Still many small parts to fit including the hatches and cupulas on top of the mortar compartment and the bow gun in that hole at the front. Then I will need to deal with my arch nemesis - etched brass parts for the grills above the engine. Hopefully they should be relatively easy to fit with no bending required. You can hardly see those lifting hooks but there are thirteen that I remember and several of which had to be located on the floor before fitting!
Recording my progress, or usually the lack of it, in building kits, creating model railways and other related and sometimes unrelated matters!
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Saturday, January 20, 2024
The small parts!
Still many small parts to fit including the hatches and cupulas on top of the mortar compartment and the bow gun in that hole at the front. Then I will need to deal with my arch nemesis - etched brass parts for the grills above the engine. Hopefully they should be relatively easy to fit with no bending required. You can hardly see those lifting hooks but there are thirteen that I remember and several of which had to be located on the floor before fitting!
Friday, January 19, 2024
Repetative wheels - how many parts?
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Checking the facts!
I thought that it was a bit of an odd gun to use as an anti-tank gun but that is what I read somewhere on the internet when I first bought the kit. Having got into the build yesterday I was left wondering what on earth the hydraulic plate under the hull was all about so I went Googling! I found what appears to be a much more realistic explanation of the vehicle on the Tank Encyclopedia website which you can see by clicking here . Basically the gun is a mortar that was to be used to destroy heavily fortified emplacements or buildings. The reason for the plate in the bottom of the hull was that with the mortar at its highest protectory it would hit the floor of the hull. Therefore to give it clearance as well as allowing for its one meter recoil the plate lowered the floor and acted as a stabiliser/recoil absorber. That all makes sense now and well worth checking the facts!
I have linked into on of the drawings on that site which shows the internal details much better than I can describe them!
Anyway, back to the kit build! Today was focused on the rear panel to the hull and the photo below shows what appears to be limited progress but there are 26 parts in that small area with many being small and easily lost onto the floor where searching for them takes a long time! Guess how I know! The jack itself is made of 10 parts and the supplied plans are not the clearest on the placement of parts so trial fitting without glue at first is the order of the day. I also managed to fit the four suspension springs that you can see on the right of the hull. Whilst the rest of the wheels were subject to torsion spring suspension that required a rod to go through the hull, where the hydraulic plate was there could be no rods going through it so conventional springs were used. I can begin to understand why this thing never progressed from the drawing board with all these complexities.
Next stage is the torsion suspension and axles followed by the wheels. I have a feeling there are about 30 wheels to make which will be a bit of a repetitive task, repetitive task, repetitive task!
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The big build starts!
As I eluded to yesterday this is a big kit for a 1/35th scale military vehicle and one which I have started. It is the, to give it the full title from the Trumpeter kit box, a Grille30 30.5cm(Grw) L/15 Mörser "Bär", Basically a prototype that never went into production of an anti- tank gun firing a 30.5cm shell or a one foot diameter shell for those like me who are old school! Basically a shell of that size hitting a tank even without exploding is going to do some serious damage.
Anyway the finished model won't be firing any shells but is never the less an interesting build even at these early stages. I have started with the lower hull, as per the instructions, and constructed what I presume is some sort of stabilising/recoil absorbing device that was fitted to the hull.
It will be interesting to see how this develops. Only 300 plus parts to build of which I have so far done 27 so a fair way to go yet!
I am still working away on finishing weathering the Italeri Kangaroo APC and the three figures. I did find two rifles on the sprue from which the figures came so two of the figures will gain these and look as though their postures are a little more meaningful. Their uniforms have certainly toned down with a couple of washes of dilute black paint and with the helments now attached to their heads they do look a bit less SiFi Horror. My figure painting skills are such that these are models best looked at from a distance but I am pleased with how they are coming out.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Now that is big!
Withe the Italeri Kangaroo APC nearly finished my mind has turned to building this kit that I got at the Newark Train and Toy Fair. You can see from the box art with the figures that this was a monster of a vehicle.
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
A short lived resolution and the cat has been fed!
'No more kits or trains' I informed Mrs. Woody as my resolution for 2024 which I decided upon whilst doing my New Year's day bike ride. I then foolishly suggested we have a trip out - to the Newark Toy and Train Fair. Just for a look and a bit of exercise you understand! Having been before on several occassions, this years event seemed much busier when we arrived with large numbers of people carrying bags of purchases. However, as I reassured Mrs. W, that would not be the case for me!
I have primed the internal surfaces with a light grey and once dry that will get an initial top coat of a suitable green.
Now, whilst I wait for the paint to dry, I better go and feed that cat and make another resolution for 2024!