like, the stuff to use is brake fluid. You can soak the part for a short while or what I do is put brake fluid in my wife's coffee cup (lol) and gently scrub or wipe it with a soft auto detailing brush... like a big toothbrush but softer..it will take off lacquer base primer , mr. surfacer and Tamiya primer surfacer.....rinse in cold water and you are done.

tread

 

 

I bet that makes here stop better .............................

 

Well it is a large wide mouth cup and easy to but the part and brush in and I don't like the taste of brake fluid

Well heck yeah Treadplate , makes good sense to me man .......................................

Shellback

 

stikpusher:

 

They never told you where Simple Green came from did they Shell??? I do see some green here...

For paint removal I am a big fan of Testors/Polly Scale Easy Lift Off, aka ELO (yes I like the band too but it does not remove paint). ELO works great and does not kill the plastic beneath...

 

 

HA HA ! Stik , good one man . One of my favorite movies . Saw it when it first came out . I was enthralled with the beam and the sounds it made .

Yeah my favorite movies too , with The day the earth stood still , Forbidden planet and this island earth

Great models here , congrats to all of you .

Vit13

Shellback:

 

stikpusher:

 

They never told you where Simple Green came from did they Shell??? I do see some green here...

For paint removal I am a big fan of Testors/Polly Scale Easy Lift Off, aka ELO (yes I like the band too but it does not remove paint). ELO works great and does not kill the plastic beneath...

 

 

HA HA ! Stik , good one man . One of my favorite movies . Saw it when it first came out . I was enthralled with the beam and the sounds it made .

 

Yeah my favorite movies too , with The day the earth stood still , Forbidden planet and this island earth

Great models here , congrats to all of you .

I hope you're not going to tell me Simple Green is responsible for crop circles and cattle mutilations? And don't even start on the anal probe...

Vit13: Those are some great films, they don't make them like that anymore. (I've heard the remakes for two of them were really bad).

BILL212 - Thats some awesome painting of the dials / gages and the headphones and wiring are perfect

MARC - Awesome B1!!  The camo blended together beautifully.  The weathering is just right.  Really like your turret markings.  Excellent all the way around