Build Log for Alan kit #018, 1/35 Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard with following added/replacement parts:
Armorscale #B35-048 Flakrohr 2.0cm turned barrel
20mm Flak 38 by Tristar kit #010
ModelKasten SK-30 replacement tracks
Eduard Detail PE set #35627
Voyager Detail PE set for Tristar Flak 38 #35041
ModelKasten sprocket/idler set A9
Azimut resin Hull Update set
Alan Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard (2007)
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
Alan Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard (2007)
Last edited by Bill Plunk on Thu Sep 29, 2022 11:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 11-23-2006
In honor of Thanksgiving Day and the tradition of grand spreads, my next project actually partially begun earlier this week but officially kicked off today is building a Flakpanzer 38(t) "Gepard" using Alan's 1/35 kit as a base and a variety of AM upgrades/replacements for different parts.
As I mentioned, I actually started work on the MK tracks earlier in the week as something to do while watching TV. I find this is the best way to assemble these just because it involves a lot of repetition and the TV provides a nice background/distraction. The MK instructions tell you to use 95-96 links but I've built the Alan Grille M and the count on that one was 90 links with slight sag, so since I want a little bit more sag for this one, I split the difference and built each track with 92 links. I can always add a couple more if needed.
First major phase in construction actually involved some destruction, controlled of course, in order to allow the Azimut resin hull to be fitted. Alan uses the "slab" method of hull construction as oppsed to a one piece tub, so this made the surgery easier in that respect. Azimut provides a template but it's really not necessary as the removal is pretty straightforward in terms of what stays and what goes. I recently picked up a fine tooth hobby saw at Hobby Lobby that fits into a large hobby knife holder and this was perfect for the job.
You can see on the lower hull side a slightly dark brown smudge...I'll give you three guesses as to what that is. Surgery can be hazardous and let's just say I've really put a part of me into this build even at this early stage.
Next up in preparation of fitting the resin pieces, the hull tub was constructed and squared up. All the test fits of the resin pieces are good and I've left them dryfit (not pictured) on this frame to let it setup good and solid overnight before securing the add-ons in the morning.
As I mentioned, I actually started work on the MK tracks earlier in the week as something to do while watching TV. I find this is the best way to assemble these just because it involves a lot of repetition and the TV provides a nice background/distraction. The MK instructions tell you to use 95-96 links but I've built the Alan Grille M and the count on that one was 90 links with slight sag, so since I want a little bit more sag for this one, I split the difference and built each track with 92 links. I can always add a couple more if needed.
First major phase in construction actually involved some destruction, controlled of course, in order to allow the Azimut resin hull to be fitted. Alan uses the "slab" method of hull construction as oppsed to a one piece tub, so this made the surgery easier in that respect. Azimut provides a template but it's really not necessary as the removal is pretty straightforward in terms of what stays and what goes. I recently picked up a fine tooth hobby saw at Hobby Lobby that fits into a large hobby knife holder and this was perfect for the job.
You can see on the lower hull side a slightly dark brown smudge...I'll give you three guesses as to what that is. Surgery can be hazardous and let's just say I've really put a part of me into this build even at this early stage.
Next up in preparation of fitting the resin pieces, the hull tub was constructed and squared up. All the test fits of the resin pieces are good and I've left them dryfit (not pictured) on this frame to let it setup good and solid overnight before securing the add-ons in the morning.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 11-24-2006
Today's efforts focused on completing the surgery started yesterday. The Azimut hull update set consists of a new bow plate, front hull plate with correct rounded driver's superstructure, upper deck, and pedestal mount for the fighting compartment.
The resin is a light tan in actuality and has very nice rivet and hinge details. Only a couple of thin spots/bubbles on some of the larger pieces but none that created sink marks. Only piece that needed some extra work was the driver/upper hull plate, the rear edge was missing a semi-circular piece that I filled with some Aves Apoxysculpt. It was just my luck that the piece is where a hinge plate should go but I think that the Eduard set has a replacement I can use so not too worried about it. Some of the pieces had large pour blocks that I used the saw to remove, others were small enough to remove with normal sprue cutters. This is the first set from Azimut I've used and I'm happy with it especially since it has some nice "extras" thrown in like gas mask containers and MP40s for the fighting compartment.
The real challenge today was getting all of these to play nice with the surgically altered hull. Biggest challenge proved to be the pedestal mount. It's a very large resin block with the detail on top but was just slightly too wide to sit properly inside the hull. Since it's supposed to nest inside the rear compartment, the trick was getting it sanded down along with the sides just enough that it would fit but not produce a large gap in the process. The upper deck piece also had to fit right so that it could mate up with both the pedestal and the driver's hull plate. This meant a lot of back and forth with sanding and dryfit but eventually it worked out.
Since the pedestal was such a large piece of resin, it needed a strong bond to keep it in place. To achieve this I rolled up a nice ball of Apoxysculpt and then using finger pressure pressed it into the sides of the plastic hull until it was paper thin. The beauty of this stuff is that it's epoxy based but isn't a glue, and has a fairly good worktime of about 1 hour, so I was able to fiddle with the pedestal to get a good fit and just shave off the excess Apoxy with a hobby knife. Once it sets, it's rock hard. Great stuff, has a lot of uses and a little bit goes a very long way.
You can see in this pic that the original plastic hull sides are "sandwiched" between the pedestal and the exterior upper hull resin pieces. Once the Apoxy has setup overnight, this will get some light sanding to smooth it out and make it all even.
The rest of the pieces were fitted with CA gel carefully since CA bonds very quickly with resin pieces so had to be sure everything was just so before getting it down in place. The toughest fit came with the bow plate as the pins for the MK replacement sprockets were in the way so a good bit of them had to be carved away. The pins are static posts and not meant to be rotatable, so it wasn't too hard, just a small space to work in until enough was chipped away.
Here's the patient out of the OR and into the recovry room:
While this was also going on, I built up the MK sprockets and idlers. The great thing about this set is it contains sufficient parts to build up 2 complete sets, one early or one late, so it's actually good for 2 builds depending. I'm using the late pattern on this one so the early set will go into the spares bin for future use.
I'm glad I got this set as the included parts in the kit are a mix-match of early and late. The kit provides both early and late sprockets but only early idlers. That and the detail on the MKs is superior and, of course, they fit like a glove to the MK tracks.
