Hi guys, long time no see!
It’s been a while since my last post but here I am again to continue.
After the suspension was built I started to build the tracks since its one of the most tedious and time-consuming parts of any model. The fit of the track is good but not perfect; I had to remove material from the back of the return rollers to improve the fit.
The road wheels should be thinned too but since mine were glued already I had to remove only part of it to make it fit. There’s no problem with the idle or the sprocket whatsoever.
And here it is with the tracks in place.
Next I installed the transmission and made a new drive shaft because the original one was too short and the alignment of the engine and the tranny wasn’t 100% accurate.
Then it was time for the fighting compartment. Here the fit of the parts is not the problem but the plethora of sinkholes is. I started to cut styrene disks to plug them but I leave out the ones that will be hidden by equipment.
Also the recuperator cylinder has a sinkhole that needs plugging.
The gun cradle didn’t present any problems until later in the build. (More on that later.)
Here’s the gun support; no problem here.
Next, the barrel itself. Here are some fit problems like the fit of the breechblock to the rest of the gun. If you look closely you’ll notice the pieces of white plastic needed to fill the gaps.
The other side
Here is another point of trouble; the gun mount is divided in two parts, front and back. You have to drill here to make the hole deeper so the recuperator cylinder can sit deep enough or the mount won’t align properly.
Here is the complete gun. All the white parts are the ones you have to make. One of the most important things is the little square box for the right side hand wheel. There are two hand wheels, one on each side, the left one is ok but if you glue the right one as per the instructions it will interfere with the lower gun mount. I don’t know why but Trumpeter forgot to put that little box in the kit so you’ll have to make one.
The fighting compartment is a straight forward build. (After you plug the sinkholes that is.) The only modification I did was to cut some of the positioning tabs (Marked in red.) for the ammo rack so it can sit level on the floor.
And here is everything ready for paint.
Next, the yellow and green paint arrives.
See you soon,
Ruben