1/16 PzKpfw III Ausf M - Trumpeter/Heller kit with Taigen hull integration - Build

[MonsieurTox]

Great job as always Louis !

On my build, the glacis is removable and it's glued to the top hull while the fenders are attached to the chassis. You still can remove the glacis even if the fenders rest on it, it really don't bother me if the fenders are not 100% straight, they never were on the real tanks.

There are many correction to do to the Heller kits to get it looks better but if I had to mention ones, it would be to sand an replace the bolt heads on the gun mantlet, they are distorded because of the way the part was molded.

I love those Trumpeter/Heller Bosch light, I love them so much I molded them and cast them in resin, I'm installing them on every german tanks that need them (my Tamiya Tiger I and II, my Hummel etc).

[Kaczor]

In my Heller's Stug III, the front plate is connected to the hull. It required strengthening from the bottom because because the contact point is very thin.

[MonsieurTox]

In my Heller's Stug III, the front plate is connected to the hull. It required strengthening from the bottom because because the contact point is very thin.

Did the same on mine, I try to get the maximum access to the inside for easier maintenance.

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[lmcq11]

In my Heller's Stug III, the front plate is connected to the hull. It required strengthening from the bottom because because the contact point is very thin.

The integration is easier with the Stug because the casemate is sitting on the fenders, providing a very solid upper hull integration area with the fenders. It's more difficult on the Panzer III with its separate fenders mounted on 5 independent mount points that need alignment with the front plate and the glacis. The Taigen metal hull height and length is also different, so at one point somewhere, something has to give. I suggest keeping an eye on that. I looked at keeping the fenders removable but they were not strait on their own, easily disconnected from the mounts, were falling off if movement occured. The LEDs of the fender headlights of the ausf M needed fixed wires going into the hull, that's difficult to manage with removable fenders. The plastic mount point joints were weak and the weight of the fenders was not spread evenly. probably because of a lot of dry fitting required for the Taigen hull integration, on and off like 40 times, that must have weaken them. They had to be permanently glued. And i have not analyzed the situation with the ausf M Shurzens yet that have touchpoints with the fenders. That is my experience with a panzer III ausf M. For sure, using the Trumpeter hull simplify things a lot, an ausf J or L is also less complicated, no Shurzens. Selecting a plastic HL chassis is probably the next best thing to keep a build simple, cutting plastic is easier than dealing with the metal tub, the hardest to integrate is the Taigen, mainly because of the torsion bars needing adjustments and care.

[lmcq11]

Nice conversion again Louis.

Thank you Ad Lav

There are many correction to do to the Heller kits to get it looks better but if I had to mention ones, it would be to sand an replace the bolt heads on the gun mantlet, they are distorded because of the way the part was molded.

Yes you're right. I did not notice the oval bolt heads before. The next step is to detail the turret so that's the first thing i'll do. Thanks MonsieurTox !



The following posts are for the deep wading exhaust, specific to the Panzer III ausf M and N, and also some Stugs of the same period.

These are the exhaust parts coming with the kit. The main section is hollow, allowing reuse with a smoke unit.

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Everything seems to match the graph in Achtung Panzer.

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And also consistent with provided picture. Notice the opened engine crank port on the back plate.

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A quick Goggle image check on the web with "panzer III exhaust" show this photograph of a restored vehicle which has a different main exhaust body structure (horizontal joints on the sides) and also a different mount. It's either not original or there are variations of the deep wading exhaust... It's something to be aware of.

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I purchased this Panzer III deep wading exhaust metal and resin part many years ago, it's been sitting in the mods bin. It's designed to work with a smoke unit. I thought i might finally be using it for this build.

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But it has issues. First, the pipes going to the right are not extended enough, shown here compared to the Trumpeter kit. Secondly, they have a vertical joint on the sides, either inaccurate or it's another variation.

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Mounting it on the chassis would mean that the tank crew no longer has access to the engine crank port... It's definitely wrong. It's strange that someone would make the effort of creating this part in metal with a lot of great details, but not check or be concerned that the pipes are long enough to fit on the tank like on the picture.

