Los's 1/35 Trumpeter Sd.Kfz 7 KM m11

[JR]

Very detailed post Los. Great reading.
That chassis would be test in its self, couldn't see me managing that at all .
Will follow .

[Panzerwrecker]

Very detailed post Los. Great reading.
That chassis would be test in its self, couldn't see me managing that at all .
Will follow .

Cheers John. No, its not the best engineered assembly. It does thankfully all line up well once connected but they could have instructed the steps better. Trying to glue it all together at once is frusutrating. Another option is to leave the gearbox off until both the front and rear connections are almost cured. It will then 'pop in' as there is so much flex in both legs.

Screwing this basic chassis step up has so many implications for proceeding parts if it is out of alignment. ICM engineer a lot of there softskin chassis's in this manner but usually include all manner of crossbeams for strength.

[scottie3158]

Los looking good so far I will follow along.

[Ian M]

This looks rather nice Los. I will follow with interest.

[Tim Marlow]

Great build and write up so far Los. It’s nice to know the pitfalls and their cures explained buy an experienced guy such as yourself.

[Panzerwrecker]

Los looking good so far I will follow along.

Welcome aboard

This looks rather nice Los. I will follow with interest.

Cheers Ian. Popular choice on this GB it seems.

Great build and write up so far Los. It’s nice to know the pitfalls and their cures explained buy an experienced guy such as yourself.

Thanks Tim
Always a more pleasurable build second time around. Good to watch all the other posts on the other GB Trumpeter 7 kits as there is always something new to learn.

[Panzerwrecker]

Another small session had me build up a few more steps

Starting where we left off, step 4 builds up the engine. This is a nice rendition of the HL62/64TUK engine and apart from one area that needs work to ensure it fits in the chassis, only requires a few extras to produce an authentic looking lump. The area that can cause issue with fitment concerns part E19. This fits into the transmission bellhousing part E36. Unfortunately, it is a little thick and although it fits inside part E36 it does NOT sit flush. What this means is that by attaching the bellhousing assembly to the back of the engine without sanding it flush, will extend the whole engine assemblies’ length slightly and it will no longer fit on the four chassis engine mounts. As both the front mounts are separate parts it is easy to damage them whilst trying to get the engine to fit. This issue has been on all the HL62TUK engines that I have built up by Trumpeter and is an easy fix if you know about it.



I will not be leaving any engine side panels off so I have just built up the basic engine as the sump is visible on the finished model.



Step 5 adds all the inner chassis components and as mentioned above the two front engine mounts are separate parts. Make sure these are added well before you pop the engine on them as they are easily distorted if not fully cured. Another tip in this step is to build up the fuel tank (parts A10, A11, A42 and D59) from Step 7 BEFORE adding its chassis attachment brackets (parts D41, D42, D43 & D44) This will allow you to use it as a spacing template to ensure the tank fits. Fitting the brackets first has them spaced too close together and 99% of the time the tank will not fit.




I won’t be adding any cabling to my winch, and I have also left off the securing bars and rods (part PE-WA17)



The rear chassis panel in step 6 has many components, even the tiny external cable roller is unnecessarily engineered in two parts! The tow bar part A39 had huge mould offset in my kit and required a fair bit of work to look decent. Although not fitted yet in the pic below Part PE-WA19 can be seen fully installed only in the final ‘Install shown’ image in the step 6.



Moving on to step 7 the winch assemble is added and this is where any incorrect correct spacing of the two photo-etch pieces (PE-WA5 & WA6) from step 3 will rear its ugly head. They are however easily accessible if they do need re-positioning. You are instructed to add all four leaf springs in this step. The holes in the chassis for the rearmost springs B18 will likely require deepening a little with a drill. IMO, they don’t locate securely enough without doing this. Also, it is advisable to move straight on to step 8 before the leaf spring to chassis connections cures. This is because all the axle location brackets (Parts A3, A4 & the B35 x 2) connect to the ends of the leaf springs. Whilst the leafsprings are still plyable you can line them all up neatly. Lastly, part A22 is asking to be knocked off if attached in this step. It can be safely added just before the bodywork goes on in step 17.



Another tip in step 8 is to leave the idler axle mounting points (parts A17, A18, A19 & A20) un-glued until you are ready to position the tracks. This way you will be in control of the final track fitment. This will prevent an overly tight or loose fit of the tracks and give the opportunity of getting the perfect ‘sag’ you want. In fact, as the idler wheel to idler mount has such a weak connection I found it best attaching these two parts together well before any tension might weaken the joint from fitting the tracks. You can always drill and pin them together for an even stronger bond.

Progress so far. Fuel tank dry fitted as it will be painted separately and help get some paint into all the knocks and crannies below it.

[Ian M]

A very interesting and informative build thread Los. (where does that name come from?)

[Panzerwrecker]

A very interesting and informative build thread Los. (where does that name come from?)

Cheers Ian.

My name you mean?

[Ian M]

Yes mate. Los is not a name you see/hear much. You are er, em.... the first lol

[Panzerwrecker]

Yes mate. Los is not a name you see/hear much. You are er, em.... the first lol

My father was a big fan of David Leans epic Arabian adventure ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and it has just become a shortened version of Peter Tool's character’s name. i.e., Lawrence to Los:smiling3:

[Panzerwrecker]

Just noticed I have mounted the external cable guide bracket on the rear panel upside down:rolling: What a numptie:upside:

[Ian M]

Just noticed I have mounted the external cable guide bracket on the rear panel upside down

On my build I have NEVER put so any parts on the wrong way round/up/order. Fortunately noticed most befor the glue was 100% so could soften it up again.

So you are doing very well if thats the first one!

[Guest]

Nice work. I get the impression that in terms of fit and ease of construction, there really isn’t all that much to choose between the Dragon and Trumpeter versions of this vehicle.

[Panzerwrecker]

Nice work. I get the impression that in terms of fit and ease of construction, there really isn’t all that much to choose between the Dragon and Trumpeter versions of this vehicle.

Cheers jakko. Not a great deal of difference, no, apart from the simpler one-piece Dragon chassis. Far simpler in detail too but I prefer it to this Trumpeter multi-piece affair. As you mentioned in another post and in ref to your abondoned Dragon kit I might have a go at kit bashing them one day. In fact, this Trumpeter kit was likely purchased for this reason but I never got another Dragon version, so it crept to the back of the pile. I have had the Dragon 'late kit' built awaiting paint for a long while. It’s very much a slimline version of this kit but with far more inaccuracies. Side by side this kit is a 'chunky monkey' :smiling2: