Comet A34- Ludwig kit

This section is for builds that are not strictly Tamiya or Heng Long. For instance, replacing the electronics from a WSN or Matorro, or even a scratch-build.
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

Thanks, Adam, Herman and Tom. All points duly noted. :thumbup: I think I've rigged the suspension so that if anything breaks, it shouldn't provoke a massive shouting session. :|

Now, getting the return rollers fitted, so that that they can also be 'maintenance-friendly,' is still an even knottier problem to solve. I think I have the solution; but am waiting on Pz 111 rollers rolling in from Rctank. I don't think it matters that much if the roller mountings are bonded in place, so long as the axles and rollers can be withdrawn.
Meantime I'm making the front mudguards, and planning to fit the (working) headlights and light guards to the front glacis panel. More on those things later.. :wave:
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

Assembling the front mudguards involves bending a plate, and can be pretty tricky. The outermost joint between plate and triangular side has a curved fillet to act as a former, and to reinforce the joint. The inner panel doesn't have a fillet supplied- so, I made one. The shape was already there in the discarded sprue/ styrene plate. :|
Former and fillet for front mudguard
Former and fillet for front mudguard
Now, both the inner and outer wings have a curved former to help shape the curved part.
Mudguard curved reinforcing fillets.
Mudguard curved reinforcing fillets.
I may not bond the mudguards on just yet. Access to the front idler is easier during setup, without the wing of the mudguard in the way. I discovered that with the Cromwell build.
Now, it's time to fit the headlamps. This will then allow me to bond the glacis plate in place.
These bits are what I have available for the job:
Image
The headlights are from HL's Crusader model (an extra); but the same headlamps were fitted to the Churchill, Cromwell, and Comet as well. The donor lamps (for the wired LEDs) are from the Taigen T34. I bought several from Forgebear, intending to use them for the auxiliary lamps often fitted to the turrets of the Cromwell and Comet.
The Comet kit includes styrene lamp protectors, as seen below, but I preferred to buy the Crusader metal versions. They take a bit of shaping, and the crosspieces have to be cut out, but they're ideal for bolting- instead of cementing- in place :thumbup:
Image
This was part of the bulb transplant from T34 to Comet
This was part of the bulb transplant from T34 to Comet
I'm aiming to copy the light arrangement on the Polish Comet.


Image
It ought to be fairly straightforward... :)
Ahh.. but with builds such as these, it's wise to expect the unexpected. >:<
On these two blueprints (necessary when ye have nae other sources :problem: ) the lights and protectors are symmetrical, as are the curved retainers that hold the two ropes.
Blueprint A- Comet front lamps
Blueprint A- Comet front lamps
Blueprint B- front lamp assembly
Blueprint B- front lamp assembly
Blueprint-Comet A34-version B-symmetry.jpeg (94.89 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
Sooo...I began drilling holes for the lamps on the glacis plate, having used a ruler to ensure the holes were the same distance from the edge. After I'd drilled the holes, and begun to fit the lights- I noticed something amiss. There was an odd lack of symmetry. Then, I twigged that the curved two rope holders are not symmetrical on the model. They're out. In fact, by a shade one is 22mm from the edge, and the other slightly over 25mm. :think:
Glacis component asymmetry
Glacis component asymmetry
Hmm..that got the inner detail (semi) obsessive wondering what was going on. Did CL know something about the design that had eluded me, or could he have made a mistake? 8O
Last edited by 43rdRecceReg on Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
User avatar
PainlessWolf
Lieutenant-Colonel
Posts: 7399
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:09 pm
Location: Southern Colorado Rocky Mountains

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good afternoon, Roy!
Great work and a keen eye for noticing the non symmetrical tow rope holders.
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

No matter what the actual answer to this conundrum might be, I still have to carry on with the fitment. However, I don't want to keep drilling holes, and so I resolved to have the lamps and their protectors appearing symmetrical, whilst there's not much I can do about the two holders. They're fitted in precut grooves.
Well, here's what the lamps look like with defenders in place. The LH lamp has 'glass fitted, whereas the RH one will have a hood or shroud fitted, as per the setup on the Polish Comet. I'll have to make that myself.
Image
Incidentally, I've just found some interesting pics of a Comet rebuild on a Czech Museum website. https://tankysmrzovka.cz
For anyone wondering what the Cromwell and Comet suspension looks like with the skirts pulled up, so to speak, these pics of a stripped down Comet should prove interesting:
Czech Comet suspension bared
Czech Comet suspension bared
Image
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

