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Modeller Build Logs
Panzer Jaeger I |
| By Bruce Probst | | Started: | Dec 17, 2007 | | Updated: | Jan 31, 2008 |
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This is my first attempt at a Build Log. (Thanks to Saúl García for the encouragement.) I've only recently returned to scale modelling as an adult; my previous recent efforts were both in 1/76th scale, two Panzer I.B kits from Fujimi (one of them being an ex-Nitto mould). Photos of those efforts can be found in the "Small Scale" forum.
Third off the production line is the third and final Fujimi Panzer I kit, this time the Panzer Jäger I, in 1/76th scale (kit WA21). This kit is derived from the previous Panzer IB release and shares many parts, mostly the hull and chassis and (again, for no readily apparent reason) the PaK 40 A-T gun. At least there's some possibility that historically these two machines would actually have been on the battlefield at the same time, but nevertheless, I have not come here to build A-T guns. (At least not yet.) So, as with the previous kit, the PaK 40 will be consigned to the spare parts bin.
New to this kit is the upper superstructure and it really looks quite good. I've compiled a number of Panzer I references over the last several months and for this project the two best are Panzer Tracts 7-1 ("Panzerjaeger 1927-1941") and Militaria #144 "Panzerjäger I". The kit, despite being relatively old (I think), has quite a lot of fine detail present, all of which seems pretty accurate (although I haven't bothered to do any precise measurements). As the vehicle is open-topped a basic interior is also included, which seems OK so far as it goes (which isn't far). I'll see what I can do to improve that.
All of my previous models (both the two recent ones and those that I built as a teenager) were built using the approach of "paint as much on the sprue as possible, assemble and then clean up". This seems to be at variance with all the experts who apparently do as little painting before assembly as possible. I'm not sure that it really makes all that much difference in the end, but for this kit I'm going to adopt the "paint last" approach and see how it goes. I'm concerned that it will make painting the chassis difficult, but perhaps my concerns are unfounded. We shall see.
I decided some time back that I wanted to finish this vehicle in Afrika Korps trim, and although the kit decals don't look too bad, I know the paint scheme suggested ("desert sand, all over") is just wrong, and once again I turn to after-market Bison Decals. Their pack 72003 "Afrika Korps Part 1" contains a suitable scheme that looks like it will be interesting. As with my previous build these 1/72nd decals are ever-so-slightly overscale for this 1/76th kit, but we're talking fractions of a millimetre; I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
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| The Rear Deck Rack | Jan 18, 2008 |
The biggest remaining issue at this point is the grill found on the back of the upper hull behind the crew compartment. I'm not sure exactly what the purpose of this was (to catch and store spent shells, perhaps?) but it's a very obvious feature of the vehicle's exterior and the kit part is somewhat disappointing (aside from being too thick, it has no surface details on the inner facing, even though it's just as visible as the outer facing). I determined to replace it with a scratch-built grill that would look more appropriate, brand-new territory for me. Clearly the first order of business was to obtain an appropriate scale grill, and after considering a number of options decided to send away to England for some "0.50mm (0.125mm bar width)" PE from Scale Link. This seemed like it would be very close to scale, based on the plans and photos in my references. My idea is to cut and shape a section of this grill and use some strip styrene around the edges. I figure that even if I cock it up completely it will still look better than the kit part!
The mesh arrived and scale-wise it seems correct. It's not perfect, because the "holes" in the mesh are not very well-defined, but it will do. I measured out a strip of the mesh to cut and fold. The bends need to be rounded, not sharp, so I used a Mission Models "multi-tool" to bend the strip around. The cut was not very even (I need to get myself some proper tin snips) but a little work on some fine wet-and-dry paper got rid of the worst of it. Then I needed to build the "frame" around the edges. Checking my reference works it became clear that this frame was only on the outer side, with the mesh attached to it on the inner side; this made building the frame a lot simpler, as I didn't have to worry about shaping it to the inside of the PE! Just shaping it to the outside caused me enough problems and I needed several attempts before I was satisfied. I used some hot water to help bend the styrene strips around the curved bends. Some final sanding work, including an attempt to create the curved corners on the upper front of the grill, and the final part will do. I'm hoping that the paint will cover up the worst of its sins. If nothing else it has been an interesting "experiment". |
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