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Panzer III Ausf J. Das Werks, 1/16 scale.

Size comparison of the Renault FT, Panzer I and the Panzer III. All 1/16 scale.
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Yeah the Panzer III is a big Beastie Tim. I think the 251 halftrack is a bit longer but not as wide. I picked up a Panzer 1 variant with a BIG gun a while back and it should be interesting.
 
Got the fenders on and the spare roadwheel sets made (not attached yet). May not seem that big of a deal, but there's a lot of sanding with the huge sprue gates. You'll go through some sanding sticks!
I've also decided to beat this Panzer up, dented fenders and wasted paint. Something I don't normally do.
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Started adding some of the stuff to the fenders. Since this is a 3 in 1 kit for different variants I'm paying close attention for the location of the tools and where they go on the Vorpanzer version I'm doing. The decks are just dry fitted. Mine took some work to get them to mate up and fit right on the hull. I'm also torn about the tracks if I add a link do they appear to be too slack? If I remove a link there's no sag at all. Now I know what I should've done was set the roadwheel height with the tracks sagging just just right
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then glue the torsion arms...oh well.
 
As for the sag on the tracks, I would check references. IF I remember correctly on the panzer III's they don't have much sag if any. Remember these are considered medium tanks at best and they didn't have the track problems that the larger and heavier tanks had.

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German tanks used "dead tracks" that always showed some sag, even when brand new. When parked the sag can be seen between the return rollers and a slight sag between the drive sprocket and the first road wheel. When in motion the sag can be more visible between the drive sprocket and road wheel.

Over time the track will lengthen as the pins deform. Daily maintenance was to check the pins and adjust the tensioner to keep the track tension within limits. The drivers were also responsible to check track tension when stops and time permitted. Once the tensioner reached its maximum limit the crew could remove one or two links and adjust the tensioner back towards the minimum limit.

Cheers,
RichB
 
German tanks used "dead tracks" that always showed some sag, even when brand new. When parked the sag can be seen between the return rollers and a slight sag between the drive sprocket and the first road wheel. When in motion the sag can be more visible between the drive sprocket and road wheel.

Over time the track will lengthen as the pins deform. Daily maintenance was to check the pins and adjust the tensioner to keep the track tension within limits. The drivers were also responsible to check track tension when stops and time permitted. Once the tensioner reached its maximum limit the crew could remove one or two links and adjust the tensioner back towards the minimum limit.

Cheers,
RichB
Good info RichB! 👍
 
Alright, I couldn't continue until my track sag issue was satisfied. The problem was adding a link made the tracks look just to loose, but without it they seemed to tight. I needed a half link. Paul's comment on adjusting the Idler got me looking at it. He's right in that once on the hull it's impossible to modify it. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. I cut the shaft off that the idler wheel slides onto and moved it back about 2mm. That made the difference and you can't see it. I suppose it could be possible to make the idler really adjustable before assembly if one was so inclined. Or do like I mentioned in the previous post. Set the amount of sag when gluing the roadwheel torsion arms. Anyway glad that's taken care of and my OCD is satisfied!
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