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Forums - Modelling / Construction |
The construction forum is for the discussion of techniques on the construction phase of AFV modelling and the tools and materials used. |
| Topics | 1894 |
| Messages | 8731 |
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| Subject: | Re: AFV Club Sd.Kfz. 251 problems |  |
| Date: | Sep 21, 2004 |
| From: | Christopher C. Tew | |
Last night I assembled the inner road wheels and front suspension parts. Since the Ausf. D that AFV and Tamiya represent and the Ausf. C that DML offer share common suspension parts, I'll offer a few comments that buyers and builders might find helpful.
On AFV's two farmes, there was some dragging at the outer edge of the big holes in the inner road wheels that needed to be trimmed away before the wheels would fit together tightly, and a little flash inside some of the holes. The boss on the outside surface of the AFV inner road wheel holes is too pronounced, the DML is decidedly understated, the Tamiya just about right, though the Tamiya wheels are otherwise underdetailed. Both the AFV and DML road wheels are loose fits to the axles, so be careful to align them properly.
The AFV road wheel tires are beefier than the Tamiya, which are beefier than the DML, which means the DML look thin next to the AFV ones. The AFV tires have a sharp edge on the outer side that needs to be scraped down all the way around. The DML have a seam around the middle of the tire, and DML's mold alignment is slightly off: live with the seam or end up with oblong tires.
I have not noticed anyone else mention the following, so check your parts and take care:
My AFV drive sprockets would not fit together properly. The outer piece has basket-like tabs running inward from the roller flanges that are supposed to fit into alignment slots formed by bigger tabs around the inner circumference of the back piece. Ain't no way they were gonna fit on my pieces!
I ended up using a Dremel to grind away the big tabs on the inner piece completely, then carefully aligned and glued the outer piece so that the rollers lined up.
The DML kit uses the same sort of assembly method, but theirs fits ok. Only thing is, DML left out the roller, so you have two flanges sticking out with nothing between them. If you go to the trouble of fixing the lack of upper hull overhang (see thread in "Kits"), then you'll probably want to add the rollers from little pieces of rod where the flanges aren't covered up by the track.
The Tamiya and AFV (after the above rework) drive sprockets are the same width. The DML sprocket is just a bit wider, not in the roller area, but in the main wheel on each side of the rollers. As a side issue, the DML transmission cover underneath the drive sprocket is mounted, quite haphazardly, with the small bulge to the front. The only photos I have that show this area have that bulge to the back, like the AFV kit, but I don't know if the Ausf. A-C was different.
The AFV sprockets are handed - this is most obvious in the location of the rollers and the small bolts on the sprocket face. DML omit the small bolts, and center the rollers. The bolt detail is not in any of the Ausf. C plans I have, though I do have a WW II photo that shows them clearly on an Ausf. D, and I can't see it on any of the Ausf. A-C photos I have, but none are as clear as the D that does have it. The off-set rollers are a picky matter, but it's nice that AFV did pay attention to that point. The Tamiya sprocket has simplified detail.
The front axle/spring assemblies are as different in appearance as can be. The DML looks positively anemic beside the AFV, and the Tamiya is quite simplified. Unfortunately, AFV has got sloppy with the fit of the larger pieces, requiring careful trimming and dry-fitting, and have left off the connecting rod and tie rod that allow the stearing shaft to move the right-side axle. DML and Tamiya have the connecting rod but have left off the stearing shaft. In each case, a little fiddling with plastic rod or wire will make things right. The AFV axles are not movable, the DML and Tamiya are.
The Tamiya front tires are the thickest and largest in diameter of the lot. The DML and AFV tires are slightly smaller in width and diameter. The wall width of the AFV tires is the same as the DML, but AFV pinches the tread inward, so their treads are narrower. AFV is the only one that attempts to include the center tread groove in the molding, which is strange, as doing so is no real trouble. No one has molded the "Continental" marking, which sometimes appeared on the real things. Size aside, the front wheels and tires are one of the few areas where the old Tamiya kit has detail equivalent to the modern moldings.
CTew |
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