The stock model is from Verlinden, but I added several features to it including:
- Working gun elevation (still being tweaked)
- Working gun camber
- Adjustable carriage for firing or towing
- Working wheels (they roll)
Anyway, here are the photos!
Operational Wheel Design: She can roll because I drilled all the way through the carriage and inserted a steel rod. To attach the wheels, I tried two different methods. One method (shown left) rolls really well but requires the steering bar to be disconnected. The other method (shown right) rolls poorly but leaves the bar intact. I did both wheels the same way so they can be done with either method. I'm not sure which one I like better so I left both in play for now.
Gun elevation in action: Note that the hydraulics are removed at the moment because I'm drilling them out so they will operate properly. It's not going as well as I would have liked.
Carriage Assembly: I drilled holes completely through the assembly then used a finishing nail as the rod, bent mostly flush into the bottom of a small trench I dug out with a dremel.
The almost finished product:
As she appeared in the Summer diorama contest, defended by a truck mounted mobile Flak-38:
Also, I just found this brilliant video showing a real sFH-18 being towed, deployed, fired, reloaded, aimed, and really getting a workout.. Great reference footage..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL8AOlSqeCQ
