Blackadder's Landkreuzer P500; Der Wühlmaus

Blackadder · Mar 13, 2015

Road Wheel Covers:

You would think that scribing the road wheel covers would be a simple matter but proportion, spacing and plotting required a LOT of work to get them right and whether they are right is subjective.

Anyway after numerous attempts i finally have obtained reasonable results shown here.

http://i.imgur.com/twLEzBj.jpg

Now all that needs be done is scoring the covers to simulate the panel seams.

http://i.imgur.com/HhL5fz6.jpg

wargamesculptor · Mar 13, 2015

What do you use to score into the plastic BA, as I get mixed results in this process ?

Blackadder · Mar 13, 2015

I use my standard "Utility knife"

and an incredibly steady hand.

wargamesculptor · Mar 13, 2015

On a good day I can do the steady hand, but had been using a scalpel. Will give your way a go, thank's BA

Blackadder · Mar 15, 2015

How To Drill the Holes:

Well how I do it anyway.

http://i.imgur.com/Qv408va.jpg

First you have to measure where the holes will go and that is self-explanatory and needs no expounding on but here is where your eye is better than pains taking measurements. If it looks right it's close enough we're not going to quibble about fractions of a millimeter.

Tools you will need:
http://i.imgur.com/85wWSdu.jpg

Next take your #11 sharp tip Xacto blade and auger a tiny hole in the plastic where you will be drilling the pilot hole; this will keep the drill bit from wandering once you start drilling.

Now you're gonna need a lot of holes and they have to line up reasonably well so check the augered hole in relation to the panel edge and the seam edge so if it's the tiniest bit off you can adjust it by tipping the drill bit to force the hole in the direction you want the correction.

http://i.imgur.com/KWtp0BW.jpg

Now take your Pin Vise and hand drill all the pilot holes making sure they are reasonable straight and of a uniform depth. I don't recommend power drills for this as the material is too soft and will melt at high speed drilling.

Once you have all the pilot holes drilled hand drill all the proper width holes

http://i.imgur.com/YP45Ud4.jpg

I have two Pin Vises to make the work easier.

http://i.imgur.com/Qv408va.jpg

Blackadder · Mar 17, 2015

The Beat Goes On:

Once the holes were drilled I filled the inner deeper hole with sixteenth inch styrene dowel

http://i.imgur.com/9LBAcY1.jpg

and allowed to dry.

I then cut off the excess and after allowing to dry overnight I sanded the bogus bolts flush.

http://i.imgur.com/X1KmMdT.jpg

I then proceeded to attach bits of rod to the upper edge of the cutout panels to simulate hinges.

http://i.imgur.com/cHN8yjG.jpg

Finally when all the hinges were installed I went back and glued on umpty-ump rivets; it just looked too naked with out the rivet detail.

http://i.imgur.com/sRFzOdN.jpg

and a close up of the panel detail........

http://i.imgur.com/Ewn4rDq.jpg

Blackadder · Mar 18, 2015

Finally The Wheels Assembled:

Five plus years in the making I finally have the wheels in the approximate position that they will ultimately be. They are just tacked on at the moment as I need to establish the tread run and adjust the individual wheel height to meet the inner contact of the tracks

http://i.imgur.com/eyz59mI.jpg

A slight adjustment of the front fenders was required as the nose wheel stuck out too far plus I need space for the eclipsing front outboard hinged cover........

http://i.imgur.com/vDulpiQ.jpg

Once I get the right side satisfactory I'll duplicate the final adjustments on the left side.

http://i.imgur.com/tauaUrx.jpg

This final low angle shot shows just about the right amount of road wheel exposure as in the original Baneblade.

http://i.imgur.com/oRKMDW8.jpg

The spacing of the front three wheels still need adjustment.

face of dark future · Mar 18, 2015

i definiteley like the rivet stuff. and the hinges. and the road wheels. and *add anything wühlmaustankrelated here*.

wargamesculptor · Mar 18, 2015

Great attention to detail BA, really starting to take shape now

Blackadder · Mar 19, 2015

Thanks for the reply,

Rhymes With Orange:

There is something incomparable about the FW Baneblade tread assembly. It make's one regret that as a military vehicle it is totally impractical.

I have attempted to duplicate on a somewhat larger scale the detail of this artistic work

http://i.imgur.com/g1IRIXB.jpg

By larger scale it means I'm trying to correct my errors in perception back when I was a mere novice at scratchbuilding and failed to take advantage of scaling hints.

