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Hekimpd
@Jean-Christophe Zeus: Thank you very much for your en-depth response! I find it interesting you use pink oil paint for dot filtering. I'm in the process of doing oil paint work on the lower hull of a pzkpfw ii and will be following up with pigments. I appreciate the explanation. Again, fantastic work sir.

James C
Thanks for the info Jean. I recall the Tamiya kit had a similar box in the same position and always wondered what it was 😉👍

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Thank you! The front of the vehicle is more or less conjecture. The pictures of 132 only show the rear. But other pictures of s.Pz.Abt. 510 show that this unit used a unique method of holding the spare tracks on the lower hull front: they welded a U-shaped bar between the two hull side extensions. These bars were additionally stabilzed by two more short bars welded to the hull front. So there was space for nine links separated into groups of three. I used Evergreen U-profiles for this.
The track links welded to the drivers' front plate were often attached in this fashion.
All in all chosing this kti for a return to the hobby turned out to be a mistake. The guy who sold me the Tamiya kit was well-meaning, thinking I wanted a hassle-free build out of the box. That I became a rivet counter he couldn't anticpate.
Lots of things wrong with this kit. Most egregious is the 25mm roof plate and the 700mm idler wheel. The tracks are single link, but the guide teeth are solid. I tried my best to correct the turret roof.

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work so far.

Jean-Christophe Zeus
Now I think the model is ready for painting. I left off the two rear armour plates for now, otherwise it'll be difficult to paint the louvres and the sides of the engine compartment. The headlight is also kept for later, and the superstructure roof is not glued on yet. I'll paint the lower hull and running gear first, install the tracks when they are burnished and weathered, and only then I'll do the upper hull.

Mr James
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