Sd.Kfz.10/5 2cm FLAK38 German Half-Track Dragon 1/35

It is a smart kit anti-aircraft half-track. I made it from August 2011 to May 2012.

This half-track model contains many small parts that I’m making, the same as the cannon kit of AFV. It’s my first time trying the German half-track.

There are over 800 parts. Photo-etched parts are included effectively.
(14-August-2011)

I failed in the first stage, which is the tire assembly. The left tire must match the perfect tread pattern’s five parts. I just made them in the wrong stacking order in tatters. It’s helpless, so I had thought of managing the standard type of tire, the right side in this picture. This kit contains three tires; I could prepare two front tires, the middle one in this picture.

I need to adjust all parts of the front chassis. Without it, some of the part’s mounting positions are inadequate, and finally, it’s impossible to complete all assembly.
I want to request Dragon Models to complete maintenance for an accurate description. There are many misprints in the manual, some parts are not indicated, and incomplete explanations. There’s an errata slip in Sembado’s HP that is quite helpful. I suppose there are many ways to give out the revised version of the description; for example, they can distribute it from Dragon Models’ Home Page.
(20-August-2011)

Detailed engine and gear parts. I have mistaken some parts of the engine attaching. I don’t care about small things and go to the next step.
(21-August-2011)

The painting around the engine. The base paint was black and was repainted gunmetal from the top. The engine room is dark yellow, and the inside of the front radiator is painted black. Finally, the inside will not be so visible, I presume.

I struggled to produce anti-aircraft artillery ammunition cases. First, the case lid parts should be leaping out from the horizontal panel line, but I glued them to the bottom. I wanted to keep ignoring this; after trial assembly, it stood out and couldn’t be left alone. The correction was hard; all parts are attached by instant adhesive mighty hard. In the end, I feel them pretty good detail.

Tightly just fit assembled panels of the engine room; it’s quite tricky. Poor fitting of the accessory box on both sides of the engine room; unfortunately, I opened a little gap. Maybe I was the wrong assembly of the front tire guard (the parts of the curved surface one) angle. If such a gap would be bad looking, I try to fix it with my putty.

Assembled fences with ammunition cases. Every single part of the quality is ​​perfect. I was surprised by how the rifle storage on this vehicle is characterized; you can see it on the right of the photo. The shift gear lever in the driver’s seat parts was missing, and I had to make it myself…
(18-September-2011)

Since I’m in the Finance & Accounting section, I had to attend last weekend’s quarter closing. I did not go completely assemble the model. Modeling does not proceed at all. Would not such an unreasonable schedule cannot be improved?
Complete the 20mm anti-aircraft gun at last. This process is easy to use round bars and erasers, as in this photo. The cartridge case emission net was divided into four photo-etched parts and a complex assembly.

An anti-aircraft gun was attached to the body. I can choose four types of degrees, and this photo is 40 degrees, like aiming air target. Each part is connected to an unexpected, intricate place, so I need to assemble this gun very carefully.
(10-October-2011)

Assembly of the caterpillar. With a small amount of adhesive, this caterpillar is movable.

A little strange feeling because the bottom roller was attached to the ground flatly. It looks cool; the front and end of the caterpillar are rising slightly. So I tried to adjust the upward force by cutting the bottom roller shaft.
This looks more natural look.

Left side, I also raised the rear wheels slightly. The characteristic of the half-track caterpillar is good-looking.

Recent models come with masking tape. Before not so long, I can have a painting process. The left half of the hood was glued and remained open on the right side, as I intended. I tried to shave a little thin edge of the bulletproof plates.
(15-October-2011)

I used the sitting pose soldier second from the left one.
(16-October-2011)

The masculine look. Good shape of both hands. The face and head parts are divided, so I had to fill the gap.

I loaded the machine gun and equipment. I attached the haversack to the passenger seat. The next stage is painting, so let’s wash the parts.
(16-October-2011)

Hard to reach the painting area was airbrushed with dark color in advance.
(30-April-2012)

Completed the basic painting. The camouflage pattern is a narrow dark yellow and red-brown line. It is difficult to adjust the air pressure of airbrushing.
(30-April-2012)

Completion of the 1-ton half-track with 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. One ton means the towing capacity is one metric ton, the most compact model of the German half-trucks. This vehicle had been active from the very early scene of WWII.

When I bought this kit, I was expecting its not-so-big firepower of 20 mm. In the movie “Saving Private Ryan, the 20 mm gun appeared in the almost last scene”; German soldiers are shooting 20 mm at US soldiers placed on Tiger side turret, and the human body becomes shattered; quite a shocking picture that I remember.

After completing this kit, the size is as small as to fit on your palm; it’s fine details and many challenging parts; even if you make it straight from the box, it’s pretty acceptable.
The open-top vehicle has a large painting space, and it’s time-consuming to chip all the surfaces.

Because there are many viewing highlights in various places, I did not dry brush off the caterpillar glare too much metal. Too much washing with enamel thinner makes it easy to break thin, fragile parts such as the rearview mirror and poles side of the front bumper; please be careful.

The engine compartment is half-open. On the passenger seat, the accent here is put miscellaneous equipment.

This kit has a detailed decal of the speed meter and something. Using them, you can finish it up with the real front panel.
The trace of dust on the front glass is with masking tape of a cutting circle shape. I measured the radius from the origin point and rubber length, and I drew a small and large circle. It’s not perfect, but almost good.

I attached one figure, I tried to make a German soldier, but it’s like… Asian people. I feel pretty well about using insignia decals released from Tamiya. I could not make it by my handwriting, I presume. I especially like the decals on the cap.

There is too many sleeve mold of wrinkles on this figure. But the feeling of the shape of hands is very natural. I drew blood vessels while watching my own hands. The decal of the belt buckle is also suitable.

So the lightest half-track is a small working space for soldiers. When shooting, the left, right, and rear enclosure falls horizontally, giving some more space. I attempted to be movable this mechanism but too small, and it was impossible.

On the helmet, there are three colors of the national mark on the right side. This mark was abandoned in the summer of ’43. It means the eyes are the most critical factor in the face. The figure’s atmosphere is better not to be able to see the eyes this time…

I made this half-truck operating in Normandy, but this kill-mark recording is doubtful, too many! Maybe replacement from the Russian front during the long battle experience.

One of the features of this half-truck is the mechanism of the anti-air gun itself. This gun can move 360 degrees, but after being assembled, the rear bench disturbs it from rounding smoothly.

I have quite a sense of accomplishment to be finished work within a long time interval. The company I work for was acquired by a global industrial corporation based in the US. Then, fairly busy, modeling did not take quite a time.
(04-May-2012)