1/72 German Armor Group Build

With regards to Hase Pz IV tracks - ditch them, or use them for sandwich bag ties or something.

I got some AM tracks from Squadron (Czech Master) but these had a lot of flash on them (although they were fairly easy to clean up with a soldering iron) but can be glued together with CA.

After I'd cleaned up the tracks, and compared them to Dragon's excellent tracks, I think I'd have been better off getting a Dragon kit with the flexible tracks, and cannibalising it.

Your other choices are to use Revell Pz IV link and length tracks, but unless you can copy these using RTV etc, it would be a bit of a shame, and there's not much difference in price between Revell and Dragon anyway, and in my view, Dragon parts are nicer.

Tony, painting road wheels is definitely a bummer but a small price to pay for the end results.

Will, thanks!  Looking forward to seeing some pics of your 251.

Bruce, sounds like a dream.  I have a Sister-in-law living in Bangkok right now, maybe someday I'll get out there.

Will, lets see some pics!

Here is my Jgpz IV L/70 that I did for the vacation GB that I just finsihed.  It's straight OOB and my first Dragon kit.  I really enjoyed it but some of the instruction diagrams were a bit vague. 

:) I have to admit, I was enjoying the tropical heat, sitting on the balcony, casually glancing at the bikini-based entertainment, cutting the plastic and gluing the Ferdinand together.

If the Ferdinand were posed in such a way that the bottom could be exposed a little, some detail there would be seen, by the way (escape hatches? etc). I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the bottom plates of tanks. You don't see too much in the way of reference material there. I guess you can let your imagination rule. That said, a lot of Panthers seem to have the same detail in that area. Has anyone actually seen the bottom of a Panther? Come to think of it, though, I've seen a few pictures over the years of tanks that had been rolled over onto their sides ... that would show off their undersides!

I'm "back on deck" so to speak, next week, so I'll check in properly then.

Cheerio,

Bruce

Hi guys,

I've been on holiday in Thailand, but it didn't stop me modelling totally. I picked up a few kits in Bangkok (including Tamiya 1:35 Char B, Dragon stuff and Trumpeter Hotchkiss with 105mm and Nebelwuerfers).

One of the kits I got there was a Trumpeter 1:72 Ferdinand, which I lazily made in Phuket using a retractable knife and superglue that I got from a 7/11 across the road from the hotel. It's not completely done, but it was mostly done within a couple of days. The instructions aren't good for a novice, as they don't really indicate where you shouldn't apply glue if you want moving parts (the suspension is poseable - I suppose it could be moveable with flexible tracks) but overall, the fit is quite good, the flash is relatively sparse and it looks like a Ferdinand (link and length tracks are quite thin and realistic).

I also got a Leopard 2A4, but I haven't started that one yet, and one I did start (and have almost finished) is an old Tamiya Stuart M5. I'll post progress pics of the Ferdinand later.

Cheerio,

Bruce

taxtp wrote:

Hey Duke, Did you finish four in one day ??? These have come up really well too. Thanks for the exhaust tip. It looks really good, except that I don't know if anyone stocks Floquil over here. I might try a railway shop. Cheers Tony

Couple of pics of my latest wargames 'armour'... Not in the 'group build' as I only just joined but I thought i would share them!

This is a converted metal Skytrex half-track...

A little 'fantasy' piece...

And some guns...