Details added to the gearbox.

Some fine details added.

Some closups of the Naeder servo motor and the brake drum.

A detailed shot showing the amount of work and bolts that had to be glued down. This component was a major stumbling block for me. 

Another nice closup, there is still quite a lot of detail that has to be still added. Thanks to the wonderful sunny weather we have in South Africa taking clear pictures is never a problem.

A detailed shot of the brake drum and the brake calipers.

Naeder servo motor in the engine compartment.

A view of the naeder servo motor inside the engine compartment. 

Looking rearwards. The space on the left hand side of the hull will eventually be filled with ammo racks.

Looking down into the gearbox compartment.

This is how it looks through the decking hatches.

Naeder servo progres pictures.

Finally I got inspired to carry on with the complicated Naeder servo motor. Here you can see I have been adding the casting protrusions for the nut fixture.

I made the smaller pistons and glued them in place. The overall shape is starting to take on definition.

The servo test fitted to the upper gearbox casting.

Now we are getting somewhere, the cylinder head plates have been glued down and the nuts and bolts are beginning to be added. The nuts and bolts are heatformed pressings taken from allenkey bolts.

Another view showing the complicated structure.

From the other side, as can be seen the rest of the cylinder head plates have yet to be glued down.

This is how it all should look.

This is my work bench.

This is where the magic happens. Organised chaos as usual. 

Nuts and bolts.

A series of photos showing how I make nuts and bolts, each one

you see on my model was made this way. Heated sprue is pushed into an allenkey bolt recess.

It is removed and cut from the sprue.

It is then placed into a jig I made, this is to remove the lip and level it off.

The lip is filled down to the level of the plate.

Here is the bolt nicely uniform.

The bolt is pushed through the plate.

And after all that here is what were left with, the finished heat formed bolt head.

Numerous bolt heads ready for finishing off. I usually only make them as I go along to avoid tedium. 

Forgot to add this pic of the ducting from above.

The two exhaust pipes after completion. These are two heat formed tubes with the flutes cut into them and the fishtails added.

A closup of the fishtail.

The joint between the two components was filled in with moulten plastic and blended in after cured.

My construction method for the fishtail end pieces, two of these were heat formed and glued together.  

One side of a fishtail pipe is seen here.

I came up with this method for the complicated ducting, I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory. 

The plastic is heated up with a heat gun, the male former is pushed into the plastic which forces it into the femle portion and thats it. 

Usually the parts are quite a tight fit and difficult to remove due to shinkage.

This is how I made the lower suspension skirt. The wooden formers were shaped and softened plastic was pushed over it to create the shape. 

A closup of the wooden formers and a section of  skirt, note that it is wavey which is desired as this is supposed to be a material.

I had to make inner and outer formers as the mating surfaces are different for all.

The full section can be seen here.

The complets rear escape hatch.

Exterior view showing the signal board.

The mechanism is shaped once again out of aluminium scrap pieces,

the gears in the handle and tongue were shaped with files.

The rivits were heat formed and glued in place, note how

every components is actually rivited to the plastic for added strength this was done in real life.

The handle in the fully open position, inside the tank this handle hangs down like this which is why

the locking loop has been added to slip over the end of the lever. 

Here are some pics of the side access hatch and

locking mechanism. It was all made out of aluminium rods and bits and pieces. 

Another view.

And how it looks from the outside. the key hole is seen at the bottom. 

Note the heat formed rain guard at the top of the hatch. 

A very large picture.

Here is a large resolution picture for your interest.

Suspension lubrication nipples.

Close up shot of the armoured cover for the suspension lubricating nipples. I made one master and cast the rest.

The cover in place with the locking handles, this is wrong but I'm too lazy to change it.

I made one set of lubricating nipples just to show how it looks.

Another shot, you can see the subtle indentation of the cast armoured door.