Jadgtiger in the US

[Don Gray]

Its got legs! Dad and I got the suspension in yesterday.

We also modded the bushings to accept an o-ring to keep out fine desert dust. In addition all seams of the hull have been sealed with RTV.

Time to get rolling!

[Robert E Morey]

Looking really good Don. There's something about a good coat of dark yellow that does it. Your monster is coming to life!
Best regards,
B

[Don Gray]

On another front, I got my hex head caps from shapeways and they seem to be working really well.

These are to dress up the 3mm Cap Head bolts in the engine and front decks. They allow you to use the standard Armortek hardware and have a hex head look to the bolts.

If you'd like to use them they can be ordered from Shapeways @ https://www.shapeways.com/product/2FPQ9 ... head-bolts

Although they are printed as one item, the shapeways process results in them being individually separated and shipped in a little bag.

Here are some pictures.

[Robert E Morey]

Nice a little 3D printed plug. Clever solution!
B

[Don Gray]

Nice a little 3D printed plug. Clever solution!
B

Thanks! I have my moments!

[Don Gray]

Not much to show this week, worked on Idler hubs a bit, worked on hubcaps a bit. Should have an update in a few days to show the hubcaps with all their accoutrements.

Got my battery in, Relion RB24V20 (https://relionbattery.com/products/lithium/rb24v20) and tested the motors to make sure they spin and didn't make any weird noises.

Got the drives hubs and motors mounted. Used dry graphite as is recommended on the gears. Also ran a bead of RTV between the gear cases and the mounts to prevent infiltration into the inside of the tank.

Did some small distracting things, Track hooks and track tags mounted. I ended up countersinking the holes in the track hooks and using 2.5x16mm CSKs to secure them instead of the cap head screws.

Also got the "Kubinka" "lug" made and mounted above the left rear door and re-positioned the above door grab handle a little lower as owner Lerh Chang had pointed out in a previous post. Went to make the "circular lug" which I believe is an MG34 mount point that's above the grab handle and didn't have the right size tubing. Will post a picture when it's complete.

Need to touch up the Dunkelgelb on the upper hull and do some highlights. Once I do that, I'll add some highlights to the wheels and get those installed. Hoping that's by this coming weekend.

Busy week at work this week so next post will be Saturday or Sunday.

One last thing. I am planning on mounting a gun in the Jadgtiger, so I'm most likely going to make the roof panel removable. So just started thinking about how I'll do a magnetic mounting system for the roof panel.

[Phil Woollard]

Hi Don where are you sourcing the cannon from, or are you going to make one?

[Chang]

...Went to make the "circular lug" which I believe is an MG34 mount point that's above the grab handle and didn't have the right size tubing. ...

Hi Don,

According lots of Kubinka museum's photos, there are 4 additional " "circular lug (also called 2 tons crane mount or "pilze" ) on the middle of the 4 edges of the combat compartment. I think they are in same function as the 4 "turret boss (CP0152)" in Armortek's manual, on the top roof:

4 of 2 tons crane mount on the roof. Only 3 shown in this photo.

1-6 JT-56-2.JPG (88.24 KiB) Viewed 4243 times

So I reckon it is in same diameter as the CP0152, ie, 12 cm outer diameter, and 6cm in inner one. Only different in length. I have bought a 12cm aluminium rod, for adding of these 4 parts.

Regards,
Lerh Chang

[Don Gray]

Hi Don where are you sourcing the cannon from, or are you going to make one?

Phil,

I have two 20mm AT Rifles (Lahti L-39 and Southern s18-1000) so I was considering using the same 20x138mm Solothurn ammo that they both use. I have a spare barrel for the Lahti that I could use... BUT... That's A LOT of recoil to put on the barrel mechanism for the tank. It would be cool being actually scale and all, but I think it would require substantial engineering.

The current plan is to go with a semi-auto shotgun. They sell them here in the states as a "firearm" and they're slightly over 26" overall length and are a close approximation bore wise in 12 GA. 12 GA 3" slugs pack a punch so I think it will be acceptable without requiring hydraulics to handle the recoil.

In the US if you use a servo to fire the gun the ATF considers it as if you have made a machine gun which are heavily regulated here. So it will be fired with a lanyard through the back doors. I am considering a mechanism to eject spent 20mm Solothurn cases out of the rear doors for effect after firing, but just getting the gun mount built will be enough for the first step.

Alternatively I do own machine-guns so I could mount a short barreled M16A1 inside the tank. Since it's already a machine gun, I could then fire it by servo electronically. But I'm probably not going to do that.

[Don Gray]

So I reckon it is in same diameter as the CP0152, ie, 12 cm outer diameter, and 6cm in inner one. Only different in length. I have bought a 12cm aluminium rod, for adding of these 4 parts.

Regards,
Lerh Chang

Oh I see it now! In a couple of the photos I can see the 3 other edge mounted lugs... huh. What the heck were these for???

Thank you very much for this! To be honest, I haven't looked at the roof details at all at this point, I'm pretty much saving it for last. But I have seen the kit supplied 2T crane sockets on the JT.

So you think these are also 2T crane sockets? When I only thought there was a rear one I was thinking it was an MG-34 mount similar to the rear mounts for 250 & 251 series halftracks. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi ... anomag.php

But with 4 that doesn't make sense. Why would adding more options for the 2 Ton Jib-Boom crane mounting be necessary or beneficial?

[Chang]

So you think these are also 2T crane sockets? When I only thought there was a rear one I was thinking it was an MG-34 mount similar to the rear mounts for 250 & 251 series halftracks. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi ... anomag.php

According sketches and words from some Japanese publications, These 4 "turret bosses (pilzes)" are also 2-tons cranes mounts added after February 1945.

I agree with that explanation. They were too shallow to be MG mount socket. Unlike the open-top Sd. kfz. 250 & 251 half track, crews are busy operating the huge 12.8cm PAK80, inside the totally enclosed combat compartment. No way to operate any MG if mounted on any of them.

Regards,
Lerh Chang

[Don Gray]

No way to operate any MG if mounted on any of them.

Regards,
Lerh Chang

Plus there was the MG-42 mounted on the rear deck