The resin is a light tan in actuality and has very nice rivet and hinge details. Only a couple of thin spots/bubbles on some of the larger pieces but none that created sink marks. Only piece that needed some extra work was the driver/upper hull plate, the rear edge was missing a semi-circular piece that I filled with some Aves Apoxysculpt. It was just my luck that the piece is where a hinge plate should go but I think that the Eduard set has a replacement I can use so not too worried about it. Some of the pieces had large pour blocks that I used the saw to remove, others were small enough to remove with normal sprue cutters. This is the first set from Azimut I've used and I'm happy with it especially since it has some nice "extras" thrown in like gas mask containers and MP40s for the fighting compartment.
The real challenge today was getting all of these to play nice with the surgically altered hull. Biggest challenge proved to be the pedestal mount. It's a very large resin block with the detail on top but was just slightly too wide to sit properly inside the hull. Since it's supposed to nest inside the rear compartment, the trick was getting it sanded down along with the sides just enough that it would fit but not produce a large gap in the process. The upper deck piece also had to fit right so that it could mate up with both the pedestal and the driver's hull plate. This meant a lot of back and forth with sanding and dryfit but eventually it worked out.
Since the pedestal was such a large piece of resin, it needed a strong bond to keep it in place. To achieve this I rolled up a nice ball of Apoxysculpt and then using finger pressure pressed it into the sides of the plastic hull until it was paper thin. The beauty of this stuff is that it's epoxy based but isn't a glue, and has a fairly good worktime of about 1 hour, so I was able to fiddle with the pedestal to get a good fit and just shave off the excess Apoxy with a hobby knife. Once it sets, it's rock hard. Great stuff, has a lot of uses and a little bit goes a very long way.
You can see in this pic that the original plastic hull sides are "sandwiched" between the pedestal and the exterior upper hull resin pieces. Once the Apoxy has setup overnight, this will get some light sanding to smooth it out and make it all even. The rest of the pieces were fitted with CA gel carefully since CA bonds very quickly with resin pieces so had to be sure everything was just so before getting it down in place. The toughest fit came with the bow plate as the pins for the MK replacement sprockets were in the way so a good bit of them had to be carved away. The pins are static posts and not meant to be rotatable, so it wasn't too hard, just a small space to work in until enough was chipped away.
Here's the patient out of the OR and into the recovry room:
While this was also going on, I built up the MK sprockets and idlers. The great thing about this set is it contains sufficient parts to build up 2 complete sets, one early or one late, so it's actually good for 2 builds depending. I'm using the late pattern on this one so the early set will go into the spares bin for future use.
I'm glad I got this set as the included parts in the kit are a mix-match of early and late. The kit provides both early and late sprockets but only early idlers. That and the detail on the MKs is superior and, of course, they fit like a glove to the MK tracks.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 11-25-2006
After all the efforts yesterday with the big surgery, I discovered that the Squadron white putty just wasn't up to the challenge on the gap on the upper hull. As it dried, some of the pieces contracted and fell through into the interior creating some neat sub-gaps of their own in the process. I was afraid this might happen since the gap was between two resin pieces and the putty didn't adhere too well under pressure or stress. So the backup plan went into motion in the form of some 0.5mm styrene rod and Testor's liquid cement.
The styrene is extremely flexible and with the added liquid glue and a blunted toothpick, it can be shaped/molded pretty effectively to fit into the space and fill the gap. I gave it 2 or 3 treatments in different spots until it was nice and gooey and filled properly, then let it set for a couple of hours. Once it had dried out and returned to a solid state, some very careful sanding with the tip of a needle file followed by light passes with a 600 grit sanding twig and I was back in business.
With that out of the way, I decided to work on the fighting compartment lower interior areas beginning with the floor. The Eduard set includes a nice PE insert that solved 2 problems but created 1 in the process. What it solved was the dilemma of the join area between the original hull and the resin pieces and how to fill the back area where the resin had a gap with the rear compartment plate. What it created, because it was designed for the original Alan pedestal, was how to deal with the ammo holders around the base with the resin design vs. the Alan kit part.
The solution to this was pretty simple in the end. To get the plate fitted, I had to use the Dremel and grind down the front where it met up with the engine firewall and also a couple of the points where it contacted the base of the pedestal. Once that was solved, I had the problem of no ammo holder trays on the resin pedestal on the sides where they should be and not at the corners as the Alan part had it. (Going off the archived AFV interiors site, it looks as though Alan copied a protoype design with fixed sidewalls instead of the actual production layout that had fold down superstructure plates). I didn't have a lot of options since Eduard didn't have any parts for this area, so I decided to build up one set of the twin ammo boxes using the kit parts but cut down the bottom so it would fit the new pedestal correctly. This required surgically removing them from the Alan part, cutting/sanding them down to size, and then double checking their fit and clearance with both the 20mm mounting plate and the side ammo box holders on the right hull side.
Before that could happen of course the brackets in question had to be built and the ammo boxes test fitted with the Tristar parts to make sure everything worked out ok. Eduard provides some very nice straightforward open box frames meant for the Alan parts but I elected to use the Tristar ammo boxes instead as their detail was much better than either the Alan or the Azimut resin parts although they are dimensionally smaller than the others for some reason. Not sure whose error it is in the end. For the left side, I decided to fit only the brackets and no ammo boxes due to clearance issues with the mount plate as well as the tight fit for the radio and the other ammo racks on that side.
In the course of all this activity I managed to give my right thumb the same treatment that happened to the left earlier and decided enough was enough...while out at dinner with my lovely wife, we stopped at Office Depot where I picked up these little beauties.
Last task for the day involved assembling the lower radio and ammo racks from the Eduard set. I had the frame all beautifully done up....dropped it, and in the process of looking for it, managed to roll over it with one of the chair castors, but was able to get it mostly straightened out. The Alan kit parts for the radios fall into the "blobs of plastic" category IMHO and the Eduard set provides a very nice, although fragile, alternative which I took advantage of.
I'm giving some serious thought to painting the lower areas while they are still accessible but haven't yet made a determination on that just yet.
