SimonT - Hobbyboss 1/35 Russian T-18 Light Tank

[SimonT]

Certainly is Si - could just set it on fire like John does :thinking:



have left it clamped in the hopes that it will dry out with everything lined up this time


I did manage to finish cleaning up the track links - one advantage of it being so small, less links to clean up

[Steve Jones]

More track links! Don't get them mixed up with all the other ones. Hope the build is all nice and square now

[SimonT]

Hi Steve - not much chance of mixing them up as they are tiny

About a third the size of the JSIII links and half a T34 link

I shall release it from the clamp tonight and see if it behaves and remains square

[Jim R]

Neil and Jakko - thanks for your answer. Makes more sense than a jumping tank :rolling:

Simon - this shouldn't be this bad. The front wheels are certainly 'out'. Let's hope the clamp has held it all square.
Jim

[SimonT]

Jim - the tail skid is something they pinched from the Renault FT17

The mounting pin for the stub axle is tiny. I set it all up square when I glued it but as it dried overnight it pulled out of line
Hopefully it will be ok this time around

[JR]

Greetings Master of the Dark side, wish you had started first then I would've have even bothered. :smiling3:

I'll be interested on how you intend to get the tracks on after fitting the guards. I did it the other way round and the tracks were still problematic. Very thin mating points , so some didn't even hold while attempting to fit.
That section of PE was very thick to bend.
Stub axle, ha , broke one pin off , hence the mod on mine.
Yours will be ok , now promise you will finish this as I want to see the tracks !

[Guest]

Neil and Jakko - thanks for your answer. Makes more sense than a jumping tank :rolling:

Trench skid or trench-crossing skid, that’s the name of the thing on the back that I couldn’t remember when typing my answer to your question.

[SimonT]

I will have a jolly good go John

Stub axle is much straighter now anyway

Now for todays problem


on the real thing you can see daylight between engine deck and bottom of turret bustle


not on the kit you don't - turret sits on engine deck

not sure where the problem lies - engine deck too high, turret too low, mixture of both


decided the easiest fix was to add a shim to the turret ring to lift the turret slightly


not the best photo but there is now clearance between deck and bustle

[JR]

When I tried to fit the turret I had to fettle both the parts, managed to get it on and glued it asap ,not that it would have come off without out a fight.:smiling3:

Having slept on it I feel it's just another hurdle crossed. Reading that Simon was also having problems with the fit made me feel it wasn't just me .
Going to start the painting today, then more in the dio.
Thanks for the support Si and Simon .

[Guest]

not sure where the problem lies - engine deck too high, turret too low, mixture of both

I just measured up the photos of the real thing and your model, taking the height of the turret side plate above the engine cover and the side plate of the engine deck itself.

On the model, the ratio of the height of the turret rear extension to the height of the engine cover appears to be 1:1.20, while on the real tank it looks to be 1:1.13.

The ratio of the height of the turret as a whole (directly in front of the extension) to that of the rear extension is 1:0.63 on the real tank, and 1:0.67 on the model. In other words, the rear part of the turret appears to be too deep on the model, and needs a little removed from its underside.

[Steve Jones]

Nice to see you beating this one into submission Mr T.

[SimonT]

Removing material from the turret bustle will affect the rivet positions and also the side hatch location - I think I shall be leaving it as is. This one was never intended to be a rebuild and the AnimalGB is nearly upon us

[Guest]

Yeah, it’d be a pretty major job for such a little correction. It’ll be easier to lower the high part of the engine deck a little, I think, for anyone who wants to open up the gap between deck and turret, but is it worth the trouble?

[SimonT]

It would of course have been easier to mod it and the suspension before construction but of course until you fit the turret in place or try to fit the tracks it looks fine

Anyway with the turret ring shim in place there is now clearance and it doesn’t look stupidly out of proportion

[SimonT]

added the tail skid


then cleaned up and added the front suspension mounts

made a start on the wheels to go with them