RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hello everybodies , I have been resisting the urge to fiddle with my KV until i'd done my Tiger but a hitch (ordered the wrong bits . Doh) left me with itchy fingers . Then i layed eyes on my KV . It appeared in my growing collection , like they do , very slightly worse for wear . Broken idler and hatch . Nothing major , an Astam hull w/wheels/gearboxes and a shiney new metal hatch and i had a runner to hunt the cat with and stave off the withdrawl pangs .

. . . Until now that is .

So no more blathering , on with the wot-i-dun-to-it .

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First the offending hatch , i have glued it on several times but it was always weak . It's come off again .

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Strip down time , snip wiring loom (will make new one with connectors) unscrew the gear ring , turret floor , elevation unit + gun . The usual rigmarole . I couldn't get the LED switch off without breaking the studs , never mind , i don't keep it loaded anyway .

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The metal hatch is a direct swop , However the reason they won't open fully is because the hingy bit is too thick and fouls , the metal one is identical - so i made a thinner one from brass strip and tube .

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• . . . The slight flat on the back edge now allows it to open vertically . In fact i realised that i can make the hinge smaller and it will still operate .

Removing the Applique armour , well , i might as well wilst i'm in here, a welded turret would be nice , eh? . . .

• . . . the holes were plugged with the leftovers . . .

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. . . some mould shrinkage was visible where the stand offs were, this was tackled at the same time . A touch of filler fixed it .

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The lower hull plates were done the same way , I'll blank the LED hole in the mantlet , and add weld seams later , a fresh coat of paint . . .

Hi Blimp,
Very nice model.....and the hinge is awesome...and I quote you exactly here..'so I made a thinner one from brass strip and tube'......!!????***** WHAT>>>> so you made it 'Just Like That' .....wow it looks great...mine would be a solid mass of solder !!....Could you perhaps do a 'How To Do It' step by step for the Forum.....with a 'how to avoid a lump of solder' section..??
Oh and one last thing about the KV.....NOW......Kamerad......it needs painting Panzer Grey, marked up correctly and sent off to fight Joe Stalin and his Communist hordes

Now I was holding off buying a KV, but I have to get one after looking at what you are up to!

Thanks for that!

Looking rather good, how much was the hull?

The hull ( + wheels ) i got from Steve at Welshdragon , http://www.welshdragonmodels.co.uk/asia ... -976-p.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

• Luverly jubbly , strong as an ox too .

thank you...

. . . Do I smell money burning ? LOL .

Dietrich , this is the stuff i use - a paste type , ready mixed with flux .cleans up with water , ordinary electrical solder is no good . Oh , forget the mini blow torch , an ordinary cheap gas lighter works just fine

Hi Blimp,
Solder PAINT.....I have never heard of that before ....and the mini blow torch looks great ,as I could use that on my more usual soldering on the Tank or on Motorcycles. I think that perhaps a search of Ebay is coming up....if by any chance that fails, does your local model shop, where you got your parts and equipment from do mail order ?? I have an English address that I can use so there will be no international postage to sort out. Thank you very much indeed for the reply :~
Alb.

Hello Dietrich , I got the solder from a model railway suppliers , they use all sorts of solders for brass , zinc , white metal etc. ( p.s. - the number on the label refers to the melting point of the solder ) http://www.finescale.org.uk/index.php?o ... e&Itemid=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

• If you have difficulty finding any , p.m. me and i'll get some for you . B .