The styrene is extremely flexible and with the added liquid glue and a blunted toothpick, it can be shaped/molded pretty effectively to fit into the space and fill the gap. I gave it 2 or 3 treatments in different spots until it was nice and gooey and filled properly, then let it set for a couple of hours. Once it had dried out and returned to a solid state, some very careful sanding with the tip of a needle file followed by light passes with a 600 grit sanding twig and I was back in business.
With that out of the way, I decided to work on the fighting compartment lower interior areas beginning with the floor. The Eduard set includes a nice PE insert that solved 2 problems but created 1 in the process. What it solved was the dilemma of the join area between the original hull and the resin pieces and how to fill the back area where the resin had a gap with the rear compartment plate. What it created, because it was designed for the original Alan pedestal, was how to deal with the ammo holders around the base with the resin design vs. the Alan kit part.
The solution to this was pretty simple in the end. To get the plate fitted, I had to use the Dremel and grind down the front where it met up with the engine firewall and also a couple of the points where it contacted the base of the pedestal. Once that was solved, I had the problem of no ammo holder trays on the resin pedestal on the sides where they should be and not at the corners as the Alan part had it. (Going off the archived AFV interiors site, it looks as though Alan copied a protoype design with fixed sidewalls instead of the actual production layout that had fold down superstructure plates). I didn't have a lot of options since Eduard didn't have any parts for this area, so I decided to build up one set of the twin ammo boxes using the kit parts but cut down the bottom so it would fit the new pedestal correctly. This required surgically removing them from the Alan part, cutting/sanding them down to size, and then double checking their fit and clearance with both the 20mm mounting plate and the side ammo box holders on the right hull side.
Before that could happen of course the brackets in question had to be built and the ammo boxes test fitted with the Tristar parts to make sure everything worked out ok. Eduard provides some very nice straightforward open box frames meant for the Alan parts but I elected to use the Tristar ammo boxes instead as their detail was much better than either the Alan or the Azimut resin parts although they are dimensionally smaller than the others for some reason. Not sure whose error it is in the end. For the left side, I decided to fit only the brackets and no ammo boxes due to clearance issues with the mount plate as well as the tight fit for the radio and the other ammo racks on that side.
In the course of all this activity I managed to give my right thumb the same treatment that happened to the left earlier and decided enough was enough...while out at dinner with my lovely wife, we stopped at Office Depot where I picked up these little beauties.
Last task for the day involved assembling the lower radio and ammo racks from the Eduard set. I had the frame all beautifully done up....dropped it, and in the process of looking for it, managed to roll over it with one of the chair castors, but was able to get it mostly straightened out. The Alan kit parts for the radios fall into the "blobs of plastic" category IMHO and the Eduard set provides a very nice, although fragile, alternative which I took advantage of.
I'm giving some serious thought to painting the lower areas while they are still accessible but haven't yet made a determination on that just yet.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 11-26-2006
The efforts begun yesterday with the details were continued with a focus on some of the exterior hull details as well as the interior.
I took this opportunity to replace the hull hinges for the engine hatches due to the fact that they ended up just slightly out of alignment with each other due to the panel join and used 4 hinges in the Eduard set that were meant for the 20mm spare gun barrel box. I wasn't going to use them for their intended purpose anyhow so they served nicely.
The Eduard set also provides some very nice handles for the engine access hatches but they don't include any plastic rod needed to construct the handle portion. The instructions in the set call for 0.5mm rod to be used in 3.5mm lengths but this turned out to be wrong on both counts. The holes in the handle tops are not wide enough to take 0.5mm rod, so the 3.5mm length is also too long. I found this out of course after dutifully cutting out 4 pieces to the exact specifications called for and began assembly on the first one. The first one took quite a bit of back and forth until I actually got the right length, then the other three were trimmed to the same length and the handles installed. They are much better scale-wise than the kit parts, which although hollow, are about twice the size of these. I also assembled and installed the depression guards for the Flak, these are a little fragile as the only thing holding them to the surface is a small square "foot" on each side, so some care is required with handling from here on out. Also installed are the kit supplied rests for the front superstructure fold down panel.
Next up were the details for the driver's compartment. The Azimut set included a set of hatches for this but they were badly cast and slightly deformed with some holes and blobs of resin in places they shouldn't have been. This rendered them unusable leaving me the only option to use the kit parts. This created another problem though in that they didn't fit the resin opening due to the resin hull having molded on hinge points. These were shaved off and the opening slightly enlarged but I still needed side hinge points to match up with the hatches themselves. These are molded on the original Alan hull in the kit parts so I had to butcher that to get the hinge points, cut them down to the needed size, and then attach along with the hatches. Worked out ok in the end, but I massacred the original hull in the process.
Now that the exterior details were taken care of, I turned to the fighting compartment for some more attention. I decided to go ahead and fit the supserstructure base panels as they are one piece left and right and still leave plenty of room for painting the interior. I began with the left side first and had to trim the bracing panel on the lower interior side for it to fit as it was about 3mm too long to fit the space on the Azimut hull. Once taken care of along with some minor flash along the leading edges, the fit was near perfect. Some work on the back join with the back of the compartment was required with liquid cement to get it to mate up perfectly but that's it.
Before I fit the right side, I wanted to be sure that the Tristar spare barrel box would fit in the space designated for it. Test fits showed it was a perfect match except for the handles sticking out at right angles. Tristar molded them fixed in this position instead of in a folded down position so they would have to be removed and the Eduard handles used in their place. In checking the reference photos, the box is raised and sits at an angle instead of flat against the deck, which makes sense given its position and the fold down panel right behind it allowing the box lid to clear all the way out if mounted in this way. Trouble is, the Azimut set doesn't include this and the Alan part had a ledge molded into it but that had to be cut away to allow it to fit...so that meant I had to make my own shims to produce the angle. Some sheet stock, a sharp knife and a lot of squinting, and I had three nice little shims to glue to the bottom.
While that was drying, I installed the right side and the front panel. The right side went in first, also requiring some trimming as with the left side to get a good fit. Once it was secured, a dryfit of the front plate revealed it was too wide and some careful sanding on both ends was necessary. I had to sand it right up to the molded in bolt detail but fortunately was able to retain it with just a slight edge left. Some additional very careful sanding will be needed once it's all set up but not much as I got it very close before glueing.
