I managed to get all of the construction work done on this project today but due to rain wasn't able to start painting. Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow, we'll see!
In the course of the past week I started the assembly of the MK replacement workable tracks. I find that it's best to work on these a little bit at a time while watching TV, it helps break up the monotony/repetition involved in their assembly. The MKs for the 38t assemble very straightforward, pins on either side using the supplied jig and you can assemble runs of 9 links at a time then join the runs together using the same jig. I assembled two runs of 92 links each and may have to add another link or two once they are installed in the end.
With that out of the way, it was time to finish up the remaining hull details. I installed the fenders on both sides, starting with the right hand side first. I used a combination of regular and liquid glue to make sure it sat at the proper height/angle starting at the rear and working my way forward. The final piece added was the front fender brace and I used a pair of tweezers to help hold things together here while the glue dried to insure a good join. This was repeated on the left side. I installed the fender that accommodates the large stowage box since this is a feature found on 25 PzReg, 7 PzDiv vehicles.
Checking the reference photos for this unit in PT 18 revealed that they didn't fit the cowled mirror that is a common feature on Ausf Bs. The reason for this is the large stowage box since it blocks any view the mirror would've provided otherwise. This meant a little bit of correction needed to be done on the front portion of the fender in terms of removing the mount post and filling the matching pin hole that would ordinarly have taken the mirror mount. I also carefully trimmed down and sanded the reinforcing line in the area that the mirror would've occupied so that it too would have the appropriate gap. The large stowage box was assembled and mounted and the PE straps installed for the large crow bar that occupies the rear portion of the fender. PT 18 states that the reflectors for the front and rear fenders were only mounted when night driving was anticipated and were ordinarily stowed in a felt-lined box when not used so I scratch-built the mount posts for the reflectors out of scrap PE and installed them at the front and rear since the kit parts have the reflectors and posts as a single part. Last but no least, the pot for the radio antenna was added to the superstructure front plate but the top left off to allow for detail painting and drilling out to take a brass antenna later on. It's also worth noting here that the mount post for the front Notek is integral to the fender...if I'd chosen to go with the France 1940 vehicle as provided in the finishing guide, that too would've needed to be removed since the reference shots show it wasn't fitted at that time but added later.
The right side fender received the standard treatment for the jack and grouser box even though the option is provided in the kit to have the jack stowed behind the box instead of on top of it. The 38t stowage was often moved around by the crew based on unit or individual crew preference so it's nice to see these kinds of options provided. The pics of my chosen unit had the jack in thee standard spot so I didn't make any special modifications to this fender. I left off the jack block, axe, and wire cutters since those will be detailed and installed after painting to keep things simple.
That just left the remaining details on the engine deck and rear hull. I installed the engine hatches without any issues and also added the PE air intake cover provided in the kit. The exhaust was assembled and a small amount of putty needed to fill a gap on the pipe at its base. Other details like the brake light, the tow hooks, the tow chain hooks, and the rear Notek light were also added at this point. The kit includes a nice PE latch bracket for the central towing hook, this was added using small amounts of CA gel.
Everything is now in place and if the weather cooperates, I should be able to get the exterior painted tomorrow!