Armour Dreams

[David Dunlop]

Looks like those racing wheels give you a nice working height for the hull right now, Jon.

With the body work fleshing out so much, I am curious what you thoughts are for markings? Have they stayed pretty much on course during the project, or have other photos turned up that you might now be leaning towards? Not sure how long a service life that model had during the war.

Enjoy your weekend!

David

[Jonathan Moore]

Hello David, sorry for not replying sooner I didn't see your post. I am staying with the current markings as I have several images of that particular tank. Although the Panzer ll was obsolete it remained in service until the end of the war although most were converted for other purposes such as the Marder ll.

Time for an update me thinks.



I have finished the engine cover although I have cheated and used 1.6mm steel sheet for the covers to save weight.

[Jonathan Moore]

Around the opening of this cover there is a radiused section, best shown in this picture.

Also there is a 15mm gap right around the covers, too big a gap to be just clearance. I had assumed that it was a rain water channel but the more I studied the pictures I realised that the reason for the large gap and the radiused section was to allow air into the engine bay around the sides of the covers but I assume, not allow splinters to enter. On the original tank the two covers were not locked together, the lower over had no locking mechanism being held in place by it's own weight and the top cover having a locking mechanism. In my tank the covers lock together, as the lower door is not heavy enough stay in place on it's own.

The radio operators escape hatch mow has it's latch and handle.

[Jonathan Moore]

Next to the radio operators chair there is a wall which is part of the engine bay bulkhead which for some reason is cut across at about 45 degrees.

Most probably to give access to the engine bay from inside the tank. Most of the pictures that I can find show this as being a bolted in section apart from one that shows it as having a hinged access door. I decided that as my ignition coil and amplifier are situated in this area a hinged cover would be a very good idea.

[Jonathan Moore]

When I made the radiator hinged cover, I made it as a two piece assembly.
Once the hull top was in place it became obvious that it wouldn't close and should have been made in three sections. The only thing that then concerned me, was would it block the radio operators escape hatch. Once I had altered it, it became obvious that it tucks away nicely out of the way.

[Jonathan Moore]

The radio aerial on the panzer 2 is raised from inside the tank using this device.
The handle is rotated up to raise that aerial and rotated down to lower it. The end of the handle is sprung so that when it is in the raised position it locks it's self in position, to lower the aerial you pull the end of the handle out and rotate it down.
The unit to the right of the main unit contained a rotary coupling for the cable from the aerial to the radio apparatus. The shaft going between the rotating unit and the aerial outside the tank would have been in two parts and insulated so that the operator didn't get a shock when he touch the handle. In mine the shaft is in one piece.

[Jonathan Moore]

The radio mast was attached to the shaft via a coupling. This is the one on the Panzer ii in Bovington.
And mine.

Sorry that it was such a long update, I get carried away or as my darling wife says, I should be carried away.



Jon