PainlessWolf wrote:Good afternoon, Roy!
Great work and a keen eye for noticing the non symmetrical tow rope holders.
regards,
Painless
Thanks, Painless. Beyond the somewhat spartan guidelines in the build Pdf, much of the construction process is unknown territory; and I guess that's what makes it so compelling in many ways...once you get the bug, that is :D
Then again, there's always another conundrum requiring the Midnight Oil to be lit. :think: :S
The next one concerns the Henntec unit, and how to fit a Pz 111 idler to it. The standard axle and locking rings (collars with locking grub screws) supplied with the kit are too large to go through the metal idler
(with idler bearing fitted). The plastic idler version has what looks a captive self-tapping screw functioning as an axle. This, is too small for the Henntec arm. More on this later, with pics.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

Before I get back to the knotty drive train issues, I thought I might mention the difference between the Cromwell styled storage boxes supplied with the kit, and the actual appearance of Comet units.
The Comet units have plain surfaces (without the embossed stiffening ribs), and the lids have lipped edges so:
Click to ENLARGE these pics, by the way. :thumbup:
They're not pasted in from Imgur.
Comet L.H. storage bin
Comet L.H. storage bin
Here's shot of the bins on a Cromwell blueprint. The raised ribs are apparent of the top of the unit and the lid, The lid itself is flat, and has no lipped edges. This is what you will get with the Comet kit,, and it's wrong, I'm afraid. Still, all that needs to be done is to fit the panels with grooves for the ribs facing inward, so that the plain surface is the visible one.
Cromwell overhead blueprint shot of storage bins
Cromwell overhead blueprint shot of storage bins
First, I had to remove the raised edge of the bin's sides. On the Cromwell, the lif sits flush inside this raised edge. On the Comet, the lid extends right to the side's edge, and then hangs over it in the form of a short lipped edge. I seem to be making the terminology up as I go along; but I hope you're getting the drift. :lolno: Finding the actual engineering terms used by the designers, is a major task in its own right. :think:
Comet storage box mod pic A
Comet storage box mod pic A
I actually had to replace the supplied styrene lid, as it was too short to reach the edges of the box. Then, I used some split 2x2mm angles styrene to create the edges. I might trim a bit off yet, for scale purposes.
I also added a 1mm styrene tube (bar) to simulate the type of hinge used on the box, that runs the length of it.
Comet build-Storage box lid modification.
Comet build-Storage box lid modification.
Still more to do to get the right look, but it's 90% there, I think.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
User avatar
BarryC
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2463
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:43 am
Location: Savannah, GA. USA

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by BarryC »

Roy,

You've doing a fantastic job. :clap:
No RTR or "Shake the Box" build happening here! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Barry
"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail."
Leonardo Da Vinci
User avatar
PainlessWolf
Lieutenant-Colonel
Posts: 7399
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:09 pm
Location: Southern Colorado Rocky Mountains

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good morning, Roy!
You are doing a great job keeping the details in mind and making available parts work with some neat scratch building and modding. I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished and running. Barry! I hear your Alien Overlords and your Machine Shop calling. Get back to work!
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
User avatar
Son of a gun-ner
Lieutenant-Colonel
Posts: 6865
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 8:49 pm
Location: Surrey UK

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

BarryC wrote:No RTR or "Shake the Box" build happening here! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Barry
Do you mean like your builds Barry :P
Mick - The grit in the underpants of life!
And always happy to spare the bytes

TOTM needs YOU :thumbup: support YOUR TOTM competition, I'm doing my part, are YOU?
User avatar
43rdRecceReg
Major
Posts: 6295
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:38 am
Location: North West Highlands, Scotland

Re: Comet A34- Ludwig kit

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

BarryC wrote:Roy,

You've doing a fantastic job. :clap:
No RTR or "Shake the Box" build happening here! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Barry
Many thanks, Barry! After years following your meticulous metalworking miracles, I'm afraid I can only offer this modest contribution in plastic (mostly :D )
RTR? :haha: More like 'Road To Ruin' especially with these flatpack builds, as the cost keeps mounting.
I just discovered that the Heng Long Stug motors (StuG gearboxes were recommended) simply won't fit. Even a contortionist, with Houdini's abilities, couldn't have figured a way in for these boxes. I've ordered some Taigen StuG motors, they look as if they can be levered into place. Fingers crossed.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
Post Reply

Return to “Other Builds”