#12 Tamiya German Horch 1A mit 2cm Flak38 (Conversion)

Edmund, this is as amazing as it is timely, that gun is a kit and a half on its own.

Another amazing build.

Bill

Thank you Panzer88, Wbill and last but not least Bob for you support and kindness. 

Thanks Bill for the heads up I can see that will be another lesson in perseverance and patience.  It doesn't help that a lot of the reviewers do not actually build the kits so you do not have finished pictures or a complete understanding of the real challenges these type of kits provide.  I found a great comparison review on Perth of Tristars, Italeri, Tamiya, Dragon's Flak38

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/flak38/flak38.htm

Here is another one on Replacement Barrel reviews:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/flak38/flak38barrels.htm

I am still working on orientation and mounting points for the outriggers.  After that I will scratch build the main box for the ammunition trailer with the plan my Friend Ron so gracefully provided.

Ed, the gun came out really sweet! Now it looks mean and nasty.

Bob

Nice work on the gun Ed, this one's starting to show its teeth a bit. Be careful with the spent shell catcher basket, while part of it is pre-formed at the bottom, the really fun part will be fitting the top portions and getting it all to match-up. Give yourself plenty of time to work with it...the first time I built one of these it took several attempts before I could get the mesh to fit properly and alighn the way it should. It's worth the effort but just wanted to pre-warn you about it. You may find that once it's fitted and painted you won't be able to see the spent shells due to the way the bottom pre-formed portion is designed in terms of the weave. Looking forward to more progress!

That is some truly awesome work. All that PE is making my head hurt.

Dave:  Yes I love my OCD affliction!  Thanks for the kind words and support as always Dave.

Rob:  I am glad you are peekin in on this Rob and I finished the gun today which was no mean feat!

Build Update:  I finished the gun for the most part today.  I left off the shell basket for now because I have some Griffon casings I will be putting inside so I need to think about that one for awhile. This is my first replacement metal barrel which was form Griffon as well and very nice.  I read all the reviews about this weapon before I approached it and the complexity and size of the parts almost defeated my Noobie Modeling Butt!  I did not use a sprue cutter once only my knife.  It was an agonizing build but God help me I can't wait to do another one! 

Next up is designing the mounting system for the main gun.  That's the FUN part!

Ed you the man Wow is this baby coming to life, the little bits of detail really dress up the model. Excellant work with the PE dude. Once the gun is built and mounted this is going to be great.

Rob

www.scratchmod.com

Build Update:

I started working on the the DML Flak 38 kit tonight and ran into a head scratcher immediately.  DMl molded in the weld beads along the base the of the gun but all the attachment points are right on the weld seams which is simply ridiculous and IMHO poor engineering of otherwise a beautiful kit with no pin marks or mold seams and the weld seam looked  like a mold seam instead of weld seam so after research to verify I was correct I pulled out y secret weapon.  Archer Fine Surface Detail #18 and I applied my own weld resin weld seams.  I found that prepping the surface with future to help with the adhesive properties of the water slide decals helped out immensely.

I them mounted the outrigger footpads and then decided to add another I-Beam across the front of the gun mount area to provide a mounting point and to allow the front outrigger to enter the Drivers compartment as planned.  I will build up more of the gun and then design the mounting brackets for the outriggers.

Adam & Bob:  Both of you guys never fail to make me chuckle!  Thanks for keeping me company on this build.

Build Update:

It's time to start building up the 2cm Flak 38.  I decided to not use the kit supplied weapon and to replace it with Dragon's new version

It comes with Pre-bent PE gun shields in their own  special vacuum formed plastic protectors in the box.  I also will be using a Griffon replacement metal barrel.

As with other kits of the Flak 38 the angle of elevation has to be decided before proceeding and different parts are used dependent on which elevation is chosen to display the model at. Apparently the gun can be left movable, but this necessitates leaving some parts off, to get around this there are parts included so that you can model the gun at four different elevations from horizontal to 60 degrees.

Every model I see of this vehicle has the kit canvas covered windscreen or a resin replacement.  The PE kit comes with a really detailed windscreen with films and wiper masks.  I am very tempted to try the following configuration from this Aberdeen proving ground picture.  This will rule out the O degrees option because the weapon would probably not clear the windscreen.

I could put wiper swipes on one side of the windscreen and turn it into Tommy the Horch winking at us!  I then can finish detailing the tread plate with bolts and the mounting system for the weapon.

Hey...just remember it was Rodney Dangerfield that said:

If I could lick myself like a dog....Id never leave the house"

Bob

Wow...Tasty looking nuts !

