Stripped Sd.Kfz. 7

1
January 10, 2022
Transmission as Dragon would have you fit it in the chassis.
2
January 10, 2022
Transmission as it should actually fit, inserted from underneath rather than above.
3
January 10, 2022
Front suspension built, rear suspension still loose in order to work out how to best compress it to replicate the sit of the real vehicle.
4
January 15, 2022
The floor provided in the kit is that of the Sd.Kfz. 7/1 or /2 anti-aircraft vehicle, not of the artillery tractor.
5
January 15, 2022
Supports taken back off, transverse ribs cut away and hinges filed off to make it closer to correct for this version.
6
January 16, 2022
Two suspension arms removed from mounting brackets, other yet to be done.
7
January 16, 2022
All arms cut free and brackets glued to chassis, with some plastic card to make up for lost material.
8
January 16, 2022
Mounting brackets sliced off chassis again and glued to subframe instead, to ensure they line up correctly (which they didn’t on the first try).
9
January 17, 2022
Attempt number 3: they’re on the correct arms of the subframe now 🙂
10
January 18, 2022
Chassis with front wheels and roadwheels on, with a piece of hardboard to make up the thickness of the tracks.
11
January 18, 2022
Chassis with suspension arms, axles and some other details added (top view).
12
January 18, 2022
Chassis with suspension arms, axles and some other details added (underside view).
13
January 19, 2022
Left mudguard over the track replaced by a scratchbuilt brass piece.
14
January 22, 2022
Cab with replacement rear, seat plate and sides, as the side walls in the kit were the wrong type and the seat cushions had been nicked from the real vehicle. Also, the mudguard has been bent with fingers and pliers to replicate damage.
15
January 22, 2022
Taken the whole seating area off because it turned out to be based almost entirely on wrong assumptions 🙁
16
January 23, 2022
Basic panels for the seating area, attempt No. 2. The side panels were salvaged from the previous, but with new, square reinforcements added from three lengths of strip.
17
January 23, 2022
Cab’s basic structure complete and temporarily fitted to the chassis.
18
January 24, 2022
Load bed with replacement supports from plastic strip assembled into U-channel shape, and additional details on the inside of the side panels from plastic strip and punched bolt heads.
19
January 26, 2022
Right side of the engine, with a piece of sheet metal above the intake removed, because the spark plugs were under there and would most likely have been pilfered from the engine very rapidly.
20
January 27, 2022
Ledge added below spark plug recesses from plastic strip, and holes for spark plugs drilled, plus carburettor mounting fitted.
21
January 27, 2022
Much of the valve gear built into the top of the engine. Main thing left to add are the rocker arms.
22
January 28, 2022
Underside of load bed detailed, with replacement spare wheel carrier (Dragon’s is far too big) and small fuel tank for under the dashboard.
23
January 28, 2022
Battery box inside the cab.
24
January 29, 2022
Basic shape of the dashboard added, with holes where dials are missing and the fuel tank’s filler tube still needs to be added.
25
January 29, 2022
Replacement mudguard primed with Mr. Surfacer applied with a brush,
26
January 30, 2022
Rocker arms partly added, from triangles cut from plastic strip and discs punched from plastic card. It still needs strip added over the top of each, once the glue is good and dry.
27
January 30, 2022
Radiator added inside the fan shroud from a piece of plastic card covered in fine, metal mesh.
28
January 30, 2022
Rocker arms now complete, by glueing a piece of bent plastic strip over each, and bolt heads added to the things holding the shafts in place.
29
January 30, 2022
Cab with supports for driver’s seats added.
30
January 30, 2022
Dashboard now (almost) finished — it needs a few small things still.
31
January 31, 2022
Added engine bay details: base for air cleaners, guard plate over steering gear with shelf for blowtorches, and relocated horn (which is actually an M113 part).
32
February 1, 2022
The side panels of the load bed, with replacement hinges because Dragon’s are far too big, and rivets added that Dragon also missed.
33
February 2, 2022
Load bed mostly finished, other than a few details.
34
February 2, 2022
Underside of the load bed.
35
February 2, 2022
How the side panel is secured against breaking off: 0.5 mm steel florist’s wire in holes drilled through the frame and the bits of plastic strip.
36
February 3, 2022
More details added to the load bed.
37
February 3, 2022
And additional detail that Dragon “forgot” on the cab, as well as some of the kit’s etched parts and stuff.
38
February 9, 2022
More detail added to the engine. Not there yet, though …
39
February 12, 2022
More details added to the engine as well as the grille.
40
February 9, 2022
Drive wheels with antislip etched parts added (and primed grey), and inner roadwheels fitted with scratchbuilt hubs because the outer wheels had been stolen from the real vehicle.
41
February 12, 2022
Finished model, minus the parts that will be added after painting. The main subassemblies are still loose for ease of airbrushing.
42
February 12, 2022
Finished model, minus the parts that will be added after painting. The main subassemblies are still loose for ease of airbrushing.
43
February 12, 2022
Finished model, minus the parts that will be added after painting. The main subassemblies are still loose for ease of airbrushing.
44
February 13, 2022
All the main parts painted with Mr. Hobby H403 Dark Yellow plus a little Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan thrown in, the tracks with a semi-random mixture of Tamiya XF-52 Dark Earth and XF-1 Flat Black, and the engine with that same mix darkened (a lot) with XF-69 NATO Black.
45
February 14, 2022
Camouflage applied, using the engine cover parts as masks. The patterns are based on the few available pictures of this vehicle.
46
February 14, 2022
Camouflage on the left side, which is almost entirely speculative due to a lack of photos. The paints used are Vallejo 71.043 US Olive Drab and 71.041 RAL8017 Rotbraun, but note that this bottle of OD was far greener than the American colour should be.
47
February 14, 2022
And random sand-coloured clouds sprayed in the large areas that will remain dark yellow, to break up the monotony.
48
February 15, 2022
Dark wash from Mig applied over all the vehicle, but thinned about 1:1 with water because it was far too steong otherwise.
49
February 15, 2022
The wash serves both to shade the model and to create some dirt and wear effects.
50
February 15, 2022
After the wash, the dark yellow parts were drybrushed with the same Mr. Hobby dark yellow used as the base coat, and then with a lighter yellowish sand colour to highlight detail.
51
February 18, 2022
Weathering intended to make it look like rain left streaks on the vehicle, made with downward strokes with an almost dry brush.
52
February 18, 2022
Decals applied. The real vehicle appears to have had plate number WH-999731.
53
February 18, 2022
Some engine details painted and then overall washes applied to shade and dirty the engine.
54
February 18, 2022
Exhaust pipe fitted to the chassis. Don’t follow Dragon’s method, but glue the muffler halved together outside the vehicle, then cut off the front pipe so you can install the muffler and pipe separately after painting.
55
February 18, 2022
Front end with headlamp glass added, plus engine and exhaust manifold temporarily in place. The engine has been drybrushed with dark to medium grey to create highlights.
56
February 20, 2022
Engine compartment finished, except for some minor painting to tie things together better.
57
February 20, 2022
Painted tracks, though they need to be lightened a bit as they seem too dark compared to pictures of the real vehicle.
58
February 20, 2022
Tracks drybrushed to lighten them a bit, and then installed.
59
March 15, 2022
Finished model with junk in the back and a figure for scale.
60
March 15, 2022
61
March 15, 2022
62
March 15, 2022
63
March 15, 2022
64
March 15, 2022
65
March 15, 2022

