I could use my mold of the return roller mounts to make six replacements but a fellow modeller out east was kind enough to full fill an earlier request for some copies of his mold prior to me having access to some RTV. Thanks Gary!
I glued the suspension arms in place as well as the return roller mounts, which were positioned as per the PT drawing.
[QUOTE=Evan August;63444]Nice progress, but what's a SSRB? Looks like you may have some clean up to do yet in front of the first return roller mounting...[/QUOTE]
The molds worked out okay but I should have put some air release lines made with some small plastic rod attached to the bottom of the dampers as I get air bubbles when I just pour the casting resin in. I could do it over but I may just inject the resin with a need and syringe.
The FD ones are better but I again missed the mark- I need to redo a set again but this time one for the left and one for the right, these last two only ended up being good for one side- live and learn.
I took rushed picture, (and thus out of focus) to show Evan that the "clean up" is only a visual ghost in the plastic of the return roller mount that I removed. The surface is smooth, I assure you.
A SSRB... Single Sided Razor Blade.
here is how the driver's side is looking.
Here is the Friulmodel drive wheels all glued up and assembled. I used 5 minute epoxy to stick them together.
The right side with the return rollers and other suspension parts added.
The drive wheels are test fitted and all is well.
Using some de-canted ZINC CHROMATE PRIMER GREEN metal spray paint I primed the white metal drive wheels.
As I want to get the lower suspension done before moving on to the upper areas I sprayed the lower hull and suspension parts on the sides and bottom, using Extracolor Schwartzgrau for the sides and red primer for the underside. No primer was used, as I will be giving these area another coat, this this first thinnish coat is the primer.
the other side sprayed as well.
[QUOTE=Mark S. Pryor;63816]Dear James,
Your attention to detail and casting is impressive.:thumb:
I have a question concerning;
why de-cant the primer and not just use it straight from the can?
Mark[/QUOTE]
Hi Mark, the reason is control. I only want to apply a small amount of paint the surface of these wheels. By decanting a small amount into my airbrush cup, (like a tablespoon... if that), I can control the volume and thickness of the coat of paint far better with the airbrush than with a spray can. And this is a crucial requirement because I wish to preserve as much of surface detail such as the bolt heads for example.
So more progress to report,
time to work on the armour plate along the upper back that I cut off the kit part. First thing I did was to put the partitions that goes into the opening at the back of the lower hull, air intake if I'm not mistaken, I'll have to check my references..
This will help me figure out what to do next.
I also glued the top hull part into place as well so it will help line things up.
Using the drawing from the Panzertracts book on Panzer III's as a guide I measured and cut the proper angle onto the piece of Evergreen sheet. and glued it in place.
[QUOTE=Stuke Sowle;63848]Well at first I wanted to get out my ol' StuG and work on it, but not I just want to trash it. Your's is umpteen times better looking already![/QUOTE]
Stuke- haven't heard from you for awhile good to see you posting again.
I think you should get out the ol Stug and get 'er done.:thumb: I'm not sure how mine could be all that great as I really haven't done much yet!:rolleyes:
So another little update. First thing is I painted the road wheels with the Extracolor gray.
Also I painted the sprocket wheel centres with a primer red.
I also decided to try ageing the wheels down a little with some damage and nicks.
here the tires have been painted with my usual Polly Scale Grimy Black. Just a test fit.
