More work on the HobbyBoss kit.
Repositioned the .50 cal on the mantlet to sit properly on its mount and a bit more at the back than the instructions suggest. Per the instructions the mg is sitting too much at the front.
Original position:
Instructions, notice the positioning
New position
Now it looks more in line with the real thing
I added the chains at the rear hull baskets:
and then started measuring and checking the position of various stuff on the hull and turret, which lead to the conclusion that the HB turret is sitting about 4mm more at the front than it should be. Compare it to the position of the Meng turret.
After further measurements and comparisons, and although I had already lengthened the rear of the turret and added a proper bustle rack from Meng, I decided to correct the position of the turret. The main issue is that the hole on the hull deck where the turret is supposed to seat is too far at the front (about 5mm) and combined with the shot turret length it was looking way off.
I removed the positioning ring from the turret bottom
and used the left over parts of the ring to add material to the deck
I also (and that is something I never thought I would have to do) rescribed the panel lines of the hull, mainly around the stowage bins at the rear
Now the HB kit is almost in line with the Meng kit
with the following exceptions:
the hull is about 2-3 mm too short because of the way I assembled the suspension (too tight - comprerssed)
there is an obvious error of the roof proportions e.g. the front half of the turret roof (from the front end up until the rear of the added roof armor) is 3 mm longer than it should be and the rear half of the roof, from the hatches to the bustle rack is about 4mm too short.
Notice also that the Meng mantlet .50 cal is sitting a bit more at the back than it should, again because of the way the parts are designed and shown in the instructions.
