Panzer 111 L

[phil fitzpatrick]

Outside at last and a few more photo's until broken track reversing back off the stones,learn the hard way.

[Adrian Harris]

Great looking Panzer Phil

> broken track reversing back off the stones,learn the hard way

Ouch

1:1 sized stones are the arch enemy of these tanks. Well, apart from dog mines

I've got pea shingle on part of the garden and even that plays havoc with the Sherman suspension. The Panzer III tracks are much less substantial than the Sherman ones so I'm thinking I may have to make some plywood planks to be able to traverse the stones without risking any damage.

Adrian.

[phil fitzpatrick]

Thanks Adrian.
Yes I will be taking your advice and using some ply now that I have fond out how fragile the track links are.
I think my big patio which I thought was ideal is also suspect because its natural stone and the edges never line up like the flat slabs,so after a 45 deg turn to line up for the door broke another link(2 repairs in half an hour)I think it will be plywood where I have to turn to reach the grass.
Cheers
Phil

[Adrian Harris]

I'm surprised just turning on slabs broke a link - I've got fake York stone flags on our patio and, although they have rounded edges, there is quite a pronounced "texture" to them.

Looks like I'll be tearing up the grass in future

Adrian.

[Nick Farrugia]

hello phil
great pictures its good to see it out side sorry to here about the tracks something to look out for that, i have found that if you try and keep both tracks turning ,obviously one turning faster than the other on turns
it helps decrease the risk of it catching when driving over stoney or uneven hard ground try it next time. keep the skid turns for the lovely lawn
you have ,or perhaps not .the drivers obs slit looks realy good phil and the whole tank looks great
best wishes
nick

[Jim Fowler]

Phil,

I too want to give my admiration and congradulations on your Panzer III! And, I too am thinking of making mine from the 10th Panzer as well.

Best Wishes.

[phil fitzpatrick]

Working on my interior after seeing Stephens Bovington photo's

[Lawrence Godson]

Hello Phil,

Your Pz III looks great! I'm inspired to put more hours in on mine (which resembles a turkey carcass after dinner at the moment). I was wondering about your problem with broken tracks. Is it possible that your tank is sitting a bit low on the suspension? This might cause the swing arms to hit the bump stops sooner and possibly take a little "give" out of the system when a stone gets in between the track and a road wheel. I'm nowhere near seeing how low mine will sit when it is loaded up so this is just a wild guess on my part.

[phil fitzpatrick]

Hi Lawrence
You won't know where to stop once you start getting your detail on.
My Left Idler wheel was a bit too close to the rear road wheel so I adjusted them,I know they are different each side because of the layout of the torque rods,but it must have touched the tyre.
But I think my track tension was too tight aswell and I was a fool going up the gravel path after all the wet weather we have had,because the water table is at a high level and only just under the gravel,so the further it sunk the more gravel spilled into the tracks.
It seems a lot better now and I've got some decent glue now if any mor of my tyres come loose.
My second track break was on the stone patio which is natural stone and uneven adges.
I think that I turned too sharp with a stoped track and caught the edge of the slab and again the track tension may not have helped.
I learn the hard way then try not to repeat it.
Good luck with your model and hope you post some pictures later.
Cheers
Phil

[Robert E Morey]

Phil,
Nice looking P3, great details, nice paint job. Sorry to hear about the broken track - thats never fun.

[Nick Farrugia]

hello phil
great pictures i like the seat ,and the inside of the doors look great
you have done areal nice job
best wishes
nick

[Lawrence Godson]

Thanks for the encouragement Phil. I'm already knee deep into detail.

[clive Lockwood]

hi Phil, your panzer looks great in the pictures and a great paint job too well done, your right about the idler touching the road wheel i can see it in the pics, it almost looks to me as if it's riding too low theres quite a gap on mine between the idler and wheel, have you checked the torsion bar fixings for tightness

[Sarah Frazer]

Hi Phil,

Regarding the left hand side idler which is touching the road wheel. Have you pinned the suspension shafts to the suspension arms? I think it's the left hand side suspension arm/shaft thread which can come loose.


Regards,

Sarah

[phil fitzpatrick]

Thanks Clive and Sarah
I think my suspension shafts were set closer to 30 deg instead of the 40 deg recommended(mistake).
I soon discovered the suspension arm problem early on in the assembly just trying it out by hand they came undone,and I used 3mm grub screws at first which wasnt much better,then I spotted the posting for pinning the shafts,so I did that.
I must admit I didnt have much confidence in the two small grub screws attatching the torque rod to the arms holding out but touch wood they seem to be ok,the 6mm one on the left rear was a bit loose so i have improved it a bit now.
I will be taking soom more photo's soon because I've just finished my MG set up on the cuppola and I have started the gunners seating arrangement for inside the turret.
Cheers
Phil