WheelsWhat is it with German tanks? They always seem to have more wheels than other tanks!
I started painting the wheels on the sprue, so I have something to hold them.
Continuing with weathering: a dark brown oil paint wash, a drybrush, and some mud in different colours
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4226/34852637566_50ca07e533_b.jpgIf you look at the road wheels of an Elefant (a Ferdinand on this picture) you can see that each wheel consists of two narrow wheels
But if you look at the kit wheels, they appear to be solid (left). And because something can be seen of it later, it is worthwhile to spend some effort on it. So I made a cut around each wheel with a razor saw, and widened the cut with a small file (right).
And that twelve times. A bit of an effort, but with result
What is also asking some attention is that you have two types of road wheels: those with a long axle stub (above), and those with a short axle stub (below). To make it more logic they are arranged as follows from front to back: long, short, long, short, short, long. Must be some kind of secret German enigma code.
And the drive sprockets, glued together and weathered. For strength I gave them all an axle of 1,2mm iron wire.
All wheels glued in place, in the right order. (Do you remember: long, short, long, short, short, long)
Ready for tracks!