Please do tell us how many track links you end up building for each side. Tamiya says 87 & Takom say 92, whereas a 'perfect' factory fresh real tank should theoretically have 90 links.
Also, it would be good to know which idler setting you use, for the number of track links. Apparently the kit has 3 positions for fitting the idler far back into the track horn, midway, or poking out infront of the track horn.
Also, did you get proper Flirt decals in your Female? I got Male decals in my Female kit!
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"You there on the port!". "S'gin actually, but thanks for noticing [hic]".
I'll keep you updated. Today I seperated all track parts from the sprues and assembled another 80 links, hopefully tomorrow I will be able to show the finished tracks.
To my mind, the clean up is probably going to be harder than the building. Although PMMS did say they found it difficult to keep the tracks straight & even.
Decals are not really a prob for me, as I fancy a pre-issue training / or early battle tank with huge numbers and no unditching rails, instead of the kit choices, but it is interesting to see who got what in their box.
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"You there on the port!". "S'gin actually, but thanks for noticing [hic]".
Well I only clean up the parts B1 prior to assembly. Instead, I cut B2-5 as close to the part as possible, to get a ok-ish glue edge to B1. Then I glue them together, and when it's not dry to 100% yet, I snap them together and try to correct misalignments. I also plan to sand the surface built up from B2-5 when all links are finished, but I am not trying to have it perfect on the invisible inside as I'm building an intact tank.
I'm not yet sure which tank I will depict. I'm thinking about either Flirt II at training or a tank with the number 2544 which is seen on at least two pictures. Deborah would be my first choice, but I have no picture of it prior to its destruction.
I have now 160 links completed and will build another 30 tonight, so I'll have enough for the tank tomorrow. I've also tested the sanding-after-linking idea, and it works like a charm. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Then I'll also start with the rest of the tank.
This is interesting work. 88 links with no running gear, just the track frames... I do hope you get a perfect 90 links with everything in place.
I know it is a bit pedantic, but I should be delighted to hit a perfect 90 and have 15 evenly spaced grousers - even though they were often very randomly fitted in reality.
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"You there on the port!". "S'gin actually, but thanks for noticing [hic]".
I hope so, too, but 89 would also be fine with me. Although I think that there is enough possibility to get the track tighter by glueing the links together in the end. It does have a lot of elasticity.
I should be intrigued to know which idler setting you end up using. Racked right in, intermediate 1, intermediate 2 or racked right out.
Not that I think of you as a guinea-pig by any means, but shared knowledge and experience of this kit is going to be pure gold for other modellers.
Did you spot that you have to shave back a lot of the rivets to fit the escape doors under the female sponsons?
My personal research - when I get to building - will be on the idea of modelling male [actually SUPPLY] sponsons stowed inboard, since it looks like this could be achieved by cutting back the mounting lips around the hull apertures. The hull apertures even have internal rivet detail, for anyone looking to model inboard sponsons during transport or marshalling.
-- Edited by compound eye on Monday 8th of September 2014 01:49:38 PM
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"You there on the port!". "S'gin actually, but thanks for noticing [hic]".
I think that all positions can be modeled because of the elasticity of the tracks. But I'll keep you updated.
I didn't have a look yet on the sponsons, so I can't comment on this yet, sorry.
Yes, there is a fir amount of internal detail present. However, in reality, there are holes and cutouts in the plates which are represented by parts E8, E9, E10 and E11. If you have access to it, take a look at the drawings in the Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual, the cutouts are at least partially marked there. They would be visible if you model the sponsons in stowed position I think.
I hope that my build-thread shows in the end where easy modifications (like the rivet relocation and modifications) can be made, and if there are more problematic areas. I just hope that I don't oversee errors...
a small Update: Yesterday I glued on most of the details on the hull. Also, I made molds from the commander's and driver's visor flaps and poured them from resin, an Update will follow. The same I did for the track adjustion screws.
Then I started with the assembly of the sections. Other than in the instructions, I first glued on the inner plates to prevent misalignment:
Then the wheels were put in.
Here, two more errors in the kit surfaced: The bottom rollers should be without the holes (heavy type), and the single wheel on top of the back should have the flanges like on my render:
Then I assembled the outer armor plates, and put on the tracks for testing:
The idler wheel is placed in the position mid-forward, and the tracks have 90 links. They are a bit loose but will look fine when glued on.
I won't make it completely today. Only PE parts and sponsons are missing, but I don't want to rush it. I will post the next update until next weekend, when the build is finished.
a quick question: On the inner horns, closely behind the petrol tank, there is an open hole on each side (perhaps for the inspection of the drive wheel gear). Were these covered in combat? Lodestar III and Liberty have a round plate on them, but I'm unable to confirm this with contemporary photos.
I had to make some modifications to represent Flirt II at Wailly which I will not cover here due to the use of unpublished material. But everything is fine now, and I started with the base and put on the brown color. Here is a picture sequence of the building of the base:
Unfortunately the decals of the kit are too large compared to the real photos, so I will mask the markings and use the airbrush.
Regards, Thorsten
-- Edited by thorst on Wednesday 1st of October 2014 05:58:11 PM
Because the decals of the kit are too large, I masked the markings "F.4" and "FLIRT II" and painted them in white using the airbrush. Afterwards, I painted the playing card emblem to the sides by hand and a fine brush. To finish the initial painting, I sealed everything with a german Future-equivalent (Bims Vollglanz). Here are some pictures:
Cheers, Thorsten
-- Edited by thorst on Wednesday 1st of October 2014 10:17:26 PM
-- Edited by thorst on Wednesday 1st of October 2014 10:18:19 PM
Love it!
BTW, I have been studying the rear armored panels, and I've never seen the small square device prortuing at the rear, with the "handle" (that you added in brass sheet). What is that?
D.
there are photos showing the "small square device" on the HMLS Excellent photo set on the main site but this is not on the rear armour panels but on the rear of the tank but in the same approximate position
-- Edited by Druid_Ian on Friday 3rd of October 2014 12:34:00 AM
Wonderful work on the model!
Your improvements are very well done!
I've built it too, but was a bit disgusted with the tracks I eventually built mostly without the connectors, just adding plastic card to obtain a correct space between the frames and the links.
