Sturmgeschutz Sdkfz. 167 Dio *finished*

Don't whig out man. The indy links are pretty cool. Use a slow drying glue so you have time to work them into the slack positions you want. Make sure you square them up against a straight edge. Doog had some good points in one of his tutorials he sent me. A lot of guys are down on the rubber tracks but they're not bad if you have an extra few links to add in to them to give you a little slack for a realistic appearance. But on a Pz Kpfw IV there's not much need even on a J chassis. The older guys will have good input too, better than mine.

Owl, I've been a fan of your aviation work, looking forward to seeing you tackle a Tank.

Joe, assuming this is the same CallSignOwl your comment should be "dont whig out girl"

Shawn M.

Owl, I've been a fan of your aviation work, looking forward to seeing you tackle a Tank.

Joe, assuming this is the same CallSignOwl your comment should be "dont whig out girl"

same ol girl, up!

This will actually be my third tank. The links to my first two are here:  http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/3/t/152044.aspx

and here: http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/3/t/147388.aspx

With a panzer IV chassis I usually start with 99 or 100 track blocks per side. I try to clean them up in shifts, doing 10-20 or so at a time to avoid getting too irked with them. I believe it's better to have a couple too many on a side than too few because I find it easier to take a block or two off than it is to add one. Take your time and it'll come together. There were a couple of pretty good tutorials posted on this forum for how it's done. I don't know if they're still up or not. Good luck.

Hey Owl, which Academy Sturmgeschutz Sd.167 are you building?  I thought I had the same kit in the stash, since you mentioned an ambush scheme.   This is the Academy Sturmgeschutz Sd.167 I have.  It has an ambush camo scheme on the box art, but it has vinyl tracks, not indy links:

Joe's suggestion on how to work with the individual track links pretty much sums up how to do them and it's a lot easier once you get start on it. Worst comes to worst, you have some side skirts to hide a fairly large section of the upper track run.

bufflehead

Hey Owl, which Academy Sturmgeschutz Sd.167 are you building?  I thought I had the same kit in the stash, since you mentioned an ambush scheme.   This is the Academy Sturmgeschutz Sd.167 I have.  It has an ambush camo scheme on the box art, but it has vinyl tracks, not indy links:

 

kit number 13235? If so, thats the kit. But mine has 4 extra black sprues of individual links, and no vinyl

THIS is where I learned to do them.

wing_nut

THIS is where I learned to do them.

thanks Wing_Nut, that is exactly what I needed! :D

Remember also to check the directionality of your tracks. On the Pz.IV family, the raised cleat "leads" the shoe -  the thick edge with the cleat comes first.

Many a modeller has put the tracks backwards on a Pz.IV chassis. Not hard to correct with vinyl tracks, but rather difficult with indies.

CallSIgnOwl, that StuG IV is he perfect tank to apply that method I used in the tutorial--make sure you don't glue on the return rollers--the little wheels on the top row. That will help you to remove the tracks after they've solidified, and make it easy to reapply them after they're painted.  

the doog

CallSIgnOwl, that StuG IV is he perfect tank to apply that method I used in the tutorial--make sure you don't glue on the return rollers--the little wheels on the top row. That will help you to remove the tracks after they've solidified, and make it easy to reapply them after they're painted.  

but what if I was a dummkopf and glued on the little return rollers already?  

OK, here it goes!

Obligatory box/sprue shot (the indy links are the black sprues)

first things first...wheels! Lots of Wheels!

the kit built up quickly, only taking me an afternoon to get it all put together

BUT! There was another void on this kit too. Gotta patch that up.

NEXT: The questions! Dun dun dun.....

CallSignOWL

the doog

CallSIgnOwl, that StuG IV is he perfect tank to apply that method I used in the tutorial--make sure you don't glue on the return rollers--the little wheels on the top row. That will help you to remove the tracks after they've solidified, and make it easy to reapply them after they're painted.  

but what if I was a dummkopf and glued on the little return rollers already?  

Hmm,....well, did you use a lot of glue? Can you pry them off? Seriously, it would be the best thing to do, if you want to learn this technique. It would make things a lot easier.

If not, I would literally clip off the outside roller.  That would leave you with one "inside" roller glued on. Clean up the remaining stub so that it's smooth on both the remaining attached inside roller, and the clipped-off outside wheel. Then make your tracks, form them on the remaining roller, get your "sag", etc---and then re-apply the tracks.

THEN, add the outside return rollers. Add a small length of round sprue--you could simply pare it off of a piece of thinner round sprue--and use it for a replacement "axle", so to speak---and simply super-glue them onto the wheels and then in place, using the track itself as an additional attachment point. I seriously doubt anyone would even know that you'd repaired it so.

alright, first question:

Did this guy wear a specific uniform? A special Camo pattern?

Second, where the shields separate panels, or all together like in teh kit. Ive seen photos where a panel or two are missing, so.....?

Thirdly, does this look like teh correct kind of damage these shields would get? Ive only done two panels as a test, and kinda like the way they turned out. Should every panel be beat up a bit?

fourthly, what kind of stowage went on these things? Ive seen images where some tanks had logs on them. Would this be appropriate for my tank?

the doog

CallSignOWL

the doog

CallSIgnOwl, that StuG IV is he perfect tank to apply that method I used in the tutorial--make sure you don't glue on the return rollers--the little wheels on the top row. That will help you to remove the tracks after they've solidified, and make it easy to reapply them after they're painted.  

but what if I was a dummkopf and glued on the little return rollers already?  