One would think it simple to arrange and glue on the wheels to the base block but there are a lot of subtle variables that needs be addressed for the tracks to run properly and in subsequent posts I will address those issues but for the time being I will just display the project as it stand.

http://i.imgur.com/FSzkQMc.jpg

I've included a production FW Baneblade tread for scale and comparison.

Blackadder · Mar 20, 2015

My Way:

Before anyone informs me that these could have been cast I am aware of the concept.

I prefer to do it my way.

This morning I am putting the final touches on the 52 tread segments; yes all hand made and yes I am certifiable.

http://i.imgur.com/av43g6b.jpg

To facilitate the inner angles of the tread plate I made a simple jig so all the final angles will be pretty much the same degree and the treads also will prove out the same dimensions within a fraction of a millimeter.

Below we see a close up of a finished tread and one to be beveled in the jig.

http://i.imgur.com/95WrffN.jpg

and a top view of the same............

http://i.imgur.com/zKhLUI1.jpg

Blackadder · Mar 21, 2015

Revelation:

It's only when you try to replicate one of these resin masterpieces that you get a full appreciation of the exacting work that goes into the prototype production of the piece.

The track segments have to be just the right size to circle the wheel or the treads will look clumsy.

I'm hoping I have left enough excess link overlap to make the run workable; I can probably take off about 2,0 MM more per link if needs be but I'd prefer not to, we'll see once the rest of the links are installed.

http://i.imgur.com/pLr6rwH.jpg

I picked a skull tread at random and it's not one of the better ones; I may replace it or at least swap out the skulls.

http://i.imgur.com/kYL8MYu.jpg

The comparison shot with an original Baneblade is optically deceiving. both treads appear much the same size........ Ha!

Here we see the side view of the tread and the object of my concern regarding the width of the link in relation to the idler wheel.

]http://i.imgur.com/hRmcU6k.jpg

i'll know later on this evening whether it's a go or not..............

Terrafirma · Mar 21, 2015

This is just amazing Blackadder , you have so much patience .
This tank is going to be huge .
keep posting

Blackadder · Mar 22, 2015

OMG!

I can't believe it worked! It's one thing to plan out how something will look in your mind but to actually see it reach fruition kinda takes you by surprise.

http://i.imgur.com/FqTZL1t.jpg

The rest is just repetition making the other three run segments

http://i.imgur.com/0DvyU4e.jpg

The problem now is that big gap between the front and rear tread assemblies

http://i.imgur.com/RtqCO4G.jpg

Do I dare compromise and fake the bottom run

http://i.imgur.com/ZuHal03.jpg

Or bit the bullet and make a proper set of track segments

http://i.imgur.com/hOx0YVU.jpg

TrystanGST · Mar 22, 2015

Knowing who we're dealing with, I don't think they (you) would rest content knowing the bottom treads are blank.

wargamesculptor · Mar 22, 2015

Would have to ask BA would you feel happy knowing the bottom tracks have no detail, if you can live with it who are the rest of us to judge !

Blackadder · Mar 23, 2015

Someone knows me too well..............

Money In the Bank:

Okay so who bet that the Blackadder was too anal retentive to compromise the un seen thread links?

Too bad, it was like money in the bank...........

Seems like most of the work was on the visible portions of the links anyway not the track face so what was I saving by fudging the bottom run?

http://i.imgur.com/GbPCniM.jpg

I figured out a way that I can have the unseen detail and at not much more expenditure of time and labor while still having a relatively consistent quality the individual links have.

http://i.imgur.com/ijXGQ9T.jpg

So there will be two 13 link pieces running under the center five road wheels. Six skulls need to be cast but that's no biggy

And my personal integrity has been restored..... read OCD.

wargamesculptor · Mar 23, 2015

Have never seen you cut corners so far, didn't expect you to start now ! Knocking through them quickly BA

Blackadder · Mar 24, 2015

My therapist is not in accord..........

A Lesson In Tenacity:

We are limited boys and girls only by a lack of persistence. 24 hours ago I was in a quandary as to whether I had the wherewithal to attempt fabricating the hidden detail.

http://i.imgur.com/z2RwOIc.jpg

and now it's more than half accomplished.

http://i.imgur.com/yr3Qtpu.jpg

How much better this would this not have turn out because of laxity on my part?

http://i.imgur.com/yhTugfh.jpg

Now all needs to be done is the inner track plates..........

wargamesculptor · Mar 24, 2015

Your persistance is paying off BA, looking very good

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