I have a second-batch KT, so I'm well behind the other builder's posts. This is my first project, but it has already been alot of fun, and I'm just getting started.
I do want to give acknowledgment to the other posters -- I have reviewed and taken notes on all of the various techniques and upgrades, so you will see that I will be incorporating many of these ideas into my build. Hopefully, I can contribute something new before I'm done.
Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated.
Some minor fitting to get the side panniers where I wanted them.
After getting the initial fitting close, I disassembled everything to work on getting the surface texture roughened to simulate rolled steel. I used Kent Wiik's technique to place random dremel tool marks in the plates.
Next, all of the flat plates were cleaned and primed.
After applying several coats of Mr Surfacer 500 and sanding to get the roll-steel effect, it became apparent that I my dremel marks were too deep and didn't look scale. Oh well, just a minor setback. I then coated each plate three times with Mr Surfacer, sanding back to the primer between coats to "erase" the marks so that the ones that remained were very shallow and blended with the surface.
Next, I started to tackle the driver's port cutout in the glacis plate. It needed to be made larger and cut further up the plate. After 1/2 day of filing the cutout, I then filled in the slot from the milling cutter so that the driver's plate and the upper deck fit snuggly. The orange clay was used to build a square dam to hold the JB weld while it setup.
After some more filing, it's starting to get close, although it needs to have more taper on the sides (it actually looks alot better than the photo suggests
). I have a milling machine on order, so I will stop and see if I can figure out how to mill the rest of the cut.
For some late night diversion, I followed Dale Jordan's lead and used filler to fill-in the screen sides. It works very well.
Tim Bowman gave me some tips in applying casting numbers, so I decided to gave that a try. Results turned out well, just wish that I had a little larger font, lower-case dkr, and eyes that were 20 years younger.
BTW, does any know if there is a good source for large scale drawings of the KT
I've been using photos and small line drawings from reference books, but if there's a better source for accurate technical data, please let me know.
