Sdkfz 7 rebuild

[Mark Russell]

Hi I recently acquired a half Track and 88mm and I have made a start on some refurbishment. First task is the wheels. In order to reduce wheel wobble on the central inner wheels I have done the following;
Replaced the 8mm brass bushes with 8mm phosphor bronze on the outer road wheel
Replaced the 12mm brass bushes with needle roller bearings complete with oil seal on the inner road wheels
I then loctited together the inner and outer wheels which completely eliminates any wobble full stop
Not sure if anybody else has tried this but it seems like it will work ok...

[Mark Russell]

A few more pictures of the rebuild. I wasn’t intending on a complete strip down but having found numerous loose fixings etc I decided to strip back to the chassis in order that I could check everyday over properly and thoroughly. I do need a pinion gear for the end of one of the drive motors, does anybody have a spare one that they would be willing to part with?

[Mark Russell]

Hi I purchased some wash for dark yellow German vehicles at the south west model show yesterday and thought that I would have a go at weathering the wheels on the half Track. Quite pleased with the results considering that I have never attempted this before.

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

Very nicely done! Just enough to bring out the details!

[Mark Russell]

A little more progress on the half track;
Gearboxes and motors sorted out
Wheel hubs greased and fitted
It’s much easier to work on the running gear when it’s upside down, except it gets a bit heavy to turn the right way up!
All of the refurbishment work on the running gear now completed
Time for the bodywork and further detailing
Some pictures;

[simon_manning]

Great looking vehicle, still my Favorite, regards simon manning.

[Mark Russell]

Holes drilled in front seat aluminium block to allow future easy access to the front motor mounting allen head bolts. The rear motor mounting bolts are hex head and can be accessed from the sides without too much trouble.

[Robert E Morey]

Really cool SDKFZ 7 - even upside down. Your wash looks great. I love the steering wheel wrap - nice detail. Nice work all round.
Best regards,
Bob

[Mark Russell]

Hi discovered that the winch wasn’t working today, having previously checked it, so took the motor and winch out. Decided then to strip and rebuild the winch, no lubrication inside it at all by the looks of it, so cleaned it, greased it up and rebuilt it. The end of the winch cable was just taped to the drum so I drilled a hole and cross tapped it to take a M3 bolt in order to security clamp the cable. All working now as it should. It is rather slow though. Has anybody fitted a lower ratio gearbox to the motor in order to speed it up? I guess I’ll probably never really use it but I had to have it fully functioning...

[Mark Russell]

Making some more progress on the half track. Electrics all done, all under the bonnet, but kept batteries in the rear as in my previous experience too much weight over the front wheels means that you’ll need a jumbo servo conversion to effect the steering. Started painting as well using Tamiya acrylics which are my favourite.

[simon_manning]

Nice Work Mark on the 7, Batteries in the back is a good idea, I have no room in mine to relocate to the rear and i'm on a small servo, could go wrong yet, regards simon manning.

[Mark Russell]

My first attempt at some sort of weathering. Still work in progress...

[Robert E Morey]

Looks great! Rough and ready for action.
Bob

[Mark Russell]

A little more progress...

[Phil Woollard]

Looking good Mark!