PANZER IV BUILD no 012

[John Fitzsimons]

Bullet guard is great. I was just about to ask if it was a kit part. Noticed then you made it.
Did you get gun cleaning rods in your kit. I did'nt but saw no mention on the list pf parts either.

[Nick Farrugia]

HI John
no i didnt have any cleaning rods , can you tell me if you have the cover that goes on the front of the mantlet next to the gun sight i havent got one but there are holes their ,im not too bothered about it because i could go without or with im just wondering if i had one i would probably use it.
allthe best ............nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Is this the cover over the view port on the mantlet? I'm in work but I can chech tonight. Funny that cleaning rods not supplied with the kit. There is a cleaning rod bracket. Another part to make then.

[Nick Farrugia]

yes thats the one ,their are two holes there but nothing to bolt on just wondering
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi to all
did a bit yesterday and today on the rain guards above the doors and the handles as well
i used 1.6 mmsteel sheet for the rainguards and 3.2mm welding rod for the handles ,the guards are fixed to the roof perminantly so they will come away with the roof ,or lift off with the roof when i,ve made up my mind on how to secure it , eather with hinges or magnets so i still got access to the turret
next i had to make a new machinegun i was one short the one i had was quit short so i used that for the turet and made a slightly longer one for the hull ,i also drilled them out ready for the l.e.d lights to go in latter on
i did find that when i instaled the turet machinegun it kept the externall mantlet in position soi might not make a bracket for that ,will have to have a think .All the best ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Hi Nick, happy New Year, checked my kit. No cover for the mantlet and nothing on inventory but illustration on cover of manual shows the cover? Like you I only got one MG even though inventory shows 2?
Magnets should work well with the turret roof. Great work on the rain gutter.

[Nick Farrugia]

Hello John
Happy new year to you too,thanks for having a look for me i guess i will be doing the type that hasnt got one the machinegun wasnt too bad to do so not worried ,if you need one just let me know ,i should imagine that you could do one yourself judging by your tiger and do a better job of it, but the offer is their .
Thanks again ,all the best ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Hi Nick, great job on the mg. was wondering what you used to make them. I have a couple of dragon mgs. I want to fit LEDs. If you drill put one of them you can connect to the sound unit. Bit odd that the view port cover left out as holes are there. I want to make a working version anyway.

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi John
i used some steel rod i had handy and just turned it down to the same dimensions as the armortek one they are slightly out of scale but I dont mind because i use the standard size L.E.D in them (5mm diameter ) .
All the best ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Very neat job. I noticed with the Tiger that the MG was out of scale. Will you put LEDs in both?

[Nick Farrugia]

HI John
thanks, i will be putting L.E.DS in both guns like my pziii but this time ,if i can? i will try to seperate them from eachother so i can alternate between them ,on the pz iii they both lit up together ,it is ok but would like to try doing it the other way i think it looks better ,just need to ask on the forum when i,m ready.
all the best,,,,,,,,,,nick

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi to all
quiet day today i decided to do some small casting for the hatch locking levers i originally made these for my panzer 111 ,so the mould i am using is a bit worse for ware but its done ok the metal im using is used in the trade it melts at water boiling point so it is easy to use i had a small quantity given to me .The mold is made from a product called repro rubber ,its a two part liquid that when combined goes of to a rubber consitancy (make your patern put it in a sutable container mixe it up and pore in the mould compound and let it set ,take your patern out and start casting) I was lucky in that i already had the mould ,the only drawback is the metal is expensive and so is the reprorubber mould material . The handles are not correct i find that the more complicated the item is the more problems i encountered so i kept it simple I tried to make it uneversal in use ,this is why its got three locking tabs i remove the tabs when i want a left hand one or right hand one or straight up . This way ,one patern multy use. I have used other things like milliput to make molds in the past it has got quite a high melting point so is quiet good for this sort of thing but again you carnt cast too complicated items . This is the mould for the handles i now it,s a bit crude but it works ,this next mould i made again for the pz111 for the towe rope brackets again crude but it works
this next one is for the lifting hooks again for the pz111 ,this one is made from milliput more complicated shape so diferant type of mould

i have posted this to give some an idea of what you can do on the kitchen stove (when the misses is out of caurse) Finally the hatch with the handles fixed on ,they are a bit chunky but trying to cast more finely detailed ones was problematic for me ,i am just tinkering with casting and am learning all the time ,hope that some have found this interesting and might have a go as well .Regards to all ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[Steve Lewington]

Hi Nick

Great job on the castings bud and the build is fantastic well done.
Am now waiting for the next instalment,lol.
All the best bud.

Steve

[Nick Farrugia]

Hi Steve
thanks for the encoragement your plans have been busy helping me out already its great being able to check sizes and see things in the size you want before you start .If there is anything i can do , just say or p.m me .
all the best ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nick

[John Fitzsimons]

Hi Nick,
I have some experience with making moulds for white metal and resin casting. The rubber I use can pick up prety much any detail and is realy durable. Do not know if my supplier can ship internationally but I can check if any body interested. Think he has a website. Price for 1kg of rubber is about €52 for white metal rubber. The rubber for resin casting is cheaper. Great parts. The lifting hooks are great. Must have a look at you panzer111 build. Latches look great also. One the problems with castings is how to justify the cost of making a mould when you just need a few parts.