Post by alexb on May 14, 2018 17:48:07 GMT
I built this over on Armorama for a Dragon Campaign. Since it's finished...at least for that campaign...I decided to post the build here. So get ready for a montage.
The kit is CyberHobby's boxing of the old Dragon kit. It looks like they added PE doors for the side storage bins. And as expected, they made bad instructions worse.The kit comes with indie tracks and Dragon's Wiking Division set (6131). To be fair, I've built a few of these CH German halftracks so I'm not going in to this blind.
I began pre-painting the road-wheels and lower-hull.
The lower hull was a pain. Fit was bad...look at them gaps. In hindsight, I could have used the firewall and floor as a jig to get everything square. Suspension arms are fragile and there's a good bit of play.
The tracks look terrifying. In truth, they go together quite nicely and can be made workable if one is careful with the cement. I would suggest a jig to hold the tracks until the cement sets.
I painted the tracks with that smelly dark gray auto primer I seem to be fixated on at the moment. Tracks were mounted. One side fit great while the other was a little loose....it's like a half link difference. Also, the weak suspension arms may need some tweaking to get them all right. I used the center wheels and the guide teeth as my common centering point.
Interior sub-assemblies...firewall/dashboard, seats/trans, and floor.
Front wheel suspension and steering stuffanisms. I'm going to lie and say it all fell into place like magic. Like alot of this build, fit quality varies.
Back to the interior. The placement of the driver's and co-driver/radio dude's armor ports are vague to put it lightly. Also, the glass blocks are molded solid gray. I would have liked them to have separate clear vision blocks so they can be positioned open...which is how these things were about 92% of the time. And I'll go ahead ad suggest the same for the other vision block glass, including the spares.
The kit supplies nylon mesh for the grill openings on the hood/bonnet. This would have been a great place to offer PE. I backed the openings with styrene and then added the mesh to give them some added support.
Interior side walls. These have raised lines for what appears to be about 83 different variants. Most of these will not be used and will need to be removed. See comment on vision block glass. I will replace the MP40 magazine holder with canvas ones from the spares. They are seen in walk-arounds of the vehicle and look better. The canvas cover for the interior storage bin will be removed so the bin can actually be used.
Painted the interior. The dash and radio added.
Interior added to lower hull. Fit is tight. I added the gasmask containers and MG ammo drum rack from the spares. The kit doesn't provide any accessories. Nasty raised lines.
I'll point out this issue while I am thinking about it. Note the top edge of the dash in front of the co-driver. That mark notes and area that I had to remove so the radio will clear it and the upper hull will sit on the sides.
Assembly basically done. Some gaps filled while some remain. Figure placed for scale.
Painted overall dark yellow. It's intentionally rough looking. Time for the PE doors. These really fell short of their potential. The recessed handle and latch really doesn't stand out well. If you pose the doors open you will still need to scratch the inner mechanisms. There are no plastic doors included.
Wrapping this one up. live green was used for the secondary color. They were added free-hand with a stiff brush, then blended using a damp sponge. Drybrushed, washed, etc. The kit markings are for two SS Wiking Division vehicles in HUngary. I tend to avoid SS subjects and since this is slated to be used in some other role, I simply used Army plates from the spares.
All in all, I am glad this build is over. It had some frustrating moments. The problems weren't damning but were a black eye for the kit. The gaps were bad. My SdKfz 250, 251, and 253 all had the same monster gap on the rear, beneath the rear door.
The original plan was to use this for the Valkyrie Division stuff. I've lost interest in that project...having to make the female soldier figures is the real issue. Instead, I'm thinking about a German Civil War scenario following the successful assassination of Hitler on July 20th.
The kit is CyberHobby's boxing of the old Dragon kit. It looks like they added PE doors for the side storage bins. And as expected, they made bad instructions worse.The kit comes with indie tracks and Dragon's Wiking Division set (6131). To be fair, I've built a few of these CH German halftracks so I'm not going in to this blind.
I began pre-painting the road-wheels and lower-hull.
The lower hull was a pain. Fit was bad...look at them gaps. In hindsight, I could have used the firewall and floor as a jig to get everything square. Suspension arms are fragile and there's a good bit of play.
The tracks look terrifying. In truth, they go together quite nicely and can be made workable if one is careful with the cement. I would suggest a jig to hold the tracks until the cement sets.
I painted the tracks with that smelly dark gray auto primer I seem to be fixated on at the moment. Tracks were mounted. One side fit great while the other was a little loose....it's like a half link difference. Also, the weak suspension arms may need some tweaking to get them all right. I used the center wheels and the guide teeth as my common centering point.
Interior sub-assemblies...firewall/dashboard, seats/trans, and floor.
Front wheel suspension and steering stuffanisms. I'm going to lie and say it all fell into place like magic. Like alot of this build, fit quality varies.
Back to the interior. The placement of the driver's and co-driver/radio dude's armor ports are vague to put it lightly. Also, the glass blocks are molded solid gray. I would have liked them to have separate clear vision blocks so they can be positioned open...which is how these things were about 92% of the time. And I'll go ahead ad suggest the same for the other vision block glass, including the spares.
The kit supplies nylon mesh for the grill openings on the hood/bonnet. This would have been a great place to offer PE. I backed the openings with styrene and then added the mesh to give them some added support.
Interior side walls. These have raised lines for what appears to be about 83 different variants. Most of these will not be used and will need to be removed. See comment on vision block glass. I will replace the MP40 magazine holder with canvas ones from the spares. They are seen in walk-arounds of the vehicle and look better. The canvas cover for the interior storage bin will be removed so the bin can actually be used.
Painted the interior. The dash and radio added.
Interior added to lower hull. Fit is tight. I added the gasmask containers and MG ammo drum rack from the spares. The kit doesn't provide any accessories. Nasty raised lines.
I'll point out this issue while I am thinking about it. Note the top edge of the dash in front of the co-driver. That mark notes and area that I had to remove so the radio will clear it and the upper hull will sit on the sides.
Assembly basically done. Some gaps filled while some remain. Figure placed for scale.
Painted overall dark yellow. It's intentionally rough looking. Time for the PE doors. These really fell short of their potential. The recessed handle and latch really doesn't stand out well. If you pose the doors open you will still need to scratch the inner mechanisms. There are no plastic doors included.
Wrapping this one up. live green was used for the secondary color. They were added free-hand with a stiff brush, then blended using a damp sponge. Drybrushed, washed, etc. The kit markings are for two SS Wiking Division vehicles in HUngary. I tend to avoid SS subjects and since this is slated to be used in some other role, I simply used Army plates from the spares.
All in all, I am glad this build is over. It had some frustrating moments. The problems weren't damning but were a black eye for the kit. The gaps were bad. My SdKfz 250, 251, and 253 all had the same monster gap on the rear, beneath the rear door.
The original plan was to use this for the Valkyrie Division stuff. I've lost interest in that project...having to make the female soldier figures is the real issue. Instead, I'm thinking about a German Civil War scenario following the successful assassination of Hitler on July 20th.
