SMK-18 Typ2
Since there is a seat on the left side of the gun, but there are no controls, I decided to make an aiming computer from scratch for this side.
Another side of the computer. Wires are still missing.
The computer place on a cannon carriage (not glued yet)
Front view
The aiming computer Flakvisier 40 example: 2cm Flakvierling 38
I sanded the welds seams and cut grooves in their place. The original welds seemed to me too high, instead of them I will make over new ones from Tamia's epoxy putty.
Here too, I sanded off the welded seams, I will make over new ones instead.
The body of sight Visierkopf 38 from scratch. Front view.
The sight is temporarily glued to the sprue. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to hold it by hand.
The sight is temporarily glued to the sprue. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to hold it by hand.
The body of sight Visierkopf 38, rearview. The cable is not attached to socked yet.
Sides of breech housing. From scratch, I made new side parts of the spent cartridges ejection channel. The original one seemed to me too rough and connected to the hull at the wrong angle. I plan to cut it off and attach a new one at the right angle.
The lower part of breech housing. I cut through the window for the ejection of the spent cartridges and made several internal parts, that will be partially visible through the upper window.
The breech housing. Parts are not glued yet.
Das Werk made the breech housing absolutely empty. And this emptiness is visible through the top and lower windows. I made something similar to the internal mechanisms from scratch.
The breech housing with internal mechanisms. The details have not yet been glued.
I finished doing from scratch Visierkopf 38 sight with mounting structure. I made the mounting construction like a 2cm Flak 38, it looks more technological to me, with more interesting and intricate details. The length of the sight is only 9.6mm, but making this whole mechanism from scratch was a real challenge.
For this all, I used 0.3 and 0.5 mm plastic sheets, sprue, and a few bolts from the Meng set (these different sizes of bolts and nuts sets are very useful).
I finished the barrels - I sanded the flash dampers from inside to their actual thickness and drilled holes in them (holes diameter 0,2mm). Each damper has 36 holes, and we have 8 barrels, believe me, this is a lot of work to fix it.
I reworked the top of the cannon breech box - I sanded the side details of the window to 0.3mm - it was almost a millimeter, I did the other details from scratch because it had nothing to do with the original. Spring on the axle is made of 0.1 mm wire.
The trigger is made from scratch. For some reason, this detail is not present in the model.
Trigger in place
Sight Visierkopf 38 with Zielfernrohr from scratch is done, and cables are attached.
I finished the aiming computer from scratch and connected the 2 cables to him
The aiming computer panel
Connected cables. View from inside
I redesigned the seats - I cut off the soft part of the backs.
From scratch, I made footrests and a firing pedal mechanism. The set includes photo-etched parts for the footrests, but they have nothing to do with reality, so I didn’t use them.
From scratch, I made footrests and a firing pedal mechanism. The set includes photo-etched parts for the footrests, but they have nothing to do with reality, so I didn’t use them.
A firing pedal and mechanism. The cable from copper wire: core 0.3 mm, outside 0.1 mm.
I finally added a place for loaders (I very like this huge balcony 🙂) and a couple of small things on the gun carriage from scratch - a box for battery, various fixing loops, etc.
From scratch, on the right side, I added a handle, pipe for sight electric cable, remade a cable attaching mechanism from the shooting pedal. On the left side, I made a box for battery and wire from him.
Finally, I started painting the model! Looks awful, I understand, but this is just a basic color for chipping. The bed and carriage were painted by Tamiya acrylic, a breech box with Model Master.
The edges of the bed and carriage in places of more probable wear were coated with Mr. Metal's metallic Stainless Steel.
The edges of the bed and carriage in places of more probable wear were coated with Mr. Metal's metallic Stainless Steel.
Only after finishing painting the first layer did I notice that I forgot to make two welds in a very visible place. I didn’t want to repaint the detail, so I managed to make the seams out of a stretched sprue. After several tests, it turned out that Tamiya plastic is best suited for this.
Second coat of paint. I used chipping fluid between the first and second layers. The next coat will be varnish, then again chipping fluid, and a slightly lighter gray color. The overall color will be much lighter than German gray because I want to make strong marks of exploitation, so the overall color will be darker anyway.
The third coat of paint - is a little lighter color. The surface now has many more shades. Unfortunately, not very visible in the photos.
I made factory numbers. I used numbers and letters from German registration plate decals. The letter M is inverted by W, the letter V is circumcised by W.
I sprayed letter F over the serial number with the stencil - the sixth gun in the Flak battery. The letter got too bright, but it's easy to correct.
Victory signs are painted with a stencil. Strange place in the circle - not yet glued cannon control panel.
Elevating mechanism.
Elevating mechanism. View from inside.
The cables are not yet connected to the aiming computer. Both device tables are the decals of the German radio station umformers.
Cannon azimuth and elevation controllers.
The panel line wash, and I started to paint dust and a little rust. The bright colors look weird so far, but since I'm going to make the cannon dusty, especially the lower frame, all the bright colors will only be slightly visible after the pigments.
Later, I plan to treat the top of the cannon frame with graphite to look like worn paint to bare metal off by crew boots.
I almost finished painting and assembling the main body. So far, the loading levers with handles are missing, I will glue them later.
Comments
53 2 August 2021, 23:09
VytautasThanks for the kind words, guys!
I'm sorry, Gerald, but you didn't guess... 🙂 It's not a guitar string.
The guitar string is too stiff for me. The cable I made from 0.3 mm copper wire (core) and 0.25 mm soldering wire (outer). The whole cable thickness is 0.8 mm.
16 September 2021, 16:23
GeraldAh ok but see the cool hydraulic line from the "Falken" here. A guitar side is usually faster. There are also soft bass sides 😉
Republic Star Destroyer | Project by Sir Grobian (1:2274)
16 September 2021, 18:00
VytautasThanks, Gerald for the link, it looks really good. But since I'm not a musician, and I don't know anything about guitar strings, it turned out to be easier for me to make the cable myself. Winding a cable is not a problem at all - I make about 10 cm of cable in less than 5 minutes
I first wind about 20 turns, then use the fingers of one hand to take the already winded part and roll between the fingers. I hold the fingers of the other hand slightly compressing both wires perpendicular to each other. Slightly compressed fingers become like a thread and the winding wire slips between the fingers and winds on a core wire tightly. It's really easy.
16 September 2021, 18:46
SpanjaardOn ebay you can buy cheap guitar strings , by the meter, and by size, so not much musical knowledge is needed 😉
Probably also from local musical store
16 September 2021, 21:06
VytautasThank you, Rui S, as always thanks for looking in and for your kind comments
12 January 2022, 21:30
TreehuggerOh, wow, for a moment I thought I was looking at a 3d computer rendering.
13 January 2022, 08:29
MariusI had no idea what this thing was before doing a search. Unique topic! Masterpiece work there!!!
13 January 2022, 09:05
VytautasThanks, gorby. It is a pity that work with the model is going so slowly, as always, there is not enough time.
15 January 2022, 21:03
VytautasHi Kathleena, thanks for the kind words! I know you like trucks and dioramas. Not a truck here, and I can't change that anymore 🙂, but a diorama with this Flak I plan to do.
16 January 2022, 09:48
VytautasThanks, Kathleena. Much appreciated.
In terms of learning, I think it's best to visit the large but well-organized forum that goes into more detail about modeling and various technologies. I would recommend britmodeller.com, they are wonderful and very friendly people, with whom it is very pleasant to communicate, and really learn a lot.
21 January 2022, 16:25
VytautasAčiū Audriau! Thanks, Audrius!
I decided that the gray base and red main body would be an interesting and not boring color combination.
12 February 2022, 18:59
