Sd.Kfz 251 in Allied Service. Finished pics page 6.

[Old Wombat]

I understand ... & you have my sympathy!

[zenrat]

Enough of the gun is together now for me to scratch up the mounting.  Hopefully i'll get it done this weekend.  Or at least a large part of it.

[zenrat]

Gun mounting is built and attached.  Here is a mock up.
I had to cut down the armour to allow the gun to traverse but i'll be building some back up again to cover the gap.
Sd.Kfz 251 in Allied Service WIP 29-11-2020 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Tracks have 55 links on each side.  Links are connected by pads  They would go together fairly easily if it wasn't for the misaligned moulds requiring each link to be sanded.
D'oh!

[PR19_Kit]

  They would go together fairly easily if it wasn't for the misaligned moulds requiring each link to be sanded.
D'oh!

Oh, DEEP joy! 

The model itself looks pretty good to me so far (but what do I know about tanks, eh?  )

[rickshaw]

Interesting.  I'd assumed it was going to be like a SdKfz 251/10 with the gun mounted over the driving compartment. 

[zenrat]

I didn't want to sit the gun up that high.  I has a relatively high profile as it is.  I suppose I could have cut down the gun shield but I wanted to keep it recognisable.
Having it where it is gives it a 360º traverse.

[zenrat]

Tracks, tracks, tracks.

Put this lot together today.  30 links.
Each side needs 55 so I am 27% done.
Sd.Kfz 251 WIP 05-12-2020 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
I dropped one link, couldn't find it and then tipped over the aluminium tray containing the track pads flicking about half of them on the floor.
While picking them up I found the link I dropped but have lost two track pads.  There are spares but i'd rather not have lost any at this early stage.
The good news is that the sprue attachment points for the links are on the ends meaning I can clean them up en mass after the links are joined.
The bad news is that there is a slight mould misalignment meaning I have to sand both sides of the tounge of each link which fits through a slot in the adjacent link.
The other good news is that this is a relatively clean process so I will be able to sit at the dinner table and do it while watching the idiot's lantern.

After this, and the 1/35 Dragon Pz IV and 1/72 Platz Pig Tank in the stash, no more kits with individual track links ever.

[Rick Lowe]

That's an interesting combination there, Fred - it's going to look quite different when it's done.

I picked up an AFV Club 'Whells and Tracks' (sic) set for the 251 once - they include rubber bands, so it's actually going to get used rather than languishing on the unloved pile.
(Single-link tracks? You can keep them and I'll keep my money, thanks!)

And yeah, that's the thing I remember about the US figures - there's some nice poses and they fit together like they should.

[zenrat]

Apart from the above mentioned two, all the other tanks in my stash are 1/48.  Easier to store when finished.
The 1/35 military kits I do have are all armoured cars and trucks.

[PR19_Kit]

Jeepers, doing that'd put me off building tanks for life!

[Rick Lowe]

Apart from the above mentioned two, all the other tanks in my stash are 1/48.  Easier to store when finished.
The 1/35 military kits I do have are all armoured cars and trucks.

True, the larger vehicles can take up a fair amount of real estate on the shelf.

[zenrat]

Jeepers, doing that'd put me off building tanks for life!

And being a half track there are less links than on a tank.

I gritted my teeth and finished both sets off today.
Sd.Kfz 251 in Allied Service WIP 06-12-2020 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Sd.Kfz 251 in Allied Service WIP 06-12-2020 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[tigercat]

Looking Good and I can see it being the sort of thing that might well have happened .

[zenrat]

Did I mention that every single track pad has a sink mark in it?

Anyhoo, i've built the sides of the body back up and painted the interior.
Sd.Kfz 251 WIP 10-12-2020 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[buzzbomb]

 

Works for me. I think you did a bang up job on the tracks.