PzKpfw I Ausf.A ohne Aufbau ~ Tristar

[Jamie Tainton]

So now that I have that upper part sorta figured out I'm finally going to move onto something else- the lower aspect. First I have to make some braces that hold the rod which some of the linkage is attached to underneath the transmission. I have to cut the pieces of the PE tree and then solder them together. The circular sleeve comes as a strip of metal (B85b) that needs to be curved around something like a drill bit and then soldered to the part B85a. I should have used one of the triangular oval shaped parts from the PE set like B23 or B43b to get the right diameter of the tube. I successfully was able to achieve a nice solid band which was attached to part B85a and then two holes were drilled into the resin parts. I studied my photographs carefully as again no clear placement marks are provided. I glued the assemblage into the two holes and used some thin CA applied several passes to meld the part in place and fill the excess area of the drilled holes.




Here I am using a punch rod to form the tube from part B85b




Held in place with some electrical alligator clips, again using the Hold and Fold as a vise. Just a tiny drop of solder will secure this and then it can be sanded/filed to a smooth surface.


a little flux goes on first to held the transfer of soler from the soldering iron to the metal.








Part B85a is primed with some solder




then tacked in place




In this pic you can see the left side in place. Also you can see I have added some tiny dics to the upper linkage parts. The thickness of the PE didn't seem right to me. I also added a disc to where the assembly meets the resin part. Parts B83 and B87 where replaced with bits punched from a disc punch and a hex punch for the end nut. Also part B84 was slightly bent.






drilled holes await the insertion of the brace.




Plastic rod threaded into place

[Jamie Tainton]

Well I was pretty happy! Successful soldering of previously soldered parts to other metal parts ain't easy but I had pulled it off!
But guess what, going further into the instruction sheet I pulled out a B23 part and when I tried to thread it into the loop of these braces to my dismay I saw that I would need to open the bands up again trim some of the metal off and reform the small tube. This after the part has been glued in place! Well suffice it to say all went well and after substituting a piece of metal cut from a paper clip all is better.




Part B23 is soldered to the metal rod.


Presto!

[Jamie Tainton]

Some more pics-In the first one you can see some of the parts are changed again- this was a real struggle for me to get everything lined up. I decided to take the inside plastic washer I glued to the pink resin part and only had the one punched out disc on the inside of the upper linkage parts and then replaced the white plastic nut on the outside with a nut from some resin nuts and bolts from Calibre 35.






Started working on the RHS upper linkages.


Another change noticeable is the metal rod that was placed in the lower metal loops has been replaced with some plastic. I tried soldering all the small linkage parts but was not able to pull it off without some problems. Oh well I took the simple way out and just glued B23 to the rod. Way less stress. Next time I will figure out a metal solution for this detail.








Need to cut the rod to 22mm


Here is the Tristar lower hull part. The kit has the old fashioned way, more typical of Eastern Block model manufacturers for creating a lower hull "tub".

Most of the surface deal you see here will be removed!


Here the nearly complete Aber item next to the Tristar version.




Couple of shots showing a quick test fit.



See the detail on the side walls- that has to go as well.




The Aber brake/final drive parts.

[Dario Risso]

WOW, that transmision will really work, doesn't?

Nice job!!!

Darío

[Jamie Tainton]

[Jamie Tainton]

Well I have the transmission pretty much completed, just a few lose ends to button up and fini!
To get out of the tuff rut I've been in with all the tiny fiddling around with the transmission, I decided to branch off and work on the fender from Aber. Remember to pull your window wider to see all the pic.
Here is the fret with the Aber parts to create some more to scale fenders.


The frame removed and cleaned up.


The rivets are pushed into the indicated areas using a tool from my etching days. I like to do this on some MDF as it seems to have the right amount of give yet is not too soft for successful embossing.












Once this one side is completely embossed the folding tool is used to bend up that one side. After that is done the other side is done and then the part that goes on the back is folded. I'm going to hold of soldering that in place until I understand it's position. That is the one thing I suggest, to go slow and try seeing how everything else fits together before committing. This is a bit of a feeling out process as I have never made this kit before










The upper tread plate is next. This was heated with a lighter to anneal it as the metal has a pronounced bow in the wrong direction for good mating to the frame. Subsequent parts were not subjected to this step as an experiment in flattening without softening the metal first resulted in satisfactory results. Still the softened annealed metal is more malleable. However where the soot is the part needs to be cleaned with sand paper if the solder which attaches the tread plate to the frame is to flow freely.










Ready to be soldered in place


First step is to pre-tin the frame parts and then paint some flux onto the tread plate part (18). Use just enough as excess solder will get messy and cleaning will add to the work load.




Next the holes are lined up and the parts are clamped together. Following the the areas where the solder is is heated with the soldering gun, until the solder melts and flows freely.








The Aber transmission further along next to the Tristar specimen.

[Dan Reed]

[Dan Reed]

The tranny will lokk good in this open topped IA!
Dan

[Jamie Tainton]

[Jamie Tainton]

The tub under construction . A watchful eye is required to insure proper alignment of all these parts. I went slow spot welding in spats at first using the Extra thin Tamiya liquid glue. This stuff cures within 30 seconds or so there by no hair pulling was done as would have been the case if Testors were used in this situation. I would not use CA here as I want to weld these parts together- CA fractures too easily.


The fit is flawed in a few places but the use of some putty will soon rectify this issue.


Here I am sanding the front sloping glasis to achieve a more in scale thickness to the plastic as the edge will be seen on the inside of this open topped vehicle.




Just a fun fit to see how things may look.


My mind started toying with the idea of using some older Aber sets I have that may help with giving this kit some upscale re fitting. Good news as it looks like the parts will be interchangeable.




I may finally get to try these decals out on this build as well.