Dragon Jagdpanzer IV 70 (A) Kit 6015 COMPLETE

[GazzaS]

11 hours ago, DocRob said:

Looking good, I like the multi colored wheels Gary. Is the mesh you're waiting for the Thoma-Schürzen mesh?

Cheers Rob

Thank you!  Yes, Rob that is exactly what it is for.  The gap between the wires is only .4mm which is correct for scale.  The fly-screen that comes with the kit has gap of more than 1mm. 

[GazzaS]

8 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Moving along at a nice clip and the lower half's weathering looks mighty convincing.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

Thank you, Peter.  Still, the most difficult trials lie ahead.

[Peterpools]

Gaz

My money is riding on you 👍

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[DocRob]

11 hours ago, GazzaS said:

The gap between the wires is only .4mm which is correct for scale.

I measured the steel mesh from my kit and it has a ca. 0,5 mm spacing, perfectly sufficient.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Gaz, the wheel and track work look amazing. I think I’ll have to try your method of doing tracks etc at this stage rather than when completely built……looking forward to next instalment….

[GazzaS]

9 hours ago, DocRob said:

I measured the steel mesh from my kit and it has a ca. 0,5 mm spacing, perfectly sufficient.

Cheers Rob

Do you have the nylon mesh, or a metal mesh?  Mine doesn't even look woven.

[GazzaS]

10 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

My money is riding on you 👍

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

8 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Gaz, the wheel and track work look amazing. I think I’ll have to try your method of doing tracks etc at this stage rather than when completely built……looking forward to next instalment….

Thank you, fellas!

[DocRob]

On 5/15/2022 at 10:37 PM, GazzaS said:

Do you have the nylon mesh, or a metal mesh?  Mine doesn't even look woven.

Yep, there is metal mesh with my kit. It's pre cut and there are PE parts as frames. The mesh feels rigid, I guess it's made from steel. The kit number is 6784.

Some pics of the manual with the mesh put onto it.

Cheers Rob

 

[GazzaS]

8 hours ago, DocRob said:

Yep, there is metal mesh with my kit. It's pre cut and there are PE parts as frames. The mesh feels rigid, I guess it's made from steel. The kit number is 6784.

Some pics of the manual with the mesh put onto it.

Cheers Rob

 

Yes, you have a newer boxing than mine.  Mine was the 1994 original.  In the two successive boxings, there were some great upgrades.  But the new ones are hard to come by.  Did you get a metal barrel with it?

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, GazzaS said:

Yes, you have a newer boxing than mine.  Mine was the 1994 original.  In the two successive boxings, there were some great upgrades.  But the new ones are hard to come by.  Did you get a metal barrel with it?

No metal barrel Gary, there is a one piece plastic one with slide molded rifling. Not too shabby, but it has a slight mold line. The kit sports Magic Tracks, luckily.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

I’ve noticed this when hunting Dragon kits online, many boxings the same kit. I always revert back scalemates to check. The Jagdpanzer isn’t the most elegant of AFV’s ……..just saying…….

[GazzaS]

19 hours ago, DocRob said:

No metal barrel Gary, there is a one piece plastic one with slide molded rifling. Not too shabby, but it has a slight mold line. The kit sports Magic Tracks, luckily.

Cheers Rob

My kit had indy links on the sprue.  And now assembled, I can't really complain.  They are unusual because they have areas hollowed out as a weight reduction method.  I've tried to show it in the way I painted the tracks.  Though, I reckon they may show better once I graphite them.  The tracks I have are a little soft on the detail.  I imagine yours look better.

 

15 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

I’ve noticed this when hunting Dragon kits online, many boxings the same kit. I always revert back scalemates to check. The Jagdpanzer isn’t the most elegant of AFV’s ……..just saying…….

That's the beauty of it, the 'in-elegance'.  I have found the same boxing as mine for sale...   but not the newer.  And since I already have it...   no point in looking again.

[Peterpools]

Gaz

I'm with Phil unless it's a new kit, I'll check Scalemates to see if I'm buying the latest release. When I bought my 1/12 Tamiya 312T, I neglected to that and wound up buying and expensive kit from 1975 and after the fact discovered Tamiya released the kit not to many years ago with new decals and PE. Just not going to make that mistake again.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

2 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

I'm with Phil unless it's a new kit, I'll check Scalemates to see if I'm buying the latest release. When I bought my 1/12 Tamiya 312T, I neglected to that and wound up buying and expensive kit from 1975 and after the fact discovered Tamiya released the kit not to many years ago with new decals and PE. Just not going to make that mistake again.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

Hi Peter.  I've been known not to research before I buy.  And then there are deals you just don't turn away from when you see that coveted model.  I actually got this kit from a fellow club member who was helping liquidate the stash of another club member who had passed away.  It already had a metal barrel in it plus an Eduard update set in addition to the kit's PE.  All of that for about $14 US.  Couldn't wait to get it into my hot little hands.

