Unimodel Sd.Kfz.139 Marder III in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 4 Comments

I am really enjoying building these Unimodel kits. They have a huge range covering loads of World War 2 vehicles, some of which are a bit more obscure. I pick these up directly from an excellent Ukrainian Hobby shop which stocks pretty much the whole range. You can find them at https://www.hobby.dn.ua. Its far better to buy these kits direct from Ukraine as they work out at much better value. Postage from Ukraine to Australia is very reasonable too. Anyway check them out. I did pick up some Hetzers and a Sherman at the same time, which are next in line for building.

https://i0.wp.com/i.ebayimg.com/images/g/02oAAOSw2xRYbZKL/s-l300.jpg

This Marder III is another of the German Self Propelled guns they came up with and its a pretty funny looking design. They just used the same chassis at the PzKpfw 38 Light Tank and jammed an AT gun on top. The hull and running gear are quite easy to build with four big wheels either side plus sprocket and drive wheel. The tracks are link and length and fitted really nicely. I always start with getting the sprocket wheel done first, but in this case it didn’t matter as the tracks all lined up perfectly.

The armour sections on the upper hull were a little bit tricky as the instructions tend to be a bit vague. Unimodel tend to include a little too many steps in their exploded diagrams so it can be hard to follow. Once i had fitted all the upper armour sections i found that the top rail would not fit across so i had to add an extra bit of plastic. No harm done. But the armour plate was the trickiest part of this model. You get some photo etched metal bits too. The basket at the back is metal you need to bend plus some other little bits here and there. Overall this was a lot of fun to build and a bit more challenging than the usual tank.

It doesn’t come with any crew, and for an open topped vehicle its crucial to have some crew hanging around doing their thing. I used AB Figures tank crew as usual. I had a lot of fun doing a peadot camo on their pants so i included a photo of them in mid paint under the magnifying glass light. The tank i tried a new camo scheme with green patches out lined in red brown. The kit comes with plenty of decals giving you options to do whatever you want. I liked this kit so much i immediately started work on one of the Unimodel Hetzers i also bought……

Trumpeter Sd.Kfz 184 Ferdinand “Elefant” 1/72 scale kit

~ Colonel Mustard ~ Leave a comment

I bought this kit from Hobby Easy in Hong Kong for an amazing $8.50 which was just too good to pass up. Also my buddy Jim Bambra who makes excellent wargaming rules at Combat HQ wanted some photos of an Elefant (not the big eared type), so i happily obliged with my build of this interesting tank.

Image result for trumpeter ferdinand

The more i build Trumpeter kits the more i like them. Enough detail for a bit of a challenge, but all the bits go together nicely without too much screwing around. I hate messing around with ill fitting parts. It’s no fun! This kit is great. A few little things should be mentioned. The instructions are not correct for the running gear assembly, so you really need to pay attention to the pictures and not the instructions to make sure you get the right wheels and the right suspension in the right places. Also there were two little spikey bits that go behind the sprocket wheels that i could not get into the right place and so i left them out. It didn’t matter as you cannot see them anyway in the final model. I did get some photo etched grills and stuff but they did not appear in the instructions and seem to have some from another version or something.

There are two options for the tracks. You can use the single piece rubber/vinyl or you can build the link and length type. I could not see how you could attach the link and length easily on the wheels unless you did them much earlier in the build than the instructions suggested. So i went for the single length tracks and they worked out fine.

All the hatches are moulded shut which is a shame, but i guess you could open them up with some knife work. It would be good to put a commander in there somewhere. I did a a two colour paint job, just yellow and green patches. Plus lots of dirt and mud and dust as usual. Its a cool kit and a cool looking tank. Much fun.

Farmyard Scratchbuild Part Two

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 4 Comments

I finally finished the second and third buildings for my Normandy farmyard. Inspired by David Wright and his brilliant book “Making Rural Buildings for Model Railways” i modelled my farm buildings on a couple of farms i saw in his book and on his web site. I had finished the main farm house and had to complete the small stable and the out house with hay loft and steps.

All made from a structure of 5mm foam core coated with plaster and modelling clay, that’s the easy bit! The time consuming effort comes with carving the stone work brick by brick. I bought a cheap engraving tool on eBay for $15 which definitely speeds the process up, although i did go change batteries quicker than undies. Roofs are all old Christmas cards cut up into tiles in strips glued onto a foam core structure, except for the rusty corrugated steel, which i picked up from Sergeants Mess for a couple of pounds.

I left the buildings all un-based and free standing so i could change their configuration into whatever i please. I will add a large hay barn next and make a farm yard stone wall and gate and path. Need some hay bales and a tractor to finish the whole thing off. Photos below with a sneaky Tiger wandering past.

