Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 [WIP - Assembly of the Drive Sprockets, Road Wheels, and Idler Wheels]

 On the surface, it doesn't seem like I got much done on the Tamiya 1/35 scale Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 this past two weeks. Who am I kidding? I didn't. All I managed to do was Step 5 i.e. the assembly of the armored fighting vehicle's drive sprockets, road wheels, and idler wheels. In my defense, there was a lot wheels. And there was a lot of mould lines to remove from said wheels. 

Sturmgeschütz III work-in-progress: Assembly Step 5

Tamiya Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 assembly instructions, Step 5

 For parts located in an area that'll likely see significant weathering effects, they are incredibly detailed. The wheels sport amazing little details such as the rims, nuts and bolts, metal surface texture, and weld lines. So much so that I still made the effort to remove mould lines from the road wheels, all 12 pairs of them, even if they'll likely be covered with mud effects.    

Sturmgeschütz III idler wheels assembled and prepped for paint

Sturmgeschütz III drive sprockets assembled and prepped for paint

Sturmgeschütz III road wheels assembled and prepped for paint

 Mould lines. A scale modeler's worst nightmare. If there's a task more tedious when prepping a part for paint, I do not know it. A caveat: as I've never had the opportunity to get up close to a real-life Sturmgeschütz III, I am assuming those are mould lines. I stand corrected if they are not.

If that is a weld line, then it's an excellent piece of detail on the road wheels

Except for the occasional oversight, the mould lines on the road wheels were completely removed

Mould lines (and the absence of) on the roads wheels as seen from a different angle

 One would think the never-ending pandemic lock down, in one form or the other, would provide me with more time to work on hobby-related stuff. Surprisingly the opposite has happened. Ah well, at least I haven't hit another period of the dreaded hobby malaise, so I'm grateful for small mercies. The heart is still willing so if all goes well, I'll see you again in two weeks time. Cheers and be well.