Stokesy's Desert Clanker - Trumpy 1/16 Pz IV Ausf.F2

[Stokesy44]

I like the way the plumbing and taps worked out....very nice. Not to take anything away for the transmission,engine or any other details added which are all top class too.

Very nice work with the hinges! the whole thing is looking great as usual.

Thanks gents.

Did some greebly work on the front glacis plates today but no pics. Will do a proper update tomorrow when I start on the side sponsons (which are proper crowded with stuff) including more ammo bins and boxes for inside the hull under the turret

[RangerNeil]

Very impressed with those hinges!! What dia wire are you using in there??

[Stokesy44]

Very impressed with those hinges!! What dia wire are you using in there??

Cheers Neil. Its just soft lead wire at the moment about 0.7mm

[Stokesy44]

Took advantage of the bank holiday and got in a nice long session today. Happy as Larry in the den, Stereophonics and The Killers on the Bluetooth Speaker. I was well away

Greeblies on the front glacis plate. Upper bar can be removed and the tracks taken off for painting.



Then it was on to the side sponsons. This section has been in my mind since I first read through the instructions. The reason? PE tool clamps. I thought there was a very real chance I would cock these up. I even considered buying a set of resin clamps but in the end I thought that was the height of cowardice, how hard can it be in 1/16? Once I had figured out the best way to assemble the 3 piece clamp it wasn't too bad. The trick was cementing the lower piece to the tool then adding the latch and the top half of the bracket after roll bending it round a tubular sanding chisel.







The interior of the tank extends out over the sponsons with a kind of shelf on either side for ammo bins and storage. A mixture of plastic and PE for the boxes.





Dry fitted to the hull.



I got the jack fitted as well as some spare track links



A lot more to do on the sponsons but its really starting to take shape now



I've got a couple of days leave so hopefully another long session tomorrow.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nice clean brass PE attatcment
I am a spaz at those and make a mess
Are you using CA glue and some special applicator ??

[BigWall]

All I've got is "Wow!" It's really looking great!

[Stokesy44]

All I've got is "Wow!" It's really looking great!

Cheers mate. I feel a similar reaction when I look in the box and see how much more plastic is still there waiting for me!

[Stokesy44]

Nice clean brass PE attatcment
I am a spaz at those and make a mess
Are you using CA glue and some special applicator ??

Thanks Scott,

I use a gel based CA glue straight from the tube. The only problem I sometimes have is if the tube gets over pressured and glue comes out and I can't control it, otherwise I can get just squeeze a tiny drop and apply it directly. If its really fiddly a apply glue to a scalpel blade and apply it that way.

I find a gel is just a touch more forgiving than the more liquid stuff.

[digger303]

Great result on those clamps I'm suitably impressed.

[Stokesy44]

Great result on those clamps I'm suitably impressed.

Thanks Digger. I'm about to start a life of crime since the superglue has removed my finger prints!

[Tomcat64]

Superb work mate - love the extra details in the engine bay, the opening front hatches are a great addition and the rest of it is all looking very tidy!

[Kevthemodeller]

Lovely PE work there mate . One of the other big pluses working in this scale is no real fiddly PE

[ElCapitan]

Looking great - really starting to take shape now!

[Stokesy44]

Thanks Guys.

More work today. I finished off the sponsons yesterday then worked on the MG for the radio op and the driver's vision port and optics.



If you've seen the movie 'Fury' you'll know how much room the assistant driver has in the Sherman. Not so in the Pz4! The MG actually rests on the radio op's head with a kind of skull cap as he moves the gun around and looks through an ocular sight. There's no vision port, the sight is his only view of the battlefield unless he pops his head out of the hatch.











Here's the exterior. The roll down protector for the driver's port is yet to be added. Trumpy have made an error in that they haven't included a block of 'panzer glass' for the viewport, instead bizarrely supplying a plastic part instead which sits behind a normal thickness clear part. After much head scratching I left the offending part off as clearly it was wrong. I'll paint the clear part with a green tint and tell myself it looks ok. You cant tell the thickness by looking at it so I'll take the 5th on that one.



Next up the fun moves to the engine deck and the cooling fans.

[BigWall]

That's a pretty bizarre solution for the gunner's sight! It had to be difficult to obtain a target. The model is looking great!

[digger303]

Lots going on there and to paint. Skull cap is a bit weird should imagine the vibration reverberating through that would make the operator do a little teeth clenching.

