Old Modeler, new R/C KT build

[dgsselkirk]

Thanks Derek, a long way to go but it is getting there. Off to the sunny south for the week so nothing will be done in the near future! LOL!

[dgsselkirk]

Hello Boys I'm back!

When last we saw our hero he was solving the dilema of the front hull gap. Sorry guys but I am jumping around a bit as I think of things and remember, it's been 20 yrs since I built a tank! And even back then I really wasn't all that great but I liked scratch building as many details as I could because I didn't want to spend the money and it was more fun! So I am still trying to do things on the cheap but have it look 1/2 decent.

O.K. back to business. I was thinking of actually lighting up the rear convoy light but there is an "L" bracket holding the lower hull to the back plate that really was in the way to drill out, mold, modify, re-frame, etc... so I decided to just mount a scratch built lense using some old clear sprue from a 1/72nd F-15 kit I had lying around. Sanded one side flat and painted the back flat side aluminum and mounted it. Still needs to be cleaned up of course but I think it looks pretty good.

So now I am looking at doing the markings. So I got the brilliant idea to make my own stencils using vellum paper and an ink jet printer. For those who aren't familiar it's a kind of tracing paper but heavier and actually works very well. So printed what I wanted out, got out my trusty swivel exacto knife and cut out my stencils. Was going to do an inside colour and outside black and white.

I should mention here as I explained I rarely do actual vehicles that really existed. That's just me and my personal respect for those who served and those who have fallen regardless of which side they were on. So one of the things I read about years ago was that when extra vehicles were attached to panzer units they sometimes used the letter "S" to indicate this. Hence almost all my German vehicles have an "S" as the first digit.

So I got stencils ready, tried the 2 colour and just couldn't match it up in line perfectly or enough that I was happy with it. So scrap that idea! Now I had a bit of a mess as the black outline was too heavy to stand by it'self so had to fix that! Repaint section, remake stencil and just do a black number and be happy! for the national marking I have decal paper so I will make some proper decals to do that!

[dgsselkirk]

So after the stencil fiasco I decided to do something relatively easy and mount rare earth magnets to hold the hull and upper deck together. I have a great source for these and they aren't ridiculously priced. I used the large size for the middle and the small sizes for the ends and front and rear middles. (if that makes sense!) I simply marked the thickness of the magnets on the posts and dremeled them off. I then used 2 part epoxy to stick the mackets to the posts and body.

If you don't know rare earth magnets are EXTREMELY powerful. It was fun doing the ones at the front near the motors as they would slowly slide over and then fly onto the motors! So I let the epoxy sit a bit and then pushed them on . After the first layer was dry I put a second layer on to really fix them in position.

I think most guys are doing this so it keeps you from having to screw and unscrew the hull if you need to get in quick for some adjustments. The only thing I would have done different is not put magnets on the 2nd from the front posts because I wanted to put a plate in over the motors. Oh well! Maybe I will use a thin steel one and let the magnets hold it in place!

[Jussek]

hey mate,

only for clarification purposes, the S you are talking about in the turret numbers, was for Schwere (heavy in German)

best regards

[MichaelC]

Dean,

For gluing the magnets, you said you put a second layer on, you mean on top of the magnets ? I try supergluing them and it didn't work and will try epoxy now. What I have been doing is using a single magnet on the hull post, and then use screws on the top but it is not holding them tight enough. I am thinking of either finding flathead screws or trying epoxy with another magnet on the upper hull post.

[dgsselkirk]

Hey Jussek,

Yes, you are right I was recalling from memory and yes heavies but also they were usually attached extra units too. I did a little R&D and remembered it was Grossdeutschland that I first read years ago on an old Tamyia 1.35th kit that had the "S" and I found this link describing it
http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/tigers.htm

Also here is a little quote from another site I found:
"Some smaller units, most often a company of Tigers, would use a letter and 2 digit combination. Examples of this are the 8th company from 2.SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich', who used an S (for Schwere, meaning heavy), and thus numbered S01 and S02 for the HQ, and S11-S14, S21-S24, S31-S34
"

[dgsselkirk]

Hi Michael,

Yes I did magnets on both upper and lower. The trick is using the powerful rare earth magnets. Regular little cheapie magnets don't have the strength. Superglue won't cut it it takes epoxy for sure. I didn't put it over the contact surfaces just built it up around the outsides in 2 layers. First layer simply to hold it in place and second layer for strength.
Maybe I will do a video shake test to show the strength of the bond.

Still can't find my rheo's LOL!.....

[dgsselkirk]

Hi EF,

I think this message is for me?
No question these are not the same tank. The Bovington KT with the porsche turret is a prototype the British Army picked up at the end of the war. It has some peculiar mounting points and fittings as a prototype would when trying different fittings and attachments. You can see the bolt holes for the commanders cupola quite clearly. I did some further digging and from what I can determine Scott is right they are bolted on so I have removed my welds. Thanks for bringing this back up though. It reminded me I still have to add the commanders aiming post but I did remember the loaders pistol port! LOL!

[doc larsson]

this thread has been brilliant but when i saw the gap at the front hull, i thought to myself, "That's a field weld and a half !"

That said that zim looks as accurate as i've seen in any pic. certainly looks better than the zim you buy

nicw.

[dgsselkirk]

Thanks Doc! I appreciate the comments! I wanted to do this log as a guy with really rusty skills and not like some of the pros on this site whose work I would put at museum level! I just wanted to do it so ordinary blokes could see the trials and tribulations at my/our level. Wait till I get to the electronics! HA!

That said I agree my zim looks better than the package stuff. I find them too uniform and besides it was fun and free to do it that way! On the gap it is not as bad as it seems that picture was without it screwed down. I will take a pic tonight showing the magnet closure now that I have that mounted. Don't get me wrong it still looks like a 152 hit it right on the seam!
Tonight will be what I did with the tow ropes for $0.63 cents!