I also took the opportunity to install the 2nd radio and accompanying rain shield. The rain shield took some fiddling to get it in the right spot as I had to work around the radio mount and actually managed to knock one of the mounts loose on one test fit, but it was easily repaired. The spare barrel box was also installed and, except for the 2 MP40's and the gas masks that I will detail and install separately, the lower compartment details are taken care of.
I took this opportunity to replace the hull hinges for the engine hatches due to the fact that they ended up just slightly out of alignment with each other due to the panel join and used 4 hinges in the Eduard set that were meant for the 20mm spare gun barrel box. I wasn't going to use them for their intended purpose anyhow so they served nicely.
The Eduard set also provides some very nice handles for the engine access hatches but they don't include any plastic rod needed to construct the handle portion. The instructions in the set call for 0.5mm rod to be used in 3.5mm lengths but this turned out to be wrong on both counts. The holes in the handle tops are not wide enough to take 0.5mm rod, so the 3.5mm length is also too long. I found this out of course after dutifully cutting out 4 pieces to the exact specifications called for and began assembly on the first one.
The first one took quite a bit of back and forth until I actually got the right length, then the other three were trimmed to the same length and the handles installed. They are much better scale-wise than the kit parts, which although hollow, are about twice the size of these. I also assembled and installed the depression guards for the Flak, these are a little fragile as the only thing holding them to the surface is a small square "foot" on each side, so some care is required with handling from here on out. Also installed are the kit supplied rests for the front superstructure fold down panel. Next up were the details for the driver's compartment. The Azimut set included a set of hatches for this but they were badly cast and slightly deformed with some holes and blobs of resin in places they shouldn't have been. This rendered them unusable leaving me the only option to use the kit parts. This created another problem though in that they didn't fit the resin opening due to the resin hull having molded on hinge points. These were shaved off and the opening slightly enlarged but I still needed side hinge points to match up with the hatches themselves. These are molded on the original Alan hull in the kit parts so I had to butcher that to get the hinge points, cut them down to the needed size, and then attach along with the hatches. Worked out ok in the end, but I massacred the original hull in the process.
Now that the exterior details were taken care of, I turned to the fighting compartment for some more attention. I decided to go ahead and fit the supserstructure base panels as they are one piece left and right and still leave plenty of room for painting the interior. I began with the left side first and had to trim the bracing panel on the lower interior side for it to fit as it was about 3mm too long to fit the space on the Azimut hull. Once taken care of along with some minor flash along the leading edges, the fit was near perfect. Some work on the back join with the back of the compartment was required with liquid cement to get it to mate up perfectly but that's it.
Before I fit the right side, I wanted to be sure that the Tristar spare barrel box would fit in the space designated for it. Test fits showed it was a perfect match except for the handles sticking out at right angles. Tristar molded them fixed in this position instead of in a folded down position so they would have to be removed and the Eduard handles used in their place. In checking the reference photos, the box is raised and sits at an angle instead of flat against the deck, which makes sense given its position and the fold down panel right behind it allowing the box lid to clear all the way out if mounted in this way. Trouble is, the Azimut set doesn't include this and the Alan part had a ledge molded into it but that had to be cut away to allow it to fit...so that meant I had to make my own shims to produce the angle. Some sheet stock, a sharp knife and a lot of squinting, and I had three nice little shims to glue to the bottom.
While that was drying, I installed the right side and the front panel. The right side went in first, also requiring some trimming as with the left side to get a good fit. Once it was secured, a dryfit of the front plate revealed it was too wide and some careful sanding on both ends was necessary. I had to sand it right up to the molded in bolt detail but fortunately was able to retain it with just a slight edge left. Some additional very careful sanding will be needed once it's all set up but not much as I got it very close before glueing.
I also took the opportunity to install the 2nd radio and accompanying rain shield. The rain shield took some fiddling to get it in the right spot as I had to work around the radio mount and actually managed to knock one of the mounts loose on one test fit, but it was easily repaired. The spare barrel box was also installed and, except for the 2 MP40's and the gas masks that I will detail and install separately, the lower compartment details are taken care of.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 12-01-2006
Due to the fact that today was Inauguration Day in Mexico, I had the opportunity to get in a little extra bench time on this project. Since all my staff had the day off, I worked from home and in between email and a couple of phone calls managed to make some good progress.
I decided to work on the Flak 38 and broke open the Voyager PE set and the Tristar kit and went to work.
The first item of business had to do with fitting the Armorscale barrel in place of the Tristar styrene kit part. According to the PMMS 2cm Barrel Comparison Review by Terry Ashley the kit barrel is too long to start with and also has a plain muzzle flash suppressor, albeit hollowed out at the muzzle end. The Armorscale barrel on the other hand is the correct dimensions and has a beautifully turned brass pre-formed muzzle flash suppressor complete with drilled out holes and neck. Some quick surgery and drill out with a pin vise to accept the new replacement were all that was necessary. I will admit that it took me two attempts to install only because the first time I wasn't paying close enough attention and actually installed it upside down.
The buildup of the Tristar parts is pretty straightforward, essentially only one sprue of parts with a small additional for the gun shield and a separate sprue for the trailer which I wouldn't be using for this. The Tristar kit provides 2 assembly options, one with the gun level and one elevated and since it needs to clear the superstructure on the hull, I chose the elevated.
While checking on a couple of details using the Squadron/Signal "Pzkpw 38(t) In Action" which has a couple of shots of a deployed Gepard in Normandy, it didn't have the splinter shields fitted, although a shot of a knocked out Gepard on a later page shows it with...so in the interest of doing something a little different, I left the sheilds off. This produced an ironic result of sorts....the only parts off the Voyager set I ended up using were the trigger pedal plate and the ready round magazine box on the left side. This necessitated removing the back side of the box since it was molded on and I also needed to remove the molded on shield support arms from the elevation bearing housings as well as modify the front of the gun mount cradle to reflect this decision. The Voyager parts won't go to waste as the shields are very nice and may show up in the future on an Italeri Demag build...you never know!
