Havin a Go at Trumpeters 38T E/F

[detailfreak]

With the 38t mania goin on I had to check it out for myself.Heres what I have.



The lower hull was the first objective,the molded hull braces had to go.





The engine and transmission recieved a bit of attention.







Thats about all I have at the moment.

[deafpanzer]

WOW! You got the 38(t) bug too... always a pleasure following those 38s. Yours looking good... count me in! Just don't make me join you for ice fishing...

[detailfreak]

Thanks for checking in Andy. And just thought I'd let everyone know the interior is Tristars offering.The engine compartment bulkhead was a touch to wide so that was sanded to fit,everything else is smooth sailing so far.

[Leon]

Count me in DF,your of to a good start.

[wing_nut]

Cool. More 38 (t)'s Never enough.

[bbrowniii]

OH GOD... I'm feeling lightheaded... I think... Oh goodness, could it be? Am I catching some 38(t) fever??

Niiiice build detailfreak!

[TRM]

LOL...this is a good thing!! Means I will get my fix of the 38t without having to break mine out!!! Off to a great start there DF!!! Keep it going!!

[Deleted]

Cool adding the interior, will make for a different model, it's my fault all these 38t's !!!!

[Hinksy]

Feb 13, 2014 14:24:04 GMT -5 @snipersmudge said:

Cool adding the interior, will make for a different model, it's my fault all these 38t's !!!!

It IS your fault Pete! Thanks buddy

I'm DEFINATELY in on this one - I'll be interested to see how the Tristar transmission etc. works out.

You'll fly through the kit but that's cool as that's more time left for a beautiful weathering job - with the flat but curved turret walls and sloping Glacis and engine cover it's a perfect kit to get streaking on!

What plans have you got? DY, Grey, Tri-tone, Ambush? Base? Am I getting totally ahead of myself!

Right - so who's building one next? LOLOLOL!

Seriously - it's a great kit DF and you'll totally kill it!

Keep these updates coming dude! Lots of photos!

Good luck,

Ben

[wbill76]

Very nice progress Greg! Tristar's interior is the best out there IMHO, shame they've gone out of business.

[Tojo72]

Nice choice,looking good

[reserve]

Yeah Pete, see how ya are?
Greg, looks like the Tristar interior comes with better detail than the Dragon 'an it's lookin fine

Regards,
Mark

[detailfreak]

While dryfitting some of the tristar components into the a trumpy kit I noticed that the transmission cover was a single piece with the hatch molded in place.Now with the interior installed I thought it would be nice to have this hatch open as well as the upper hulls hatch and the turret hatch.
This is the Trumpeter part.


The solution was only to grab the un-used Dragon plate from the Marder III ausf.H and it was a perfect fit.




While I was assembling the engine I thought it would be nice to do a comparison between the Tri-Star and the Dragon offerings.




The differences between the two powerplants is really not much but I would think the two should be identicle,I believe there where at least two different versions of the engine used available one being an upgraded more powerful version.
The Praga-Wilson gearbox in the Tri-Star interior set is to myself the better of the two but heres pics anyway.








Also added some pieces to the turret interior.




Thanks for looking all,as always comments are always welcome as well as suggestions and questions.

[bbrowniii]

Feb 13, 2014 19:10:18 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Very nice progress Greg! Tristar's interior is the best out there IMHO, shame they've gone out of business.

WHAAAAT!!! Tristar went out of business!! WHEN? HOW? WHY??

Awww, nuts...

Well, regardless, this is one heck of a build. Love the comparison of the power plants!

[deafpanzer]

Nice comparison!! I think I like Dragon better which surprised me...

Looking good so far!

[wbill76]

Feb 16, 2014 21:13:07 GMT -5 bbrowniii said:

Feb 13, 2014 19:10:18 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Very nice progress Greg! Tristar's interior is the best out there IMHO, shame they've gone out of business.

WHAAAAT!!! Tristar went out of business!! WHEN? HOW? WHY??

Awww, nuts...

Well, regardless, this is one heck of a build. Love the comparison of the power plants!

Where ya been Boyd??? That happened a couple of years ago IIRC...you can still find a few of their kits bumping around of course and their 38(t) stuff is IMHO the best out there.

Greg, nice progress on the interior, I can see why you would want that hatch open!

[detailfreak]

Thanks for all the comments and most of all just for stopping by. I have been working on the engine compartment for a bit and trying to test fit all the items that go in thee has been an adventure to say the least,with the placement of the fuel tanks engine ,radiator and such things just did'nt sit still long enough.So I devised a simple solution,taking a piece of the thinnest sheet I had available I cut it to the correct width to slide into the back of the chassis.I then attached the 38t firewall to the leading edge of the sheet,next was to test fit the left and right fuel tanks and attach them.



The basic drop in engine compartment in primer.At this point any additional details can/will be added before the engine assembly and radiator.The Tri-star interior also adds a smaller tank.Is this smaller tank an additional fuel tank? Or perhaps a coolant resevoir? Please excuse the lighting in the pics.Me has not quite mastered the use of the image capturing device.LOL. A few more pics.































And lastly a shot of the old Italeri kit with tristar interior.





Thanks again for looking and commenting my friends, and have a great day.
Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

[Tojo72]

Interior looks spiffy

[Leon]

Awesome work on the interior Greg.Looking really good.

[wbill76]

Coming along nicely Greg! The 38t's interior wasn't exactly spacious to begin with so it's good to see you're able to shoe-horn all that in properly.

[deafpanzer]

Your 38 is looking real good. Not your revolver! I am talking about your tank...

[detailfreak]

Thanks for all the supportive comments ladies and gentlemen,oh and Andy,as for the 38??? My preference is the .45acp which as they say is never far away.The build has been progressing albiet in jerks and fits,a bit before work and a bit after work you have all been there I'm sure.Just wanted yous all to know its still happenin.P.S. the three felines make it a challenge as the man cave is not heated so building occurs in the main house where these part thieves lurk and one must grow eyes in the back of ones head and also be lite of foot lest one crushes a part that has made it to the floor to be used for batting practice.

[wbill76]

Cats and models are a dangerous combination Greg, hope it warms up for you soon!

[detailfreak]

Blizzard today fellas.Mother nature is at times cruel.

[Deleted]

looking good! nice work