Dave Ward's 1/35 Krupp L3H163 Early war Heavy Truck

[Dave Ward]

After the Revell/ICM 1/48 Mig-25, I'm going to build the 1/35 Krupp 6 X 4 Heavy Truck, also from the ICM stable
The box is full of plastic - the construction is pretty complex, the chassis is flat pack - no slide moulding!
The instructions are busy...................... 2 finish variants - both grey early war
Some of the parts are fragile - I can see problems getting this off the sprues in one piece! - Rear axles brake linkages...........
Some neatly moulded parts - springs, & fan for the complete engine

Radiator...............
The wheels and tyres are one piece - no vinyl here! ( good!!! )

Looks like it will be a pretty fiddly build, I've made a few ICM trucks, and as long as the chassis is built square, then all should be well
Construction will start shortly!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Finally managed to open the box, and get some parts together. The engine is quite an assembly, none of which will be seen
I've only really assembled this for location of other bits - exhaust pipes etc.
The chassis consist of side rails, and cross members, the instructions are a bit vague, and you have to puzzle out how some parts fit! Side rails, one with a winch, and the central member with transfer box.

I've left off the running boards/mounts - I've made ICM trucks before, and fitting these bits now is asking for them to break off - they seem positioned right where the fingers fall! They can be added much later in the build.
The model has 296 parts - all closely packed on the sprues, and the numbering is a little odd in places, so careful study is needed - I couldn't find part 104, but worked out that is actually meant to be 102, just by process of elimination
Dave

 

[JR]

Nothing like a puzzle is there Dave. A sence of achievement when you work out where it is.
I shall grab a front seat.
John.

 

[rtfoe]

Dave, I'd do the same for parts that are not visible but are needed for location points. Most I would do is spray them black after so the shody work can't be seen accidentally.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Mini Me]

Dave,
Just looking at the sprues makes me a bit dizzy. Think I'll take a seat a bit further back near the door in case I have an attack of vertigo.
Cheers,
Rick H.

 

[Dave Ward]

The cross members are added to the rails, and left on my Lego blocks, to really dry square.
Some of the components are way over engineered - the towing eye cross member has 7 parts! ( R )

While that is drying, I decided to do the load bed......................

Again, the instructions are a bit vague, and careful study is needed to ensure you don't get the base wrong way round - still, when that's figured out, the fit is good. There are quite a few attachment points to clear up. the plastic is reasonably soft & easy to work. The instruction sequence would have you add the spare wheels on the underside, but that would really complicate painting.
Tomorrow, it will be the suspension & running gear - some of it looks very 'busy', so I hope I have steady hands!
Dave

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Can't go wrong with a big truck. Looks to have nice crisp detail. Even the springs look nice. Good to have one piece PLASTIC wheels and tyres
Jim

 

[Dave Ward]

Front axle assembled, off the chassis
The engine, front axle & exhaust added to the chassis
Now, the rear suspension - I thought it was going to be tricky, and I wasn't wrong!
The brake linkages, I thought I was going to have trouble in getting them off the sprues...........
One came off in one piece! JOY! - but the next, 3 pieces!
According to the instructions the rear axles should be assembled off the chassis, but after a few tentative trials, I decided that wasn't feasible!. I decided to attach the bits to the chassis, as a solid base. Even so, I could have used an extra hand during construction. It may not look much, but this took about 1/2 hour to assemble!

This will dry overnight, then I will add all the linkages - it needs solid bases for these flimsy parts. The Krupp is proving more of a challenge than I anticipated!
Dave

 

[JR]

Dave .
That's a neat idea with the leggo, ........ grandchildren had better watch out.
How you did the removal from the sprue of those linkages with out it breaking is a marvel. I find that half way through when you think you've cracked it it snaps in two !!!! and I was using the saw. Those look like they would snap just being looked at .

John .

 

[Dave Ward]

I got a box of Lego ( just blocks ) from an after Christmas sale - You can make all sorts of useful jigs & supports, but of course, they stick together with normal glue, so the attrition rate is pretty high.
Removing bits from sprues? - well, if I can support the part on a solid backing, then a sharp scalpel works. If the part is an odd shape, or you can't support it, I use sprue cutters, making sure that the cut is square to the part. I have a small sharp pair, that I only use on fragile parts. I've never had much success using razor saws. Of course, a lot depends on the plastic - The early MiniArt models were a nightmare of brittle plastic, that broke as soon as you looked at it. ( later MiniArts aren't that bad )
Dave

 

[JR]

Dave.
That's where I go wrong then, no support. Will remedy that in future.
John,

 

[Mini Me]

Dave,
Coming along very nicely. I'm wondering if you could use brass rod to substitute for the plastic linkages? I don't know if you can get brass turnbuckles in that scale or perhaps scratch something up...might save a lot of hair pulling!
Cheers, Rick H.

 

[papa 695]

Yes coming along nicely Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

I repaired the broken brake linkage with TET, then strengthened it with CA.................

Then, the assembly of the rear axles & brake linkages. This was a real puzzle at times, the instructions being a bit vague, then actually fitting the parts!!

I have to say, I did not enjoy this part of construction! It was very fiddly, Four hoops over the axles all broke, getting them off the sprue, the torque links broke, and one had to be replaced, and to cap it all, I broke the steering column off, and it's still AWOL. All of this underside will of course be largely unseen - I can't wait to get it all primed.
I think that is the worst of the construction over!
Dave

 

[Mini Me]

Hopefully the hair pulling part is over.
Hang in there,
Rick H.

 

[Lee Drennen]

Great job Dave that’s sure is a weird suspension

 

[Dave Ward]

Lee,
I was puzzling over where I had seen a similar rear suspension with the horizontal spring, then I remembered - the Krupp Protze - I have a Tamiya one in the stash.
Dave

 

[Gern]

I've had some success using a heated blade to remove fiddly parts from sprues. I don't cut the part itself, I just release the sprue runners from the main sprue frame. Using a heated blade means you don't put any pressure on the parts and it also leaves you free to manipulate whatever cutters you are using to cut the part itself free.

 

[Dave Ward]

I'm afraid this one is going back into the box for the time being. I've made several attempts to go on with the build, but I've lost interest, and forcing myself to finish this will end up with something I'm not happy with. I will return to this, just not yet.
I'm going to start another build, but not blog it. I joined the forum in April, and I've blogged every build I've done since then, so time to miss one or two out. I'm still going to haunt the site, though........................
Dave

 

[Mini Me]

Sorry to hear that Dave. I've always enjoyed following your WIPs.
Cheers, Rick H.