DML Sdkfz 251/22 Ausf D COMPLETE! 10-14-12

Bish

Tread

Corvette

Due to the fact that my wife has to attend an open house at her school, I have the chance to get in a mid-week session at the bench! That means the Pak 40 got some attention. It truly is a kit-within-a-kit as the sprues are taken directly from DML's Pak 40 kit with the only swap-outs being the special cut-down gun-shield used on the 251/22s and the extra rail guard on the loader's side.

I started in on Step 16 and selected the b46-b56 style muzzle brake since this is the type featured on the photos included in my Panzer Tracts reference and is the late-but-not-final type of brake commonly seen on Pak 40s in 1944. The tuned aluminum barrel was fitted using CA gel and the breech assembled per the instructions with only a small amount of putty needed at the joins to create a seamless look. I left off the breech lever so it can be detail painted separately and also left the block movable for the same reason.

Step 17 adds the recoil tray and other bits...and has a little pitfall that I didn't catch until it was too late. The instructions show the orientation of the D-shaped pins on parts b26/b27 pointing backwards...I wasn't paying close enough attention to the part numbers and thus installed them on the wrong sides. Of course I used a liberal amount of liquid glue to get a good bond and rather than risk damaging the parts trying to remove them, I ended up carefully snipping off the D pins, reversing them, and re-gluing in the correct position. The pic below is before the surgery.

Step 18 adds the side mounts and their respective details. I left off the elevation and traverse wheels and the gun sight to allow for separate detailing. I used 0.5mm solder and CA gel to add the missing bowden cable to the firing mechanism for a little extra detail. On the right side, the mount pins and holder for the small hatchet were filled in/removed and sanded down since that wasn't a feature on these guns.

Step 19 adds the gun shields and I opted for the PE shutters for the gun sight aperture. The PT reference pics show that the usual Pak 40 storage cylinders weren't mounted (and the instructions indicate those are optional as well) so I filled their mount holes on the inner shield with putty to eliminate them.

A small test fit with the lower hull and upper hull to make sure everything is playing nice before painting. Definitely shows how cramped the interior was on these vehicles.

Next up will be painting and detailing the interior and the gun!

Lovely work again. I take it this kit came with the metal barrel.

Thanks Bish! Yes, the kit included the aluminum barrel.

Nice middle of the week surprise, Bill.... this guy is coming together fast.. What paint scheme ?  ( if you already said, I must have missed it).... Darn wives... leaving us high and dry with nothin' to do  !

tread

Thanks tread! Paint scheme will be three tone for the exterior, I'm leaning towards the box art scheme at the moment but not set yet on whether it will be hard edged or soft.

Yup , same for me . My wife went a played cards with her friends so i had to stay home alone with the dogs and work on my Zil ..............

Bill , really good looking already

I wonder what kind of "kick" that had on the vehicle and crew? Looks great so far!

Rolling along nicely.  

Thanks Carl!

IB

Marc

Bill,

Thank you for the very useful front wheel assembly guide.

Very cool!

The PAK looks great as well, nice touch with the firing wire :)

I hope you go ahead with box art scheme,  looking forward to your next update.

Very Best Regards

Johan  

Thanks Johan! Glad to hear the front assembly note will be helpful. Should have an update tomorrow if the model gods smile on me.

Hummm...you cheated....well looks very nice. May be a bit of a PITA to paint, especially in the recoil slide area and behind the shield. Though, I am sure you have it all calculated 

We promise not to say anything to Household 6 about you sneaking in mid week model work.

Rounds Complete!!

Wow that looks great. I'm really interested to see where you go with the camo and interior.

always a good time looking in on your builds Bill. all your builds are good info on German vehicle's  

Clay

Mike

Blitzwing

It's a good thing I sneaked in some time during the week on the PaK 40 as my next MBA class, Statistics, is starting up this week and the initial reading and problem workload is a tough one! Back to the grind as it's all math, math, and more math...which of course distracts from time at the workbench.

Still, I managed to get some additional progress in on the build. I masked off the glue contact surfaces on the hull halves because I hate to scrape paint if I can avoid it. I used MM enamel Italian Dark Brown to prime the interior lower hull, and the interior and exterior of the upper hull as well as the PaK 40. This helps check the putty and other work I had done previously and also ensures I don't end up with any bare plastic spots in the tight places. Then the base coat of 50/50 enamel MM Light Gray/Panzer Dunkelgelb was airbrushed over the primer coat.

I also used the kit-supplied single-round ammo containers and assembled all 10 to stack in the hull void on the left side of the gun mount. These will get some additional weathering and detailing, including the kit decal stencils, prior to installation. Since I was already airbrushing the rest of the interior, they got some paint as well.

That's it for now, the paint will get a chance to fully cure during the week before I start in on the weathering and detailing for the interior.

Nice ,Bill

As has been said, That is A LOT of gun for a relatively small holster ! 

interesting half track !

tread

Nice work. And a good lesson on painting the inside of these, which can be tricky if you assemble first.

Wissssssssh.....ahhhhh a deep breath.....nothing like the smell of paint!!

Statistically,   the odds look good for this to be another great build!!

Rounds Complete!!

Tread,

Bish,

Bill Your trick isn't new Karl Logan showed us how to do that when he built his Sdkfz 251/17 AusfD a few years back. But it will be interesting to see this finished.

wbill76

Manny

I'm leaning towards a hard-edged three tone scheme but haven't committed to it just yet...will decide when I get closer to the paint stages.

Thanks Guney!

Carl

I'm a one-build-at-a-time kind of guy so as soon as one project finishes the next one takes its place.

Marc

The answer to your question is the reverse actually. Right now the lower end of the hull sits lower (at an angle) from the front wheels so when the tracks are added, the rear hull will lift and sit level with the front steering wheels so that they don't "float".  The approach of building some tracks and using that to level set the tracked road wheels does the same thing. there's added "height" from the track pads that will bring everything level when the time comes. The key is that the front wheel suspension becomes the pivot point around which the hull and everything else balances against, so as long as that remains true, the front road wheels won't get lifted off the ground and "float". I tested it with a pair of track links on both sides as an extra precaution to be sure the suspension arms sat in the correct position. HTH!

Just be glad you don't have my brain...I'd rather watch paint dry than do math The 1/2 track is coming along very nicely btw!

Bill , i have this kit now ! I looked inside the box today and its impressive alright . I noticed the 4 little chrome disc in the bag with the p.e. . Looks like they are for the bumper mounted rear view mirrors ? 2 extra's i guess.

Math .............gives me a headache

Most, if not all, of the Dragon 251 kits have those chrome disc's. I hadn't noticed 4 though. I better check mine as they will be useful on my other 251's.

"I love the smell of VOCs in the morning"

Bish

Most, if not all, of the Dragon 251 kits have those chrome disc's. I hadn't noticed 4 though. I better check mine as they will be useful on my other 251's.

Ok . good to know . Nice touch on Dragons part . That was one of the pita details to get correct with paint .I tought the extra 2 were for "just in case " .

wing_nut

"I love the smell of VOCs in the morning"

Bacon and coffee work also .............

CMike

Carl

Marc

Looks great so far!