Steven Van Dyck Author
The project starts with a horror movie where one figure was shot in the back and had to receive a graft. Part of a Trumpeter deformity was transplanted and now he is recovering from his ordeal. The surgeon had to slash the inside with a bayonet and use a syringe full of acid to be able to beat the torso in a comfortable shape.

Steven Van Dyck Author
The RSO engine appears to be very fiddly, I can't seem to get it lined out straight in the frame. Today I was able to attach the tracklink supports and cut the wood for the dio base.

Rui S
Interesting 👍

Sy Bar
🍿👀 I've pulled up my seat

Steven Van Dyck Author
Thanks for the attention. I ordered a metal barrel, but too late I noticed it's 1/72. I immediately sent a mail to the store to switch this to 1/35, they still got a middle type. But I think the order was already dispatched.

Steven Van Dyck Author
The interior of the cabin is upgraded with some Eduard PE and the cabin doors are also improved. This DML kit has the correct seats on the new sprue H, in stead of the M113 seats with the older Dragon RSO kits. The engine will be clearly visible. The Friulmodel tracklinks are drilled through to fit the track pins. The set also contains beautiful sprockets and idlers and even the axles to connect these to the undercarriage.

Steven Van Dyck Author
My typical approach to Friulmodel track assembly, with a calibrated cutting device able to cut multiple threads at once. In comparison with the Dragon tracklinks these are hollowed out deeper and have a product code inscription. The downside to the easy cutting pins is that they all need a white metal plug on the bore hole.

Ben M
👀

gorby
Wow, another project! I'll join the audience. 🙂

Steven Van Dyck Author
All welcome, the gun is now being built with the Aber barrel in it. There seem to be some dimension differences that can cause trouble for the fit of the gun cradle. One image of the floor shows some surprising choices of the Eduard set. It doesn't provide enough covers for all compartiments, and it doesn't reproduce the non-skid pattern correctly like Dragon did. It has only half of the coverage. I'd like to omit or replace these PE-parts for this reason. Maybe I'll use the diamond plate shown in some museum pieces, or look for a finer generic plate.

Steven Van Dyck Author
I found some strange errors in the manual connected to the gun elevating parts. Left and right parts seem to be switched on the drawing and one of the arms is not mirrored. First I filed the round pins square to fit both arms, but there's even a slot on the axle that necessitated the removal and turning around of parts B26 and B27. Only then I got a working cradle elevation according to reference photos. None of this was to be found in any review of the Dragon Pak 40, probably because these reviews are of unbuilt kits. The Voyager brass splintershields are like the AFV kit, only they are not pre-bent (as in my AFV kit one was wrongly bent).

Steven Van Dyck Author
I made 2 plastic track pins and painted these gunmetal. I also started building the complicated Voyager gun base.

gorby
Nice progress.

Pepe
Wow....what memories, I studied this vehicle to the point of exhaustion when I built mine.... I never managed to find out where the fuel filler neck was, it stuck in my heart....a very promising job....I really like what I see.

Steven Van Dyck Author
The RSO is reappearing with a new dio idea. I merged a Diodump gate and an RT water pump into a Normandic setting. It's even large enough for an SU-152, though let's leave that one at his own project... It means those figures will probably be replaced too.

Major Oak
Great work love your dio and diodump are a great supplier service is outstanding and reasonable prices will definitely be following well done 👏

Doubtingmango
Mind boggling amount of detail here!

Steven Van Dyck Author
Thanks for the appraisal, now the dio elements are painted with Vallejo primers and Air paint. The gate had to be scratched out of balsa wood. I used pieces of sprue for the hinges and I stamped the nais in with the Mastertools riveting tool. a rider on a horse will exit the gate, the RSO is too large for it. The idea is that they are at Falaise and have to abandon slow means of transportation.

Steven Van Dyck Author
The Tamiya horse riding infantryman is built and added to the dio. Some hidden seams are filled and for the reins you have to use a piece of ABS foil that was provided in the kit.

Steven Van Dyck Author
One idler fell to the ground and was either stepped upon or it collapsed under gravity being white metal. The outer teething ring was deformed and had to be straightened, so the connection with the axle broke. All is redressed as much as possible, though some slight deformity could not be avoided. I will compare to the kit idler to see what is used best. I also removed all ammo hatches to replace these with the eduard PE. I did not put this on top of the hatches like it is intended, I completely removed the plastic. Like that I can leave the RSO with an almost depleted ammo hold, showing the three turned brass grenades left. This meant that I had to add hatch support strips like I found in Nuts&Bolts.