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Modeller Build Logs
Type 97 Chi-Ha |
| By Warrink Brothers | | Started: | Jun 15, 2003 | | Updated: | Jul 16, 2003 |
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This is Tamiya's good old kit. The level of detail is remarkable for a kit of this vintage (1975). The only bad things are the exhausts: these are moulded as one piece with their mesh covers and look horrible. Fortunately, we recently bought Eduard's set for the Ho-Ni. This is the SPG version of the type 97, but the set includes the mesh covers for the exhausts.
Fit of some parts isn't very good, the separate right upper hull panel being a prime example, but otherwise it goes together quite easily. |
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| Turret | Jul 5, 2003 |
The turret is basically complete. I added Grandt Line conical rivets to the cupola, as well as some other detail parts. The rivets on the mantlet top are made with a Milliput mould, and inserted into predrilled holes. The 57mm gun needs the muzzle faired into the rest of the barrel. Cleaning up the aerial was hell, but in the end it came out okay. The aerial and its brackets are one piece, which makes cleaning up very difficult without breaking it (guess who got careless). Completely rebuilding the aerial and its support brackets would have been a better option.
In this pic you can just see the weld bead that needs to be added between the top of the hull and the top of the driver's barbette. This weld bead was made with gel superglue. |
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