Quarantine Project: Rare Earth metal tank kit

My dad has had this metal tank model kit sitting around the house for years, after getting it as a gift one year. Since we're quarantining together I decided to put it together for him.

I didn't initially think to photograph the process, so here's the t-34 hull and turret assembly.

I did all of these over about a week.
Not shown: the missing exhaust that I snapped apart trying to attach.

Doing the Christie suspension was a PITA. You had to roll the metal wheel sheets over a disk insert while lining up the tabs. I broke or misaligned more than a few of them.

*Soviet Anthem Plays*

Onward to the Sherman. My dad built the hull for this one, so no photos of that.

The bogey suspension went much better than the Christie.

Getting the connecting brace on securely was a pain however.

Close up of the hull. Pay no attention to the gun travel lock that we snapped off.

Unfortunately I broke the lower front plate off its perforations trying to shape it correctly, so I secured it the best I could.

That's a nice Atlanta you got there. It would be a real shame if someone were to... burn it.

Getting the hatches on the tiger turret on took more time than I'd like to admit.

And the gun was even worse. The pegs on the mantlet were too short, making a snug fit impossible. The gun fell off a few times...

Hull is bent out of a single sheet of metal. Tiger is interesting as it was the only one with a turret ring cutout. The only thing lost this time was a rear hatch that vanished into the ether.

Still not as bad as the Christie, but the overlapping road wheels took a long time to do.

*Panzerlied blares at max volume*