alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 767
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Post by alexb on Mar 31, 2024 23:09:39 GMT
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 1, 2024 0:22:46 GMT
Excellent choice, Alex!
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Post by JEFF on Apr 1, 2024 1:44:46 GMT
Fantastic pick,Alex. Are those pre-sagged tracks I see in there?
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Post by bwilt on Apr 1, 2024 6:00:57 GMT
Nice!!
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Post by Paul B on Apr 1, 2024 6:06:53 GMT
That's a good choice Alex , and she's a grand little kit to build
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Post by tommygunn on Apr 1, 2024 6:51:18 GMT
Lovely.
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 767
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Post by alexb on Apr 3, 2024 4:52:41 GMT
Fantastic pick,Alex. Are those pre-sagged tracks I see in there?
Why yes...yes there are. They are actually quite nice looking. Hopefully they'll go together good...not all that thrilled about assembling tiny Pzr II tracks.
But let's get to hacking....
Suspension. Pretty straightforward. Fit is pretty nice.
The roadwheels. I left one of each un-assembled to show the parts. The fit was great though I did notice one roadwheel was misaligned...probably a fluke for this one tree. They also want you to use a different pair of drive wheels on another parts tree. I couldn't see any obvious differences between the two sets. Also, and this shocked me, the kit was missing the polycap sprue. I had some in the spares...just really shocked it was left out. That may be the first Tamiya kit Ive ever bought that was missing something. I jumped ahead and added the return rollers.
Fighting compartment. Again, fit is great. Everything just fell into place.
Lower hull mostly done.
Now onto the gun. A bit of a photo dump but I spaced these out with parts, then assembled. I'm getting repetitive but it really went together well.
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Gun shield. Horrible fit...made me question my faith in humanity. Not really...it was great. The only thing I'd note is the shield halves are connected with a delicate piece...so be careful to not break it. The assembled shield is upside down so you can see. I kept getting a shadow otherwise.
Upper hull. Even the gun rest fell together like magic.
Side shields.
Upper hull placed on lower. Tossed in a few add-on bits liek the tow cable and jack.
Assembly is done and she's ready for paint. Since they are link & length, I'll do the tracks after they are painted (primed black). Each side is only 13 pieces.
This kit went together so well, too well. I'm not even really trying to build it this fast. So far it's a joy to build. And I'm building...no distractions, no options/choices that I over-think and get stuck on. Short of some major problems with the track..or something...this will be done by the weekend.
I'M SCARED
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Post by tommygunn on Apr 3, 2024 5:53:15 GMT
Top job alexb
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Post by Paul B on Apr 3, 2024 6:59:58 GMT
Excellent fiddlings there Alex , you'll be onto paint tomorrow
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Post by bwilt on Apr 3, 2024 12:22:04 GMT
That looks like speedbuilding.. great job!
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Post by jabbly on Apr 3, 2024 12:25:45 GMT
It’s one of the things I like about Tamiya kits, you can spend an hour or two at the bench and feel like you’ve made real progress.
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Post by JEFF on Apr 3, 2024 13:41:46 GMT
That didn't take long. Well done Alex.
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 767
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Post by alexb on Apr 3, 2024 14:49:22 GMT
Sprayed the base coats this morning. Plan to hang the tracks this afternoon.
This kit has been a joy to build so far...it really just falls together. I have already test-fitted the gun shield and side armor so I don't see any problems there. I may be jinxing myself but I can see this one done by this weekend.
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Post by nito74 on Apr 4, 2024 2:21:15 GMT
Now I remember why it took me months to finish my Wespe... I decided to use an Aber PE set. I didn't use a third of it. But my kit was the old one with rubber band tracks.
Yours is looking great Alex ! You'll be done next weekend at this pace
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Post by Marco on Apr 4, 2024 10:50:51 GMT
Great and fast start Alex!
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 767
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Post by alexb on Apr 4, 2024 18:34:45 GMT
Thanks all. The kit really is a breeze.
Painted. I shot a coat of dunklegrun the other morning. I did add a trailer...one of the Wespe's issues was its ammo capacity. But more on that later. Dried, I gave it a quick drybrushing...mainly for the suspension before I added the tracks.
Tracks were painted flat black. There's only 13 pieces for each track run so it's just a bit of cleanup at the "joints". They went on well.
Mounted the gun. Tamiya did yeoman's service on the gunshield...bam jam fit..no need for fiddly support braces or hard to find shield mounts.
I decided to it needed a trailer to carry extra ammo and fuel. I was going to use a scratchbuilt trailer based on the trailers they used for the flak guns. I knew I had a few from old Esci kits. I had an Italeri ammunition trailer set....which I remembered when I rediscovered their existence in the box with the Esci trailers. They were already assembled so a quick shot of paint...and BAM!
With trailer and side armor placed (but not cemented) for mock up. Ignore those similarly painted AFVs in the background...their farming equipment...yeah that's it.
Almost finished. Probably will wrap things up by the weekend. Still want to add some personal gear to the thing, working up headset for the radio, and maybe some maps and so forth. Tracks need cleanup and and weathering. And then a general wash or two to tie everything together.
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Post by bwilt on Apr 4, 2024 18:51:04 GMT
That trailer really is a nice extra bit!
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Post by Robbo on Apr 4, 2024 19:17:06 GMT
Your not hanging about
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 767
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Post by alexb on Apr 4, 2024 22:28:57 GMT
Thanks.
I do love my little trailers. Inexpensive way to add that little extra to just about every build.
Rob, Blame the kit...thing almost put itself together. It really is a nice bit of styrene. I've got some declarations and a couple of actual critiques on the kit but I'll save those for the end.
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Post by Paul B on Apr 5, 2024 4:08:32 GMT
Excellent indeed Alex ole chap . The trailer is a good addition as well, possibly something that could have been done back in the day
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