Comet A34- Ludwig kit

[43rdRecceReg]

Reassuring words, Painless! Just as well, as things get really tricky now. I've decided to fit a 'Normandy cowl' to the Comet, and well recall the difficulties I had shaping the cowl. Even four hands wouldn't have been enough to hold the component parts together as they set.
The cowl was fitted to prevent exhaust fumes blowing back into the turret. At the same time, it also meant that the tank could carry infantry around on the engine deck, without gassing them to death.
It looked like this:

Comet Mk 1-type A with full Normandy Cowl

The type B Comet, introduced after the war, had fishtail type exhausts- removing the need for the cowl altogether. However, Type A models (the one I'm aiming for) were often fitted with a twin cowl, as the gap in between the cowls was needed for the Gun, when it was locked in the travel position. That's the type I'm aiming to make; and it's going to be even more niggly than assembling a full cowl.

Comet type A with split Normandy Cowl-1944

[43rdRecceReg]

In the meantime, I've added the periscopes to the Lower Hull, the front trackguards, and bonded the glacis panel in place. The 'hinged' parts on the front guards have been scratch built, along with the bolts and extra supports on the guard itself (not parts included in the kit).
I sprayed a little Tamiya primer on just to see how things are shaping up (bits needing attention often show up better when coated in a think layer of surface primer.). Just noticed a broken bolthead on the Driver's
visor/porthole hinge- for example. I'd forgotten that

Comet build-update

I'm trying to get the details to match those seen here. A simple right-angled support strut is supplied with the Comet kit, to attach the front mudguard to the Glacis plate. In reality, the strut has sides (at right angles) that are bolted to the wings and inner wings. As with the King Tiger, and Pz IV, the Comet front mudguards are hinged. I simulated hinges with styrene rod and fillet strips.

Comet front track guard brackets and hinges

As usual- click to ENLARGE images

[43rdRecceReg]

These are the parts supplied for the one-piece Normany Cowling:

Comet build-Normandy Cowling kit parts

But, I want to build the split version of the Cowling, the one was introduced to permit the gun to be locked in travel position.
So...I used the supplied support segments to make some more supports.

Normany cowling-parts for twin cowl

[43rdRecceReg]

Cowl supports

Putting a decent curve into the Cowling shroud is ... (as I recall from my previous efforts on the Cromwell build)... something of a nightmare. You can try heat and hot water, to fashion curved panels; but they don't seem to work very well. Using a heat gun can condemn the newly shrivelled up, curled, or permanently twisted styrene sheet to the rubbish bin, with only a tiny tad too much heat.
I learned this the hard way.
One method I tried of 'softening up' the reluctant styrene panel, was to score lots of lines on the inside of the panel, using a Tamiya scriber (one of my favourite tools). Here:

Scoring styrene sheet to form a curve

(Do click on all these images to ENLARGE them, by the way.)
Well, while this helped to weaken the panel, it also produced a very complex polygonal on the outside (like the old threepenny bit). This simply wouldn't cut the mustard, and so I abandoned that idea.
Instead, what I did, first of all, was to bond all of the curved segments to a 3mm piece of styrene- having first cut slots out, to embed them in:

Fitting curved supports to base

Then I bonded the front edge of the shroud, allowing it to cure for quite a while.

Attaching shroud

[43rdRecceReg]

Having attached the roots of the shrouds to the base, so to speak,- I put the panels into traction to bend them into shape. (Probably like working on a Mosquito's plywood wing.. )

The small cramps helped to form and retain the curve during bonding (using Revell Contacta Professional), whilst improvised 'wedges' helped complete the bond.

Using formers, to get the shroud's shape

Here's what the blueprint of the split/twin cowlings looks like:

Twin cowling blueprint

[43rdRecceReg]

The unit's almost dried now, but I'll apply some Plasto filler to it, and sand it, before cementing it to the hull.
Meantime, I've got the storage boxes finished, barring sanding and ann internal hinge mechanism (I might simply use Duck tape, as the pivots won't be visible- only the simulated full-length hinges will be on display)

Comet storage box

[HERMAN BIX]

For hinges, could you use tiny brass tube and fuse wire to allow them to function .?

[43rdRecceReg]

For hinges, could you use tiny brass tube and fuse wire to allow them to function .?

Those 1/35 maestros would have no difficulty with that, I'm sure, HB. Even at this scale, though, things get tricky for ancient hands and eyes. The tube would have to have an outside diameter of less than 1mm in order to keep within the scale values of the box. That would be something like a hypodermic needle.
Then, bonding alternate sections to the lid and the casing would be nightmarish. I couldn't work with minuscule brass parts in the way that Barry does.
While I'd like the finished model to look like a passable Comet- even from close up, I'm not after the truly meticulous detail to be found in offerings from Louis, (Imcq11), Alwyn, Freddy, Barry C, and a few others.
When I've got the model up and running, I might look at adding a few fine details....

[HERMAN BIX]

Hey I gotchya !........you are making it look easy enough to pull hinges off without any extra Whiskey shots
Considering the boxes will not be needed to open & shut on any regular basis, fair call
Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should !!

Those curved cowls are sublime , nice carpentry skills Sir.

[43rdRecceReg]

Hey I gotchya !........you are making it look easy enough to pull hinges off without any extra Whiskey shots
Considering the boxes will not be needed to open & shut on any regular basis, fair call
Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should !!

Those curved cowls are sublime , nice carpentry skills Sir.

Many thanks, H.B. I'm not sure if warping plasticard counts as carpentry; but woodworking techniques are definitely transferable to model tank building
This is what the Normandy Twin Exhaust shroud/ Cowling looks like in place.
I have still to fill and sand it, as well as drilling holes in the baseplate to receive smoke unit pipes. o
Other than that, I'm fairly happy that all the effort was worthwhile.

The right hand unit still needs some filler and sanding. I'm going to use meng rivets for embellishments on the edges, and elsewhere on the tank.

Normandy Cowl in place- needing filler and finish