The reference shots also showed the "lobster pot" type of spent shell catcher in place and fortunately the Eduard set included this in the form of several parts. The Voyager set curiously didn't address this and Tristar doesn't provide any sort of frame or parts to work off off, so the whole thing had to be constructed from PE. The Eduard parts are very delicate but the mesh is very well done IMHO but the inner frame supports aren't part of the assembly, so I added the supports using 0.5mm plastic rod cut to size and glued on the interior.
The rest of the gun parts/machinery were added in the form of the hand wheels, the gun sights, etc. I drilled out both the eye-piece and the optics end of the direct fire scope since Tristar had it molded solid on both ends. Last but not least, the gunner's seat got some kitbashing attention using the base from Tristar, the seat back from Alan up to the padded back rest, with the Eduard armored addition on top of that.
And just a quick check to see how it will look when it's installed and ready for business...
I decided to work on the Flak 38 and broke open the Voyager PE set and the Tristar kit and went to work.
The first item of business had to do with fitting the Armorscale barrel in place of the Tristar styrene kit part. According to the PMMS 2cm Barrel Comparison Review by Terry Ashley the kit barrel is too long to start with and also has a plain muzzle flash suppressor, albeit hollowed out at the muzzle end. The Armorscale barrel on the other hand is the correct dimensions and has a beautifully turned brass pre-formed muzzle flash suppressor complete with drilled out holes and neck. Some quick surgery and drill out with a pin vise to accept the new replacement were all that was necessary. I will admit that it took me two attempts to install only because the first time I wasn't paying close enough attention and actually installed it upside down.
The buildup of the Tristar parts is pretty straightforward, essentially only one sprue of parts with a small additional for the gun shield and a separate sprue for the trailer which I wouldn't be using for this. The Tristar kit provides 2 assembly options, one with the gun level and one elevated and since it needs to clear the superstructure on the hull, I chose the elevated.
While checking on a couple of details using the Squadron/Signal "Pzkpw 38(t) In Action" which has a couple of shots of a deployed Gepard in Normandy, it didn't have the splinter shields fitted, although a shot of a knocked out Gepard on a later page shows it with...so in the interest of doing something a little different, I left the sheilds off. This produced an ironic result of sorts....the only parts off the Voyager set I ended up using were the trigger pedal plate and the ready round magazine box on the left side.
This necessitated removing the back side of the box since it was molded on and I also needed to remove the molded on shield support arms from the elevation bearing housings as well as modify the front of the gun mount cradle to reflect this decision. The Voyager parts won't go to waste as the shields are very nice and may show up in the future on an Italeri Demag build...you never know! The reference shots also showed the "lobster pot" type of spent shell catcher in place and fortunately the Eduard set included this in the form of several parts. The Voyager set curiously didn't address this and Tristar doesn't provide any sort of frame or parts to work off off, so the whole thing had to be constructed from PE. The Eduard parts are very delicate but the mesh is very well done IMHO but the inner frame supports aren't part of the assembly, so I added the supports using 0.5mm plastic rod cut to size and glued on the interior.
The rest of the gun parts/machinery were added in the form of the hand wheels, the gun sights, etc. I drilled out both the eye-piece and the optics end of the direct fire scope since Tristar had it molded solid on both ends. Last but not least, the gunner's seat got some kitbashing attention using the base from Tristar, the seat back from Alan up to the padded back rest, with the Eduard armored addition on top of that.
And just a quick check to see how it will look when it's installed and ready for business...
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 12-02-2006
Continuing on with the progress made yesterday, today's efforts focused on a variety of areas.
First up was a quick revisit to the interior details. Test fits of the superstructure panels showed that easy access to all the interior spaces remains so long as the gun is removable. I decided to go ahead and install the Azimut ammo boxes in the corners of the pedestal as single boxes but to accomplish this, they had to be trimmed down a bit at the lower edges and each one fit slightly different than the others, but in the end all 4 went in place. I also secured in the other boxes on the sides with some CA glue so they'd all be one big happy family from here on out.
Next up for the interior were the radios and the junction box. The Alan part is rather plain, devoid of features except for a nice sink hole right in the middle that required some putty to fill. I also added a second "plug" so both radios could be connected up to it using some fine solder. Both radios were wired up to each other and to the junction box with the lead wire going out to the antenna mount on the hull. The CA also served to help thicken up the solder a bit at the plug faces and once painted should at least resemble the necessary wiring.
Not shown above but visible in follow-on pics are the crew seat pads for the rear and right side of the compartments. The Alan parts are molded with a large frame around them that is too large to fit in either location. For the rear, this was completely trimmed off and the pad mounted in the designated place. For the right side, the Alan instructions have it going in the wrong place entirely (it should be angled against the hull and compartment edge, not perpendicular) and it's about 1/3 too big, requiring some creative trimming to get it down to the right size, but several careful fit/trim checks got it down to the right size in no time.
The superstructure parts are a little confused in the Alan instructions, it calls for hinge points to be added to some parts and not others, but it's pretty obvious which ones need them and which ones don't, so long as you ignore the instructions on this point. Most of the panels had a prominent ejector pin mark right in the center on the interior side, so putty and sanding was required to set that right.
The fit on the panels was good but not great. I glued in the front and rear panels first and then started on the left side and worked my way around that way. Most of the joins had small gaps that required either liquid glue or additional putty work to correct. Even though the panels are fold-down, the surfaces are supposed to mate cleanly when closed, unfortunately the kit parts aren't quite accurate on their own to achieve this.
Next up was a visit to the suspension as this was an area that I'd put off until now in order to keep the hull tub as a solid base to work from. These parts are molded differently than the rest of the kit, being an off-white plastic with "Made In Russia" on the sprues and a lot of flash on all the parts. The plastic was softer as well, making the clean-up an exercise in caution not to remove too much along with the flash. A quick check against the contents of a Maquette Pz 38(t) Wheels and Tracks set in the closet showed it to be an exact match right down to the pin hole locations.
Once all that was cleaned up, I used blue tack to mount the wheels and then glued the suspension in place to insure they all sat level. Once satisfied with that result, I test fit the MK tracks assembled earlier and determined that the 92 links needed an additional 2 to bring it to 94 to make it the right length. The MK instructions had directed 95-96, so they weren't too far off in the end.
Last but not least to cap off the day, since I was adding links to the tracks, I went ahead and assembled the spare runs of 8 links for the glacis and 6 for the front hull.
