Thanks . I’m going to add those in my watch list. I don’t have the Meng kit. Yet. But you never know.
So lots of itty-bitty road wheels done…
So on to the rest of the running gear, I am noticing some flash present, it was on some of the road wheels and on the idlers.
Idler assembly is next, parts are identical for both sides, they are just assembled different
Drive sprockets done as well. Now we assemble the 3 pairs of road wheel sets, each are different so be sure to label them to make sure they go in the right place!
I had to drill out all the road wheels to get them to fit on their axles. With the road wheels sets done we can assemble them onto their brackets, again, each one is different so be careful to match them up properly. The 3 types of little springs added to the top of the suspension brackets all have the same mounting holes so be careful to put them in the right place.
With the suspension and running gear done it is time to move on to the lower hull!
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Nice! This is making me want to crack open the one I have in my own stash!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, it’s going together quite well, got a good bit of bench time today so made more progress than I expected. Lower hull assembly now:
Starting with the transmission and final drive cover, keep finding these tabs that need to be removed:
Once cleaned up the parts go together nicely, then followed up with hull sides and ends, then the return roller supports, keep track as one is just slightly different than the others:
Unfortunately when assembling the return rollers one rolled unnoticed off my bench and into the ether, had to gin one up out of some tube stock I had. At least it will be hidden so shouldn’t be too noticeable.
Adding some rust texture to the mufflers:
And suspension pieces on!
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Of course 2 hours after installing the return rollers I found the one I thought I lost…6 feet away from my bench! Oh well, managed to finagle the substitute out and install the proper one. Started on the tracks too, 4 sprues of links, each is 2 piece, but at least the sprue attachment points are small so cleanup isn’t too bad.
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So things will slow down while I work on the tracks, 48 links per side, 2 pieces per link.
Glue the two link pieces together and when dry the completed links snap together to make the track run, fully workable which should make the easy to thread in.
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I’m getting a nosebleed from the speed of your build!
Lol, feels good to get back into an armour build after a few wingy thingies, guess I’m a bit eager.
So lack of motivation, work and home maintenance issues conspired to keep me away from the bench this week, but got a little done this weekend. Finished off the tracks and mounted them, along with the fighting compartment floor. Also started cleaning up the engines and repairing a few defects.
Work on the drivers station is next.
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Very cool!
Great build so far Colin. Those engines look like they were a great buy!
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Looking good!
Also, thanks for the lead and tip on the engines. I just got a set the other day and they are really quite nice. They should do the job of filling up all that empty space quite nicely!
Cheers!
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You’re welcome!
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Coming along very nicely. But, I’m wondering if you’re planning to do a cut-away version? Otherwise, will those engines be visible at all?
Yes, you are correct, I’m looking at doing one of two things, either just having the top removable, but the engines won’t really be visible, or having one of the side plates removable. I am looking at getting some micro magnets to hold the side plate in place.
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Sounds like a plan. Looking forward to seeing more.
So working on the interior now, cleaning up the engines and assembling the driver/commander platform:
Then the engine radiators. These are proving tricky as they don’t want to fit on the tabs provided, lots of trimming and fiddling required…
A test fit to see how things are progressing, still needs adjustment I think…
And gotta get those engines painted up!
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Very nice!
