RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Love this thread. One of my favorites as not much WW1 stuff is modeled. Looking great.

Thank you Jimster,

Continuing with the build.

These are the main parts coming with the Ludwig for the two grills at the front and back. They need a lot of clean up.
Sadly, when compared to the 1/35 kit, the size of the grills is ok but the detail is not accurate. There should be 5 rows of longer slots than the 6 designed by Ludwig. As it would be too much effort recreating these from scratch, i decided to use them anyway.
Once the assembly is done, it's time for the bolt job. It's starting to be quite expensive in various Meng bolt types, so i decided to modify the unused nuts coming with each bolt head, transform them in a bolt by cutting the tip of the bolt and then sanding the nut flat to become a bolt head. I have doubled the number of bolts that can be used for each Meng Hex bolt sets.
As usual, each bolt head is cut from the Meng sprue and picked with the tip of a new blade, dipped in superglue, excess glue washed against a plasticard residue, and then the bolt head applied as per drawing and measurement
The front grill with the section at the front where the main gun will be located.
The back grill.
Overview from the top.
The frontal area with the hole for the gun mount.
Moving to the back where there are two movable panels. First need to create and install the tow hooks.
Here is a view of the covers on top of the sprockets and idlers that need to be built, and kept movable to access them and remove the tracks.
continuing on following post

The frontal linting section next to the tow hook has hinges but it is not worth using a working hinge on these, there is no purposes. I will instead create a dummy hinge.
Working hinges are prepared and installed for all four side sections.
The panels are created using the Ludwig parts, trimmed, pre-drilled holes filled, and then installed with Meng bolt heads at the right locations.
Overview of the required door, front left. A similar one is at the rear right but opening towards the front as well.
New door is created because i earlier corrected the size of the door frame. Working hinges are used.
The finished door exterior.
No door interior yet.
Overview of the commander/driver side hatch.
Created from scratch
Continuing on following post

Commander/driver side hatches are installed.
Overview of the left side.
Sprocket and Idler access panels are raised.
Two panels on each side need hinges.
I created dummy hinges as there is no use in making these working. Forgot two bolt heads on these... There are so many, i am finding new ones all the time.
Pretty much finished sides, missing the exhaust tube on the left side and the foot step under the doors, and maybe something else i have not yet noticed.
Next step, the main gun.
Regards, Louis

Talk about "rivet counters"

Are Meng rivets/bolts mede of syrene?

Kaczor wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:16 pm Are Meng rivets/bolts mede of syrene?

They are made of soft plastic. A new blade will make a sharp cut.

And how about gluing, normal plastic glue is enough or CA glue is needed?

I've counted 192 over only HALF the right side
This is a real demonstration of what extreme patience(insanity) and attention to detail(hyper-insanity) can produce in a model!
Mind blowing

I'm thinking your next build's going to need a welded hull, Louis. I'm sure you've had enough rivets and bolts to last you a lifetime!

Well worth the effort though, they add so much extra texture and dimension to the big, flat surfaces. It'll look incredible painted!

Kaczor wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 6:06 am And how about gluing, normal plastic glue is enough or CA glue is needed?

The regular plastic glue i use is too thick, the layer of glue needs to be minimal or it overflows to the sides when the bolt is placed. Each bolt need to be drained of its excess glue before placement, as much as possible... Also,i pick up and position each bolts head with the tip of a blade. In order for the bolt head to remain in place when i pull the knife after positioning, the bonding needs to be very fast or it will not be possible to pull the knife, and the action of pulling the knife would displace the bolt head. I determined the use of very thin superglue is best for me.

HERMAN BIX wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 9:47 am I've counted 192 over only HALF the right side
This is a real demonstration of what extreme patience(insanity) and attention to detail(hyper-insanity) can produce in a model!
Mind blowing

I am no longer able to count them. I estimate the total of rivets and bolt heads of different sizes and shapes to be somewhere between 2000 and 3000 once the model is completed. What is really annoying is that two almost identical sides are required for every section of this tank. Below is the right side of the tank from the rear. The only difference with the left side is the orientation of the opening door, both need to be facing forward.

Raminator wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 10:44 am I'm thinking your next build's going to need a welded hull, Louis. I'm sure you've had enough rivets and bolts to last you a lifetime!

Thanks, Indeed, not a really fun build. I am almost done with this model... can't wait to finish it and move on to the DKLM M2 Bradley that has been sitting next to the desk for 3 months now. At first, The A7V looked to be an easy model; flat surfaces, no turret, limited details all around. I even dreamed of a complete interior. The A7V is deceiving in complexity. It has lots of difficult angles, weird suspension, underestimated number of windows and hatches, number of rivets, its big, etc.