Thanks mates for your help. I know that some nice kits will be soon available, but I like the challenge to obtain a decent model from un ugly kit..At least, I hope so.. On the other hand, no doubt that the incoming kits will be fantastic..
Luca.
-- Edited by Luca on Thursday 1st of May 2014 10:06:47 AM
Hi mates .
I started working on my Mk IV.
I have a first question for the experts of the forum, concerning the loophole of the rear door.
Which kind of stuff covers the hole on the inner surface of the door?
It seems to be a simple round lid, but in some pics from outside it seems to be divided in two parts..
Can anybody explain the mystery?
I´ll build the second gun in the same way in which I´m building the first. There are lots of small details that I won´t be able to reproduce using a mould ..
First I have to apologize because of the delay since the last post. Had a lot to do with my..main job.
In the meanwhile I got the Owner's Workshop Manual on the Mk IV, and it helps a lot
At present I left the guns aside and went on the differential.
Here are some photos. I'd say it is 80% done..
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That's how I did the structure..
..then the basic shape, made with Milliput..
..a lathe would have been useful.
Here are the pieces, made with 1 mm. thick plasticard, reproducing the joint between the upper half and the lower half. They are still roughly shaped..
Once finished the main body the detailing work begins..
 The black arrow in the photo above points out a gap to be filled. These are "work in progress" photos, and of course many details were..revised.
Here are some photos of the current state of the differential..
Ok, that is it, for now.
You see, the piece needs some sanding, and details must yet be added. Hope to complete it in the next weekend.
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Since I'm so slow, to finish this model certainly will take a long time ( and I'm pretty sure that, in the meanwhile, some updating set for the interior of the Mk IV will be available on the market).
Anyway, scratchbuilding is a lot of fun, isn't it?
Hope to have a feedback from the experts of the forum. It'd be easy to correct any fault at this phase of the building..
I found some drawings of the interior of the tank, and they were useful to check the correct size in 1/35 scale. But sure, the photos are the main source for detailing..
don't forget the mud-chute cutouts, above the petrol tank, like I did on my Emhar ... Aaargh
I had glued the body together before I got inspired by the Emhar kit to start my 1/16 project (and the research involved).. and when I realised it, it was too late to correct.
Another thing, do not get misled by my "petrol cap" on the 1/16 as it is a charging connector. The real thing looks like this (bad picture with lots of noise because it was so dark in there):
I hope this helps with your stunning build.
Best regards,
Martin
-- Edited by MRG on Sunday 22nd of March 2015 09:13:07 PM
Actually, I was very inspired by your superb 1/16. And now you prevent my wishes! I stopped the updating of the fuel filler cap since wasn't able to find out such a photo. It helps a lot.
Apologies, the photos are quite poor since I used the camera of my mobile..
I added the ends to the differential. Just the..structure, since they will be covered in the finished model. At the moment they are..telescopic, to allow a correct fitting when this stuff will be connected to the side walls
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The hexagonal bolts are both the resin ones by Verlinden and copies of them made with a Milliput mold..Monsieur Verlinden did a better job than me
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Finally I made this little stuff, whose use I don't know. Some bit has yet to be added, but right now don't want to feed the carpet monsters
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The differential needs some sanding, but it' more less finished.
Some little progress with the interior of the Mk IV.
I started to build the subframe where the radiator, the differential, the gearbox and the engine will be installed.
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I used wood laths to make the ensemble rigid enough, then covered them with plasticard.
The area inside the red lines will be removed when the subframe will be completed, since it wasn't actually part of this structure. At the moment it's helpful to keep the alignment as "square" as possible.
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To be honest I'm not completely sure if the holes of the plate inside the red lines are of the correct size  and I guess it's going to be tricky to place the steering brake levers..
So, I'd be glad when somebody had infos concerning this area, since at the moment every fault could be "easily" revised..
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A close-up of the fore section..
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 ..and the ensemble at the moment
That is it for now.
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Cheers
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Luca
-- Edited by Luca on Thursday 16th of April 2015 01:37:55 PM
First, Diego and Thorst thanks for your kind words and apologies for the late reply.
Slow progress but..something done.
I built and set in place the steering brake levers. Found a shot of Grit that was of some use to properly locate their brackets..at least, hope so. The tricky thing in this case is that the handles of the levers will be very close to the glacis plate.
In the photo above the tail of the subframe can be seen, too, in the area where the radiators will be placed.
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A view of the levers from the front left..
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Here is one of the tubular radiators. This one will be placed on the right, so I made the pipes, since they will be visible in the finished model. The second radiator is going to be more..basic.
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Now a rough "layout" of the elements built at the moment, with both the radiator and the differential just resting on the subframe.