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Got ya and completely agree - your purchase was a deal and at the same time helping out liquidate the stash of a club member who passed away. I was speaking more towards purchasing on line and on ebay (I try not to) to make sure I know which version I was buying and if there was a more recent one with extras.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

3 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Got ya and completely agree - your purchase was a deal and at the same time helping out liquidate the stash of a club member who passed away. I was speaking more towards purchasing on line and on ebay (I try not to) to make sure I know which version I was buying and if there was a more recent one with extras.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

I understand, Peter.  I'm the same, online I do more research.    That being said, I've gotten most of my stash from friends either in trade, or at amazing discounts.   Usually around 1/2 price.  I really only have a handful of 'wanted kits', ATM.   Being in a club was the best thing that could have ever happened to fulfill my modelling desires.

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Right with you

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Welcome back to the show, my friends.  I am currently fighting the battle of Photo-etch-zina.  Yep, just west of Putinistan.  I'm making it work, but the results aren't always pretty.

I did the fenders last week, but didn't do an update.

I also added these bolt heads.  They are made from .3mm thin aluminum sheet that I have punched out with the back end of a drill bit into an rubbery eraser.

I'm not quite happy with the straps holding the exhaust pipes.

Today was the momentous decision to do the tool.

The shovel and axe are molded the same way as they are on just about every other panzer kit you've ever built.  But on the sole surviving example (At Saumer), they are elevated from the hull.

But all of my straps and clamps look like shit.  Hopefully my skill will improve over time.

Those two tools are about 3 1/2 hours of work.  ...including time spent on hands and knees looking for itty-bitty parts.

[Kaireckstadt]

Awesome PE-work Gary! The looking for the itty-bitty-parts on the carpet paid off 😉. Can’t wait for the next update!

 

[Bomber_County]

Looking good Gaz, those pesky PE tool clamps are amazing once you have mastered the technique, I reckon I ruined half dozen before mastering them. Luckily a few years ago, Eduard were giving away frets of tool clamps at Telford SMW…..

[DocRob]

I can't find these clamps looking too bad, Gary. You are over magnified and sensible . These tiny parts will look great under primer and paint. Nothing wrong with the exhaust straps. They are no more than a welded piece of bent flat iron in reality.

Cheers Rob

[KevinM]

With Rob on this one Gary all looks good from this end.

[GazzaS]

21 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

Awesome PE-work Gary! The looking for the itty-bitty-parts on the carpet paid off 😉. Can’t wait for the next update!

 

Thank you, Kai.  It makes me feel quite Benedictine being down on the floor.

 

18 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking good Gaz, those pesky PE tool clamps are amazing once you have mastered the technique, I reckon I ruined half dozen before mastering them. Luckily a few years ago, Eduard were giving away frets of tool clamps at Telford SMW…..

Thank you, Phil!  Hopefully it will get easier.  I'm still finding it rough going.

 

17 hours ago, DocRob said:

I can't find these clamps looking too bad, Gary. You are over magnified and sensible . These tiny parts will look great under primer and paint. Nothing wrong with the exhaust straps. They are no more than a welded piece of bent flat iron in reality.

Cheers Rob

Thank you, Rob!  Hey, I actually found a build video of your kit on youtube.  I don't think there is a single part in common between our two kits.  Scalemates said 'new parts'.  But they should have said 'new molds'.   There are parts on my kit that I'm not fond of.  But, it'll do.

 

14 hours ago, KevinM said:

With Rob on this one Gary all looks good from this end.

Thank you, Kevin.

 

 

[GazzaS]

And finally, friends...   another update to close out the weekend.  Not surprisingly, more tools.  I did the fire extinguisher and starting crank handle last night.  Only to realize this morning that I had assemble the PE on the starting crank handle backwards.  So, I started out my day fixing things.

 

One onerous part of the task was removing the unwanted plastic from relatively small parts.  The starting crank handle was very thin and took some care not to break.  Some of the simpler parts I replaced with some brass rod.  You'll see it in the pics.  I'd say the part that went easiest was the fire extinguisher.

Here are pictures from the back deck.

whe

One of my pet peeves for a while now is things that seem to hand on by friction alone.  How many of you have built some form of panzer where some of the spare tracks were just glued on.   I know I certainly have. 

So, today I drilled through the tracks...    all the way through.  and used thin copper wire to fit them into the brackets.  It was fiddly business...   and I had to relocate two of the six brackets.   But I'm glad to have it done.

Doing photo-etch is one of those 'stalling points' where I tend to dither around instead.  Accomplish nothing.  But once I got rolling on it this weekend, I found I didn't want to stop.  I still have the jack to do.  And then I can start on the Schurzen brackets.  Unfortunately I have some unanswered questions about where they hook up to the hull.

Catch y'all later!

[DocRob]

Keep on the good roll with the PE and metal stuff Gary, Your detailing looks supercool and yes, I glued some track links on with no brackets at all , but also tried a more realistic approach once or twice.

Cheers Rob