Inspired by apophenia’s wonderful profile and back story (
HERE), I decided to have a go at it.
This is my base kit. Got it at 50% off. Which means it’s now only slightly more expensive than a comparable Zvezda or Revell kit.
Dragon’s kit isn’t the best moulded kit out there. I had to sand off flash on every single part. Slide moulds are cool, but when they’re improperly used, they mean more work instead of less.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_01 by
Motschke, on Flickr
17pdr barrel by RB Models
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_02 by
Motschke, on Flickr
To quote Bob Ross: “Here’s your bravery test!” First cuts. Lots of them. The running gear has one less road wheel. Therefore, the running gear, hull and sponsons had to be shortened by about one road wheel bogie length. Cuts are pretty rough. Used the trusty JLC razor saw, but I somehow always managed to get them lopsided. I don’t want to blame the tool (bad workmen and so on…), but I think the way the razor saw attaches to the handle imparts some twist on the blade if you apply any pressure. More cuts by a disc saw in the Proxxon. Shoulda used my trusty coping saw instead. In the end, the cuts weren’t too bad. Thanks to some Tamiya angled plastic profile, it all lined up rather nicely.
The running gear is made from two parts per side. To keep some structural integrity, I cut out single bogie bits at different locations. Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_03 by
Motschke, on Flickr
To lower the idlers, I simply cut of the extreme tips of the sides in order to swap them and thus turn them around. The parts attached here to the right side are actually from the left side. I figured that would be the easiest way to lower the idler.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_04 by
Motschke, on Flickr
The white styrene bits on the left (below the idler) are there to reinforce the join where the cut-off tips have been reattached. Since this kit uses rubber band tracks – Dragon’s DS track are still rubber bands! -, I figured the idler needs all the support it can get. The white styrene bit on the right will hold another styrene rod that will attach directly to the idler.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_05 by
Motschke, on Flickr
Second rod in place. This will – I hope! – adequately keep stress imparted by the rubber band tracks off the idler axes.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_06 by
Motschke, on Flickr
Dragon’s track don’t fit the idler teeth too well (same goes for the drive sprockets). Any invisible teeth will have to go.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_07 by
Motschke, on Flickr
Pulling teeth. No anesthesia. Looks much better, though. The track in the foreground – tensioned by lots of force exerted by a file – looks… okay-ish. The bit between the idler wheel and the top of the sponson still bows upwards. Unrealistic! It should sag ever so slightly. Damn rubber band!
The track in the background isn’t tensioned. I hope Dragon’s DS tracks do actually glue with plastic glue and bond with the plastic of the sponsons. The way the length of track between the idler wheel and the top of the sponsons looks is critical to a realistic look.
I hate rubber band tracks.
You can also see where the cuts on the sponson sides join. The upper part will be hidden by the exhausts. The lower will need a bit of putty. Even the tow cables line up rather well.
ChernayaAkula_Churchill_17pdr_08 by
Motschke, on Flickr
So much for now. Hope to get cracking on the casemate tomorrow.