Trumpeter German 39(h) 10.5cm LeFH 18(Sf) auf Geschutzwagen

[Driver]

Boy! After writing that title there’s not much time to build. :p No, seriously, after Dave proposed the SPG group build I though about entering one of mine, but then Abdin started one and I felt the need to join in. After all we are the Voodoo Boys, aren’t we?:D

So I decided to do this:
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010673.jpg

And since the tracks are vinyl I’m going to use this:
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010672.jpg

As with every tank, the firs part is the suspension so I started to clean all the parts for it. Here are all the parts ready to be assembled.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010661.jpg

And here they are after a little glue was applied.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010662.jpg

Next, of course, the bogies, idlers, return rollers and sprockets were attached to the chassis.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010669.jpg

Then the interior, here is the firewall. The box beside it goes on top of that square part that looks like a radiator; but you need to cut a little plastic from one of the edges to make it sit properly.(That's the curved indentation that you see on the back of the part.) Luckily this wont be seen once the part is in place.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010670.jpg

Here you can see the parts in place.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010671.jpg

I still need to build the transmission and seat to finish the interior parts supplied in the model but that will be later. See you soon!

Ruben

[lupanzer]

Dear Ruben.

...a good start!...I will follow with a big interest!

Luiz.

[Flak]

Nice start...Ruben

[Fledermaus]

nice voo d.. I mean start :rolleyes: keep it up, but take some time to sleep eat etc.. two kits at a time?? is this some kind of a race???:D:p

[Driver]

Luiz and Marco, thanks for the support.

nice voo d.. I mean start :rolleyes: keep it up, but take some time to sleep eat etc.. two kits at a time?? is this some kind of a race???:D:p

Thanks Din. Don't worry, I'll be working one day in the Flak and the next in the Geschutzwagen so I think everything will be OK. :p

Ruben

[Striker]

ahhh just one of the kit i love to see build

[Driver]

Hi guys, long time no see!
It’s been a while since my last post but here I am again to continue.

After the suspension was built I started to build the tracks since its one of the most tedious and time-consuming parts of any model. The fit of the track is good but not perfect; I had to remove material from the back of the return rollers to improve the fit.
The road wheels should be thinned too but since mine were glued already I had to remove only part of it to make it fit. There’s no problem with the idle or the sprocket whatsoever.
And here it is with the tracks in place.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010697.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010698.jpg

Next I installed the transmission and made a new drive shaft because the original one was too short and the alignment of the engine and the tranny wasn’t 100% accurate.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010754.jpg

Then it was time for the fighting compartment. Here the fit of the parts is not the problem but the plethora of sinkholes is. I started to cut styrene disks to plug them but I leave out the ones that will be hidden by equipment.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010699.jpg

Also the recuperator cylinder has a sinkhole that needs plugging.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010700.jpg

The gun cradle didn’t present any problems until later in the build. (More on that later.)
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010701.jpg

Here’s the gun support; no problem here.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010702.jpg

Next, the barrel itself. Here are some fit problems like the fit of the breechblock to the rest of the gun. If you look closely you’ll notice the pieces of white plastic needed to fill the gaps.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010703.jpg

The other side
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010704.jpg

Here is another point of trouble; the gun mount is divided in two parts, front and back. You have to drill here to make the hole deeper so the recuperator cylinder can sit deep enough or the mount won’t align properly.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010713copy.jpg

Here is the complete gun. All the white parts are the ones you have to make. One of the most important things is the little square box for the right side hand wheel. There are two hand wheels, one on each side, the left one is ok but if you glue the right one as per the instructions it will interfere with the lower gun mount. I don’t know why but Trumpeter forgot to put that little box in the kit so you’ll have to make one.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010755.jpg

The fighting compartment is a straight forward build. (After you plug the sinkholes that is.) The only modification I did was to cut some of the positioning tabs (Marked in red.) for the ammo rack so it can sit level on the floor.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010753copy.jpg

And here is everything ready for paint.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/P1010752.jpg

Next, the yellow and green paint arrives.
See you soon,
Ruben

[RickLawler]

Hey Ruben...it would be a great kit except for the fit problems, missing parts, and sink holes! LOL...!

Wonderful update on the build and now for the paint.

take care,
Rick

[Driver]

Thanks Rick.

And speaking of missing parts I found that there's another one missing from the kit. There's a lever that goes on top of the breech and it is completely absent from the kit.
But as it is a simple thing to do it won't be a problem.

Regards
Ruben

[Flak]

Great SBS progress...I'm waiting the Bronco's one :)

[Sturmmann]

Nice work Ruben,

You are actually flying by on this build. I wish I could build that fast.

dave

[James Tainton]

I want to build a model of this vehicle but I think I'll try the Bronco one though this looks pretty excellent!

[Driver]

Thank you guys!

I also have the hotchkiss H39 from Bronco and if the quality of their Geschutzwagen is equal to that it would be an excellent model for sure.

Ruben

[Lost legionar]

Nice work Ruby, and a fast build, but check out the direction of the links,:eek:
Take a look at the Hobby Boss box art and your reference photos.:confused:
See you next week:D

[Driver]

Nice work Ruby, and a fast build, but check out the direction of the links,:eek:
Take a look at the Hobby Boss box art and your reference photos.:confused:
See you next week:D

I did, and found that every single photo of a Hotchkiss H39 shows the track running in the opposite direction. But then I found this:
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Geschutzwagen/marh39_1.jpg

Apparently the germans installed the tracks backwards. Maybe during the conversion. So I'm not mistaken, I only did as the germans did. :D

Take care and see you soon.
Ruben