I'll be watching this one.

I am tring to get the courage to build my dragon 1/35 panzer lV ausf. D dak smart kit watching you will movitiate me to start on mine hopefully.Good luck with your build.

This will be a most interesting build to see how you place everything and how far you will go with it.

Thanks for looking in guys.

armor, i have not seen that Dragon kit, but i experiance with recent Dragon builds is prety positive, you just have to get your head around all the parts.

marcus, well, i hope i don't dissapoint. Once i get the main hull of the tank done i can work out the exact positions of everything.

Nice kit bish!  It should build up quite nicely!

Nice Bish, you don't see many Panzer 2's being built. That is a really nice foundation for a dio. I'm going to look into that company to see what they offer. 

Thanks guys.

Bruce, i know what you mean, but we seem to have a few at the minute what with Ernest's 2 Pz II's.Its like waiting for a bus, you hang around for ages and then several come at once

They do have some nice stuff and its the best plaster i have worked with. Downside for you is they are UK based and i think he only sells directly, doesn't use other outlets. So would have to check the postage as they are of course quite heavy. But if your un sure drop him an e-mail. I have found him really nice to deal with, he sends a personal e-mail when stuff is shipped. And one of the guys in the model club i am in meet him at telford and said he was really helpful.

Very cool Bish! 

And I'm with Bruce, that's a really nice looking building ruin. 

Thanks for looking G.

I do rather like his stuff and as soon as i saw this one, i knew what it could be used for as i had already planned to do this kit in these markings.

Looks like a great project.

I have a bunch of Dragon armor kits and they all look super so I think you will enjoy the build. That building looks fantastic and will add interest to the dio.

I built the old Tamiya II a long time ago but the Dragon kit looks to be light years ahead in detail.

I do rather like Dragon kits despite the heavy engineering. I built that old tamya kit as well, and ye, this is a differant level. Got a nice interiour as well if some one wants to show it off, but i won't be fitting any in the hull, just the turret.

Will try and get a short update done in a day or so.

Was going to do an update a couple of days ago but got delayed a bit. But have been able to get a lot done on this little kit in a week.

The kit does come with a rather nice fighting compartment, but i won't be fitting that. I have read one build which claims it not accurate as it has a marder interiour rather than the Pz II. But mainly, as it can't be seen and is not relevant to the dio, i won't waste the time and effort. If i was doing a turret lift scene, then with a little effort in correcting and adding extra detail, it would look really nice. I will be adding the turet interiour though.

Started off by preppping the wheels. The road wheels and top rolers all has a seam running around them that needed sanding off, and while i was at it, i roughed up the wheels a bit with the file, taking a few small chunks out of the rubber.

Then i got to work on the suspension. For those who may not be familiar with Dragon kits but may have heard about the high level of egineering and high parts count, here is an example of what to expect.

Each suspension unit is made of of 3 parts. The spring on top, axel arm on the bottom and a small squre piece on the end where the 2 join.

If that was a Tamiya kit, it would be a single piece.

Also, along the bottom of the lower hull, you have the bump stops, the object next to the holes. Each of these is a seperate piece.

But unlike the Tiger and Panther kits, at least on this you get to see it.

Unfortunatly, this kit does not have a working suspension. So, because the area in the ruin the tank is going to sit has a small pile of rubble, i had to raise 3 of the stations slightly. So i took 3 of the leaf springs and warmed them up over a candle just enough to soften them to bend into the required shape.

Then i was able to get the suspension finished. There no PE down here, so was a pretty quick job once i had made the adjustments.

And then to the upper hull. I started off with the plastic parts that were not replaced by PE, mainly hatchs and vision port covers.

And then to the PE.

And thats it for now. Just got a few bits on the upper hull to add, plus the rear of the lower hull. Then i can start on the turret.

Thanks for looking, more soon.

Thanks for showing the nuts and bolts example.  I have new Dragon kits in the stash, and it's nice to know what I am in for when I get around to building them.  So far, this looks like a gem of a kit.

Thanks Dwayne, ye, its a nice little kit. Dragon kits are not so bad once you get your head around all the parts. And it usually looks worse than it is as many won't be for the version you are building. First thing i do is go through the parts list in the instructions and remove whats not needed.

Those PE bins look fantastic!  Did you solder them or use CA glue?  They really do look flawless. 

Nice start bish, looking forward to seeing more! I always enjoy your dios.

Thanks guys.

MM, i use CA. I have tried soldering once and should really pracice that, but those bins don't need much holding together.

Bish,

I will be following your work as well!  I know that I can find ideas here for my old Alan PzKfw. II C!

Bill Morrison

Glad to have you along Bill, hopefully i will be able to give you somthing useful. Be interested to see that old Alan kit.

Hi Bish,
How is the Voyager set?
Will shadow you with my Tasca on this, still looking for some good refernce pictures.


Ver Best Regards
JT

Thanks Johan. I have found Voyager sets to be the most tricky to work with, though this is one of the simplest ones. But there are a lot of un-neded parts in it. The Dragon kit comes with some nice PE and the Voyager even replicates some of this. If i was to buy this kit again, i would not bother with the PE.

I learnt a lesson a few years ago with a couple of Dragon Panther kits, and that to wait until i get the kit before getting any AM for it.

Hi Bish,
Thanks for the update!
Have the Dragon in the stash as well but was hoping to complete the Tasca in 1:24 that has become a SQ.
Turret #942 if I recall correctly from the Dragon drawing.

Sadly so many brooken links now with PB burning down the library.
Honestly - are they within the legal limmits? (I know, different topic, do not respond here, just link me to where I can follow the discussion) 

Thank you for sharing Bish, that ruin factory looks like a full kit in its own right :)

Very Best Regards
JT

No worries Johan. Ye, 942 is the one i am doing, with the patches of yellow over the Pz Grey. The factory ruin is rather nice. Didn't take long to assemble, have got the first colour of paint on it and will star on the brickwork and get some pics.

I am just glad i stoppe useing PB when i did. I know its caused a lot of hassle for a lot of people.

You're off to a great start Bish!  Nice work on modifying the leaf springs.  Love the PE work although I will confess...that much PE would scare the heck out of me!  I can do little clamps and such just fine, but whole tool boxes with hinges and doors....

Looking forward the rest of the of your work!

Thanks Ernst.

To be honest, i am going off all these PE sets. Its really not needed for many of these kits, unless you want to dent it up. The kits i have bought over the last couple of years, i have biought hardly any AM for them.

Looks awesome Bish, all that PE gives me a headache looking at it. And nice job on the articulated suspension, I still haven't gotten around to trying that yet. 

Thanks G. It was my fisrt timke doing that with a suspension as well. Funny what you will try when its forced on you.

Looking very good Bish. That pe looks fantastic.