Self Propelled Artillery/Mortar GB 2006-2007

Gun Tech wrote:

......as you can see, the alignment for the drive shaft is just out. I'm still thinking of a way how to fix it.

Are you building the Trumpeter kit?  If so, I don't think there's an error.  I've copied a photo from the Perth modelling site which shows the drive shaft at an angle.  I don't know if this is a mistake, or if the actual vehicle's drive shaft was at an angle also.  Anyhow, I just wanted to mention this in case it might help.

Gun Tech wrote:

Ok, time for a update on my build. Slow progress as I said, since I'm trying to finish another build before the end of the month.

Hey Jean-Michel, that's a mighty good looking Hotchkiss you have going on there.  What kit is that?  By sheer coincidence I started building the Bronco Hotchkiss kit while waiting for more research material to show up for the Albert Ernst Hornisse I've started for the Panzer Aces GB.  The Bronco kit was supposed to be pretty good....which is why I got it.  The interior detail on your kit looks better (in my opinion) than my Bronco.

Larry

the Postman wrote:

I want to complement Plastic Cross on his excellent M12 . With only four kits under your belt...you should be proud of yourself.

Wow !  Thanks a lot for the terrific compliment Postman.  After some very humble beginnings I'm starting to latch on to some of the fundamentals now.  I brought the M12 in to the LHS to show one of the guys there who was interested in that kit and was trying to decide whether or not to buy it.  The shop owner looked at it asked if he could put it into his showcase.  I was floored and thanked him for the opportunity.

I'd love to see your super detailed M18 Hellcat.  That is my all time favorite WWII AFV.  I scratch my head when I read someone like Steve Zaloga, who loves modelling that vehicle, writing in his book how the M18 was a complete failure as a tank destroyer.  I don't understand.   I've been reading a lot about the German tank destroyers, and from what I gather they wanted a fast, sleek, powerful vehicle that could quickly move in, shoot, and escape.  The Hetzer was designed specifically in that manner, and also was not heavily armored.  Anyhow, I have 4 M18 kits - 2 AFV Club and 2 Academy.  I totally ruined the first Academy M18, but I guess it was for a good cause since I was trying to learn washing, weathering technigues on it.  But that's why I have 3 more.  I plan to do one of the AFV Club kits next.  I probably won't get to it until after the Panzer Aces Group Build.

Thanks again Postman.  I sincerely appreciate the good remarks.

 Larry

Comet wrote:

Gun Tech wrote: I think I found out a way to sort out my alignment problem between my transmission and my engine........   I'm going to try to make a miniature drive shaft, with tiny working U-joints....  Wish me luck!   Now this I'll be watching with interest Jean.......I have the same plan for my M113 Aussy Fitter but I'v been putting it off for about 6 month's now

I'll keep informed of every steps Glyn, if it turns out ok

Gun Tech wrote:

I think I found out a way to sort out my alignment problem between my transmission and my engine........   I'm going to try to make a miniature drive shaft, with tiny working U-joints....  Wish me luck!

Now this I'll be watching with interest Jean.......I have the same plan for my M113 Aussy Fitter but I'v been putting it off for about 6 month's now

I think I found out a way to sort out my alignment problem between my transmission and my engine........   I'm going to try to make a miniature drive shaft, with tiny working U-joints.... 

Wish me luck!

Prometheum5 wrote:

Does the Elefant count as a Self Propelled gun?  I've got the DML Preium Elefant and VP Interior kit as my next big project after I finish some figures and my current 1/48 vignette....

It's a direct fire vehicle, also know as the Panzerjager Tiger (P).

Finally my Eduard turret basket turned up......I'll get it soldered together and fitted this weekend then I'll post up my progress to date.

Cant wait to see some more of these build's you guy's have got in the work's.

Shellback wrote:

Looks like you have some work ahead of you GT , good luck

, looking good so far though.

Will

No GT ....... n o t  y e t ..........

