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Trumpeter 1/16 Panther


Ryan

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2 hours ago, Juggernut said:

Too big?  Knocking everything over?  Yep, I can see that happening to me too.  I just cleaned off my third workbench (I have three in the shape of a "U") and when I start one of these monsters, that's where the staging are will be.

 

Yea, I have multiple model parts on the work area (again), and knocking stuff around, has become somewhat commonplace, so I tend to move the more delicate items away from the area first now. 

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Care needs to be taken when installing the brackets that hold the road wheel torsion bars as they pass though the hull.......I had about 85% care.

 

Some of the parts setup slightly off center so I had to make a reamer out of a brass rod, double sided tape, and sanding film to true them up. A further problem is the reciving end of this shaft opposite the one i'm reaming out, I found it very difficult to get a decent amount of glue on these parts and they will flex when challenged. I dont have any choice but to jig the ride height up and glue the shafts in place to avoid any unwanted flexing.

 

I dont have any shots of this but the entire frame including the torsion bars had to be glued in at one time with the bars floping all around, upside down and sideways. Picture yourself trying to glue a wind chime in a shoe box while making sure all the chimes are straight.

 

Once the frame is in place though its very strong and you start to get a sense of how much this thing is going to wiegh once complete.

 

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Great work so far. I had difficulty in this area as well. An added challenge was that I pre-painted everything. I reamed out all of the holes but still had issues with the tight fit of the torsion bars where they insert into the far side of the hull. In fact, a couple of the fittings split, and I had to reglue them. I’m keeping them workable until I’ve fitted the tracks, to see how the ride appears and the suspension feels. I figure I can always glue later. We’ll see! You’ve got a great build going.

 

Cheers,  Tom

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Yes certainly could do that, I'm just being dramatic.

 

Bigger issue would be my painting style, black shadow cote and then primer red. If I wait till after I paint it to glue it could shift some of my shadows.

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The torsion bars may well be a weakness of all these big armor kits. I fear that if I don't epoxy mine in place, ensuring a correct loaded look, in a few years it may look like a burned out relic or some stupid museum example that hasn't been supported for 75 years, allowing the torsion bars to become deformed beyond repair.

 

There's a great photo of a test sample at a show somewhere, where the drive sprocket is riding on the ground, a possible hint as to this particular weakness.

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