M. Brindos

Okay, that's some better progress than I'm making. The inserts are brilliant and I like how you do your weld seams. They look very clean like they should.

I do have a little more of a peg to work with on the M-103 though. Yours truly are just stubs. What concerns me more is the way they have the bogies attached. It doesn't seem like they will hold up to any kind of pressure. So I'm afraid that if I were to apply too much force while stretching on the tracks I may knock a few off. I'm leaving off the drive sprockets till final assembly due to that concern.

There are no pegs for the drive sprockets on the M-103 either, but they do have something to glue the sprockets to and not a big hole to cover up. That has got to be a huge error in either engineering or some left out part that should be there. Heck if I know which.

Mike,

Thanks for the . I share your concerns about the wheels breaking off--not so much the bogies on this model, but again, the stubs that you attach the wheels to are just tiny. Would it really have been so hard to engineer the attachment arms going a few extra mm's into the wheel?

When I look at the way that these kits were engineered and planned, they seem to have the aire of a "junior team"in some of the rather clumsy way that some aspects have been handled. I found the directions, too, to be vague about the positioning of certain parts; I had to double-and triple-check references in some cases to make sure that a certain piece was correctly positioned. And then again, there are those inexplicable two-piece tracks...

Geez, if you're doing the M103A2, I wonder how bad the one that I have--the first one--is? That "A2" was supposed to be corrected and improved.....hmmm??

Well so far Karl I haven't had any big problems with the kit, but you guys have me worried now that I may be having to do some re-engineering. Hopefully I can get through without any major issues. So far, so good.

There are a lot of extra sprues and I'd say a good 1/3rd of the original parts are marked in the instructions as "Not needed". I know I'm going to have extra wheels and suspension parts, I have a spare complete rear deck for an M-48/A1 build, a couple of .30 cal MGs, etc. Lots of left-overs for interesting conversions later.

"SScccrrrrrRRREEEEEEEECHH!!!"

UH, that's the sound of this project coming to a screeching halt! ...

Well, to be honest, I just came across an online article by Cookie Sewell.. which, frankly, showed a lot more competence, creativity, and skill in correcting and detailing this model, and after seeing it, I realize that there's no way I could live with the mistakes which I've made here, most notably the error of not realizing that those dumb suspension arms really ARE different--one is about 1mm slightly longer than the other, so when I ignored the placements of them, I would up staggering the wheels in a haphazard way that is really rather noticeable. Uh oh.

Needless to say, new kit on the way. Also, I've decided to go in for some PE chains for the smoke dischargers, a metal barrel that has correct rifling, and some other small detail things that will be more accurate and satisfying to build this unique vehilce which has such sentimental significance to me from my younger years. Parts have ben ordered, and will be here with two weeks, which means.....

OH JOY! WHat to build NOW?!

Going through my stash as we speak...

OUCH Karl, that blows! Course I've made far bigger stupider mistakes so I'm looking forward to learning something from how you work things out!

sounds like my Zvezda 1/72 (OTS) SS-25 but mine went south at the painting. i also have a new unopened one sitting next to it.

next may i suggest building a warwheel instead of a tracked vehicle

doog, sorry to hear about all the effort for naught, it can be frustrating sometimes.

And my Dad was only working on the casting process for the turret armor pieces (as far as I know) so no pics of anything that resembled a tank, plus it was pretty much "hush-hush" at the time. He did complain a lot about having to work with and from two identical but different sets of plans: one metric, one fractional, since at the time they were still working with German engineers.

Hey, don't fret (no pun intended).

 You've already got the turret licked  so it isn't a "Total" loss. On the positive, you'll be back with a better understanding and a better build.

                                                                             

oh too bad!! you got all of us in your train and now you let us know there is no stop at the end of line...

im kidding, surely you will bring us something much better  

I've also put down a few projects that wasn't working out the way I planned. Anyway, cool, you have a new project in line. I'll be watching 

Well...that inhales....but better late than when its on the shelf! Now patience you will be fine! think of it this way...more time with your 4 legged model building buddy!

Rounds Complete!!

Pity... 'course you can always "rust-bunny" it and place it on an "Impact Area" dio, lol... Putting scale 105/155mm holes in strategic places (with the burst-results evident) can cover a multitude of sins, lol....

I remember well the hulk of an M4 "Easy 8" that they'd pulled off the IA at Ft Hood, and up to the MATES there @ North Ft Hood... The only recognizable Sherman parts were the tranny-cover, one side of the hull, and the VVS... Turret was gone, except for the bottom-half...It'd been hit by at least 15 HEAT and a dozen or so AP...Seen fewer holes in Swiss Cheese...

Guys,

Thanks all, for understanding and for the sympathy! I'm so &#&$&^@ at myself!! So much for "Art over accuracy"! Well, I am actually happy, to be honest--because now I have a chance to really make something special out of this special tank. The tips from Cookie Sewell, and the extra parts will really make it a better model in the end. 10 years ago I might have accepted it as it was, but my standards are just so much higher now, and I would hate to put something up as "finished " that I wasn't happy with.

I'm goin to "punish" myself with the next build, lol.....the Dragon "Vorpanzer" IV "Super kit"!

Sgt Rock Fury

Pity... 'course you can always "rust-bunny" it and place it on an "Impact Area" dio, lol... Putting scale 105/155mm holes in strategic places (with the burst-results evident) can cover a multitude of sins, lol....

I remember well the hulk of an M4 "Easy 8" that they'd pulled off the IA at Ft Hood, and up to the MATES there @ North Ft Hood... The only recognizable Sherman parts were the tranny-cover, one side of the hull, and the VVS... Turret was gone, except for the bottom-half...It'd been hit by at least 15 HEAT and a dozen or so AP...Seen fewer holes in Swiss Cheese...

Ha ha, yeah, now that's an idea!  It would be cool! I would consider it if I didn't already have so many projects in my head! I have "project overload" and "time deficiency"! Same as many here, I'm sure!

The "extra" turret would surely work well on an M60 hull as a very possible "what-if"......   hint, hint.

No sweat, Karl... I KNOW "project overload" well... Had at least a dozen projects on my bench at the time I had "gone Elvis", as my Brit military friends referred to "MIA"...

I may undertake a similar project myself someday... I have several WIPs that cold qualify, lol...