Heinrichss Hetzer Project

Heinrichss Hetzer

It's been a while since I have done anything with my Hetzer. So I decided to take advantage of the nice day and the night off from work and work on it.

I worked on it for 4 hours and this is all I got. It may not be much but it is a milestone none the less. I was afraid to mess with the mantel in fear of screwing it up. Once I got it cut off about 4 weeks ago, I thought, what have I done? Now I'm starting to believe I can do this and confidence is starting to appear.

It still needs some sanding but other than that it's ready to paint.

I was trying like hell not to cut the top off, but when I found that the mantel will be harder to put back on with it still there (the top) I broke down and cut it off. I figured, while I had it off, that I would fabricate a new top for it (since the plastic one is warped) and add a full interior (minus the engine of course). These are the beginnings of that step.

I got the inside walls of the engine hatches done but still need to make the outside walls. I have the outside wall of the main compartment done.

I also layed down a new floor to have a level base to measure from.

The primer is just preliminary, as I wanted to see how much I have to smooth out on some key areas (mantel base and engine vent screen).

There's still a lot of work to be done but I am getting closer and I can almost taste it.

I know they aren't pretty, but I finally got the interior walls up and painted. Most of the crappy looking glue will be hidden once the top is reattached. Eventually I will be painting the whole thing and was wondering what kind of spray paint is best. I noticed that the primer I used made tiny pits in the hull (I guess due to the thinner base). Anyways, here they are.

I got my hinges at Lowes. I found them in the same isle as the nails and fasteners. I think they were $2.50 for 4 hinges.

Here are the mods I finished today (nowhere near finished is more like it). I got the new roof that I made put back on and the mantel is reattached. The gun is stationary but I guess that's no big deal right now. I played around all summer in stead of working on it and now I just want to get the main things finished before the winter comes. I'm not taking anymore shortcuts from here on out. There are still a few little gaps to fill and some edges to trim up.