Jagdpanzer IV(A) - Dragon - Finished - 2/14/16

[afvfan]

While going through the final stages of the M13/40, I started this one. It's the Jagdpanzer IV(A) using Dragon's older '39-'45 series kit (#6015), combined with PE from a couple different brands and a bit of scratch work.

At this point, the only pieces left to add before painting are the front gun plate and mantlet.












As you can see, there are a few places that have sustained battle damage, mainly the right front fender, left rear corner, and the skirt rails.






Here's the modification I had to do to the main gun mount. This was done not only to fit the barrel, but also to add enough tension to support the extra weight of it. Cross drilling through the swivel and adding a nutted screw with a couple nylon washers took care of that.




I should have it primed soon.

[dierk]

Looking good Bob! Nice solution on the barrel to prevent brewer's droop.

[wouter]

Hi there Bob, great build so far, very cool indeed!

Cheers

[Deano]

Excellent job on the old kit , battle damage looks great !

[wing_nut]

Looks good. looking forward to some color.

[wbill76]

Doing justice by the old kit Bob, can't blame you for wanting a little more on that barrel support. Especially with the weight of the aluminum/brass combo.

[afvfan]

Thanks Dierk. The drooping problem is sure easier to fix with a complete gun by just adding a counterweight to the breach. You have to get a bit creative on those that don't. I'm just glad the mount design allowed for such an easy fix.

Hey Wouts, thanks for stopping in.

Deano - I like the challenge a lot of the older kits provide. With patience, persistence, some AM goodies, and a fair amount of off-color vows , you can match almost any new release, usually at a sizable savings.

Glad you like the damaged areas. I almost feel some refinements are going to be needed on the left rear corner. I'll have to wait until after the primer to get a better feel for it.

Marc - Me too! I've been idle too long.

[afvfan]

Dec 16, 2015 20:26:36 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Doing justice by the old kit Bob, can't blame you for wanting a little more on that barrel support. Especially with the weight of the aluminum/brass combo.

There's no way the original system would have supported it otherwise. Heck, I have doubts about it working with the kit barrel that well.

[Leon]

Great progress and neat fix for the barrel Bob!

[adt70hk]

Looking a like a great start and the battle damage looks very nicely done!!

[dupes]

Nothing wrong with old Dragon kits. They just need some love.

Looks great!

[panzerjager2]

Nice work. The PE is looking good

[afvfan]

Thanks Leon. Luckily the stems on both the mount and the barrel were close to the same size. It wasn't too much trouble modifying the brass insert to work with both.

ADT - Appreciate the comment. The real trick with damage is getting the finish right. We'll see how that goes.

Got that right, Mark. I've built so many of them now, their instructions don't even bother me anymore.

PJ2 - Thanks. The PE is a mix of Griffon, the kit supplied fret, and bits and pieces out of and old CMK Bergpanzer set. The kit fret is made of the old steel crap. It holds the shape well, but is nearly impossible to modify. Honestly, I don't even know why I used it. The Griffon stuff is brass, and the set is very extensive. My main problems with it were that I felt it was a bit too thick, and some of the assemblies were needlessly complicated. Thankfully, I had the CMK frets in my parts stash. That really solved a lot of potential headaches.

[SMJmodeler]

afvfan: I always admire good PE work and creative problem solving!  I see you're going for some major battle-damage simulation that started with the ripping of the fender and then bent the support brackets & piping down the starboard side...it'll be fun to see how that comes together!

Idea/ Suggestion: That front fender is SO torn up it'd be a good candidate for complete removal...good way to show off the track weathering too!

Couple things I noticed: Is that battle wear you're trying to depict on the back deck cover by the hinges or does that need some filing? Same concern on top back of hull/turret: The two large pieces that make up the back of the superstructure and back plate don't appear flush...is that simulated welding or does it need filing?...it's hard to tell from the pic's.

[afvfan]

SMJ - Thanks for the kind words, and the comments and suggestions. On the front fender, I felt it looked more interesting there, but torn up, than it would if it were just removed altogether.

Which hinges are you referring to? I don't see what you do. As for the back superstructure seam, it's flush. It just seems to be off in the pic.

Thanks for the post. This is exactly the type of comment I love getting.

[SMJmodeler]

afvfan: See comments below.

"On the front fender, I felt it looked more interesting there, but torn up, than it would if it were just removed altogether."

Oh-kee-doh-kee.  Just be sure to be looking for view angles that give away the thickness of the styrene and file those thin so it looks more realistic.  You may need to saw it off, do the filing and re-glue.  FYI: I tried something similar once on a KV-1 and I was a bit disappointed that I depicted a ripped & sheared fender versus bashed & dented...make sense?, food-for-thought.  Cool idea!