Tomorrow's efforts will focus on getting the fenders fitted and dealing with the exterior details before getting it ready for painting.
First up was a quick revisit to the interior details. Test fits of the superstructure panels showed that easy access to all the interior spaces remains so long as the gun is removable. I decided to go ahead and install the Azimut ammo boxes in the corners of the pedestal as single boxes but to accomplish this, they had to be trimmed down a bit at the lower edges and each one fit slightly different than the others, but in the end all 4 went in place. I also secured in the other boxes on the sides with some CA glue so they'd all be one big happy family from here on out.
Next up for the interior were the radios and the junction box. The Alan part is rather plain, devoid of features except for a nice sink hole right in the middle that required some putty to fill. I also added a second "plug" so both radios could be connected up to it using some fine solder. Both radios were wired up to each other and to the junction box with the lead wire going out to the antenna mount on the hull. The CA also served to help thicken up the solder a bit at the plug faces and once painted should at least resemble the necessary wiring.
Not shown above but visible in follow-on pics are the crew seat pads for the rear and right side of the compartments. The Alan parts are molded with a large frame around them that is too large to fit in either location. For the rear, this was completely trimmed off and the pad mounted in the designated place. For the right side, the Alan instructions have it going in the wrong place entirely (it should be angled against the hull and compartment edge, not perpendicular) and it's about 1/3 too big, requiring some creative trimming to get it down to the right size, but several careful fit/trim checks got it down to the right size in no time.
The superstructure parts are a little confused in the Alan instructions, it calls for hinge points to be added to some parts and not others, but it's pretty obvious which ones need them and which ones don't, so long as you ignore the instructions on this point.
Most of the panels had a prominent ejector pin mark right in the center on the interior side, so putty and sanding was required to set that right. The fit on the panels was good but not great. I glued in the front and rear panels first and then started on the left side and worked my way around that way. Most of the joins had small gaps that required either liquid glue or additional putty work to correct. Even though the panels are fold-down, the surfaces are supposed to mate cleanly when closed, unfortunately the kit parts aren't quite accurate on their own to achieve this.
Next up was a visit to the suspension as this was an area that I'd put off until now in order to keep the hull tub as a solid base to work from. These parts are molded differently than the rest of the kit, being an off-white plastic with "Made In Russia" on the sprues and a lot of flash on all the parts. The plastic was softer as well, making the clean-up an exercise in caution not to remove too much along with the flash. A quick check against the contents of a Maquette Pz 38(t) Wheels and Tracks set in the closet showed it to be an exact match right down to the pin hole locations.
Once all that was cleaned up, I used blue tack to mount the wheels and then glued the suspension in place to insure they all sat level. Once satisfied with that result, I test fit the MK tracks assembled earlier and determined that the 92 links needed an additional 2 to bring it to 94 to make it the right length. The MK instructions had directed 95-96, so they weren't too far off in the end.
Last but not least to cap off the day, since I was adding links to the tracks, I went ahead and assembled the spare runs of 8 links for the glacis and 6 for the front hull.
Tomorrow's efforts will focus on getting the fenders fitted and dealing with the exterior details before getting it ready for painting.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 12-03-2006
I started work today by taking care of a couple of leftover details from yesterday in the form of the latches for the superstructure panels as well as installing the exterior hull antenna mount. It's a good thing I had spare parts from the Alan Grille M kit as the latches on the sprue that came in this one were in bad shape with about half of them snapped in half. Not sure if this happened after I started the build or before, but the spares bin came to the rescue! I also had to fill the largest sink mark I've encountered on this kit so far on the antenna base. It was easily 1 mm or more deep and almost as big as the mount itself.
The kit supplied fenders were the next target for attention. The fenders are one piece and were on the thick side, enhanced by the fact that they have a slight overhang on the exterior edge that shouldn't be there based on the reference shots. This had to be trimmed away and the edge sanded down to get a better scale thickness on both sides. The left side fender was a little tougher to install owing to it having a slight warp but nothing major. They did have some very large raised posts on the underside, 3 each, that needed to be removed to allow the tracks to clear. I removed the MK tracks to install the fenders to avoid any mishaps, they'll be left off for the remainder until final installation.
I also noticed a small bubble right on the rivet line in the lower hull side that had escaped my attention before, (the larger one is solid althought transparent) and in handling it collapsed, requiring some quick putty filling to patch it back up.
The rest of the day's efforts focused on the pioneer tools and adding the necessary PE details. I started with the left fender first and installed the Notek light and replacement bracket without any issues. Then came the jack block which required the molded on brackets to be carefully removed and the block sanded down just a bit to fit the PE brackets. This went off flawlessly, the Eduard set even includes a little wing-nut for the center.
The only piece of included PE in the Alan kit is for the grouser box and it's on the rudimentary side, so the Eduard piece was used in its place. The Azimut set included a nicely cast jack but sadly it's the wrong type for this vehicle plus the way it was cast made it virtually impossible to remove it intact from its pour plug...it ended up in about 4 pieces before I gave up on it and went back to the kit piece. It's rather plain but serves adequately and the PE brackets and latches help dress it up a bit.
The axe proved a bit of a challenge just for the simple fact that I had to shave down the blade portion considerably and try to avoid snapping the handle at the same time. A lot of back and forth but that and a slight adjustment to the handle width near the axe head and it fit perfectly.
The latces are left open to allow the tools to be removed for off-vehicle painting and final isntallation later on. The jack block is just dryfit for the same reason and I realized after I took this shot that I had it sitting sideways...but it's not permanent.
The right side set of tools proved more challenging just because there's more tools over there. I began with the tool that goes on the upper hull...it looks like a cleaning staff but no idea if that's its real purpose...I checked the references for the Gepard in Normandy and it has it mounted, although the positioning was different than what Alan had in the instructions. That's the beauty of adding tool brackets though, not hard to reposition if needed.
The hardest tool to clean up was the wirecutters. The only thing holding them together was the sprues, as soon as I cut it loose, one of the handles promptly disengaged from the rest requiring a quick repair and set off to the side to mend. The removal of the molded on strap was even more delicate as a result, I probably should have removed it then fixed the handle, either way it took a lot of careful work with the sharp point on a brand new #11 to get it cleaned up.