Thanks for the interest though 

Shellback wrote:

Looks like you have some work ahead of you GT , good luck .I've finished building my SturmTiger , except for the zimmerit . See ya ! SHL

Hey Shellback, you have any pics so far?   I'm very interrested

Looks like you have some work ahead of you GT , good luck .I've finished building my SturmTiger , except for the zimmerit .

See ya !

SHL

Ok, time for a update on my build. Slow progress as I said, since I'm trying to finish another build before the end of the month.

A lot of filling and sanding was required where the final drive housing meets the hull. There was a "Hotchkiss" moulding on the hull, but the sides were kinda square with rounded corners, which is incorrect according to the vehicle in Saumur. Eduard provided the answer

The drive sprockets position is too far forward, but I decided to ease my pains and leave them there. They are hollow though, and looked like , so I decided to make a custom fit styrene washer with the help of my trusty Dremel. They do not rotate BTW, only the roadwheels do. 

The roadwheels assembly was a pain to clean and put together. I actually broke one of the outside part in 2, easy to fix though and the break is hidden by the axle. Extreme care has to be taken when gluing the assembly to the hull, as the alignment is horrific. I temporary installed the idler wheel, then glued the center assembly, making sure with the track that everything was aligned. The others were easier this way.

Some interior parts are provided. I did not glued them in place yet, and they are not fully completed. Still need to do some PE and plumbing.

There is a gap on the left side between the transfer case and the hull. I will shime it later.

As you can see, the alignment for the drive shaft is just out. I'm still thinking of a way how to fix it.      

I also dry fitted the tracks, they are way too long. Still better than too short though

Greetings all,

I want to complement Plastic Cross on his excellent M12 . With only four kits under your belt...you should be proud of yourself. Practice makes perfect - or - Quit watching TV and go sit @ the workbench  

I read earlier that you're thinking of taking it up a notch; I'll have to find and post pics of my super detailed Academy 1/35th M18 Hellcat. I added so much stuff that it's become the heaviest kit in my collection.

Keep up the good work.

to the GB postman!!

Will

Count me in. I'll start to work on the Hummel in a week or so - I want to clear some other projects off the bench first. In reality tho, that bench never really seems to get cleared...Always something to work on.

-thePostman

Well I finally got to starting my AS-90 and the lower hull is nearly built,I'v just got to rebuild the travel lock as the kit one is incorrect.Apart from that the only other thing I'v had to correct on the hull is the position of the drivers periscope.

I'm at abit of a standstill now as I'm waiting on a set of Eduard PE mesh for the engine grill's and the turret basket as the kit supplied basket is just naff.I'll post some build pics when I'm abit further on with the build.

Is there room in this build for one more? I'm considering a 1/35th DML Hummel  - I notice that no one seems to be building this one.

-thePostman

I finished the Wespe, i'll post pics as soon as I get around to taking them! The Braveheart is nowhere near completion yet.

 Will

Sorry guys it took a while.....      Still working on my previous GB, but I try to work on this one  as well.      1st timer with a Trumpeter kit, I tried to fill every sink hole in the suspension......   only to realise, when 80% completed, that half of them are not visible.....    Really slow progress, but good learning experience!    I got the Marder 1 and Beobachtungs in the stash with the same hull

The best part, should I say, the gun, is coming soon!

SgtBrown wrote:

Alright, since my German assault gun won't work, I'm in for an Italeri 1:35 M110 A2 8" S.P. Cannon.

I think the M110 is a great choice - one of my favs for sure.  I'm looking forward to see the photos of your build.

Larry

Ok, you are in. to the GB

Will

Comet wrote:

Larry,that build is excellent.....you really came up trump's with this oneI'v been playing around with heavy weathering and I'v gotta say I'm going back to the lightly used finish like yours as in my opinion it look's a hell of alot better.

