Anyone using a model as a basis for research deserves what he gets. 
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Hey that’s a bit harsh, I, myself, used a rendition of Tamiya’s 88mm Gun Flak 36/37 as a basis for my University thesis ‘Midgets At War’ - the instruction sheet and the finished article were, in fact, the only entries in the bibliography.
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OK, my tank interior “hints” are clearly a lot of gizmology. (Not intended for close inspection.) But any additions to the MAZ chassis are strictly based on extensive research and reference.
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Looks good to me!
So I have to ask, as no one else has brought it up, (perhaps it is obvious to all but me 
):
What’s with the screws? Creative Gizmology? Replicating an experimental engine? Counter weight?
(@barnslayer - always thought that was a great expression)
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The screws are just a personal preference. I happen to believe that even small model tanks like the Stuart should have some “heft” to them, they should not be “flyweights.”
I also have a personal belief (probably a mistaken one) that the extra weight helps them sit a little better on their tracks and helps keep the “road wheels” down.
If I had had bird shot or B-Bs I probably would have used that instead, but the screws were what was on hand.
Have you ever gone into a bar and ordered a BIG stein of beer? Then as you go to pick it up you almost throw the beer in your face because you THOUGHT it was in a heavy glass stein only to find out the stein is plastic and only weighs a fraction of what a full glass stein might weigh?
Well I feel the same about my tanks. I just happen to think a model of a 30, 40, 50 ton tank should have some real weight to it and perhaps even surprise a friend or a judge who just happens to pick it up.
(IMHO) - Again just a personal preference.
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More added firewalls:
Sherman, Firefly and Pershing -
Firewalls, sponsons, interior paint and sometimes extra weight added.
(Well at least I feel better knowing they’re there.)
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Thank you for clarifying. Your thought process makes perfect sense.
I was once served one of those plastic beer steins; they need to be outlawed.
My son is one of those lads that was solid muscle from birth. When I would horse around with him and one of his buddies (they were maybe 4 or 5 years old at the time) I always had to be careful with the buddy - the kid was maybe 10 pounds wet. Maybe. When I’d grab hold of my son and toss him into the air it was with a certain amount of effort. The first time I picked up his friend, after picking up my lad, I almost tossed the boy into the tree tops he was so light. Seriously. The boy was airborne for a few seconds. For the record: I did catch him.
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A friend of mine hoisted his son up and the ceiling fan dinged the kid’s head.
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If we are going to ‘replicate’ our models as realistically as possible with interior details. Plus engine and drive train details. When are we going to replicate scale weight?
Now let’s see - a 70 ton tank / by 1:35 = gosh!. I may have to reinforce my work bench!
I quite like the interiors. I’ve done two so far, the Takom Tiger II and the RFM Pz IV, the latter of which went much easier, but maybe that was because I “practised” on the Tiger. As someone has already said, you can see a lot of the Pz IV through the hatches, but the hull top was a nice tight fit in the side plates, so I left it removable. However my output at best is pretty slow (too many other toys) and the interior kits take a long time. I’m happy to be selective and just do one example of each vehicle. I have the RFM Panther and Stug in the stash. They are on the back burner ATM.
OUCH. I assume the kid was fine (?), aside from being a little spooked. And I hope your friend survived the ordeal too. Parenting… if only it came with good, full colour, instructions. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of like building interiors: you do your best to build a solid “interior” inside your child, and hope that when some one has a “look” inside they are impressed by what they see.
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No trip to the ER. He probably doesn’t even remember it… because he was so young. Not due to any damage.
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I used quite a few of my modeling references as 2ndary sources for my college senior thesis. My primary was two rolls of microfilm from the USAF archives. But hey, my college professor had zero issues w me using some bits from some Squadron in Action books, id never had thought of instructions though!
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ummmm, mass/weight scales by the cube of the length scale.
60 tons /(35 x 35 x 35) = 1.4 kg
Still weighs more than the finished model.
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The RFM Panther G c/w full interior and Friul tracks probably wasn’t too far off that figure.
Although i’ve been told a million times not to exaggerate 
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Panther: 44.8 tonnes → 1.04 kg or 2.3 pounds
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Not suggesting we should make our model AFVs the actual scaled down weight of the 1 : 1 vehicle.
Only suggesting that they might be given a bit of “heft” that could equate somewhat to the fact that we are building models that are intended to repersent heavyweight ARMORED Fighting Vehicles.
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Once again Shep Paine to the rescue. It may not be feasible to load up a model with weight for various reasons. i.e. lack of space, already has an interior.
He would run a bolt through the bottom of a model and through the base and tighten it down. If you’ve ever seen the “Patton” tank diorama he did for Monogram it works extremely well. Even with weights there’s no way he could have gotten those stiff azz tracks to suck down onto the terrain as well.
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I remember back when Tamiya started their line of 1:48 armor kits, their advertising showed that the kits included a metal plate that would mount to the inside of the bottom of the hull, with exactly that explanation – that they wanted the built models to have some degree of heft to them, even though they were smaller.
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