Eric;

Sounds like a good save on the hooks!  Still, it is pretty simple and fast - so just in case one or another new guys go AWOL, AND you are, like me, ess willing to leave things a few days while stuff posts around...

There is another still easier DIY route for these (I've done this similarly on several WIP where I rashly donated bitty hook bits to the floor, the cats, and the suck-broom...):  cut a little squarish piece larger than the planned-for hook out of the 0.03 styrene or similar, and cement that nubbin into the hook hole - creating a over-sized "flange" or prong. You now have all the material needed to make the new hook right in place on your cupola. Once DRY, use your new X-acto # 11 blade tip and carve out underside for the hook-over, and gently scrape off the top side for the curve. To get a smooth "cast bit finish", you can apply a small amount of thicker cement to the carved hook. This will create the smooth finish AND get the "welded-in" look.  This is EASY!  The piece is already in place, so if you suffer stiff and clumsy fingers as do I, you are spared placing a bitty part (hey - that's why I had to replace it....), and it is held firmly for the sculpting, and you don't end up having to transfer the bit afterward.  Maybe the best part, though, is that IF you bolo the first attempt (yeah - I needed practice ), you can simply snick the offender off and start over!

However you go, you will get a GREAT look!

Bob

Thanks tread! 1000+ parts = lots of detail / (clean-up X part), so some steps are very time-intensive for what "seems" to be not much result but the devil is ALWAYS in the details! The "Super Kits" were meant to include every possible conceivable detail option for the builder or dioramist (right down to including details and parts normally not seen unless in a repair setting). It was an idea that at the time sounded great I'm sure as the "next big thing" as it came on the heels of their resoundingly successful Tiger 3-in-1 kits...but ultimately proved too much of a good thing and they then reverted to the "Smart Kit" approach instead.  

Eric, glad you were able to find a solution for your lifting hooks going AWOL!

Rob, you da man. I'll gladly take those hooks. Sorry guys, I'm a busy beaver and making those itsy bitsy hooks looks too compelling to me.

That was the scheme I was thinking of, but now that you've done it, perhaps I'll get more creative. LOL

I wanted to see if you puttied the joins between the two upper halves on the front of the vehicle where the hatch is. It looks as though you didn't. Some of the photos in BW are hard to tell. I think from another photo I found the seam under the rear deck is also supposed to be there.

Bummer about the hull on that Somua, but I imagine you knew what you were getting into.

hello Guys ,

this morning i can't modelling.

I wait to watch on tv the rugby game France / All blacks

@Tread :  check your mail.

i found this page with all modifications to the Tamiya B1.

http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1231&Itemid=36

jc

Hey everyone.  It's been a busy work week so finally checking in here.  Great work to everyone!  Will be going back to read and catch up.

JC - Thanks for that last link on the Somua

ERIC - Thats some bad news about your hooks!  You defiantly need to try to make some hooks those details, as small as they are, need to be on there.  If you prefer, I checked my spare parts box and found

Thats right, spare hooks and cupola!  If you want them just PM me and I'll drop them in the mail tomorrow.

What seam are you trying to figure out?  Not sure what you want me to take picture of but here are a few pictures and no picking on my H39, it was only my second build.

If those are not the right shots let me know and will post more.

My update on the Somua.  Not much to show but finally broke sprue last night.  Thought about detailing the bogie's but decided not to since they will be completely covered with skirts.

Then work to work on the hull.  The hull was made up of 5 pieces and they fit together very badly.  Glued them together and let dry overnight.  Here you can see the poor fit

Have puttied all seams today and will be working on sanding and shaping the hull tonight.  Have found that have to be very careful sanding and cutting / cleaning parts.  The plastic is the softest I've ever worked with and is very easy to over cut, sand, or even tear.  Hope to have more to show over the weekend.

treadwell

Eric :  )

The main thing that is important is to be able to hold the tiny part down while you cut it's shape...

it is that simple... I have tried with tape and tried with crazy glue... for me the cement takes longer, but had good results.. I'm telling you man, you can do this... take of couple of tries maybe but it will be so worth it :  )   .....finish the turret cap and turret and add the little hooks LAST... LOL

tread

P.s. I forgot to add that the pics of the hull and running gear look excellent...I love the overall looks of the Hotchkiss...very small ... very cool

 

In hindsight, I sure wish I had done that.

you just need some confidence,Eric.... As of now I am sending you all my best Karma...

I'm finally done working for the day . Putting the finishing touches on my wall / deck project .

Tread , cool idea for makinf the hook .

Eric  , you can fix it so dont sand away the details .

Casteinuovo, chasis looks good .

WBill , yes , wheels n sprockets .

The thing is so small. I barely was able to grab it between my fingernails, and i was surprised at that. I don't know.

Eric :  )

The main thing that is important is to be able to hold the tiny part down while you cut it's shape...

it is that simple... I have tried with tape and tried with crazy glue... for me the cement takes longer, but had good results.. I'm telling you man, you can do this... take of couple of tries maybe but it will be so worth it :  )   .....finish the turret cap and turret and add the little hooks LAST... LOL

tread

P.s. I forgot to add that the pics of the hull and running gear look excellent...I love the overall looks of the Hotchkiss...very small ... very cool

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......

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.

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

[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

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

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.

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).

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.

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

tread

Some progress on ol' Krupp...

Wheels are on and the moment of truth...

Touchdown...no floating wheels.

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!

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:

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.

hello bondoman ,

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

Maybe same quality.

Jc

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

Has anyone had experience with Colorado decals from Portugal?

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!

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 .

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. 

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?

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

and comparing th eH-39 to an Abrams turret