discussion SimonT - 1/72 Dragon Stug.IIIE - Bobs StugGB

[SimonT]

this is my second build for Bobs StugGB

These latest Dragon 1/72 releases under the Armor Pro range have been rather simplified from previous Dragon kits


tracks and wheels are now provided as one unit





you can see from the instruction sheet that there isn't much to this one

 

[Steve Jones]

Just brought this one myself Mr T and was very disappointed with what you got in the box. I thought the track and wheels section was quite novel though. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with it

 

[Guest]

Small but perfectly formed lol.

 

[SimonT]

Steve - these new ones are nowhere near as good as they used to be. Lot less in the box but of course the price is still the same. Track and wheels as one unit is more like S-model way of doing things

Andy - rather simplified but will see what I can do with it

 

[Lee Drennen]

Looks like one of those War Game Fast builds can’t believe Dragon went this way

 

[BattleshipBob]

Hi Simon sorry a but late, are you trying to do a full months StuG production :tongue-out3:

You will be busy and the very best of luck sir

 

[Gauge1TrainsDK]

I see the tracks have some sag, as opposed my Bolt Action kit, which has completely outstretched track sections. Point for Dragon.

Enjoy the build!

 

[SimonT]

Lee - yes, rather disappointing. Also got two T34/85's and they have been simplified as well but still have separate DS tracks

Bob - with all the builds going on it will be a miracle if I get anywhere

Christian - they do appear to have some sag built in but may change once stretched over the sprockets and hull mounting points


Made a start on it - the tracks/wheels are actually quite a clever bit of moulding but detail does suffer as a result

They seem to be made from their DS type bendy vinyl which makes it tricky to get rid of the flash from the track edges without making them furry

The gap between front and rear wheel halves is rather shallow so will need some heavy shadow at paint stage to make it look deeper and the outer wheels only have shallow detail for the lightening holes


so I drilled out the holes


drilled out the exhaust pipe ends on the one piece rear plate - detail all looks a bit blobby


made a start on opening out the air intakes so that I can fit a bit of etch mesh

as you can see, the knife slipped and broke the inner edge so will need to fix that

note all hatches moulded shut and tools moulded on


opened out the light holes in the rear track guards

I will clean up and do initial mods, such as opening these holes, on all the parts where necessary then assess the details against the references and decide what other details to add


a few other bits cleaned up

 

[Lee Drennen]

Looking good you will pull this off with no problems

 

[SimonT]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Lee - fingers crossed

 

[SimonT]

finished opening out the air intakes then opened out the commanders hatch

I have some commander figures somewhere

Made a slight boo boo when whittling the hatch out - forgot that the back plate slopes inward and managed to cut through

Had to make a plastic card patch for the hole and then fill it - it will be ok once sanded down and no one will know if I don't shout about it :smiling2:

 

[Steve Jones]

That rear end is not too good Mr T. Its a poor kit all round but the rear end seems worse. Glad to see you are managing to breathe some life into yours. I've decided to put a dozen figures on top of mine to hide the worst of the kit

 

[SimonT]

Steve - nowhere near as good as previous Dragon kits is it
They have really dumbed it down - not sure if it is really worth the effort

The sunk in a swamp option is looking good

 

[Steve Jones]

.....with just the top of the periscope showing LOL

 

[Guest]

Perhaps those tracks would suit me instead of those damned Hobby Boss things, only problem wrong scale for me. Expecting pewter any moment . :smiling3::nerd:

 

[SimonT]

Hmmm, been a while since I looked at this one :thinking:

Prompted by a question from Steve I dug it out again

It didn't fill me with enthusiasm, however, last night I had a look at the idler wheels

Dragon have moulded them as a solid single wheel when really they should be a front and rear with gap between for the guide teeth to run in


I decided to correct this and make it look a little better by opening out the rim into two parts and cutting through between the spokes


to give this

 

[Steven000]

Excellent work on the wheel Simon, looks a lot better :thumb2:

 

[Road of Bones]

Silk purses from Sow’s ears spring to mind...that work on the idler is superb, Si :thumb2:

 

[SteveH]

Hmmm, been a while since I looked at this one :thinking:

Prompted by a question from Steve I dug it out again

It didn't fill me with enthusiasm, however, last night I had a look at the idler wheels

Dragon have moulded them as a solid single wheel when really they should be a front and rear with gap between for the guide teeth to run in


I decided to correct this and make it look a little better by opening out the rim into two parts and cutting through between the spokes


to give this

Seriously cool carving Simon,

Looks like another detail fest is on the way

Have fun with the change of size of Stug

Regards

Steve H

 

[Steve Jones]

I've just finished mine Mr T. I have serious issues around the tracks which I will PM you about. I too made the same mistake of going through the back plate when I took the drivers hatches off :smiling5:.