Wow...what a great compliment.  Thanks a lot Glyn. One of the reasons I didn't try to weather it more heavily is because I stink at it.  I would have ruined the model for sure.  So I went the safe route and stayed conservative.  But I do have to say that in general I like the weathered  look to be in the rare to medium-rare range for armor models. But I have also seen a lot of spectacular and tastefully done heavily weathered models, which are great, and a tribute to the skills of the modeler.  When I get better at weathering, I want to do a vehicle with a bunch of snow on it and icicles hanging from it.  Another scenario I think would be cool would be if I could come up with a way to simulate the appearance of the gun while it's blasting....in 3 dimensions.  Fire, smoke, the whole deal - static.

I really like the looks of the AS-90.  I've been tempted to buy that one on several occasions.  I will be anxious to see your splendid rendition of it. 

I'm heading over to the Trumpeter GB now and will be building the Trumpeter Sturer Emil.  I washed all the sprues this morning.

Thanks a lot Comet, and see you around the forum.

Larry 

PanzerWulff,good luck with the eye op dude......hope your better soon and back at the bench.

Larry,that build is excellent.....you really came up trump's with this oneI'v been playing around with heavy weathering and I'v gotta say I'm going back to the lightly used finish like yours as in my opinion it look's a hell of alot better.

I feel all inspired now so I'm gonna start on the AS-90,there is even a walk around in this month's Model Military Int with some great in action pics........I'll report back shortly with some WIP pics.

Yann Solo wrote:

I remember having trouble with the decals but they look great on your model.  Nice job.

Thanks a lot Yann for the compliments.  This build was definitely a growth experience for me.  About the decals......I was careful with the lighting and the camera angle for the photographs to minimize the appearance of the imperfections.  Even using Micro Sol and Micro Set, the decals did not set perfectly.  I couldn't get rid of the shiny border around the perimeters. 

The idea to minimize the markings on this model came from a great picture in the "US Self-Propelled Guns in Action" book.  The caption to the photo on page 38 refers to Morteau sector of France on Nov 15, 1944 - Battery C, 575th Field Artillery Battalion. 

And here's another dark secret I forgot to mention about my antics with this build.  My initial paint job using the airbrus was terrible. A lot of splatterish type bumps all over.  So I steel wooled and sanded it down as well as I could. Being  frustrated with the airbrush,  I decided to just us a plain old can of Tamiya OD spray paint and laid down the final coats.  It looked much better than the butchering I did with the ab. And here's yet other mistake - I wasn't paying attention and used satin finish paint instead of flat spray paint.  After thinking about it though, I figured that was just as good as painting it with flat, then applying the Future layer prior to applying the decals.  It seemed to work out ok. 

It should be mentioned that I was trying to paint this vehicle while I was home from work with the flu, running a temperature between 101 and 102.  Between that and the poor lighting in my garage, I probably shouldn't be surprised at the poor quality of the results. 

After all was said and done, I finally gave my two airbrushes (syphon and gravity) a real good cleaning - and they are working up to expectations again. 

Sorry for the long winded message, but I thought a few comments about my mis-adventures during this build might generate a few chuckles.

Larry 

I'm sorry, But I have to put my foot down somewhere don't I??!!

Indirect fire only!!

Will

Manic Moran wrote:

Will7813 wrote: WHen I think of artillery, don't you see guns firing up? Do you not? If it is primarily a tank killer, then its main gun is a cannon, with an unintended and very secondary use of indirect-fire support. If we look at it that way, we can put a mounted .50cal in this GB because on rare occasions it was used indirectly. Tell that to the Germans: StuG crews were part of the Artillery arm, not Panzer arm, and wore artillery accoutrements. A StuG is not a tank killer, it's an infantry support system. Its job is to aid friendly infantry with the application of high explosive shells to suppress or destroy enemy targets. i.e. Artillery. It's primarily direct-fire artillery, not indirect fire artillery, but it is artillery. Otherwise, your definition of artillery would exclude pretty much every single artillery piece from pre-Napoleon through to the American Civil War, bar mortars. NTM

Interesting..... that's a very good point.