Afternoon People,
I have decided to finish the Kübel instead of starting a new kit. The Kübel should be familiar to every one, so I won't go into any intro for it. I will also be using some parts from the Tamiya Kübelwagen Maintenance kit, resin wheels from DEF Model, and a resin conversion kit from Blast Models. The kits,
A sprue shot,
The destructions are typical Tamiya and easy to follow. As the build is in progress, we have to backtrack a bit. I started out building the motor first, hence the maintenance kit. The Kübel kit only has the bottom of it. I plan on leaving the motor cover open when it's done,
I wired the spark plugs, ran some fuel lines added a few tidbits and painted it up. Next up was prepping the resin wheels. DEF Model makes some excellent resin wheels and most sets have a sag on them. The model I'm building, needs these later wheels and DEF was the only firm to make them. As I test fitted them on the rear trans-axle, I noticed something odd,
If you look closely, you'll see the inner tread profile on both go in opposite directions, when they should go in the same direction. The front wheels are the same too. I dropped an email with pic to DEF Models and within 18 hours I had an answer. Kim, the chief director of the firm, wrote he had never noticed this and I was the only person to write about it. He thanked me and said he would correct this ASAP. I really had hoped he would have sent me a replacement set...
Moving on, I cleaned up all the parts needed and put them on my mat. I had also painted a few,
Some of you can now see where this is going and maybe what it is...Some hairy stick work and test fitting was next,
I found a Kübelwagen etch set in the stash and used some of it. Etch floor boards were CA'd in place. The folded soft top from the blast kit was test fitted and the rear seat was modified to sit in the half folded position. I made up and added the etch turn signal arm housings,
Painted up the jack and accessories, made the etch turn signal arms and drilled out the outside door handles,
With this finished, I moved on to the wiring for the power system behind the rear seat, added the seat back framing from plastic rod and put decals from the stash on the power setup,
I had to ensure the cabling didn't interfere with the rear seat. Another pic with the motor glued in,
Some CA helped in the task. Letting this dry, I painted up the seats and other little things,
On to cleaning up the potholes on the inside of the doors and adding the etch handles to them. I then gave a base coat to the canvas top,
I also painted up the resin wheel set even though they were the wrong tread pattern direction, as I have to use them on this build,
Now it was time to paint and install the resin special dash this vehicle used,
Not the best paint job in this pic (no decals), but from a distance, it looks okay. So let's slap this puppy together for a test fit,
Another one,
Everything fits good. The putty and glue marks on the rear deck sides is from me installing it backwards. Had to use lots of TET and carefully pry it apart and then install it correctly...This is about how far I got on it.
For those still wondering, this vehicle is not a paper panzer project and a few were made and tried. My Kübel was captured intact in Fallingbostel, Germany in 1945. It was designed to be used with the Sd. Kfz. 251/20 Falke & UHU, in support of I/R equipped Panthers for night fighting,
I hope you find it interesting. More updates to follow as get more done. Thanks for looking in and have a great holiday weekend folks...
Prost
Allen
I have decided to finish the Kübel instead of starting a new kit. The Kübel should be familiar to every one, so I won't go into any intro for it. I will also be using some parts from the Tamiya Kübelwagen Maintenance kit, resin wheels from DEF Model, and a resin conversion kit from Blast Models. The kits,
A sprue shot,
The destructions are typical Tamiya and easy to follow. As the build is in progress, we have to backtrack a bit. I started out building the motor first, hence the maintenance kit. The Kübel kit only has the bottom of it. I plan on leaving the motor cover open when it's done,
I wired the spark plugs, ran some fuel lines added a few tidbits and painted it up. Next up was prepping the resin wheels. DEF Model makes some excellent resin wheels and most sets have a sag on them. The model I'm building, needs these later wheels and DEF was the only firm to make them. As I test fitted them on the rear trans-axle, I noticed something odd,
If you look closely, you'll see the inner tread profile on both go in opposite directions, when they should go in the same direction. The front wheels are the same too. I dropped an email with pic to DEF Models and within 18 hours I had an answer. Kim, the chief director of the firm, wrote he had never noticed this and I was the only person to write about it. He thanked me and said he would correct this ASAP. I really had hoped he would have sent me a replacement set...
Moving on, I cleaned up all the parts needed and put them on my mat. I had also painted a few,
Some of you can now see where this is going and maybe what it is...Some hairy stick work and test fitting was next,
I found a Kübelwagen etch set in the stash and used some of it. Etch floor boards were CA'd in place. The folded soft top from the blast kit was test fitted and the rear seat was modified to sit in the half folded position. I made up and added the etch turn signal arm housings,
Painted up the jack and accessories, made the etch turn signal arms and drilled out the outside door handles,
With this finished, I moved on to the wiring for the power system behind the rear seat, added the seat back framing from plastic rod and put decals from the stash on the power setup,
I had to ensure the cabling didn't interfere with the rear seat. Another pic with the motor glued in,
Some CA helped in the task. Letting this dry, I painted up the seats and other little things,
On to cleaning up the potholes on the inside of the doors and adding the etch handles to them. I then gave a base coat to the canvas top,
I also painted up the resin wheel set even though they were the wrong tread pattern direction, as I have to use them on this build,
Now it was time to paint and install the resin special dash this vehicle used,
Not the best paint job in this pic (no decals), but from a distance, it looks okay. So let's slap this puppy together for a test fit,
Another one,
Everything fits good. The putty and glue marks on the rear deck sides is from me installing it backwards. Had to use lots of TET and carefully pry it apart and then install it correctly...This is about how far I got on it.
For those still wondering, this vehicle is not a paper panzer project and a few were made and tried. My Kübel was captured intact in Fallingbostel, Germany in 1945. It was designed to be used with the Sd. Kfz. 251/20 Falke & UHU, in support of I/R equipped Panthers for night fighting,
I hope you find it interesting. More updates to follow as get more done. Thanks for looking in and have a great holiday weekend folks...
Prost
Allen