Comments

29 10 January 2022, 15:13

Robert Podkoński
Cool idea! Watching with pleasure and interest!

10 January 2022, 16:35

Jakko ‌
Thanks, I'm sure it will throw up some surprises that need solutions …

10 January 2022, 18:13

Olivier
I have been to Middelburg but it seems the truck is gone.

16 January 2022, 15:29

Jakko ‌
Yeah, I didn't see it either last time I was there … and I had been meaning to bring my Agfa Box to take some detail snaps of it!

16 January 2022, 18:13

Olivier
One step backward and two forward is still progress.

26 January 2022, 19:33

Jakko ‌
And better than the "3 steps forward, 2 steps back" someone referred to this model on another forum 🙂

26 January 2022, 21:10

Joerg R.
Cool Project 👍

26 January 2022, 21:43

Jakko ‌
Thanks 🙂

27 January 2022, 09:59

Michael Kohl
building the cylinder head? Well, now you got me.

27 January 2022, 16:43

Jakko ‌
Great! 🙂

This build is (another) derelict vehicle as it stood after the war, and if you look closely at this photo of it: [img1] (click the green field with a "1" below), you can see that the valve cover on the engine is missing, so I find myself having to build what's underneath that …

27 January 2022, 18:12

Dietmar Bogatzki
Fantastic scratchbuilding of the engine and other parts 👍

13 February 2022, 16:21

Jakko ‌
Thanks 🙂

13 February 2022, 18:13

Olivier
I am always hesitant as to the colour an engine should be painted. I like the path you chose.

18 February 2022, 15:46

Jakko ‌
I don't know the colour it should have, really. All I know is that photos of the real vehicle show a dark engine block, and I've seen photos in books of dark grey engines in restored Sd.Kfz.7s — but also one painted dark yellow, in a vehicle whose restoration accuracy is not that great anyway, I think, so I decided to go with a generic dark grey.

18 February 2022, 18:23

Rui S
Looking good 👍

19 February 2022, 11:17

Album info

A model of an Sd.Kfz. 7 stripped of useful parts, as it stood in Markt square in the town of Middelburg, Netherlands, after the war.

Stripped Sd.Kfz. 7

65 images

1:35

Completed

1:35 Sd.Kfz. 7 8t Late Production (Dragon 6562)

1:35 Sd.Kfz. 7 - Radiator Grill (Panzer Art RE35-045)

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