The right side woes continued with the shovel and crowbar set...the shovel handle snapped off cleanly right at the base of the molded on bracket...and having learned my lesson with the wirecutters, I took advantage of that to make the cleanup a little easier. The square shovel head was removed and replaced with the Eduard round and the handle mended.
Both the shovel/crowbar combo and the sledgehammer were originally designed to be installed on raised molded points on the fenders. These had to be removed carefully so as not to damage the raised detail on the fenders themselves, slow and tedious work, and several stops to rest a cramped hand were necessary.
Last but not least, the kit supplied fire extinguisher got an extreme makeover having all of it's molded on detail removed in favor of the PE brackets. The molded on detail was very thick and after removal the cannister needed some fine sanding to restore the shape back before fitted to the brackets.
My goal today was to get all the fender detail work done so I'm happy to have achieved that. There are still some detail areas on the exterior to be dealt with, namely the exhaust and muffler on the rear hull as well as a couple other small details. I did notice in checking the length of the glacis spare track run that Eduard's count of 8 links is too short, it should be 12 based on the reference photos, fortunately the bracket is long enough for that, so I'll have to add another 4 links in next time around.
The kit supplied fenders were the next target for attention. The fenders are one piece and were on the thick side, enhanced by the fact that they have a slight overhang on the exterior edge that shouldn't be there based on the reference shots. This had to be trimmed away and the edge sanded down to get a better scale thickness on both sides. The left side fender was a little tougher to install owing to it having a slight warp but nothing major. They did have some very large raised posts on the underside, 3 each, that needed to be removed to allow the tracks to clear. I removed the MK tracks to install the fenders to avoid any mishaps, they'll be left off for the remainder until final installation.
I also noticed a small bubble right on the rivet line in the lower hull side that had escaped my attention before, (the larger one is solid althought transparent) and in handling it collapsed, requiring some quick putty filling to patch it back up.
The rest of the day's efforts focused on the pioneer tools and adding the necessary PE details. I started with the left fender first and installed the Notek light and replacement bracket without any issues. Then came the jack block which required the molded on brackets to be carefully removed and the block sanded down just a bit to fit the PE brackets. This went off flawlessly, the Eduard set even includes a little wing-nut for the center.
The only piece of included PE in the Alan kit is for the grouser box and it's on the rudimentary side, so the Eduard piece was used in its place. The Azimut set included a nicely cast jack but sadly it's the wrong type for this vehicle plus the way it was cast made it virtually impossible to remove it intact from its pour plug...it ended up in about 4 pieces before I gave up on it and went back to the kit piece. It's rather plain but serves adequately and the PE brackets and latches help dress it up a bit.
The axe proved a bit of a challenge just for the simple fact that I had to shave down the blade portion considerably and try to avoid snapping the handle at the same time. A lot of back and forth but that and a slight adjustment to the handle width near the axe head and it fit perfectly.
The latces are left open to allow the tools to be removed for off-vehicle painting and final isntallation later on. The jack block is just dryfit for the same reason and I realized after I took this shot that I had it sitting sideways...but it's not permanent.
The right side set of tools proved more challenging just because there's more tools over there.
I began with the tool that goes on the upper hull...it looks like a cleaning staff but no idea if that's its real purpose...I checked the references for the Gepard in Normandy and it has it mounted, although the positioning was different than what Alan had in the instructions. That's the beauty of adding tool brackets though, not hard to reposition if needed. The hardest tool to clean up was the wirecutters. The only thing holding them together was the sprues, as soon as I cut it loose, one of the handles promptly disengaged from the rest requiring a quick repair and set off to the side to mend. The removal of the molded on strap was even more delicate as a result, I probably should have removed it then fixed the handle, either way it took a lot of careful work with the sharp point on a brand new #11 to get it cleaned up.
The right side woes continued with the shovel and crowbar set...the shovel handle snapped off cleanly right at the base of the molded on bracket...and having learned my lesson with the wirecutters, I took advantage of that to make the cleanup a little easier.
The square shovel head was removed and replaced with the Eduard round and the handle mended. Both the shovel/crowbar combo and the sledgehammer were originally designed to be installed on raised molded points on the fenders. These had to be removed carefully so as not to damage the raised detail on the fenders themselves, slow and tedious work, and several stops to rest a cramped hand were necessary.
Last but not least, the kit supplied fire extinguisher got an extreme makeover having all of it's molded on detail removed in favor of the PE brackets. The molded on detail was very thick and after removal the cannister needed some fine sanding to restore the shape back before fitted to the brackets.
My goal today was to get all the fender detail work done so I'm happy to have achieved that. There are still some detail areas on the exterior to be dealt with, namely the exhaust and muffler on the rear hull as well as a couple other small details. I did notice in checking the length of the glacis spare track run that Eduard's count of 8 links is too short, it should be 12 based on the reference photos, fortunately the bracket is long enough for that, so I'll have to add another 4 links in next time around.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 12-09-2006
I got a late start today due to the fact that my wife had a great 1:1 project for me...installing a new dog door with an IR key that will let the dog out but not the cats. Of course, the door it needed to go into was an aluminum one, which is no easy task and took most of the morning to get done.
When I did get to the bench, it was a matter of needing to take care of some details both front and rear. On the front, I decided to go ahead and install the spare track mounts after tests revealed I could install them and still be able to feed the workable MK links into place. This was a pretty straightforward exercise, the Eduard set accomplishes the 3-d look with a "spine" insert that is far superior to the chunky Alan kit parts.
On to the rear hull area, I kicked around the idea of mounting the muffler/exhaust or to leave it off and install post-paint. I decided to install it and it's a good thing as I quickly ran into an unforseen difficulty. Not sure if the Azimut hull introduced the error or if it's a consquence of the hull difference between the Grille and the Gepard since they use the same exhaust parts, but it became evident that I could not install it as directed on either the Eduard instructions or the Alan ones. The problem arose due to the angled rear hull and the lengths of the different sections of pipe that needed to be joined. I spent virtually the entire afternoon working on just the muffler/exhaust, ending up having to modify it at the angle entry point into the hull, reposition the hull mounting strap, and remove all the molded on detail on the rear hull angled plate as it contributed to the problem. In the end I got a workable situation but it's not accurate based on the reference photos. This was really the only way I could see out of it short of just building the exhaust pipes myself and that was a thought that occurred to me after I'd already invested significant effort in getting this one to work.
