I've made some good progress with the build.
The 3D printed tracks were a pain to build, but it was mostly my fault. The first batch of prints the program that I used put them to close together on the build plate resulting in a lot of them getting stuck together & failing
For the second batch I manually arranged the tracks but then I didn't fully cure them after the print resulting in the tracks being very fragile & most of them braking during construction. Finally third time lucky I didn't have any issues & put together the 198 tracks I needed. With that said it was very satisfying to design, print & build the tracks myself. Especially when it only cost me €1 in 3D printer resin, compared to the €30 it would cost for a set of AM ones
I applied some Mr. Surfacer to add some armour texture to the very smooth resin hull. Weld seam detail was added with green stuff putty which was a big improvement over the simple panel lines the kit had. After that the rest of the kit went together very quickly without much issue. I added a few extra parts such as a lamp from the spare box & some wire to power it. The kit comes with a radio antena mount but no actual antena, so I fitted a brass one from RB models (see in pics below).
The only really difficult part was the exhausts which didn't fit because the main pipe was about 1mm to short to fit into their locating hole, in the end I had to trim a bit off the end of the pipes to make it fit. I also drilled out the (other) ends of the exhausts as they only had a shallow hole. I still need to fill a few gaps around the engine deck & find/3D print some mesh to go over the engine grill.
The turret already has some cast texture but as I had the Mr. Surfacer so out I added a bit more. The front of the turret goes from a round curve to protruding box, it looks like it would have been a separate part IMO so I added a weld seam around it. I also added a handle to the hatch with some wire & some lifting loops to the turret's roof, which would have been a necessary feature as the only was to access the tank's transmission would be to remove the turret.
With that the build is nearly done, just the few bits with then engine deck that I mentioned above & maybe adding some spare tracks or a rolled up tarp as stowage etc. Due to circumstances I wont be able to start painting this build until next month, in the mean time I might start on another TNH/38(t) build. I haven't decided on what yet but it will probably be another obscure prototype or paper proposal.