RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Updates 1/19/13

My order from WelshDragon arrived 2 days ago and I have spent the day today adding the accessories. This will be my last purchase of upgrades and accessories as I am now nearing the end of the build phase. Frankly, I am running out of things to detail on the tank as well as hitting my own personal budget wall on expenses. I also want to hopefully start the painting phase of the tank soon.



The Items I ordered were:

-Aber photo etch fenders for Tamiya Panther G 1/16 scale
-Peddinghaus 1/16 Panther 1. Abt. Pz. Reg. 116. Windhund Div. 1944
-Schumo detail set for Tamiya Jagdpanther 1/16 scale
-Tank Modellbau headlight cover with LED for Heng Long 1/16 scale Jagdpanther

Updates cont'd, - Finishing the bosch headlight

One thing again that bothered me with the stock HL kit was the way the headlight LED was exposed. I ordered the Modellbau headlight cover with LED for Heng Long 1/16 scale Jagdpanther from Welshdragon to correct this. (although it say Jagdpanther, its equally useful for the panther.)


Unfortunately the LED bulb and frame protrudes too much that the blanking cap I purchased would not sit flush to the edges of the headlight holder. I wanted a way to fit the Modellbau blanking cap without destroying the headlight or removing the headlight as it is attached (it might cause another set of problems) I tried cutting off the LED frame with an exacto knife but I was getting nowhere fast and was kind of damaging the headlight holder so I soon stopped with that idea.

While I was thinking my next approach I suddenly remembered someone (was it Dietrich?) who came up with the idea of using thread to cut plastic in the Tips and Threads section of this forum. (That section is worth its weight in gold for all the good ideas it contains)

I tried it and I was kicking myself why I hadn't thought of it sooner. First I got an ordinary sewing thread (lots of it hanging around the house)


And the I started cutting using the sewing thread. It was the cleanest cut I have done so far in this tank. The nice thing about this method is since the LED is made of glass and hence much denser, the thread stops cutting as soon as it hits the LED glass.


Also since the thread is so flexible it allows you to make cuts in areas that would normally be inaccessible or simply awkward using a saw or knife. As you can see below it would be nearly impossible to cut the underside of the frame with a knife since the fender is in the way. But with a thread its simplicity in itself.


Once I have cut completely around the frame, it was easy popping it off using a knife.


There was still a problem since the LED bulb itself was protruding way too much for the blanking cap to fit nicely. I examined the bulb and notice that it was mostly made of glass with the light emitting element recessed fairly deep at the edge. I decided I would try to sand off the protruding section of the glass using coarse grit sandpaper and then polish it using fine sandpaper once I have reduced it to a length that would allow the cap to fit.


Below is a pic of the bulb after I have sanded it down and polished with fine sandpaper.


Success! The blanking cap now fits cleanly. Below is a pic after I glued the cap in place.


The proof of the pudding they say is in the eating. I turned on the tank to check if I hadn't damaged the bulb during the process.


Turns out I didn't even need the LED light that came with the kit.

again, thanks for sahring this monster build. Looking FW to the fender build picks I want to get them for my JP

Keep up friend .

Love the panther jeff1101 can`t wait for the rest.
Top class

Hi Jeff1101,
Great build
Thank you for keeping us posted on your amazing progress. You have a great deal of patience AND very steady hands
The 'Cutting with Thread' Hint is below.......It still sounds a weird idea, but as you have shown, ...the cuts that can be achieved are amazing....
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=3601

Updates con't.d - Finishing the detailing of the tank's rear

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Anyways I am continuing posting the pics of what I have done yesterday. This work was included in the headlight detailing I did but I am just posting these now. And a detail that is bothering me and which I might redo.

I wanted to finally finish detailing the rear part of the tank. With the parts from Welshddragon having finally arrived I decided to tackle it.

First I simulated corrosion on the flame dampener exhaust using Mr. surfacer.


Next the schumo kit contains detail part for the rear pintle mount. I bought the Schumo kit for the fan deck lifting hooks but the pintle mount detail included proved useful as well.


The pintle mount is detailed incorrectly in the HL panther so I turned over the tank, took my cutter pliers and cut them off.


I then drilled holes for the tow hitch.


And here are the pics for comparison when fitted. As you can see the stock molded part is incorrect in that it points downward and is incorrectly detailed. The new one is in the correct position and detail and includes the weld seams.
Before


After

Updates con't.d - Finishing the rear deck

I now tackled completing the details that are left in the rear deck. First off I decided to add the wing nuts for the sliding radiator louvers. The wing nuts were included in the original Aber PE kit but at the time I simply lacked the confidence to fit them. Almost a year later, I have now gained some PE working skills (from assembling the latches) and good tools so decided to add them.

The wing nuts were fitted to real panther Gs simply to lock the louvers in place and prevent them from opening (or closing) while the tank was in motion. To add them I freed the vvvveeeerrryyy small wing nuts from the PE sheet and drilled holes on the louvers where I will attach them.




And here are the pics of the wing nuts attached to the front and rear louvers. Unfortunately the louvers and screen were already glued to the tank so I cannot solder the wing nuts in place as these were very close to the plastic bolts I added to the louver corners. I feared heat conduction from the soldering iron will melt these bolts so I just CA glued them in place.



To give you an appreciation of just how small these things are, you can only see the details of the wing nuts when I enlarge the photos at 1:1 pixel resolution. Here is a photo of the front louvers enlarged at 1:1 pixels.








Finally, HL panthers are missing the cooling fan deck lifting hooks. I bought the Schumo metal lifting hooks as a kit that includes the pintle mount detail.


First I freed the hooks from the parts tree.


To attach them I marked the rear deck with pencil to pinpoint where the hooks will be located. I used many references, but these were poor as photos of real panther's rear deck top views are rare. Here the adage applies... Measure twice and drill once.

In the 2 photos below you will see I didn't follow my own advice. I can't remember now but when I drilled the holes I must have disregarded the mark I made for the hook earlier. The drilled hole should be nearer the screw bolt at the bottom left of the 1st picture. That mistake will haunt me later.



Anyway here is the rear deck with all the hooks in place.




Addendum
Here is a pic of a real panther G.(Image lifted from http://planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6066) Notice the placement of the hook very close to the the bolt? (see highlighted box)


And here is mine.


That sorry mistake of disregarding that one hook mark is now gnawing at me. I admit there are a lot of inaccuracies in the tank that don't bother me (like the incorrect antenna) and I will probably expound on it at the end of this build but this one is bothering me a lot simply because Its a mistake I made and its hard to 'unnotice' it. I'll probably give it a week then if it still bothers me, I'll redo it. However what do you guys think? Am I just being schizo?

wouldnt worry about it bud, dont think anyone would notice.
jeff

Soon ready for paint booth now. Great stuff

The detail is amazing, great work!