Neubau-Fahrzeug Nr. 3-5 Finished! 05-12-13

wbill76

My plan of attack with the tracks is to assemble them as runs (top and bottom) and paint off the vehicle then install after the suspension is in place. It's the main reason that I haven't been able to make any recent progress as I need a large block of time available to get the hull painting out of the way prior to getting the suspension in place.

 

The NFL season has unexpectedly ended!!!  For some reason all the teams have decided to go home and watch Bill assemble the Neubaufahrzeug indy track links on the suspension, paint them and reinstall them.  Now THAT'S worth watching!!

Plasticsurgeon

Ernest

They should go all the way Bill.

That Sea Hawk coach sure did blow it for the team.

Tony lee

I hope you're right Tony! The Harbaugh brothers are both right where they were this time last year...will be interesting to see how the next chapter unfolds.

Heya Bill and Tony 

A little off topic , but I wish the 49ers good luck this weekend... it was one heck of a game against Seattle, I think after a gaff like Pete Carroll pulled he ought to get fired, but I was rooting for the Niners all the way. Fate and great gameplay were on the Niners side. Just when you thought it was over Carroll mis-timed his interuptive time out on the Niners kicker and gave them their destiny.  We shall see if they can follow through.

I just want anybody BESIDES New England !

Tony, your build is looking terrific and Bill I need an update.. ( I know you are very busy and need to pre paint some parts.. just bustin stones   )

see you later

tread 

I don't care who plays or wins the Super Bowl.....I'd still rather watch Bill work on those Neu tracks!!

BTW, I think I remember why I got the Friul tracks.   I was basing the construction on the CyberHobby release of the Neubaufahrzeug, which I believe was an earlier mild steel version.  There is a brace on the front of the suspenson that runs from the front fender to the top of the sponson (see pic). 

That little brace was enough to dissuade me from using the kit tracks!  However I don't see the same brace on this kit.  ??

Tread

Ernest

Life has a way of getting in the way at times in terms of building models but for the first time in a long time I was able to get back to the bench and make some much-needed progress on this build.

I had done all the major construction with the initial plan of painting everything and then adding the suspension, tracks, and fenders but I decided to go a slightly different route instead. After looking at how the fenders install, I'm going to put in the suspension and tracks and then add the fenders and do the paint work for the vehicle in two stages. The first stage involves the lower hull, so I masked off the glue-line for the fenders so they will have a clean surface to mate up with for installation. I used MM Italian Dark Brown to lay down a primer coat by airbrush.

After primer, the base coat of MM enamel Panzer Schwarzgrau was applied by airbrush. One of the little side lights came off in the process, will add that back later on when it has less of a chance of getting knocked off again. The little sponson extensions that trap the idler were held in place with blue-tack and have not yet been glued in position. Camo pattern and some post-shading on the panzer gray will be done later when the rest of the hull is painted.

At the same time as I worked on the hull, I did all of the suspension components as well including the numerous road wheels. They were primered just like the hull and I airbrushed MM enamel Gunmetal for the rubber portions. Using a draftsman's circle template, the hubs were airbrushed with the Schwarzgrau to round things out.

Next up will be the fun of putting all the suspension components together and making sure it all sits level before tackling the tracks.

Glad to see this back bill.

I was wondering when you was going to get back on this. Glad to see you had some time to get back to the bench.

Welcome back Bill,lotsa wheels there !!

Best I can say Bill is that I'm vicariously enjoying your return to the bench---I know how good that feels. I'll be luxuriating in the glow myself in a few days when I'm back from the Urals. Let's hope that Aeroflot maintains their plane fleet with competence!

Looking fine, buddy!

Bish

Way to go Bill

And Paint too

Tony lee

Thanks Tony, much obliged!

Glad to see you got back to the bench Bill.

Thanks Terry! For a moment I had to just sit at the bench and reorient myself as to where everything was, it had been that long!

Work continued in the latest session on the lower hull and suspension. The design on this vehicle is a bit tricky and Dragon used a modular approach with a separate plate for the trucks to install to with the plate installing into the hull sponsons. The real challenge in this approach is getting all 10 wheels lined up correctly on either side by trapping them between the truck mounts. I made an attempt to leave the wheels able to rotate but found it necessary to glue them in place on their mount pins as the truck halves didn't have enough natural tension to keep them from popping out otherwise. Both sides were assembled and allowed to dry thoroughly before proceeding.

