Panzer III ausf. N build log

[SoCalBobS]

It'll look really good, with all the other brass fittings you are fabricating - stowage box, track strap....so what's next? Schutzen, or did you already do that? One thing I liked on DAK tanks was the row of jerry cans on the turret roof.

[UltraVargen]

It'll look really good, with all the other brass fittings you are fabricating - stowage box, track strap....so what's next? Schutzen, or did you already do that? One thing I liked on DAK tanks was the row of jerry cans on the turret roof.

I bought a set of Schurzen from tank-modellbau.de. They are made of styrene. So what I'm going to do is build them and see how sturdy they are. If they're not strong enough I might try to make them out of brass using the styrene as a pattern.
Other modifications I currently in mind:
- One or two small stowage racks on top of the fenders. I saw wartime photo's of small racks holding a single jerrycan, or a medium sized toolbox.
- Add a track trap between the hull machinegun and driver's port. I really like that look.
- modify the plastic exhaust unit to have smoke coming out of the actual exhaust pipes. I need to find a way to neatly bend brass tubing though. Attempts to just heat it and bend it haven't been successful. As an alternative option I drilled out the plastic exhausts, but I'd prefer replacing them with brass.

I saw the photo's with the rows of jerrycans on the turret roof (and rows on the engine deck).It seems to really be a DAK thing: Loads of jerrycans, and multiple spare roadwheels. I can only imagine the tank breaking down in the middle of the dessert and not having those supplies with you. I'm really liking the row on the turret roof as well. But my Panzer III will be in eastern front mid-war Summer colors. Having it in DAK colors would also rule out the Schurzen I think?

[SoCalBobS]

Yeah, you're right, schurzen and roof gas cans don't mix. Guess you'll just have to make a second one!

[UltraVargen]

Don't get me started

[Timbo68]

This afternoon's work, made a stowage rack.

Very impressive! I was wondering where you find brass sheet like that. I've been using offcuts from photoetch sheets, but I'm running out. I tried to restock with 1/8 inch brass rod (oddly, I've found it a useful size) and was told by a supplier here (EU) that, as non-metric sizes come from the US, it has been difficult recently. I'm not sure he isn't making that up!
3mm rod is easy, and I've now found some 1/8, so all is well.

[UltraVargen]

Very impressive! I was wondering where you find brass sheet like that. I've been using offcuts from photoetch sheets, but I'm running out. I tried to restock with 1/8 inch brass rod (oddly, I've found it a useful size) and was told by a supplier here (EU) that, as non-metric sizes come from the US, it has been difficult recently. I'm not sure he isn't making that up!
3mm rod is easy, and I've now found some 1/8, so all is well.

Thanks! To be honest, I found it difficult to find a suitable supply of brass as well. I bought the beams and plate material from www.conrad.nl which is a really big online hardware/electronic/hobby store. I think they ship to the whole EU. Their selection for flat brass is limited though, and I think they only sell metric measurements.
The two sizes of brass beam I used for the stowage rack are 3x1 mm and 4x1.5 mm. For the thinner parts like the smaller track rack and the hinges I used a sheet of 0.3 mm brass, that I cut strips off with a retractable stanley blade. For the wider strips this worked like a charm. For the thinner strips that I used for the (hinges) not so much, they initially came out really dinged up.

Tube and rod material I still had lying around from years ago when I did more model building. But Conrad sells those as well. They actually have a pretty good selection of different diameters. But again, just metric.

I myself am actually looking for the thinner sheet material that is used in photo etch sets. It would be really useful having that on hand.

[Timbo68]

Thanks! To be honest, I found it difficult to find a suitable supply of brass as well. I bought the beams and plate material from www.conrad.nl which is a really big online hardware/electronic/hobby store. I think they ship to the whole EU. Their selection for flat brass is limited though, and I think they only sell metric measurements.

Interesting. I’ve used conrad.de quite often for motors and stuff, so they do deliver. Although they do translate into English, I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for on the .nl site - despite several years living in Flanders my always paltry understanding of Vlaams/Nederlands is now reduced to ‘Tot ziens’ ! Would you be able to post a link to their brass plate? Thanks...

[UltraVargen]

Interesting. I’ve used conrad.de quite often for motors and stuff, so they do deliver. Although they do translate into English, I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for on the .nl site - despite several years living in Flanders my always paltry understanding of Vlaams/Nederlands is now reduced to ‘Tot ziens’ ! Would you be able to post a link to their brass plate? Thanks...

No problem, I find their site is a hassle to search even though I'm dutch. These are the brass plates: https://www.conrad.nl/zoeken?search=...oryId=f2764783

Brass in dutch = messing
plates = platen
profiles = profielen

So searching for messing profielen you'll get all the beams, tubes, etc.