[Tomcat64]

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

[Stokesy44]

Lots going on there and to paint. Skull cap is a bit weird should imagine the vibration reverberating through that would make the operator do a little teeth clenching.

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

Agree on both counts. I've mentioned it before on this thread. In one of Nick Moran's tank chats he did the Pz 4 (great for reference pics) and he described the radio op / MG position as 'An Afterthought'

[bfrd]

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

I am betting the Reich wasn't too scared of OSHA violations either.

[Donkeywalloper]

Having been playing in the 1/16 league with the tiny Panzer 1, my jealousy is overflowing with your build. Its a superb beast and you're doing a stonking job on it.
Really in awe of detail.
DW

[Tomcat64]

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

I am betting the Reich wasn't too scared of OSHA violations either.

chances are they were mandatory!

[Stokesy44]

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

I am betting the Reich wasn't too scared of OSHA violations either.

chances are they were mandatory!

Having been playing in the 1/16 league with the tiny Panzer 1, my jealousy is overflowing with your build. Its a superb beast and you're doing a stonking job on it.
Really in awe of detail.
DW

Thanks Guys. I assume your average crewman had little say over the lack of home comforts at his station!

I finished the second sponson during the week





Then it was on to the engine cooling fans and a bit of detail on the rear end





This the open position for the fans



And nicely fitting in the closed position



Then it was time for the radios which are mounted on a frame that attaches to the roof of the tank between the 2 front hatches. The framing is a mix of PE and plastic. Very scary instructions!



Despite it looking complicated, its relatively straight forward - mostly due to the scale.





That's as far as I got as I cut my finger working on the front of the frame and retired to the sofa to watch the rugby. Its just a flesh wound so I'll be back at it later

[BigWall]

What are you going to do? Bleed on it?

That is an amazingly complex set of directions for a radio set. It looks really good though.

You're making me look for places I could possibly display a larger scale model! My wife isn't going to like me removing the pictures of the kids from the mantle though.

[RangerNeil]

That looks great straight out of the box

But yeah crew comfort wasn't high on the list of priorities was it!

Best definition of an AFV I ever heard was "a vehicle designed to kill the enemy that was just as happy to kill its own crew". Crew comfort wasn't so much low on the priority list as missing altogether!!.

[Stokesy44]

What are you going to do? Bleed on it?

That is an amazingly complex set of directions for a radio set. It looks really good though.

You're making me look for places I could possibly display a larger scale model! My wife isn't going to like me removing the pictures of the kids from the mantle though.

its a constant balancing act, hobby v family! Maybe some discreet shelving somewhere as opposed to a direct assault on the mantle piece and its current tenants?

I'm happy with the radios so far. There's a third set that sits on top in its own frame and some nice headphones too. I might even add some cabling if my wire stash has anything thin enough.

[Stokesy44]

Best definition of an AFV I ever heard was "a vehicle designed to kill the enemy that was just as happy to kill its own crew". Crew comfort wasn't so much low on the priority list as missing altogether!!.

I can well believe that. I see similar things with WW2 aircraft too. The so called glamour boy fighter pilots who flew into battle sitting on, or surrounded by, fuel tanks full of high octane petrol knowing that potentially one round in the right place could turn their cockpit into an inferno.

All worthy of respect.

[RangerNeil]

If you look at Soviet AFV crew helmets you will note the heavy ribbing that runs across the top of them. That is the crews only protection apart from the heavy cloth coveralls..
When I had the OT-90 the only crew seat with a belt was the turret gunners. Newbies to the role found out first time round that the belt wasn't in case we crashed, it was to stop them bashing their head on the roof of the turret when we hit the bumpy bits. The driver and commander had things to grip and brace against which cancelled out all but the worst of the bumps - not the gunner. I got it wrong one year, took the wrong arena path flat out at 50 kph and hit a ridge which sent the nose of the vehicle and thus us up before the nose dropped again whilst we were still going up - stunned all 3 of us from head butting the hatches and turret roof. Christ did it hurt!! - never made that mistake again. I have heard of BTR & SKOT drivers having their legs broken by the steering wheels.
Bit of a digression from the build but hopefully gives an idea of just how crew unfriendly AFV's can be

[Stokesy44]

Great info. Built for comfort they were not!

Got the radios finished today. Some of the framing is a little ropey and I may try to even it out a bit but its all done except for the headphones.

