Bronco Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf F (VK 18.01)

[wbill76]

It seems like it's been forever (well since December 2013 at any rate!) since I've worked on an armor project, but I'm finally back 'home' in my favorite genre. This little guy's been calling my name ever since I finished the Tiger last year, so it gets to be the next victim.



More to come as the build commences.

[FishBowlMan]

Looking forward to seeing this progress, Bill. I think I've finally caught up with your builds on your Blog / Forum. Stunning work all round.

[wbill76]

Thanks FBM! I'm looking forward to this one too, it's got a lot of detail for the fighting compartment interior and turret (although nothing for the engine bay but that's fine by me) so should be a neat little project.

[wbill76]

Got things off and rolling on this build by doing things a little differently. Bronco includes a lot of detail for the fighting compartment interior and also constructs the hull out of multiple panels vs. providing a single 'tub'. Ordinarily I wouldn't be that big of a fan of this approach but with all the interior detail and how tiny this vehicle is, this is actually a plus on this particular build as it lets you work with each panel separately. So, the first order of business was to prep all the major hull panels and the compartment floor and do a mock-up using masking tape to hold things together to ensure there weren't going to be any surprises along the way.



No major issues to report but it will be fun installing all the suspension torsion bars and getting all these elements together permanently once the detailing and paint work is finished, but we'll cross that bridge much later on! Because many of the interior components are made up of multiple parts, some tiny, some that require fit with other small parts, etc., I bounced around between various steps while glue set up to try to make the most of my available time.

Taking advantage of the hull mock-up situation, I assembled the various transmission and drive-shaft components and also connected the firewall to the large transmission cover housing since those are initially separate pieces. The alignment here is key as it drives (no pun intended!) not only how the firewall sits but also where the commander's seat lines up and how everything interacts at the front of the hull. No real margin for error here either given how tightly packed everything is on the inside.



Once the glue had set on the transmission and firewall combo, I undid the mock-up and restored everything back to its panel parts for easier handling. The tiny driver's pedals were added and the driver's and commander's seats assembled. The commander's seat is a multi-part and very delicate 'free standing' assembly...so lots of care needed here to get it all together and aligned correctly. I left the headrest and main seat cushion separate for now to make it easier to paint them and will add them later.



One of the really nice features of the kit IMHO is the inclusion of workable crew side escape hatches. Yes, that's right, fully workable...but you do have to be very careful with the assembly and where you put the glue, but in the end if you do it right, they will work just like on the actual vehicle. Only downside is that they tend to want to swing open all the time, so once the glue had set on the hinge arms, I'm using small blobs of blue-tack poster putty on the inside surfaces to keep them 'closed' while work continues.





Next up will be devoting some attention to the rest of the gear details that go in this area like the radios, numerous ammo sacks for the turret MGs, crew equipment, etc.

[moi196872]

Great start to a good looking kit.

[wbill76]

Thanks Stephane! I'm having fun with it so far, definitely have to think a little outside the box with it if you're going to do the full interior.

[wbill76]

Managed to get in some time on the interior bits and details on this pocket-Tiger. Bronco follows their usual penchant for tiny parts and there's a lot going on inside this little guy. First up were the 22 'standard' Gurtsack ammunition bags plus 2 'in use' bags for the twin MGs in the turret. These had 2 or 3 sprue contact points each that had to be cleaned up so was a case of '22 Gurtsacks on the sprue, 22 Gurtsacks on the sprue...cut one free and clean it up, 21 Gurtascks on the sprue!' type of effort. Worth it though as they have very nice molded details and will be painted with the AB when the time comes to avoid smothering some of the finer details.



Next up were all the other different interior gear items that need to be painted/detailed separately before installation. The FE, the spare barrels case, the First Aid kit, crew mess kits and canteens (and also the gas mask containers, which I noticed I forgot while taking this pic!), the MP40 ammo case, the flare pistol and flare round holder, and the 'Gedore' tool box that goes on the compartment floor.



Little guy needs its comms gear as well, so the radio receiver and transmitter were assembled (special note, the back is hollow so if you plan to show the right side escape hatch open, this will need to be blanked off), and some holes drilled out with a #76 finger drill to take some wiring later on. Power transformer boxes and intercom box for the driver were also assembled and drilled out where appropriate.



Also took care of some other small details like the small box on the left side below the escape hatch and I assembled the driver's front hull plate. The gauge panel mounts underneath it but I'm keeping it separate for now to make it easier to detail/paint and also to be sure it's lined up properly since it has to fit just so between the transmission housing and the hull glacis plate. The hull roof plate was also prepped for paint although most of it won't be seen of course once installed in position.



Next up was the turret. Due to the size of the fully-detailed MGs, you have to install the base of the mantlet into the turret front and then install the MGs from behind through the base and into the mantlet. That's going to be real fun I can tell, but will deal with that later. Mounts and mantlet base were installed so that the guns can elevate. The fit is kind of loose so I suspect that I will be gluing that in place later on once the weight of the guns is added and the external mantlet installed. External mantlet portion was prepped for paint on its inner surface since some of it will still be visible through the open commander's hatch and I don't want bare plastic peeking in around the edges inside. Last but not least, the turret base was prepped for paint as well to round things out.



So that means next up is flinging some paint on the interior!

[FishBowlMan]

Great progress, Bill. Looks like some nice fiddly detail to tackle.

Lovely, clear photo work as well.

I do like the style of your build logs; highlighting the steps and problems (and more importantly, describing solutions) you come across. I've got your Italeri Demag D7 one bookmarked for when I start to attempt mine.

John.

[wbill76]

Thanks John! Bronco loves to include tiny little pieces, but that's the price you pay for the level of detail they achieve I guess! Either that or they figure they have to put in at least a couple of obligatory CarpetMonster sacrificial lambs just to keep things 'normal'!

Glad to hear the build logs are helpful! I always try to highlight any issues I come across (even if they are my own creation!) so that anyone coming along behind can at least be forewarned.

[wbill76]

I suppose it's fitting that on Easter Sunday some paint was allowed to fly!

Spent the day working on the bulk interior painting to get things ready to move into the detail and assembly stage for that area. First up was an airbrush treatment of Model Master enamel Panzer Interior Buff to all the applicable hull areas and units. Because I hate to scrape paint, I used a combination of masking tape and poster blue-tack putty to mask off the hull floor and side joins to make life a little easier when the hull comes together down the road.



Ordinarily it's not worth the trouble to airbrush small detail parts but since the interior has so many, I decided this time around that the airbrush would be the better method vs. hand painting. The compartment floor was airbrushed with a custom mix of 'primer red' that I keep around but don't quite remember the exact mix ratio on...I do know it contains Insignia Red, Flat Black, and a touch of Light Gray...and a little bit goes a long way!

Radio received some Gunship Gray, the seat mounts and other odd bits of gear were airbrushed with Khaki. The Gurtsacks and crew canteens are largely made of cloth or have cloth covers so I used a different shade for them, trying out some Faded Olive Drab as their base color, and have to say I was happy with the shade tone that produces.



This will all get the chance to cure before the next round of detail painting and the weathering process begins on the interior. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!