Type 1 SPG Ho-Ni I - 3 Feb 2019 - Completed

[RLFoster]

Given that there's only a month until Christmas and two months until the end of the Pacific Group Build, I wanted to pick something to build that will be relatively quick and easy and yet meet the GB criteria.  I've decided to build this:

This Tamiya kit (35095) should go together easily and the subject matter will allow me to to a build thread here and post updates in the Pacific GB thread.  Since I have no aftermarket parts for this one, it will be OOTB with the only modifications being those improvements or enhancements I can accomplish through normal modeling techniques or scratch-building.

That's the plan...let's see how well I hold to it!

Until next time...

[Dukemaddog]

This is going to be great to follow Robert! It's also a thrill to see something so different.

I'm first in (for once) so let the show begin! Your work is always a thrill to watch!

[JEFF]

I'm in too, RL. Bring it on, Dude.

[BUCKY]

You know I'll be watching!

[JCON]

Nice choice my friend!!!

[RLFoster]

Thanks for look in, Everyone!

I'm off to a good, solid start with this build. Even with my taking one day off to visit a local brewery and have a nice day out, in two days of work I've completed the first two construction steps.

As with all 1970's and 1980's era Tamiya armor kits, the first step was prepping and assembling all the running gear - wheels, idlers, and drive sprockets. Step two began the assembly of the lower hull components. In addition to these steps, given that the vinyl tracks had been sitting in this box for over 30 years, it was not surprising that they were EXTREMELY bent, warped, and generally misshapen. Therefore, I spent about half an hour today heating up some water in the microwave and very carefully reshaped the tracks to nearly perfect, straight runs. Needless to say, this was a fix I was a little concerned about and now I feel much better.

Anyway, not too much to show yet, but here's a quick shot showing the various parts of the first two steps:



I'm hoping to get right back to the bench tomorrow for a good 2 or 3 hours.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Nice start and didn't know you could reshape rubberband tracks!!! Thanks!!!

[JEFF]

Excellent start, RL. Good job on those tracks.

[RLFoster]

Thanks, Guys,

Yes, the tracks were a concern and sorry for not getting a picture. I forgot to get a "before" shot and figured the after picture wouldn't be that impressive.

[JCON]

No worries Robert!!!

[ARMORGUY]

Count me in fella, cool model showing a stunning camo.

[BUCKY]

Great save on the tracks! Looking forward to the next update!

[RLFoster]

Thanks again, Guys!

Today is a CRAZY day. It's the last day of November and I have nearly every window in the house wide open and the heat has been turned back off!!! For the last two weeks the outside temperature here in Pensacola has not gone above 63 or 64 - and then only once or twice. Today, the temperature is 75 and it's absolutely perfect with low humidity and just a nice breeze. However, there's a big storm coming and we are expecting possible severe storms tonight through Sunday...then the temperatures drop back to something more seasonal.

Anyway, enough with the weather. Two more days of construction in the books and two more steps done in the instructions. Essentially, these two steps completed the lower hull parts, married the upper and lower hulls, and got the major upper hull components installed. It's at this point that the construction will start to deviate from the instructions. I'll be leaving sub-assemblies separated to facilitate painting and weathering of the various components -- the first of which is seen in the photo below:



Here you can see the assembled hull, one run of the connected track, and the lower framework of the gun compartment.

A note on the tracks. My repairs on the vinyl were not quite are good as previously thought.

First, a word of warning: Whether you are using the hot water method or the hair dryer method (both are effective) do not - repeat DO NOT heat the ends of the track where the connection points are located. As with this track, these end points are typically HALF as thick as the rest of the track in order to allow the two ends to overlap each other. This one has pins on one side that go through holes on the other side and are "riveted" with a small heated screwdriver once assembled. The problem is that this very thin material is heated TWICE as easily as a full thickness on the track and therefore is subject to being very easily distorted. On one run of mine, the pin end (having 4 pins in a square pattern) was so misshapen that two of the pins were virtually next to each other instead of the 2mm apart they were before I started. I had to completely remove one pin and just use the remaining 3 (with difficulty) and just hope it holds.

Second, I guess I really need to remember my high school and military physics lessons. Whenever you heat and then rapidly cool most materials, much like that perfectly fitting cotton t-shirt, they have a tendency to shrink beyond their original size. This is extremely common with plastics. Well, after assembling the two track runs, I attempted a dry-fit without the wheels in place and the track loop would BARELY fit around just the rear idler and the drive sprocket...and I do mean barely. Fearing that the track would be over-stressed with the wheels in place, I heated some more water and VERY CAREFULLY heated and stretched the tracks in short segments, holding it until thoroughly cooled. I did this in 4 or 5 sections around each loop and then rechecked the fit. It's much better now, but I'll do one last check just before painting in order to be sure. Needless to say, these tracks have been a challenge!

As for the rest of the model, it's going together in typical Tamiya fashion -- shake and bake! The fit is outstanding by today's standards let alone the 1975 stamped on the sprues. I am getting to the part of the build where it becomes harder to hide ejector pin marks or mold lines, so it might start slowing down.

Here's one last photo showing how the two parts from the previous photo fit together nearly perfectly without any glue at all:



Tomorrow will likely be a down day model-wise as there are too many championship football games to watch.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Good catch on the tracks!!! Fit looks amazing as usual for a Tamiya!!! 75' is when I graduated high school, lol!!!

[JEFF]

Great rebound, RL. Way to stay with it, Buddy.

[BUCKY]

Thinkin' it thru is the way to go! Nice engineering work on those tracks! Here's hopin' they stay the way you want 'em!!

[ogrejohn]

Looking good Robert! 

[RLFoster]

I told you all this would be a quick OOTB (mostly) build!

Eight days since cracking the box and construction of all the subassemblies is complete (except a couple of parts). Here are two shots showing everything except the tracks:





The gun itself went together fairly well and even though it's the old, 2 halves style molding, with a little TLC - and putty work - I think it will end up looking acceptable enough for this build. Virtually every part of the upper casement needed to have ejector pin hole filled and sanded. You can see some of those in the photos. Additionally, the superstructure does not quite fit the way it is supposed to fit. However, short of completely rebuilding it, there's really nothing I can do about it. After painting and weathering, I think it will not be overly noticeable.

So now I have four main categories of parts - the tracks, wheels, lower hull, and upper hull/gun. Here's a photo showing the removed gun section:



By leaving these parts separate, I'll be able to have far greater access to the components from all angles for priming and painting. Anyway, that's the idea...we'll see how it pans out.

So, after taking a day or two to do a little planning - and maybe do some early Christmas shopping - I'll shift gears and start the finishing process. Unfortunately, my early research has shown that there's really not a whole lot of photographic evidence available. I do have the Zaloga Osprey book on Japanese Tanks 1939 - 1945 and it has a few photos, but not much. The US directed that ALL Japanese military equipment be destroyed at the end of the war and it looks like the vast majority was turned into scrap.

Anyway, thanks for looking in and for the comments...they are appreciated!

Until next time...

[JCON]

Nice one sir!!!

[RLFoster]

Thank you, Joe.

One further FYI...I rechecked the tracks for the first time since "restretching" them and they fit like a glove. All systems are GO!