[Sappo]

For bending brass tube and I'm not sure how you could do it in such small diameter material we used to fill it with sand, block the ends and gently bend it over a former. I think the smallest I have done this on was 12 mm, it used to work well, no kinks

[Sappo]

Don't forget to tamp the sand down nice and tight

[Timbo68]

Don't forget to tamp the sand down nice and tight

That's a great tip! I have a miniature pipe bender with internal bending springs down to 4mm from my days of miniature steam engines. The trouble is that the springs are getting stuck after bending, so I'll try the sand trick - no reaon why it shouldn't work on smaller diameters. With care, small copper tube can be bent using it without an insert, but brass just folds. Every day a school day....!

[UltraVargen]

Don't forget to tamp the sand down nice and tight

Thanks, I will try that as soon as I find some fine sand!

[UltraVargen]

Bought one of those Proxxon miniature tablesaws because I found it too time-consuming to saw and cut brass by hand. I knew I would need the saw to make the Schürzen. So I started making those, using the styrene Schürzen I bought as a template.

I used 0.5 mm brass for the side-schürzen. In my head they were thicker than the schürzen on the turret, but it turned out I switched it around. Should have used 0.3mm for the sides, and 0.5mm for the turret. I guess they will all be 0.5mm now. Oh well. :)

[SoCalBobS]

Should have used 0.3mm for the sides, and 0.5mm for the turret. I guess they will all be 0.5mm now. Oh well. :)

OMG, everyone will know! You'll be disqualified at Scalemasters when they discover the 0.2mm discrepancy! 😱

Seriously though, if you're going to drive it around outside, a little extra strength won't come amiss.

Do you have a plan for removing them if you need to service wheels or tracks? I ask because I may put some on my StuG IV if I get one.

[UltraVargen]

The styrene set I'm basing this off of has them suspended on some hooks (three point per panel). So they should be removable: Schürzen Panzer III (tank-modellbau.de)
On that site the lower point hooks aren't installed, but you get the idea.

[UltraVargen]

This week I spent some time working on the frame for the Schürzen: Made the rail from which they hang, and some hooks that go on the rail. I like working with the brass, but I'm contemplating having the frame arms lasercut somewhere instead of making them myself. But I have no idea what that would cost as I haven't drawn them in the computer yet.

I also found a surprise in a book called Panzertracts, that has schematics of the Panzer III variants: The late-style single hatch commander cupola that I was planning apparently is quite a bit bigger (thicker armor) and with different proportions than the early style two hatch version. So I started re-drawing the Late style single-hatch cupola in 3D to be more accurately proportioned. This of course meant that the Heng Long Panzer III with it's oversized stowage bin and inaccurate details won't be able to fit the new cupola. So I removed the stowage bin and some raised details on top of the turret (signal port and cupola brim). I closed the rear of the turret with re-enforced styrene sheet bent to shape. I will have to draw up a new correctly sized stowage bin for printing. Of course, removing the stowage bin also meant I couldn't use the barrel elevation motor anymore that Heng Long has situated in the bin. So I added a servomotor for the barrel elevation, which works fine and fits just nicely in the relatively small Panzer III turret. Servo's for the win.

Tomorrow will probably be spent drawing up stuff in the computer for 3D printing.

[UltraVargen]

Finished drawing the single-hatch cupola. Started the stowage bin, but still need to add detailing so no picture yet.
I will upload this stuff to Thingiverse once I make sure it makes a decent print.

[quitcherbitchen]

That is fantastic. Show us the print when done. What filament are you using?

[UltraVargen]

That is fantastic. Show us the print when done. What filament are you using?

Thanks! I'm using a DLP (resin) printer, so no filament. It gives a lot better details, but unfortunately isn't as strong as FDM printing. So no use for big structural parts. I hope I can get my FDM out of storage one day so I can combine the best of both methods.

[UltraVargen]

Done drawing the "big" parts, and I started printing. Still have to draw up a bunch of small detail items like lifting hooks, towingcable guides, a Notek convoy light, etc.

- The mantlet is modeled as to fit on the aluminum recoil unit without having the cut too much material from the recoil unit. The barrel insert is the aluminum aftermarket one.
- The stowage bin will have brass hinges and clasps. If it works out to make those tiny parts. If it doesn't I'll probably just glue it the lid shut.
- The turret side hatch inserts are meant to take the metal aftermarket doors. I'll put a small magnet at the top, and srill a tiny piece of metal into the doors so hopefully they'll remain shut when closed.