7.5cm Pak 40/2 auf Fahrgestell Pz.Kpfw.II "Marder II" ~ DML

[Jamie Tainton]

Dragon Models Limited 1/35 Scale ‘39-‘45 Series Kit No. 6262; 7.5cm Pak 40/2 auf Fahrgestell Pz.Kpfw.II Marder II
So I have resurrected this kit that has been sitting on the shelf of shame for a number of years. I basically stopped working on it when I started having problems with the suspension. The way the sprung dampers go in and where the end up in relation to the swing arms is very important. I glued these in without seeing how everything would go with each component. There fore the swing arm in a couple of places was out of position and not in line so the wheels would have a slight zig-zag. I'll take a closer look at this for you in future postings but just wanted to get stated with this blog.

[Jamie Tainton]

Tonight I'm just going to post all the pics of the progress made over the last few days. I'll spruce up the blog later when I can find the time.This one is going to paint soon!

[Jamie Tainton]

[Jamie Tainton]

[Tim Coulson]

Nice interior. What paints did you use for the interior colors?

For some reason Humbrol decided to discontinue No.115 which was, according to David Byrden's website, an almost perfect match for the grey green interior color.

The Missing Lynx forum says that Vallejo Model Color 972(107) is supposed to be a good match. Fortunately the other Humbrol colors for the interior are still available.

Tim

[Dario Risso]

Looks yummy!!

Darío

[Markus Lack]

Nice one Jamie! Got one of these as well, but somehow was a bit scared from all the bad press this kit received. Your blog might be exactly what I need to get started on it eventually!

[Jamie Tainton]

Holy crap, it seems I haven't taken photos of this as where it is now is way beyond this... I'll take some pics and post them. I have maybe some time again so I want to finish this one off! I am going to do a hairspray white wash again as I did for the Sdkfz.10.

[Jamie Tainton]

Okay here are some from last May when I was resurrecting this build.
Here I am starting to add all the parts required, and painting what I need to before closing in everything.
Okay the update on these pics is from memory as I took these back in May. In the first three pics you can see the light grey parts that have been added. My usual plan of attack is to only add parts that are not fragile in how they attach, as they invariably end up being broken off during subsequent handling and painting. But this often causes problems of their own, usually do to inertia. That is sometimes, later on it can be difficult to get back into the groove needed to add smaller parts, and it can be a stumbling point in getting a model completed.






Next these shots show the construction of the PaK. This went together fairly easily. The only real problem is the PE shield part that slips in between the two front shield parts and closes up the gap around the gun barrel.




The next set shows the ammunition storage. There is interior parts and shells if you wish to include them but I skipped them as they won't be seen in my chosen configuration. The fit and design of these part is really rough and some major filling and sanding were required. The gun and ammo boxes are only dry fit in these images.








And in these two shots you can see I have stripped the black paint, and interior paint off. If I remember correctly the black's surface was too rough and pebbly.

[Jamie Tainton]

more recent shots show the dark grey paint has been sprayed over the entirety of the model.










The lower interior walls were painted again as well. In these shots the upper hull has been permanently attached- I'm committed now to getting this finished!






Here the model has received a coat of Future prior to adding the kit's decal for the Eastern Front version that I decided to due- next would come the hairspray white wash technique, which would end in disaster- the whole thing has been stripped again since these shots. I'm pretty sure now that it is not useful to spray the model with future, a water based clear coat prior to the HS white wash method.