Sd.Kfz.11 Towing leFH18/40 Howitzer

[johnt]

Hi fellas, here is my next bit of fun, it's a Sd.Kfz.11 Late Version Leichte Zugkraftwagen Einheltsfahrerhaus Nicebitof plastikkitzthingie, which will here in be called the halftrack or 'HT'. It will be towing an leFH18/40 Howitzer, which I will call 'the gun'. Both from AFV Club.




The gun was built first, here's some pics:
For the recoil pushrod I used a bit of paperclip, because it was already shiny metal. A bit of filler needed as you can see.

Back soon with more pics, cheers!

[johnt]

The kit was not without faults, the fit of some parts was not real good. And there were some sink holes, some of which are already filled here. The ones inside the wheel rims are tricky!


After about a week the assembly was finished, and despite my criticisms it builds into a nicely detailed model. Out of the box, no AM products.


This is where I'm at, the main components are still unglued waiting for paint.


But next is the HT, and some stuff for a small diorama. Thanks for looking!
Cheers
JT

[eastrock]

seems like the trending now is the half track, where's the culprit!!! (let hide him in the name of Agent T) lol

the gun looks great John!!

[406 Silverado]

Nice work on the gun part John. Surprised the kit had sink holes in those areas. But then again the tamiya M-51 has the same on the outside of the lower hull.
Looking forward to seeing this come to life.

[johnt]

Thanks guys, the HT is on the bench, updates soon.

Cheers
JT

[tobias5555]

Good build so far

[bullardino]

Nice and neat job, JT.

Looking forward to seeing it painted

[TRM]

Count me in JT!!! Looking sweet!!! Love the big pea shooter!!!

[danb.]

Brilliant build so far John shame the gun had a bit of work but i think it will pay off in the end i will be following this closely.

Dan B

[spud]

have my eye on one of them sd.kfz11 on ebay,

Gun is looking good jt, cant wait to see more

[armorguy]

I'm a fan of these AFV kits John, they have a great range of artillery/AT kits. There's no aftermarket needed to make such gun a nice project ! AFV's LeFH 18's are also good kits to buy. I'm tuned !

[johnt]

Tobias, Luigi, T, Dan, Spud, Thanks for following guys! Dicky all the sprues were a different colour - I don't know what that was about! Yes Guy, the kit had lots of small parts, every detail is there as far as I can tell.

Cheers
JT

[wouter]

another fine JT build on the go. Lookin' forward to the nice weathering stuff and tricks you'll have up your sleeve for us

Cheers

[noname]

I look forward to seeing this one weathered up.

[johnt]

Thanks guys -how did you know this was going to be all weathered up?? Hehe my fave thing!

Cheers
JT

[wbill76]

Nice work so far John, and I think your "shorthand" designations are perfect! Looking forward to seeing this one progress.

[406 Silverado]

hhhm , no update on the HT yet.

[johnt]

Hi chaps, thanks for looking in.

Yes sir, a bit of an update: The HT has got a skeleton.


As I mentioned it will go on a smallish diorama, and I began work on a tree for it.

The branches are made of fine twisted wire, from some electrical cable (speaker cable in fact). The leaves are from this Kamizukuri Birch Tree kit.


The leaves are paper, already cut out. I glued them onto the branches with superglue.


The wire was coated with some 'goop', PVA glue mixed with talcum powder, just to hide the spiralling strands.


When I had a few branches I twisted them together and glued with superglue. The trunk is thicker wire. Next came the tricky but crucial part, that is to bend the leaves and branches until they look natural. I'm keeping in mind that there are two things influencing the shape of these. First there is the way the branches and leaves will grow in a way to catch the most light, so upwards with leaf tops facing the sun overhead. Second is gravity, tending to arch branches out and down, and leaves also pointing down a little at the ends.


The trunk needs to be covered and formed, and it needs to be painted of course. So more soon, cheers.
JT

[eastrock]

Greenpeace looks great, John!!! another mastree-piece

[wbill76]

That's a spectacular tree you've got going. Amazing how the hobby has advanced in terms of those paper-leaves too. Neat!

[406 Silverado]

Oh great, that's what I needed to see. Now I need to buy that stuff.
Fantastic work on the tree so far John. I can see this is gonna big something VERY cool.

[406 Silverado]

ah, forgot, nice progress on the chassis too

[TRM]

Outstanding work there JT!!! Tree Master at large!!!

[danb.]

Loving the progress so far JT that tree is awesome cant wait to see more

Dan B

[johnt]

Hi fellas, thanks for checking in! Gotta make some model trees before the real ones all disappear..

[wouter]

Nice tree in progress JT, cool stuff!!!!

Cheers

[johnt]

Hi Wouter, thanks mate!

The HT was fairly straight forward to build, it didn't take long to go together. The inside of the cab was painted before things got too far:


I left the roof of the cab unglued though it sticks in place well enough due to the tight fit. This is so I can put the clear parts in the windows after the outsides painted.


I gave the back a canopy made from tissue paper, this is the paper often used for gift wrapping not kleenex tissue. The real covers were in sections joined with connectors which made it easier to make, it was basically a rectangle sheet for each side and the top. The tissue was doubled, cut out then placed on the frame, then PVA glue thinned with a little water was brushed over it. The real connectors were strap through loop doodads, they were portrayed here by strips of aluminium foil attached by superglue.


So now the HT and gun are ready for paint.




Time to kick the AB compressor in the guts!
Cheers
JT

[406 Silverado]

ooooO very cool John. woohoo next step is the painting, can't wait for that.....and the trees of course.

[eastrock]

Another Treeriffic update, John!!!

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

JT this build is gettin juicy dude.

Tony