"Which hinges are you referring to? I don't see what you do."

I'm referring to the raised hatch cover next to the port side grille on the rear deck.  On the opposite side of the added PE handle the long edge looks chewed-up.  

"As for the back superstructure seam, it's flush. It just seems to be off in the pic."

Good to hear...I suspected it might just be the photo.

"Thanks for the post. This is exactly the type of comment I love getting."

You're welcome.  I try to give thoughtful input.

[deafpanzer]

Oh man, I LOVE IT! More please...

[afvfan]

SMJ - The fender has already been thinned. Did that before it was even mounted. On this old kit the fenders were molded on to the upper half. The real trick was cutting it loose from the hull leaving the inside bend intact and not damaging the side of the hull it was molded to. I hear you about the removal idea, though, and have done so numerous times. Just figured I'd be different this time.

Ah, okay, the box lid. I noticed that. It really does look terrible in the picture. Looking at it on the tank, not so much, But I'll see about cleaning it up a bit before paint.

"Thoughtful input" is one of the reasons I post on the forums (here and elsewhere). Unfortunately, getting it seems elusive at times.


Andy - Thanks bud! More's on the way.

[SMJmodeler]

afvfan: Sounds like you're on it with that fender.  Looking forward to seeing the paint fly!

About thoughtful input...I am always a bit leery of adding constructive criticism when people post their work.  There's a lot of blood, sweat & tears that go into our projects and I'm worried that my comments will be taken as negative/ too critical/ I'm a "know-it-all". You're responses were just the opposite and I'm glad you took them the way I intended.  I guess I just assume everyone wants to improve their skills/ builds.

[afvfan]

Got the primer laid down this morning. As feared (and expected) it shows a bit more refining needs to be done in some areas. I'll get to those after the primer cures out.

SMJ - I totally fall square in the middle of the group the last line in your post refers to. I'm not a master builder, but wouldn't mind aiming for that level. I welcome any and all comments, as long as they're not outright hateful. The ones you made in this thread are all valid and were rationally presented. Feel free to comment on anything I post. I'm an old SOB with thick skin, and a warped sense of humor. You'll be hard pressed to say anything to rile me up.

[wbill76]

That's what primer is for Bob...perfect opportunity to find the 'do-over' spots before you commit to paint. Can't tell you how many times I've gone back over spots that looked great right up until the primer went on.

[afvfan]

Yeah, it either let's you know what still needs more work, or where to put the tarps and extra mud.

[afvfan]

Primer's cured out and preshade has been added. Pretty much ready for the paint phase to start.

[Leon]

Primer and Pre shading are looking good Bob!

[afvfan]

Thanks Leon.

[Tojo72]

Preshading good.....looking forward to paint.

[wbill76]

Now the fun begins.

[afvfan]

Anthony & Bill - Thanks guys. The "fun" will begin as soon as I figure out what I'm going to do with the beastie. I was thinking at first to do a whitewash on it, but I'm afraid there's way too many little fidgety things that could be knocked off during the process. With that option taken off the table, I'm left with the choice between a solid dunkelgelb, or a tri-color camo scheme.

On a sidenote, it seems SMJ's eyes are a lot better than mine. He was totally right about the seam on the rear of the superstructure. What looked good to me turned out to be a wretched mess when it was primed. I straightened it out the best I could without removing the tiny PE tiedown points. Unfortunately, it was a lost cause. I can only hope the paint hides the problem, otherwise I may have to resort to a drape of some sorts.

[SMJmodeler]

afvfan: A few suggestions to get to that seam prepped for sanding:

1. Did you try CA removal gel to remove those PE tie-downs?   I've had limited success with the stuff, but it's worth a try.  It might soften things just enough to help suggestion #2.

2. Or how about a new SUPER sharp x-acto?  

I suspect there's so little glue on those bad boys that you could GENTLY work the tip in there and they'd pop right off.  Be SURE to provide a "parts catching" area/ backdrop though because they will go flying!

Even if you had to wittle-away the styrene a bit you could easily repair that with putty and filing.  A small metal file will clean the glue off the PE before re-attachment.  A bit of force might tweak the PE too but I suspect that could be bent back into shape easily.   Food for thought...tough call.

Future reference: I close my eyes and use my fingertips when checking seams or areas where I'm doing a lot of sanding...as Obi-Wan says "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them" -I assume you remember that from the 1977 Star Wars movie.  I run my fingers over the area I'm working on to be sure that I CAN'T detect my work.

I hope that is helpful...

[TRM]

Nice to see this making it to the booth Bob! I am excited to see this come alive under a little paint! Have fun!!

PM on its way...