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Erstellt am 09.01.2006 - 01:03

Upgrading this thing is taking forever, but I hope it will look better that way. I reworked the front slope area on the hull to make it the correct slope. I also raised the the top plate armor on the turret, as well as correcting the jib sockets. A new armored fume extractor cover and a plate for the Nahverteidigungswaffe opening have been added to the roof. A new Flammentoter exaust system is in place on the hull rear.

I still have not decided whether I will continue work on the standard side skirts or make the mesh ones.





[Dieser Beitrag wurde am 19.01.2006 - 19:15 von CapnCrunch43 aktualisiert]

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Erstellt am 14.01.2006 - 04:44

I'm having trouble deciding on how to make hinges for the turret skirt doors.

Right now, the hinges are nothing but Scotch tape. While the arent very visible, adding the hardware for the fake hinges on top will foul the doors' operation. Making working hinges that are close to scale size would be quite flimsy. If nothing all else fails, I will just glue the doors together and I don't really want to do that!

Any suggestions?

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Erstellt am 15.01.2006 - 14:25

I am about to build a Bandai Panzer 4 and would like to put skirts on it. I see you have these fitted and wonder if you have any tips to help make these.

Thanks

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Erstellt am 15.01.2006 - 18:43

Measurements are key in making the skirts. Looking at photos can help get things sized right. I used quite a bit of double stick tape during construction to help mark locations of joints and to get an idea of how the finished work will look. Luckily, the model came with skirts for the turret, so sizing them went smoothly. One tip I can give is to leave plenty of material on the ends of the brackets should you have to adjust the mounting locations on the turret. I hung them from the turret roof with the double sided tape to drill the mounting holes.

Here are some updated pics. The hull skirts gave me a headache! It was time to leave it alone anyway!





I just can't wait to give it some battle damage. After side swiping the skirt mounts off of the hull fenders when I first received it, I can just imagine what's going to happen to these!

[Dieser Beitrag wurde am 16.01.2006 - 17:33 von CapnCrunch43 aktualisiert]

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Erstellt am 15.01.2006 - 20:26

Hi

Thanks for the advice and photos they help quite a bit. I will try to get the turret bracket messurements from a drawing.

thank you

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Erstellt am 16.01.2006 - 18:00

Another tip for you, Laribe.

Scotch tape makes a poor hinge material. One of the turret skirt doors has torn off, so I removed the tape from all of them. Figuring out how to make working latches for them was simple, but I'm afraid the hinges are bothering me. If you figure out how to make them work without being way oversized let me know. If I do, I will post it as well.

The latches consist of a bar that spans both doors and rests in a bracket on each one. The bar has a hole on one end that lets it pivot from a post on the rear door. A flat strip runs top to bottom on the outside of the forward door. This strip spans the gap between both doors. With the strip on the outside and the bar on the inside across the brackets, the doors are well secured.

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Erstellt am 17.01.2006 - 17:45

Hi

Thank you for the tip. The only way it seems is to copy half the drivers hatch style or use a track link end filed down to size but I have not got that far yet . The machine looks really good by the way.

laribe

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Erstellt am 19.01.2006 - 15:35

The turret skirt hinges are now complete! While they are not exactly to scale, the are not way out of proportion. Plus, they work!!!!!

I ended up using .040" plastic rod cut to the width of the hinge brackets. I then drilled holes in each rod with a #78 drill bit in a pin vise. These holes must be centered all the way through, as I would later have problems with some that were not straight. When drilling, I found that too much preasure causes the drill bit to bend in the plastic, making the holes angle. Patience was key! Each bracket then had a rod piece attached on an end. A small length of wire with a bend on top connects the hinges.

Once the glue dried, the hinges were tested on the actual doors to make sure they would operate properly(with double stick tape, of course). Lining them up proved very frustrating at first. I like to use Testors glue when bonding styrene because it welds the plastic. Unfortunately, it doesn't dry very quickly! So, to keep the strength of the weld, I ended up setting the hinges with thin CA glue after applying the Testors. Even though these hinges are very small, they are very strong!

[Dieser Beitrag wurde am 19.01.2006 - 17:00 von CapnCrunch43 aktualisiert]

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Erstellt am 20.01.2006 - 09:09

Hi

Thank you again for the tips and solutions as I will use these in the construction of my bandai.

I have seen a mk1v on ebay but I wonder if it will survive a trip to the UK. The only ones available here are static with moulded skirts.

Cheers

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Erstellt am 23.01.2006 - 16:00

Laribe,

As long as they don't throw it from a 2 story building, it should have no problems surviving the trip. They are bolted to a plastic base in the packaging, so damage from movement won't be a problem. The Panzer IV's are very well built on the outside. I wouldn't pay more than $50 U.S. dollars for one, though.

A word of caution: These are no Heng Long or Tamiya machines. One speed, forward, backward and turning, is all you get. The turret rotates and to make it turn 360 degrees, you have to remove the tab on the turret ring. Why the tab is in place makes no sense either, as there are no wires to twist. The turret motor is attached to the underside of the hull top!

I have done some work on the drive system. I removed as much friction as possible in the gear box and final drive areas. Re-setting the 5th roadwheel on each side relieved tension on the track. The resulting increase in speed with 6 fresh batteries makes me think I have a nitro powered tank! A new radio system is badly needed, because it is impossible to control, now.

[Dieser Beitrag wurde am 25.01.2006 - 16:17 von CapnCrunch43 aktualisiert]