SU 100 RESURRECTION..3RD GUARDS, BELORUSSIAN FRONT , 1945

[HERMAN BIX]

Good Morning, Herman!
The repairs are coming along Great! Also, Innovative as all get out to use brass for the Trunnion link. New Job in the civvy sector? You will do fine! You are nothing else if not adaptable as Time has shown.
regards,
Painless

Thanks Mr Wolf, brass is the "new Black"
I call anything not in the drilling sector a 'civilian' job !!
New terminology, equipment and ............er, conduct, is required.
I fear I have become mildly institutionalised..........but I will get it.

[HERMAN BIX]

Bix: as for years, I always am agog at your builds. But I am curious about your new job, too. The only jobs I had in life were a long, hard, but rewarding slog in academia, not really the "ivory tower" some say it to be, but with a culture all its own, fraught with both good and bad, fine people and total nut cases.

Cheers Prof, no Ivory Tower for me I can assure you!
In fact, the polar opposite.
Ebony Tower is closer.
I have gone from a member of the vile hydrocarbon promoting, stripping of the earths resources entity, to one of having a part to play in the environmentally 'aware' and proactive segment of society that ......................
Recycles Ti(y)res
Well, not recycling exactly, rather reducing them to the core elements of material that they are made of.

Base Hydrocarbons(tire derived oil product)
Carbon (which I now wear home in every nook & cranny)
Steel.

Culture shock with a capital C

[HERMAN BIX]

Have been doing a bit on this, kind of subtle forward motion rather than revolutionary landmark creation

The figuring out of the recoil mechanism, and mounting method has taken a bit of time to get sorted without over stroking the servo & burning it out.
It took a few goes to get the linkage from the servo to the recoil slide right, but its solid and still allows a bit of flexible forgiveness in case of accidents.
Lego and 2-part epoxy was the method of attachment of the servo to the recoil unit.
Same approach with the elevation servo. Lego block on the casemate roof, and one on the servo body.
Way I think it is that if the servo burns out, I can rip the Lego block off it & glue it to the next one

I have taken a bit of time to get the barrel retaining and alignment right, while working with what I have.
She's near enough for this kid.

[c.rainford73]

Great progress Mr Bix

Sent from my moto g stylus 5G using Tapatalk

[HERMAN BIX]

Cheers Mr Rainford, any progress is good progress eh !

A couple of simple servo links made out of left over H/L aerials , and another lego block attachment for the elevation & its near enough for this kid.
I did make an elevation guide for the recoil unit to minimise the slop in the trunnions that was allowing the long barrel to look like it almost had rotation !!
Once the outside is done, this should look the part and fit in the line with the other Soviet machines I have.

[HERMAN BIX]

Not given up, rather been distracted by the new job and all thats associated with it.
Another difference is this one is not "phone-centric" so I can actually switch off when I get home..................after almost 20 years of being the 1-ring answerer, I took ages to stop looking at the thing in case I've missed something

Got the internals sorted so the electronics function as well as they can, plus I went to the lego box again to secure the upper hull to the lower.
A strategically placed '8-block' that mates to another in the lower hull between the gearboxes ,stood off the lower plate by a spacer made of styrene and 2 part epoxy to keep it all in palce on the respective sections.
Fuel tanks are also on. They were left over from the SU project, resin, and only 3 good ones.
Although they dont sit perfectly, they are ok, and more robust than the Trumpeter ones which were munted off the thing thanks to international post
The last station will need to be made up of an improvised clutter of a 205L drum and a T34 fuel tank roped into place above the tool box.
No I get that this is not the specific look of the vehicle in the period picture I've gone off, but there was more than one SU 100 in the unit marked for the anniversary of the Uzbek State. I will adjust the numbering accordingly.
last of all is the rain/debris cover over the mantlet. I did that out of brass, as the resin item was just awful
Mines a bit better while still not trumpeter-perfect.

[PainlessWolf]

Mornin', Herman!
On Tanks, nothing is perfect 30 minutes after it leaves the Depot. Something is going to get knocked askew, especially external fuel tanks. Just the vibration of all that weight in motion will cause gear to settle in odd positions. Following along,
regards,
Painless

[HERMAN BIX]

Thats very true Mr Wolf. Im pretending the mounts on this one were bent bad enough to mean mounting a fuel tank on them was not going to happen and the original tank was lost & replaced with a substitute and a 205 drum purloined from an "unwilling volunteer" !!
That said, I get models that are renovators dreams/basket cases & try to turn them into a silk purse, but I get a new model(like the JS2) and try to turn it into a Sows ear !
Perhaps I need to review my strategy

[HERMAN BIX]

The deflected guard section on the right side as pictured in the subject image is on.
Used thin alloy sheet(rather than brass)so I could manipulate it a bit easier.
The shape looks about right, as does the twist !
Once the tracks are on I can trim the lower edge to just miss the top of the track run.
Hope to get the last weld texture on and into primer this weekend.

[HERMAN BIX]

Well, its at least one shade now!
I just could not cope with the patchwork appearance any longer.
Used a light coat of Mr Surfacer 500 spray can to blend the lot together.
Tomorrow is a light coat of actual paint primer, and perhaps a dust of TS-42 light gun metal as I have used before to get the ultra light undercoat before shading and 4BO goes on.
While its not going to end up as a full on mm perfect version, its close enough and I'm certainly grateful to Mr Markocaster for the opportunity to finish it off.