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

[MrChef]

I heard someone mention Jesus? And on his birthday too???

Ohh I'm in for this project Louis. I shall follow this religiously...

[Ecam]

Timely or all those years of working for Him in vain?

[Kaczor]

Perfect! I'm building Heller Stug III with the Taigen chassis and this thread is a gold mine of tips for me

[lmcq11]

Hi everyone and thank you for your interest on the Panzer III.


These posts are for the front of the vehicle.


The Trumpeter/Heller kit has a good fit at the front between the glacis and the lower hull, no gaps and it is strait. It includes the weld line that is missing on the Heng Long models. I want to have that on my panzer III.

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The Heller glacis is obviously not a perfect natural match with the Taigen chassis, i expected that. The metal tub is also too high. Taigen also does not provide any front plate overlay, it's just the metal tub with screw holes and slots for the spare tracks. The rest is rough. It's not a pretty sight.

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It's the same situation on a HL chassis, but it would be simpler to integrate the Heller glacis because there is no metal tub involved.

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After analysis, i have decided to transplant the whole Heller frontal area to the Taigen chassis. I decided where to make the cut so that it is the least impacting. Although they look compatible after comparing them from all angles, it's only through a real dry fit that i will see what is the situation.

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Equivalent cuts are made on the Taigen chassis.

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After much dry fitting and it is encouraging, the front bottom is giving me difficulties. Even after much grinding inside to reduce the thickness of the plastic, i am still missing 1mm that i have no way to get.

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No way around it, the bottom needs to be removed and will be fixed later. For now, i need to position the top and front correctly, that is what is critical.

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After cutting the bottom, dry fitting the parts shows that it is a good match. I have aligned the top at the angle, and the angle is the same, perfect. Only the aluminum tip is too high, it will be easily fixed.

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Ah, no wonder the plastic bottom overlay was giving me problems, it is at the same level as the aluminum... I will have to extend the front plate by 1mm at the bottom to respect the joint design, and create the bottom plate with a 0.5mm plasticard, no problemo.

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Need to cut the aluminum tub at the front by about 3 mm. After a rough cut, it is finetuned with a nail file and sanded smooth.

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Continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

After the tub is cut, and after much dry fitting, the Heller front is glued to the Taigen chassis.

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I ended up with a 0.5mm gap at the front, which is to be filled with a plasticard plate. The key for the placement of the Heller front was not a match with the metal tub front plate, it was the alignment of the top with the angle. This ensures that the other upper hull sections that follows at the rear will be positioned correctly too... If there is any difference, it will be at the complete tail end where some adjustments will be possible, if required.

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The frontal sides are re-integrated. The bolts holding the metal tub together are also added. The Taigen/Mato gearbox side cover was larger than the Heller. It's ok, these things won't show, what matters is the frontal view and ensuring the sprockets run well.

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The gap at the front was filled.

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The Heller gearbox side covers are different, a bit bulkier and shorter. I trust that they are more accurate, the bolt heads are better defined as well. I have decided to use the Heller parts.

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The center whole needs to be enlarged for the sprocket, a bit towards the rear because they are shorter than the metal ones.

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Checking things out with the gearbox and sprockets installed, insuring everything is perfectly integrated, that the sprockets turn well with the new Heller gearbox covers, with no issues. It's a good fit underneath, seems better than with the longer Taigen/Mato metal covers that were really a tight fit.

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The interior sides of the glacis need to be trimmed to account for the larger tub interior with the metal layer.

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Here we go, a Taigen chassis with a Trumpeter/Heller front.

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Continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

At this point, the glacis is removable. I will design the removable section in the next step. But it seems that the glacis could technically be glued, while still allowing access to and even removal of the gearbox. I'll see what is best as this impacts the fenders that have touch points with the glacis.


I like having access to the gears from the two maintenance hatches. I will probable keep them removable.

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Nice welded joints.

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The bottom plate in 0.5mm plasticard is cut and installed after having previously extended the front plate before it was glued in place.

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As a side note, i always thought the HL and their compatible Panzer III metal sprockets were oversized. Compared to the Trumpeter/Heller sprocket, they are actually undersized by about 2mm in diameter.

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The model as it stands today. The first surgery is a success.

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Next step, the upper hull and fenders. I am concentrating on the structural parts for now. Details will only be added once all the main components of the Panzer III are properly integrated and operational.

Regards, Louis

[HERMAN BIX]

Hell of a start!!
I am a fan of the late PzIIIs with full schurzen and long gun.
An all together rare and intriguing build Mr Mcq11

[MonsieurTox]

Fantastic Louis, it seems we always making the same models (working on a I love kit M4a3e8 right now).
I haven't posted yet, but I built and converted to RC the Heller/Trumpeter Panzer III.
This time I chose to use the whole kit, including the plastic torsion bars for the suspensions and I've been very surprised, they are not only incredibly strong, but they are the best suspensions of all my tanks!