As already mentioned, the suspension on this vehicle is a complex design. After studying things for a bit, I determined the best route was to install the front idlers, tension wheels, and support plates first to ensure I had a straight alignment between them, the drive sprockets, and the return rollers that would install along the top run. The return rollers are similar to the road wheel trucks in that they trap the roller between two mount halves. The installation of the roller mounts into the sponsons must be precise as all four have to align perfectly for the track runs to come. Dragon molded a small step on either side of the sponson openings to help with the positioning and the fit tolerance here is tight. It was necessary to scrape paint with a needle file to get the right fit and the position of the outer half of the mount is the key since it has a small stop in its base to prevent it from sliding in too far on the position step.  After I had installed the rollers on both sides, some light touch-up with the panzer gray used earlier tied everything together. I also took the opportunity to create the sprocket teeth wear using some MM non-buffing Metalizer Steel and dry-brushed enamel Burnt Umber since this is the last time it would be easily accessible.

The next step was to assemble the track runs and test them for fit and sag. The instructions call for 124 links per side and that worked out perfectly for the right side but the left needed 1 more link to get things in shape. Each track side consists of 4 parts of 30-35 links that can be separated for painting and weathering off the vehicle. The runs will be allowed to set up thoroughly for 24 hours before moving on to the next phase.

The track saga continues with some more progress to report. After letting the 4 runs per side thoroughly set up for at least 24 hours, I carefully removed them from the suspension for painting. Since the two sides are not identical, it was essential to avoid any mix-ups between them, so I used an old MK track box with a divider and handy post-it note labels to keep things separate. I airbrushed a base coat of MM Burnt Umber as the foundation and let that cure for 24 hours before moving on to the next phase.

The track runs were further detailed by dry-brushing MM enamel Steel with a large round 0 sable brush followed by a light wash of MM enamel Raw Umber to tone down the Steel and tie things together. Once the wash had dried, the track runs were knitted together on both sides and installed.

Next up will be adding the fenders and continuing the paint work for the top side.

Looks like a challenging build but your breezing right through it Bill. Your method always turns out some really good and realistic looking tracks.

Thanks Eric! The complexity of the vehicle design presents some challenges but nothing that a little thinking ahead and lots of test-fitting can't handle.

Lots of progress to report so we'll get right to it. First order of business was to install the fenders. I used a combination of regular glue on the tab slots and liquid glue along the edges to get a good and level join. I also reinstalled the little side hull lights that had gotten knocked off earlier. While not visible in the photo, I took advantage of that opportunity to drill out their solid faces with a pin vise to allow for greater detail later on.

Prior to painting, I masked off the lower hull and tracks using a combination of thin strips of sheet styrene inserted under the fenders and blue painter's tape. Primer coat of Italian Dark Brown was applied by airbrush as the foundation. Three cardboard tubes and painter's tape created handles so I could easily paint the three turrets.

Base coat of MM Panzer Schwarzgrau came next.

Base coat highlights were added using an 80/20 mix of Schwarzgrau and Light Gray. Highlights were applied semi-randomly but with the main intent of creating a post-shade effect.

Then came the fun part, applying the disruptive camo pattern suitable for a vehicle in Norway in 1940. I used MM enamel Schokoladenbraun and applied the pattern free-hand.

Paint will get the chance to cure thoroughly over the course of the next week and attention will shift to the remaining equipment and fender details.

Wbill, the master of the two tone panzer grey scheme. Looks really nice in those colors! Such an interesting looking vehicle too.

Thanks Eric! Can't argue with you there...definitely a 'unique' look to this multi-turret beast!

She is looking very nice. I still don't get how you guys can paint the tracks like that.

Neat work, Bill.

Bish

thanks Russ much appreciated!

Bish

She is looking very nice. I still don't get how you guys can paint the tracks like that.

It IS a wicked-looking tank, and the camo looks great!

the doog

Bish

She is looking very nice. I still don't get how you guys can paint the tracks like that.

lol, I was going to say the same thing---I read your response, Bill! I was like, "BIll painting his tracks on the model?!?!?! What have I missed here?!?!"!

It IS a wicked-looking tank, and the camo looks great!

Thanks Karl! But to be fair, I can't claim credit for painting them on the vehicle. The tracks were painted in sections off the vehicle after they had set up and then reinstalled once painted. Each track run was left in 4 pieces so I could remove them. I'm not that good!