RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Herr Dr. Professor wrote:Here goes the Bix! CHAARRGE!

I appreciate your optimism sir !.
lets see how it goes.

Markocaster wrote:Very disappointed it didn’t arrive in one piece
I am sure in your talented hands it will rise from the ashes.
Looking forward to seeing it transform
Mark


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Well it arrived mate, and thats the main thing.
nothing is so broken that cannot be fixed, so it shall rise again & take a special place in my expanding collection !

Kaczor wrote:Nice! SU-100 was my dad's favorite self-propelled gun. He built two 1:10 models from scratch in the late 80s and early 90s.

Thats a hell of an achievement Mr Kaczor, looks fantastic.
Are they still in working condition ?

Well it doesn't look like much at the moment, but its cleaned up a lot.
Ive managed to get the upper located onto the new T34 lower, and all the grab handle mounting points cleaned out of broken material & the guards sorted out, and make up the casemate reinforcing gussets that strengthen the rear sides to the casemate rear wall which were missing.
Due to the method of retention of the roof hatches, I'm not keen to force them open.
I went over the plate edges & got flame cutting effects on.
The missing section of guard on the right side will be finished by making the crumpled section out of thin aluminium sheet as is seen in the period picture.
The auxiliary fuel tanks were very damaged, and had all the mounts snapped off, so I dug up some resin ones I never used on my SU152 project. I can use 3 of the 4 I need, so an empty space will likely be in order. That will be on the left rear position which is not visible in the period picture.
This could be getting a very worn out whitewash effect over the 4BO, not certain yet, but the picture and others of vehicles in the same unit at the time show many were whitewashed but not very well.

Commanders cupola & hatch covers next mission.

Hoping to get a few bits for the lower hull in a few days including steel gear box's and drive & idlers from a local supplier. Tracks will be a longer proposition, likely from Mr Forgebear

HERMAN BIX wrote:Thats a hell of an achievement Mr Kaczor, looks fantastic.
Are they still in working condition ?

Unfortunately, they were sold many years ago to the US. Here after firing smoke screen:

Just Wow !!
Exceptional level of engineering skill .
Hats off for sure.

I just watched a you-toob video on proof testing of the SU100 back in the day.
Placed in a blast freezer to a -40C level, then loaded & fired by lanyard after laying the gun on target
That was after the engine was started & the vehicle was crewed & moved forward into a firing position out of the freezer.
Thats a tough gig for any engineering project, especially at that time.

I decided to leave the cupola hatches until later as they would just get in the way & be vulnerable to damage.
The recoil/barrel mounting system is under way.
i've hacked up a BB firing mechanism and used that to form a base to attach the barrel to.
The barrel was overlength, but now corrected, and the joiner that will link the barrel to the recoil unit has also been adjusted to the revised dimensions.
To get the recoil assembly to mate up with the existing trunnion which is fixed in position withing the resin mantlet, I had to get, well, 'creative' with things ...............I dont care about doing it ugly or pretty, as long as it works reliably.
The lot is inside the casemate so is not a feature to see thank goodness.
I made a brass link up out of scrap that was secured to the plastic assembly, then was joined to the trunnion by(at the moment) a single M3 stainless cap head bolt. A second one will go in once alignment has been set.

To get the mantlet to hang on in place I have sliced up an old plastic H/L Panther suspension arm to glue into the inside of the mantlet which I will put a magnet onto. Plan is to place another section of Panther arm onto the trunnion that carries some metallic device to attract the mantlet.
Will soon see once the gel super glue is set.

After 7 years I have just started a new job too, so my attention has been diverted into that.
First time in 15 years I have a 'civilian job' not associated with the gas drilling industry and Im all at sea learning a new world.
I'm sure I will get it, but its a hell of a culture shock..............

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

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.