The kit is nice, lots of all to fill if you're not putting the schurzen and some parts to modify (the anti splash protection in front of the turret prevents the turret to turn if not modified).

Went myself for a L version, Afrika Korps.

Keep up the good work!

[lmcq11]

Hell of a start!!
I am a fan of the late PzIIIs with full schurzen and long gun.
An all together rare and intriguing build Mr Mcq11

Thanks Herman, there shurzens are a potential weak point for an RC tank but we do not see many of them, maybe for a good reason. But now that we get these parts so cheaply with a kit, it's worth the risk. Worst case if i hit the wall with it, it will look damaged and still realistic...

Fantastic Louis, it seems we always making the same models (working on a I love kit M4a3e8 right now).

Yeah, these kits are so nice by themselves. I was tempted of doing a table top RC conversion with the Heller kit suspension, with a light gearbox, plastic tracks and a few RC options but then realized i would probably be done in 2 weeks. Work that was taking me days to kitbash an RC base is now done in a couple of hours with these superb kits. I had the Taigen chassis and the other material on inventory so i decided this was a good opportunity to use them on a more technical heavier conversion that would hopefully keep me busy for a couple of months, but not so sure anymore.



This post is for the rear of the chassis.


The Taigen rear plate can be easily replaced by the Heller rear plate. Just need to salvage the metal idler adjusters and get rid of the thick chains on them.

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The top loop was cut from the Heller chassis. The authentic reinforcement braces are provided for a solid and strait rear section with the back plate. I reduced the thickness of the Heller back plate by 0.5mm on the underside bottom as it was a bit too thick with the metal tub.

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The Heller back plate is mounted on the Taigen chassis with little adjustment. A 0.5mm plasticard plate is added to the bottom section as it was the naked aluminum tub.

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The metal idler adjusters are cleaned up and reinstalled.

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Only the structural components are added at this time. The Taigen rear exhaust area is no longer just a empty cavern and it will look good once completed.

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Easy access to the interior will facilitate the installation of the tubing for the smoker.

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The model as it stands today, next step, more stuctural sections, the fenders and upper hull.

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Regards, Louis

[lmcq11]

Hello,

This post is for the upper hull.


The Trumpeter/Heller kit is not the easiest to build. This thin part that goes along the edges of the lower hull is important. Using a different chassis complicate things a lot because there are no longer any positioning help or slots.

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The small groove at the tip fits the corner of the glacis plate. But things do not add up at the rear, the upper hull is too long compared to the chassis. So, for sure, there is a difference in chassis lenght between the Heller kit and the Taigen. They initially seem very close.

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I had seen it before but after a lot of analysis, i determined that the height of the Taigen chassis needs to be cut more than anticipated. It is meant to support a Heng Long type upper hull that has a much different structure than the Heller kit. I have made an error yesterday of gluing the back section too early. It needs to be lowered. It's not a big issue, i simply cut it loose...

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I need to cut the plastic layer but the aluminum tub can stay because it fits inside the Heller upper hull, and will also act as a anchor to hold the upper hull in place. However, the Taigen plastic is extremely hard. The only way to cut it with basic tools is to apply a hobby knife blade flat against the plastic, put a large set of pliers against the blade and the aluminum tub behind and squeeze hard, one blade length at a time. And then sand the whole thing flat with a metal file. It's primitive maybe but the edge was cut in 10 minutes but finetuned in 30.

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The upper rim is cut, and quite sharp after a metal file is used to level the edges. I am happy with the result.

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After cutting loose the rear section and a lot of dry fitting, i determined that the Taigen chassis is short by 2mm in length compared to the Heller upper hull, even after adding 1mm at the front the other day. I therefore decided to add a 2mm plasticard spacer at the only place possible.

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The glacis needs reinforcement because it is thin and can easily cave in if a good pressure is applied to the middle. I have a nasty habit of grabbing tanks by the glacis... The thick reinforcement beam fits right above the gearbox.

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The side bars are glued alongside the hull edges as shown. You can see the marks of the pliers against the edge of the aluminum tub, caused by the cutting phase of the plastic. Inner beauty is not really the goal of this build but it pains me a bit to see the marks on the inside, it was just not a priority while i was cutting the hull. As a lessons learned, i could have protected the tender aluminum better, i was surprised by its weakness. At least i did not have to cut the aluminum, that would have been a nightmare.

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continuing on following post