Upside down - it attaches to the crew compartment roof



All 3 sets joined up - and the right way up now







Upside down again now in the hull, you can see how close to the hatch the radios are, there's plenty visible through the radio op's hatch





I have got a couple of fairly chunky vision ports to make (you can see the holes for them level with the hatches on the sides of the compartment. Once they are done, everything for the interior will be primed and painted. I still need to make a shed load of shells too but once done, everything can be put in and the upper hull added.

[RangerNeil]

Looks good to me sir! Remember these things were not built like concours cars etc and internal bracketry/frameworks could be "different" to how one would expect it to look!

[Parker]

great work!

[BigWall]

Wow! Those radios look great!

[Tomcat64]

Awesome work on the radio sets mate - they look great!

[Stokesy44]

Awesome work on the radio sets mate - they look great!

Cheers mate.

I put the 2 forward vision ports together last night. They make the upper interior nice and busy and will be plenty visible through the open hatches for the driver and radio op. Attached with Blu-tac for now.





That's the last of the interior build work done. I intend to build batches of the shells each evening so everything should be ready for priming and painting at the weekend.

Its a monster of a project and I may not finish in time for the SIG but I'm loving it nonetheless.

[digger303]

Those radios are great they really stand out....Are they right way up...






ha ha ha ....just joking

[BigWall]

Very nice Stokesy!

[DBMiller]

This thing is a sight to behold!

[Stokesy44]

Very nice Stokesy!

This thing is a sight to behold!

Thanks Guys

Its certainly a pleasure to work on

[Stokesy44]

Those radios are great they really stand out....Are they right way up...

ha ha ha ....just joking

Oh You!

The instructions actually do make you build it upside down, then you flip it on completion for joining to the roof of the interior so your 'joke' is actually a brilliant technical insight.

Don't tell anyone but in all the excitement I did get the radio boxes mixed up and by the time I realised I had already put the front of the framing on and couldn't change them around.

The mistake will live with me forever

[Quax]

every time I think my flabber can no longer be ghasted you prove me wrong!

Paul

[Stokesy44]

every time I think my flabber can no longer be ghasted you prove me wrong!

Paul

Thanks Paul. I feel the same way every time I look in the box and see how much there is still to do!

[Twokidsnosleep]

It is spectacular with detail
Is it possible to leave the hull open or something to see inside???
Shame to put all this details and effort in the dark forever

[digger303]

It is spectacular with detail
Is it possible to leave the hull open or something to see inside???
Shame to put all this details and effort in the dark forever

very true

[Stokesy44]

It is spectacular with detail
Is it possible to leave the hull open or something to see inside???
Shame to put all this details and effort in the dark forever

very true

Do not fear Gentlemen. I've taken the view that if it opens, it will be open. On the hull, the brakes and transmission hatches, the crew hatches and the 2 main doors on the engine deck will all be in the open position.

On the turret, the commander's hatch and the 2 sets of doors on the turret sides will be open.

Of all the Trumpy kits, the PZ4 gives you the most access because of its design and the fact Trumpy gives you all the hatches as separate parts, they have internal detail and none of them are molded on.

There will still be plenty to feast the eyes on when the clanker rumbles over the finish line (whenever that may be!)

[BigWall]

Your doing great!

[Stokesy44]

Your doing great!

Thanks mate, it will not defeat me!

[Kevthemodeller]

Just loving it mate, the scale really means the sky's the limit. Very nice PE work on those radio racks

[Stokesy44]

Just loving it mate, the scale really means the sky's the limit. Very nice PE work on those radio racks

Thanks Kev. The radio racks were the hardest bit so far. Thankfully the rest of the PE looks pretty straight forward

[Stokesy44]

Ok, this is starting to get silly. I did some priming yesterday and more was required this morning



2 hours later Detail painting and oils and chipping still to do.



Engine cooling fans and interior front glacis plate



Interior upper engine compartment including the hatch rims





Front covers for ammo bins



Driver and radio op stations interior



Shell bins and boxes on the side sponsons





Some test fitting







A good session with The Killers and The Stereophonics backing me up today

[digger303]

Love that first pic, shows the size and the detail in this beast while some of the other close ups reinforce that visual impact. Like the 11 th pic....

One thing that has always struck me with a lot of builds and it's probably because of my working back ground. That cooling fans with working in a dry dusty environment won't have any paint on the 70% of the blades on one side and will have a dull shine to them instead on machines that are 2-3yrs old.

[BigWall]

This is really looking good!