Dicker Max

[MichaelC]

Hi all,

Just want to post some pics of my current project. I am really bad at taking pictures during the build so hopefully this will make me do it as I go along. Of course I am already behind the 8 ball.......

Basically I got the Dicker Max kit from Frank's modellbau-schmiede mated to a Asiatam Panzer IV metal lower hull I got from wsn123 here at the forum. The metal hull turn out to be quite a bit different than the HL plastic hull which Frank's kit is designed for, so after much re-working both the upper and the lower, I finally got to the basic frame last week:

The Dicker Max kit doesn't come with any details on the back end of the barrel, and given that it is an open cab somewhat,unless I cover it up I will need some kind of details to fill the cab, so I decided on getting the Merit 1/18 88mm Flak 36 kit and try to emulate the details of the 10.5cm on the Dicker Max. I know it is not accurate obviously, but I just needed some details so it looks the part:

This is where I am at so far. You will notice that I have a servo sitting underneath the gun mount and it is being use for spacing as I will be fitting a servo to create the recoil similar to what I did with the Nashorn build. Luckily the Merit kit comes with a sliding breech so it is just a matter of mating the metal barrel to the Merit barrel, and then linking the servo to the Merit's breech block and Bob is your uncle..........

To be continue.

[PainlessWolf]

Michael,
Looking brilliant! ( What were the major differences in lower hull between the HL and Asiatam? )
regards,
Painless

[mcevoyi]

Very very nice

Thats one i want to add to my collection.....

May i ask for an actual link so i can gander the price ?

Thanks

Iain

[MichaelC]

Thanks guys... Will try to keep the the pictures coming.......

Iain, here is the link:

http://modellbau-schmiede.de/shop/artic ... d%3D004%26

Painless, Frank's kit ask that the front lower hull plate be replaced and the back plate cut down to the idler mounts which in itself is a big job (cutting 5mm thick metal plate vs 2mm plastic) but the bigger problem is that the Asiatam metal lower hull actually is comprised of three pieces, a open end rectangle tub and the front and back plate which extends down to the bottom to create the hull. So I cannot simply replace the Asiatam metal front and back plates ( I will have gapping holes at the front and the rear of the lower hull). Furthermore, the front plate tow rope mount is actually the mounting point for the front plate to the frame itself so I cannot remove it. At the end I did not use the front and back plate from Frank's kit and have to cut the upper frame of the kit to accommodate the lower hull. The front looks okay after some custom pieces, but the back remains a problem and I am going to try to figure it out when I get to it. For the moment the upper fits the lower, and I am just starting to look at the electronic side of things and also the interior which is basically a mod Merit 1/18 88mm.

Smaller issue but nevertheless needed work the mounting of the interior. On the plastic hull all the return rollers are basically glue on the side and there is nothing inside the hull. The metal ones are all nuts and bolts which means I have to accommodate them in the interior.

Michael.

[PainlessWolf]

Michael,
Thanks for the overview of the issues you encountered. Better days and it sounds like you are making progress.
regards,
Painless

[MichaelC]

Just a quick update....... Basically complete other than the external tools. I have to use the new Clark Tk-35 board as I cannot manage to fit everything in the very tight lower chassis. The servo recoil took a while to figure out but it is nice and smooth now. Today I improvised the interior with various bits of the Merit kit, so this is strictly a "fantasy" interior and has no basis in reality/accuracy, but hey it looks the part and I quite like it.

Still missing front fenders and all the tools. Oh and the driver's vision block. This is just a hack job waiting for the real deal from Dean. It was missed on the kit.

Managed to hide the servo somewhat and the interior bits are all from the Merit 1/18 kit. May do something with the flash wires.

Basically have to create a new back plate to fit the Taigen metal lower hull. Not pretty but works.

[tankman]

Very impresive build indeed.
Alan

[tomhugill]

Seriously awesome work there fella! How much is the conversion?

[tomhugill]

Seriously awesome work there fella! How much is the conversion?

[ALPHA]

I have to say...everytime I see a variant of the Panzer IV...it just makes me respect the carriage as a formidable gun platform even more...very nice build Micheal


Happy tanking Sir

ALPHA