Uh....oops....didn't read through the article, did ya? lol.

Hmm,....well, did you use a lot of glue? Can you pry them off? Seriously, it would be the best thing to do, if you want to learn this technique. It would make things a lot easier.

If not, I would literally clip off the outside roller.  That would leave you with one "inside" roller glued on. Clean up the remaining stub so that it's smooth on both the remaining attached inside roller, and the clipped-off outside wheel. Then make your tracks, form them on the remaining roller, get your "sag", etc---and then re-apply the tracks.

THEN, add the outside return rollers. Add a small length of round sprue--you could simply pare it off of a piece of thinner round sprue--and use it for a replacement "axle", so to speak---and simply super-glue them onto the wheels and then in place, using the track itself as an additional attachment point. I seriously doubt anyone would even know that you'd repaired it so.

thanks for the help! ......I actually had them glued before I read the article. Chalk that one up to experience I guess!

Owl,

First, that guy would look good in an Italian camo shirt. That is a camo shirt he's wearing, and the pants too. You can do it in a number of different patterns including captured Italian material.

The shield---"Schurzen"--yes, they were separate panels, and often just fell off. As far as the damage, NO! They wouldn't really sustain that kind of damage,. They were just relatively thin sheets of steel, and were designed to break the charge of a shell. But they "hung" on the vehicle, ()  and would most likely fall off or be discarded if there was that amount of damage. You wouldn't want that shield there fouling the tracks or damaging the wheels. A small sample of bullet holes, or even a glancing small, penetrating hole would be more realistic, but not what you've got there, unfortunately. You can leave that one off though. You'd often see these schurzen missing.

the doog

Owl,

First, that guy would look good in an Italian camo shirt. That is a camo shirt he's wearing, and the pants too. You can do it in a number of different patterns including captured Italian material.

The shield---"Schurzen"--yes, they were separate panels, and often just fell off. As far as the damage, NO! They wouldn't really sustain that kind of damage,. They were just relatively thin sheets of steel, and were designed to break the charge of a shell. But they "hung" on the vehicle, ()  and would most likely fall off or be discarded if there was that amount of damage. You wouldn't want that shield there fouling the tracks or damaging the wheels. A small sample of bullet holes, or even a glancing small, penetrating hole would be more realistic, but not what you've got there, unfortunately. You can leave that one off though. You'd often see these schurzen missing.

great info! Thanks for the help!

Karl has got you going in the right direction!  The Stug is looking great, I'm really looking forward to that ambush camo scheme...one of these days I'll have to try it myself.

wing_nut

THIS is where I learned to do them.

Oh yeah!  That's what we call here on FSM the "Doog Track Method"!  Ya gotta read the instructions though!! .  You can always look up more of Karl's great tutorials on FSM forums!

BTW, my kit is #1332.  The box art and sprues are nearly identical.  Your's is probably a newer release with indy tracks.   Had I known.....

Sorry Owl

Just another point on the schurzen. What's provided in the kit is significantly thicker than what it should be. In real life, these plates were about 5mm thick. At your option, you could separate the panels and use them as patterns to cut new panels from some thin plastic card (0.01"?) . It would look much better, though then you would have to fabricate some retaining brackets to catch the hanger rails and hooks.

You could also cheat and sand/file the inside edges of the kit parts thinner, though this obviously doesn't look anywhere near as good.

novembergray

Sorry Owl

...sorry for what?

Phil_H

Just another point on the schurzen. What's provided in the kit is significantly thicker than what it should be. In real life, these plates were about 5mm thick. At your option, you could separate the panels and use them as patterns to cut new panels from some thin plastic card (0.01"?) . It would look much better, though then you would have to fabricate some retaining brackets to catch the hanger rails and hooks.

Ah, good idea, I might have to do that.

For calling you a dude

novembergray

For calling you a dude

haha, no problem . I think Im the only girl on here, sooo....

Phil_H

Just another point on the schurzen. What's provided in the kit is significantly thicker than what it should be. In real life, these plates were about 5mm thick. At your option, you could separate the panels and use them as patterns to cut new panels from some thin plastic card (0.01"?) . It would look much better, though then you would have to fabricate some retaining brackets to catch the hanger rails and hooks.

You could also cheat and sand/file the inside edges of the kit parts thinner, though this obviously doesn't look anywhere near as good.

OR, make your replacements out of thin aluminum or lead sheet.  Nick up the bottom and such, and paint and weather.  I have an old Tamiya kit that I stopped work on many years (decades) ago, and I keep thinking of trying that trick out on it.  Keep up the great work!

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

There is a How To video on FSM website about assembling indy track links. It's under the "Video" link on top of this page.

Also if your going to use the side skirts, you might want just install the tracks before painting, since the majority of them will be hidden behind the skirts. On my last two soviet tanks, I have installed the tracks before painting, paint them black when pre-shading, tape off most of the tracks and then paint the road wheels. I saved a lot of time painting and weathering parts of the track that will never been seen.

iraqiwildman

Also if your going to use the side skirts, you might want just install the tracks before painting, since the majority of them will be hidden behind the skirts. On my last two soviet tanks, I have installed the tracks before painting, paint them black when pre-shading, tape off most of the tracks and then paint the road wheels. I saved a lot of time painting and weathering parts of the track that will never been seen.

Look at how the inside of this Leopard 2 track is worn by the rubber wheels. This is something that a lot of modelers miss.