Dragon Pz. IV Ausf. G Kharkhov (18.05.13):

Right on Ben, im ready....Bring it on!!!

Hey guys,

Thanks for the genuine interest and I haven't even posted a photo yet! It means a lot and I'll try not to let you down!

I was VERY pleased with my last couple of builds so have set the bar high if I want to maintain my recent standards (Dragons Zimmed Tiger I Ausf E and Zimmed Elephant). This is the kit to do it! I haven't done a full Whitewash build 'proper' before and have only dabbled with hairspray chipping.

I want a pretty flat grey basecoat - nothing fancy - as I'm hoping to get a nice whitewash built up and with AK's 'Worn Effects' being used instead of their 'Heavy Chipping' Solution I'm hoping to get a nice mottled worn effect allowing the grey to just 'peep' through and I'll show higher wear on high impact areas around hatches etc where the crew would be constantly clambering.

Bill's done all the hard work and on his blog he has highlighted a few mistakes and omissions on the instructions. I wouldn't have known about these little things he's mentioned - mainly parts that suddenly appear on the instructions but aren't shown being fitted on the instructions. He's also shown where parts that are on the sprues and should be on the build being omitted ENTIRELY from the instructions - he's mentioned where to drill holes and to fit the unmentioned parts. He's also used Tamiya 'Clear Green' to tint the armoured glass in the driver's vision port and around the Cupola - the effect is suble but effective and something I intend to do aswell. From there on in I'll tackle it as I think looks best and make it as unique as possible. Not much room for Stowage but I'm going to try one of them Swastika Aerial signal flags that I bought at last weekends show to drape over the rear engine deck.

I hope I can get the Magics to assemble off the build then drape on the running gear and then be removed for weathering later. I've done it before with Dragon's Pz.I A so this should be easier (I hope)?

I forgot to mention the RB MG barrel that goes up front to replace the kit part. They cost a couple of £'s and the main RB replacement barrel was a fiver I think? I'm going to order a Quickwheel mask too for all them darn wheels.

I've got a couple of things to do this evening and first thing in the morning so I'll be making a start tomorrow lunchtime with an update and photos being posted this time tomorrow.

Again, thanks to Bill for taking the time to help his fellow modellers who lack knowledge of the real things!

I'm really looking forward to this now (except them wheels - all 32 halves of them AND the 2 spares)!

Finally, all my blogging work is to be posted on this forum now. Everywhere else is quiet it seems like a pointless excercise posting on them! This site has been a Godsend to scale Modellers! Thanks to everyone involved! 

Ben

Thanks Bill

With your blog to assist me I can't go wrong (ahem)! LOL!

Cheers buddy,

Ben

Nice start Ben.

Looks like you're making good use of the Easter time off Ben! Nice and clean so far, have fun with the tracks.

You need to get those wheels aligned before you do the tracks Ben or you will have some major issues with them twisting/torquing when you assemble the Magic tracks. Sorry to hear you got caught on this one!

Nice recovery Ben.Looking good.

Glad to see you fixed the idler issue, looking good Ben.

Nice work on the tracks Ben.

The tracks are finished....AHHHH! Feels good dont it. Lookin nice Ben.

Gary

Hi guys,

Well, what a really enjoyable day it's been today! For those of you who aren't from the UK and don't follow British Horse Racing today was the day of the 'Grand National' at Aintree. They call this the 'housewifes race' as it's the one race that people who would never normally place a bet do so (like me - I'm too tight to gamble)! I spred £20 over a few good horses but the actual winner was a 66/1 rank outsider! Typical! Ahh well, there's always the National Lottery that's on in a minute. I did pick up a couple of brand new stupidly cheap brand new books in a sale so it was a good morning all round.

So, onto the build. First off, BIG TIME thanks to Bill Plunk as his blog on his own site has really helped me this afternoon and has prevented me from making a couple of silly errors. See my photos below, Bill. I'm unsure about these hatches and the padlock you mention (parts A57)?

The tracks assembled fine last week and over the week have tightened up nicely. Today I've concentrated on the upper hull assembly and managed to get a stack of stuff done - tomorrow I'll be able to add some extras like the Bosch light, antennae trough and get the tools removed from the sprues and cleaned up. I'll be painting the tools much later on after the main paint job and want to get the turret done next weekend BUT there's no reason that I can't assemble the RB Barrel/Breech so it's ready to drop onto the turret next weekend.

The two rear engine hatches are on as are the driver and R/O hatches. I've managed to make the side windows operational and have exposed the clear front glass painted from behind with Tamiya Clear Green - the effect of the clear green is brilliant. Finally, I was going to fit the PE sections under the Air intakes at the rear but the plastic ones look fine and saved a lot of time and hassle.

Here's a few Photos - there's the one for you below btw Bill:

Tracks ready to go:





Upper hull all sorted:







Everything else - ready to go:



Bill - here are the hatches, where do I put them two pieces for the locks you mention:



My latest book purchase #1 - was £20 reduced to £5 (hardback - lots of superb reference photos):



My latest book purchase #2 - was £25 reduced to £5 (Hardback - I love Game of Thrones)



After last weeks horror show with the suspension I've been looking at other Pz.IV's and am very interested in both the very early short barreled version and the Ausf. F2(G) - I haven't done a DAK build before so I'm probably going to end up going for that later this year - Dragons version looks brilliant.

Update tomorrow!

Ben

Hi Andy,

I'm glad you noticed that barrel too matey. I actually bought an RB upgrade alongside the main gun barrel but it's way out. The MG barrel I bought was an MG34 one with perforated cooling jacket.

Perhaps someone could tell me what I should have bought! The one I bought is RB35B49? What one should I have got?

Anyway - the build is going good. I've got some interesting bits of assembly work coming up tomorrow so she should start looking good tomorrow.

Cheers buddy,

Ben

Making good progress on this one Ben! I'm a big Game of Thrones fan myself...just finished up watching Season 2 on Blu-ray with my wife in fact.

As for your question on the locking tabs for the hull hatches (A57), they need go above and to the left (when looking at your pic below) of the two small recessed screws to line up with the matching little tab on the hull to create the other half of the pair that a padlock would then slip through.

Looking good Ben.

If you can get the PZ IV ausf E that is an awesome kit with articulating suspension. I have the F2 (shelf queen) and hope to get her done some time. The Late H version is also very nice and comes with spare tracks (Russian T34), and the upgunned D version is also loaded with extra parts. These aextras come in handy if you have an older Dragon IV kit.