Kugelblitz

[Philipp Gross]

Thank you Steve Now that the hull is mostly complete the whole affair has become a lot less frustrating:





Note the rear fenders....I'm not sure how they could possibly get them wrong to such a degree. Thankfully I could plunder some replacements from a Tamiya kit. The tools and various other bits are also from the very useful Tamiya tool set.

You're probably wondering about the nonstandard tool layout. When the Berlin photo surfaced (see here in high resoultion) it was quickly deduced by H.L. Doyle that the lower hull was not from the standard Panzer IV production, but rather built for the Möbelwagen and sidetracked for the much more advanced Kugelblitz.

Philipp

[Adam Durrant]

Nice work Phil, what do you use for weld beads?

[Philipp Gross]

Thank you Adam

The welds on the exhausts and spare wheel holders are from Vallejo Plastic Putty, applied straight from the tube. It's acrylic and doesn't soften up the plastic underneath.

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

Nice Philipp. Those details will look great under some paint. The Vallejo putty is very useful, thanks for the tip,

Vincent.

[Philipp Gross]

Thanks Vincent! Try it, the stuff is amazing!

In the meantime, the hull is now fully done:


Now with more Tamiya tools, a RB Model turned brass antenna and a TANK resin MG34 barrel.

I had to change the tow points from the late simplified version to the standard version because further research indicated that Krupp, which made the Möbelwagen hulls, never changed to the simplified style. The tank on the Berlin photo also has them, and so far I've stuck with this particular specimen. The partial turret salvaged in Thuringia will provide further details, but more on that later.

Philipp

[Steve Hutchinson]

Morning Philipp

Great progress and good save with Tamiya and the accessories.

Is there a bigger portfolio of photos for the Berlin Pz IV base?

Tracks next?

DS, rubber band, Magic?

Keep up the good work

Regards

Steve H

[Philipp Gross]

Thank you Steve!

Sadly it's only this one photo. There are more views from Berlin in the summer of 1945 but none of that magnitude. Since it's impossible to know how the rest of the tank looked I added the stadard Möbelwagen tool layout as far as possible.

I'll save the tracks for last. Most likely I'll use the Magic Tracks that come with it. Next step is the turret

Philipp

[Philipp Gross]

Welcome to the Science Fiction part of this build According to myth the namesake Kugel was inspired by the ball turret on the B-17...



Just like the hull the turret needs some extra care in the form of putty on basically everything. Some examples:



I'm yet vaguely optimistic I can add a figure to the turret, thus the attempt to fill in the pin marks on the hatch. The gun sleeves are made from two parts...no, not split lenghtwise.

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

That turret definitely looks futuristic Philipp.

Vincent

[Adam Durrant]

Thats some awkward places to sand Phil, got some spare parts in that stash of yours??