Hobby Boss Pzkpfw. II Ausf. J VK16.01 COMPLETE!

[Iron Mike]

So it's been a crazy year and a very hot summer and things have not progressed at my bench as I expected. I have several small builds and a couple old bones on the bench, but it's been too hot to paint and I wanted something to glue together. Rummaging through the stash, I found the Hobby Boss VK16.01 I had bought several years ago. It interested me greatly, so I broke it out a couple weekends ago. I took some in progress photos with my iPhone and a few with my SLR, so some of the sequencing of the photos may be wonky, but it's better than radio, right?

The kit has ten frets of parts, one of photo etch, link and length tracks and a basic set of decals. I added metal barrels from Master and will add a few details along the way.

Interleaved road wheels on this one. The swing arms line up easily and quickly. Very little flash.

The PE is well engraved and isn't that flimsy stuff.

I made weld beads from .020 styrene rod, softened with liquid cement and textured with the back of a hobby knife blade.

More suspension photos.

Mocking up the fenders, Betram says hey!

So there's more to come, going to paint this one gray. Thanks for coming by!

 

[moon puppy]

It's almost cute so small. Good progress!
So what's with the goat?

 

[Iron Mike]

Bertram is my new bench mascot,sorta like the old crone that used to pop up in your threads.

 

[moon puppy]

She's still around, just haven't had a completion in a long time.

 

[errains]

I really dig this! I also got this kit as well. Planning on doing a build video for it. Yours is just awesome there Mike!!

 

[jknaus]

Very cool. I have wondered about this but just never got interested. Will watch the build and maybe one day try one. Keep it up Mike.
James

 

[Piet]

Very nice welding ,and a great looking little tank

 

[Duke Maddog]

Beautiful work Mike! Also, try to keep Bertram off the bus; he'll scratch the primer with his hooves!

 

[centaur567]

Hey, I thought I was the old goat. Nice work. Gary S. XLV MMXX

 

[MrT]

Very cool! Keep up your enthusiasm in spite of things.

 

[Iron Mike]

Thanks guys! This is a great little kit so far, the fit is spot on and the PE fits perfectly. Looking forward to paint and tracks. Stay tuned and thanks for coming by.

 

[Iron Mike]

Okay, so when we left this project, things were progressing smoothly. I primed the model with my usual Badger Stynylrez on a very dark and dreary Saturday afternoon, so I had a clamp on light shining across the bench so I could see better. When I took the airbrush inside to clean it, I did something I never do, I left the painted parts on the bench. My wife had dinner ready, so I went back out after cleaning the airbrush and shut down all the paint booth. The next morning, I went out to get a base coat on the little tank and found this.

The 150 watt bulb in the work light had it's way with my turret.

I had set the paint stand to the side of the bench, never thinking about where the light was. D'OH!!! Eric was kind enough to send me the Alan Panzer II J kit, but the turrets are completely different.

I tell you, it was enough to make a preacher cuss. My friend, Greg, found the contact information for Hobby Boss and suggested I contact them. Within two days, Hobby Boss sent me information on how much the parts cost and how to order them. I shot them at PayPal payment and within two weeks (yes, that's right), I had replacement parts all the way from China. Three sprues and shipping cost me $14USD.

Happy to be back on track, I rescued the metal barrels from the melted parts and assembled the new turret.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it, much more to come, thanks for coming by.

 

[jknaus]

That sucks. Awesome on the replacement though. Looking forward to more.
James

 

[moon puppy]

On the road again...

 

[errains]

When you said different I didn't think the turrets were THAT different. Its like an entirely different vehicle.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Wow, I'm glad you were able to recover that build. And thanks for the warning about 150 watt bulbs.

 

[Iron Mike]

It was definitely a setback, but Hobby Boss' customer service really was outstanding. Here's a peek at a little more progress.

Tamiya German Gray base coat.

Kit link and length tracks.

The tracks were pretty easy to use, clip them from the sprue as close as you can, quick zip zip with the sanding stick and slide them together. A little Tamiya Extra Thin to hold them together, wait a few minutes, then wrap the run around the running gear. That's a bingo!
More to come, thanks for coming by!

 

[errains]

Coming along great!!

 

[Rhino]

Sweet! He looks pretty brawny for such a small Panzer!

 

[Iron Mike]

Thanks guys! Another quickie update.

Tracks off.

Tracks were painted with Tamiya Dark Iron and the highlights are Model Air Gunmetal.

While that was drying, out to the paint shop for highlights and shadows.

Much more to come, thanks for stopping by.