This weekend was yet another highly productive effort so apologies in advance for the high number of pics in this update! Last time I said I was done with the details but that wasn't quite true...I still needed to install the turret ammo bins in the rear and on the roof. The fit tolerances here are very tight so I used several small strips of masking tape to hold the turret sides and rear together so I could get the placement correct. There is supposed to be a small tool case that goes between the tray box in the middle and the ammo bin on the right but there isn't enough space in the whole turret rear to make this work. Add to this the fact that the tool case in the Interior set is molded too tall and it got left off. A shame because it was a nice detail to have. The ammo bins were glued in place with CA gel to round out things here.
Now came the moment of truth...the creation of the cut-away sections. I gave this a lot of careful thought and opted to go with a method I've used before for smaller similar sections. The method is simple...perforate the sections needing to be removed using a micro drill bit and then cut through the perforations with a razor saw to remove the large chunks. Then the edges need to be smoothed out with a #11 blade and then sanded down where necessary to get a smooth edge. This method was applied to the turret sides, the hull roof, and the engine compartment covers. This effort took almost the full day yesterday to get it done but was worth it.
With that out of the way, it was time to finalize the assembly of the interior on both the lower hull and turret. First up was the installation of the superstructure front plate. I added the hull MG, replacing the kit exterior barrel and tray with the ones from Lion Marc. The Lion Marc set includes pre-formed brass trays and gun sights but the gun sight is very fragile/tiny, so I left that off until later to avoid the possibility of losing it. I drilled out the eyepiece for the sight with a pin vise and added an ammo belt courtesy of a left over item from a DML kit in the spares bin. The ammo belt was trimmed for length and bent to shape to fit the confines of the compartment before getting detailed and installed.
I also completed the wiring for the radio antenna. The length of solder I'd installed earlier was trimmed down to the desired length and a couple of small retaining brackets added using the flexible PE attachments from an old Eduard PE set cut to size and bent to shape with a piece of solder and tweezers. The brackets were then glued in place with small dots of CA gel to hold the cable in place.
The rear engine deck was added next, using careful applications of liquid glue and finger pressure to get a solid join all around. I did have to trim down slightly one of the ridges on the radiator that mates up with the air intake vent for everything to sit properly. The hull roof was then added in the same fashion and then set off to the side to allow the glue to dry.
The turret coaxial MG was added to go with the main gun, receiving the same type of detailing as with the hull MG. The only difference here is I opted for a shorter belt due to space constraints and to avoid the belt hanging down into the hull and potentially snagging on items there.
The Lion Marc barrel and tray were added to the exterior and the assembly work begun on the turret. I added the sides first followed by the rear plate and finally the front plate. The Tristar instructions indicate that you should have the turret roof in place before adding the front plate but this is virtually impossible to do because of the dimensions on the spent shell basket and the narrow confines of the turret itself. I learned that lesson when I built the Tristar E/F so was already aware of the pitfall.
The turret roof was added and carefully mated up with all the different surfaces using liquid glue, patience, and finger pressure. Some small amounts of putty were needed on the turret underside where the side panels meet up with the bottom but otherwise the overall fit was good. I also added the commander's periscope and the rain guard over the gunner's sight.
A test fit with the hull showed everything lining up perfectly.
Now I could finally go back to the "normal" order of construction on the exterior and the first order of business was the suspension. These were assembled according to the directions in Step 1 and added to the lower hull. I left the swing arms and springs fully workable until I added the wheels to be sure I could achieve a level fit. The sprocket housings were also installed along with the return roller mounts although I left off the rubber portions of the rollers for the time being to make it easier to paint and detail separately.
I also removed all the road wheels and cleaned up the mold seams on the separate tires with a sanding stick. The sprockets were assembled along with the idlers with the idlers getting the added bonus of their mount arms installed so they can remain movable when it comes time to add the tracks.
And last, but not least, the road wheels were installed to the suspension arms and the arms then glued to the spring bundles to insure the suspension sat level. The sprockets and idlers were dry fit to insure everything lined up ok. I also filled in the mounts for the front wheel bump stops with putty and sanded it smooth as these weren't present on the Ausf B. Tristar incorrectly carried this over from the later Ausf 38ts that they've also molded but they weren't fitted until the Ausf C. A small accuracy issue but one easily dealt with. I also puttied in the small mount holes for the shovel and pick-axe since the vehicle I'm depicting will have the stowage box mounted on that fender instead. This is an option that Tristar provides in the kit but they never tell you to fill the mount holes if opting for that particular configuration.
Next up will be the fenders and the remaining exterior details and then it will be on to paint!