Axel's corner

The next update for the Einheitsdiesel Kfz.61 is here. As reported last time, I decided to drill holes for mounting the suspension parts. I used a 0.4 and 0.6 mm drill bit for this successively. Quite a bit of work as there are lots of holes to drill. In the end though I'm happy I did this as it made assembly quite a bit easier.  In theory this would also help me align all six suspension arms so that the truck will stand on all its wheels when finished. Although that won't be such a big deal as I think I'll be able to hide eventual alignment issues in the groundwork... In the end it wasn't as easy as that though. In my previous post I already feared that my mounting of the suspension parts was slightly questionable. And when mounting the suspension arms this proved to be true. Below are some images of the completed suspension. To aid alignment I even made a makeshift jig of LEGO bricks to try and get the suspension as straight as possible. But as can be seen from the i...

 Here's another update on the Einheitsdiesel Kfz. 61. Work is continuing slowly. In the meantime I've finished the engine of the truck and have been working some more on the chassis, mainly the suspension. As I'm progessing through this build I'm more and more convinced that this isn't a kit for beginners. Several parts have no distinguishable locating pins/holes and the instructions are sometimes vague to not helpful at all. It's quite an undertaking. Although this is my first AFV build in many many years, I wouldn't call myself inexperienced or a beginner. But I've had some head-scratching moments along the way. And I'm seriously doubting whether the suspension parts have been constructed correctly by me. Problem is that the instructions are no help whatsoever and leave me with a lot of guesswork along the build. For an out of the box build, it's keeping me more than occupied... Let's start with the engine. The engine halves don't have ...

 It's been a long time since I did any work on this particular kit (or project for that matter). Odd really, as the Einheitsdiesel will be the most "out of the box" built of this dio. So progress should have been swift as there's no scratchbuilding to be done. Well, at least that was the plan. But more on that later in this post. As I'm assembling the kit though, there are a few things I've noticed. And it starts with the instructions. What is immediately apparent is that there are almost no paint call-outs. Only late into the build the required colors are mentioned. Not something I'm used to. Another thing that caught my eye is the fact that the instructions for the most part are concerned with the building of the chassis of the truck. The chassis which is very detailed I must say. Of the 29 building steps, 15 steps are dedicated to the building of the chassis... Sadly, most of this detail won't be seen once construction is complete. Which is not so b...

This next update has been long overdue. Holiday, and especially PC troubles and other niggles have kept me from updating my blog and hampered my building progress quite. Nevertheless I have been doing some small stuff which I'd like to show in this update. Continuing where I left off last time, I'll start this update with a few images of the first parts I've glued together (with 2-part epoxy glue). I used some clamps to keep the parts together while the glue set. After the glue on the parts of the field generator had set, I noticed that the sidewalls seemed slightly deformed (bent inwards). Probably a result of the clamping of the parts when the glue was curing. I placed a styrene tube between the sidewalls to return them to the correct shape. I continued by glueing the side panel shut. Just one final look at all the nice detail I'll be hiding from the viewing public and than the panel goes on. For this job I used Zap Thin CA. Only thin...

With this post I'd like to introduce my newest project. This time it'll be a break from the usual 4-wheeled subjects I build. I started my modelling "career" building 1/72 planes from Matchbox, mainly. I built everything from jets to props. My interest in planes never has faded although I haven't build a plane in a long time. My enthousiam got rekindled when my father (with several other people) started working on a book depicting the history of the former municipality of Hunsel (in the South of the Netherlands) during World War 2. One of the chapters in the book concerned the crash of a Lancaster bomber during the summer of 1944 near the house of my parents. My intention is to build this plane in a rather dramatic setting: Just after it had been shot, with the port engines on fire. The kit I'm going to use will be the Tamiya 1/48 model of the Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (kit no. 61112). Some 20 years ago I already build this kit (OOB) for a small exhibi...