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As shown with the Trumpeter part, the extension to the right provides access to the engine crank port in between, and it's also aligned with the real vehicle picture further above.

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The problem with the Trumpeter part is that the last pipe section is not hollow. Yes, it's possible to take some flexible plastic pipes and easily replace them. Well, easy is relative. Got to find the flexible pipes of the right size, that's probably the hardest. I tried to bend brass pipes one day, it was not a good outcome. There must be a special technique for it.

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However, i have these nice metal pipes already turned. As i was planning to throw the part in the garbage, i decided to reuse the pipes and discard the rest.

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continuing on following post.

[lmcq11]

The pipes are salvaged.

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Then cut and a joint is created for the link with the plastic section. I am not too concerned about reducing the flow of smoke, if there is any issue, it's that there will be too much smoke.

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The new functional Deep wading exhaust is ready. I made sure that the smoke has a clear path to the exhaust tip. I had to drill the joint with the tip, and there is also a blocking joint along the plastic pipes that need to be removed before gluing the two halves of the main body. that's it. Notice the mount with the chassis, something usually kept vague in references and kits, it's the first time that i clearly see it.

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Installed on the chassis, looking good.

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The crew has access to the engine crank port... realistic.

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I temporarily plugged in an old smoke unit i had for testing purposes. I had trouble making it work correctly. The new one is still somewhere on the Pacific Ocean. This build is going too fast for them.

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Continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

At first, it's cool, it works. The smoke coming out nicely from the tip. There is some satisfaction to see that.

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But then there is a smoke build up into a thick cloud after 10 seconds, the exhaust tip creating nice forms and shapes. It eventually got out of control and creepy ghosts started to appear and i did not even press on the engine forward stick yet... which makes the smoke unit go into high gear. I will have to find a way to control the smoke volume on these things or something else than smoke will show up.

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That convoluted exhaust creates twisted smoke currents, really beautiful and almost artistic. I had to stop before calling the Ghostbusters...

I know it's meant to run outside but still, that's too much smoke or too scary. Any idea anyone ?

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Next step, the turret.

Regards, Louis

[Kaczor]

Nice job with the the exhaust. Metal pipes will provide additional reinforcement.

[Meter rat]

Another great build Louis.

[lmcq11]

Thank you both.

The following 6 posts are for the turret.


Initially glued with a couple of drops of superglue to do the turret electronic tests, the bottom of the turret is re-opened for the build up. My home made recoil unit does not take much room.

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As mentioned by MonsieurTox, the kit's mantlet hex bolt heads are badly moulded. I can see that kit makers have problems molding details on a culved part, Takom had the same issue with the Browning barrel mount.

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In addition to being oval, they are moulded horizontally and looking really bad when given some attention. Not sure what kit makers can do about this but it's something that the builder can change, provided that he can do a better job.

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Bolt heads were removed and surface polished.

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I've gone through all my brass bolts, M0.8, M1 or M1.2 (body size). Their bolt heads are either too small or too big. I therefore had to use Plastic Meng SPS004 1.8mm (head size) as the best match. Despite putting on a fresh blade to cut them loose, their quality depends on the ability of the builder to do a strait cut and to glue them without too much spill over. There are always imperfections and some bleeding at the base. I cut about 30 of them in order to select the best 16. After this picture was taken, I tried to clean up the base the best i could.

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The result is not as sharp and clean as a brass bolt head but better than the kit, even at extreme close up.

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Side doors are made operable with a 0.9mm bit and corresponding brass wire. The Trumpeter door are very tight within the hinge, it's critical that the holes are made absolutely central and strait, otherwise the door will not open. Out of the 4 doors, I was able to make 2 perfect ones, 1 good and 1 bad. I suggest going really slow.

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The side door pistol port is made operable with a 0.5mm bit and corresponding brass wire

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The rear pistol ports come operable with their handles, and the side pistol ports have good handles too. cool.

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continuing on following post