Thank you Dave, Wbill, Bob and Bill for the kind words and support.  PE is definitely an acquired taste but it has been a fun process and I am figuring out the best methods and processes of how to apply in the most efficient manner.

There was some warpage in the kit that required some Milliput applied to gaps.  This resulted in a mess on the rear boulders so I decided to bare metal the rear fenders and replaced the molded fender bolts with MIG PE bolts which are really cool.and come in a self adhesive backing so you don't have to cut them off the fret

.

This is looking very nice, Edmund, your PE skills are very good.  I can't wait to see it with paint, although that's what you say to me, too,

Bill 

Ed, you are now the PE master................LOL

Looking awsome brother.

Bob

Working with PE can often be time-consuming but worth it in the end. The details you're adding are dressing up the interior spaces nicely Edmund.

Thank you Steve, Dave and Bob of course for your comments and support.

Build Update:

I believe I have the majority of the PE work completed which is tedious but fun in its own way.  I really got a Chance to put my Hold and Fold from The Small Shop through its paces and its a great tool.

The inside door detail looks cool.

Some parts I did not replace with PE but gave them some much needed cleanup and detailing.

Edmund,

Who better to correct that which is not right or correct?  Nice job on the shift levers by the way.  Much better looking!.  I am really diggin' on what you are doing with this conversion! Thank you (if I haven't done so) by the way for the PDF on painting.  I'll print it out in the next couple of days

Cheers

Dave

Ed, looking superb as always my borther.......got to love OCD....................LOL....and of coarse lovely photos of................never nind

Bob

Edmund this one is coming along real nice. The jerry can racks are a great touch. Excellent idea to use the pins for shifters the look perfect! And those headlights Wow! Cant wait to see what she'll look like with the high beams on.

Build Update:

The PE madness continues. I have vowed to use as much of the is PE set as possible even though some I will not be able to use as designed because of the Conversion work. 

I am constantly referring to the kit directions, PE directions and real world references and also Flak conversion pics to make sure I don't miss anything.  I almost missed the fact that this variant had a small spotlight on the passenger side.  I had not ideal what the kit part was supposed to resemble. It looked like a 1\35th scale boulder!  Also the PE set missed it as well so I had to dig into my Elf Headlight stach and find an appropriately sized replacement.

I also had to move the Rifle racks from the Drivers compartment and move it form the middle of the seats to each wheel well on each side due to the fact that the front outrigger of the Flak38 will be taking up that space.

I also was planning to add my own grab handle to the front dash as per real world references and then I found that part in the PE set.

Cheers!

Thanks Tigerman they are from Elf Production of Model Accessories which is a small company owned by Dmitri Kovalev.  They are actually a four piece system that includes the body of the headlight and a reflective insert that can be removed for painting and then replaced,  a plastic light bulb and a plastic light cover.  They are designed for Russian and German Armor and he does business via paypal.  His email address is cakovalevd@sympatico.ca and they are $15.00 per set which icludes 8 pairs of headlights.  i am not affiliated with him just passing on the information gentleman.

Wow, Ed, those heaglights are amazing. This one is really coming on.

Ed - SO YOUR TO BLAME!  Son you and I need to have a talk........................LOL

I expect that picture to be mailed to my private email account and dont an of you dare ask what Im going to do with it...........................LMAO

Bob

Bob&Dave:  Actually I asked Adam to edit the pic with something more appropriate.  Sorry for the confusion.  my wife and daughter often read this together and enough said I guess. Also who would want to look at a Horch made of plastic with Megan around!  Very distracting!! 

Thanks Dave for the kind words!

Bob,

Maybe there is a society/group opposed to the flagrant display to cherries being consumed? Just a guess. LOL

Edmund,

I am liking what you've done with the headlights on this beastie.  Oh yeah, the rest of it is looking pretty sutnning as well.  

Cheers
Dave 

They took her down......................THIS IS SACRALIDGE..............................THEY MUST PAY!

What the heck was wrong with that photo...........................For poop sake man

Bob is the car named Megan? 

Build Update:

I made a couple single and double jerry can holder prototypes today and decided to use the Double Holder it just looks squat and mean just like the vehicle.  Thanks Adam for providing your opinion and suggestion to go smaller and double up the bolts.

I am off to bend some really small bits of metal!!  Oh the Inhumanity!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh................................MEAGAN!...................Oh geez I just.......................never mind.   Why oh why couldnt women look like that when I was in school.  It has to be something in the water...............or something.................ill ge be depressed now.

Bob