I also removed the molded on hooks on the rear upper hull and used the Eduard tie-down straps/buckles. These went together easily but were tiny, had to be careful not to lose them and the magnifier lamp came in very handy. The rear hull fire extinguisher got a makeover with all the molded on detail removed and the Eduard mounting bracket used instead. Last but not least I drilled out the exhaust using a neat trick I learned from FingersEddie...used a Sharpie to mark the solid portion, made a starter hole in the center with a sharp #11 point, then drilled slightly to check the center, adjusted slightly, and voila!
These were the final pending details, all the construction is done so I put everything back in place (except the jack block, it's fragile with the wing-nut, so not handling it unless absolutely necessary) and took a pre-paint shot .
Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll put down the primer and base coats.
When I did get to the bench, it was a matter of needing to take care of some details both front and rear. On the front, I decided to go ahead and install the spare track mounts after tests revealed I could install them and still be able to feed the workable MK links into place. This was a pretty straightforward exercise, the Eduard set accomplishes the 3-d look with a "spine" insert that is far superior to the chunky Alan kit parts.
On to the rear hull area, I kicked around the idea of mounting the muffler/exhaust or to leave it off and install post-paint. I decided to install it and it's a good thing as I quickly ran into an unforseen difficulty. Not sure if the Azimut hull introduced the error or if it's a consquence of the hull difference between the Grille and the Gepard since they use the same exhaust parts, but it became evident that I could not install it as directed on either the Eduard instructions or the Alan ones. The problem arose due to the angled rear hull and the lengths of the different sections of pipe that needed to be joined. I spent virtually the entire afternoon working on just the muffler/exhaust, ending up having to modify it at the angle entry point into the hull, reposition the hull mounting strap, and remove all the molded on detail on the rear hull angled plate as it contributed to the problem. In the end I got a workable situation but it's not accurate based on the reference photos. This was really the only way I could see out of it short of just building the exhaust pipes myself and that was a thought that occurred to me after I'd already invested significant effort in getting this one to work.
I also removed the molded on hooks on the rear upper hull and used the Eduard tie-down straps/buckles. These went together easily but were tiny, had to be careful not to lose them and the magnifier lamp came in very handy. The rear hull fire extinguisher got a makeover with all the molded on detail removed and the Eduard mounting bracket used instead. Last but not least I drilled out the exhaust using a neat trick I learned from FingersEddie...used a Sharpie to mark the solid portion, made a starter hole in the center with a sharp #11 point, then drilled slightly to check the center, adjusted slightly, and voila!
These were the final pending details, all the construction is done so I put everything back in place (except the jack block, it's fragile with the wing-nut, so not handling it unless absolutely necessary) and took a pre-paint shot .
Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll put down the primer and base coats.
-
Bill Plunk
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:18 pm
WIP 12-10-2006
All of today's efforts focused on painting. The weather cooperated nicely and after doublechecking all the putty/fill areas one last time and making a couple of minor adjustments, I broke the vehicle down into its sub-assemblies of hull, wheels, tracks, and gun and went to work.
Because I wanted to take advantage of the weather while it lasted and daylight is in shorter supply these days, I didn't stop to take in progress shots of the paintwork. I followed my usual process with MM enamels of laying down a primer coat of Flat Black, followed by light coats of Rust. The interior of the fighting compartment was a little more challenging than I'd anticipated but nothing too difficult. The basecoat of Dunkelgelb was also laid down in thin multiple coats until I had the look I wanted. This was followed up with a minimal camo pattern of my own mix of Russian Armor Green and Panzerschwarzgrau for the dark green and my own mix of Leather and Military Brown for the brown. Some touchup with the Dunkelgelb for the overspray and the hull was done. Reference photos in the Squadron book interestingly show a vehicle where the crew has cut down logs/trees and stacked them up against the side to cover up the wheels and fenders, so I didn't extend the pattern to these areas deliberately.
The running gear also got some attention. I used my trusty foam earthworm box and toothpics with blue-tack to hold all the wheels and these were painted overall Flat Black and then, using a circle templated, the rims were sprayed Rust followed by Dunkelgelb.
I did discover through the use of the template that the wheels aren't perfectly round, but that's alright, a little touchup and pin wash weathering will set it right.
The track runs were also sprayed Flat Black and followed up with a coat of Non-buffing Gunmetal Metalizer to get them ready for their weathering exercise. The same treatment was applied to the Flak barrel and the Flak gun itself given the same paint treatment as the hull minus the camo of course!
Now the real fun will begin in the form of detailing the interior compartment and working on the exterior details prior to weathering and markings.
Because I wanted to take advantage of the weather while it lasted and daylight is in shorter supply these days, I didn't stop to take in progress shots of the paintwork. I followed my usual process with MM enamels of laying down a primer coat of Flat Black, followed by light coats of Rust. The interior of the fighting compartment was a little more challenging than I'd anticipated but nothing too difficult. The basecoat of Dunkelgelb was also laid down in thin multiple coats until I had the look I wanted. This was followed up with a minimal camo pattern of my own mix of Russian Armor Green and Panzerschwarzgrau for the dark green and my own mix of Leather and Military Brown for the brown. Some touchup with the Dunkelgelb for the overspray and the hull was done. Reference photos in the Squadron book interestingly show a vehicle where the crew has cut down logs/trees and stacked them up against the side to cover up the wheels and fenders, so I didn't extend the pattern to these areas deliberately.
The running gear also got some attention. I used my trusty foam earthworm box and toothpics with blue-tack to hold all the wheels and these were painted overall Flat Black and then, using a circle templated, the rims were sprayed Rust followed by Dunkelgelb.
I did discover through the use of the template that the wheels aren't perfectly round, but that's alright, a little touchup and pin wash weathering will set it right.
The track runs were also sprayed Flat Black and followed up with a coat of Non-buffing Gunmetal Metalizer to get them ready for their weathering exercise. The same treatment was applied to the Flak barrel and the Flak gun itself given the same paint treatment as the hull minus the camo of course!
Now the real fun will begin in the form of detailing the interior compartment and working on the exterior details prior to weathering and markings.