Metcalfe Models 00/HO Scale Village Shop & Cafe

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 2 Comments

I built the second building from Metcalfe Models that i bought a while back. The first manor house was a bit on the small side to fit in with my other scratch built Normandy buildings so i was not too enthusiastic about this one. But i was happy to be surprised with how this turned out. Scale size is always a problem, especially with buildings. I did purchase one as a trial from Loic Neveu, who makes great looking stuff, but it was tiny! I reckon it would fit better with 15mm or 1/100 scale. My home made village all comes in around 40mm per storey or 120mm minimum height for a two storey building with roof. Plus the chimney pots and 3-5mm of base. This Metcalfe village shop is 110mm in height to the top of the chimneys which is just big enough to fit in with my existing buildings without looking shrunken and dwarfish. Once you stick him in with other scenery you don’t notice the slightly smaller scale.

So onto the model. I really like these card kits. They come in super solid card stock and are really fun and easy to build. A clear instruction sheet is provided and the card pieces are very clearly marked and self explanatory. It makes a nice change for an evening’s modelling excitement. The card does a look a bit too clean and tidy, so i find basing them and throwing some brown paint around does help them blend into the “real world” a bit. While i am super keen on building my own terrain from scratch having a few of these guys adds some variety and speeds up the process a bit too. Building my own takes me weeks and weeks. For around $15 – 17 per house they are very good value compared to other resin or plastic options. I have my beady eyes on a couple of other Metcalfe kits, the terraced houses and corner store may be added to my collection. You should check them out, even more so for you Cold War and Modern wargamers, as they will fit better in that period than in Normandy 1944.

IBG Models Chevrolet C15A No.13 Cab in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 2 Comments

IBG 72015 1/72 Chevrolet C15A No.13 Cab Australian Pattern Wirel

These kits from Polish company IBG are just always a total pleasure to build. This is only my second truck from their range but i it was just as awesome as the first one. They come packed in a way oversize box with just a couple of sprues. Detail is great and the kit goes together very nicely with no issues. You don’t get any crew so i added my usual driver from AB figures. Always remember to build and paint the interior of the cab before putting on the roof and the driver in. I have made this mistake before……

Not much else to say. I really enjoyed making this kit. if you want a good range of smaller trucks then look no further than IBG. I painted mine in standard olive green and added some dirt and dust and mud. Great fun. They have some very cool looking US trucks too which i want to get my hands on. You always need trucks and plenty of them. Some lucky officer will get to swan around in this baby.

 

Trumpeter Jagdpanther in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 6 Comments

Trumpeter produce a huge range of 1/72 scale tanks and vehicles and where i am in Australia they are very affordable and easy to find. Only $10 a pop from my www.hobbyeasy.com, which i think is just great value. The Jagdpanther is a very cool tank and although not used in great numbers in Normandy i still really wanted to build one.

Previously i had built some Jagdpanthers from the English company Armourfast, but to be honest, this Trumpeter kit is 100% far and away totally better in every department. The kit is quite a simple build. The running gear goes together quickly with a couple of dozen wheels. I left the vinyl/rubber tracks off so i could paint them separately before attaching them to the tank later. The hull of the tank has plenty of great detail to add including spare tracks on each side, plus it has schurzen plates to add if you like. On this version i decided to leave them off so you can see the running gear more clearly. Some good decals are provided, with two different choices of numbers for the side of the tank.

I painted this by hand in a usual three colour camouflage scheme, but tried a brighter camo green than i normally use. I also tried some new techniques and products I hadn’t tried before. Firstly i bought some MIG products washes for British and German tanks. Normally i just use some raw/burnt umber mixed with a touch of black for a wash. I gave the tank a gloss varnish after finishing the camo scheme and then gave it a wash with the MIG wash for German vehicles. What a difference! I would recommend grabbing some of these as the effect is so much better than just the regular paint wash i was using.

I also tried some chipping weathering effects with a sponge that i had read about. This worked quite well with a contrasting paint colour to my tanks paintwork (i used burnt umber and raw umber mainly). I made sure i didn’t over do it. Also after reading a tutorial by Piers Brand on how he uses weathering powders on tanks i decided i wanted to try them out too. So another trip to BNA Model World, i bought a bunch of weathering powders, again from MIG, and used them on the tracks and running gear. Using them sparingly and keeping the effects subtle they certainly improve the look of the vehicle.

So i was very happy with the new techniques and products i tried this week. You can see the results in my finished Jagdpanther below.

Notes Of A Russian Sniper by Vassili Zaistev

~ Colonel Mustard ~ Leave a comment

IMAG0536

Another fine book from Pen and Sword Publishing in the UK. I think they made a movie out of this a few years ago. Its the true story of Vassili Zaistev and his role as the greatest Russian sniper in the battle for Stalingrad. From humble beginnings in the Urals hunting animals he becomes the most famous sniper accounting for a reported 242 German scalps.

It is a great, first hand account of the house to house, factory to factory, close quarters fighting of Stalingrad and the role of the sniper in that fierce and bloody conflict. Vassili goes into detail about sniper tactics and how he learned his art through the rubble and twisted metal of a devastated city. If you are modelling or gaming any part of the Stalingrad period this would be a good book for you for inspiration and information. You get a very real impression of how the fighting occurred and what sort of engagements were fought. Snipers had a crucial role in the city and could swing a battle in their favour.

I think i will have to search out the movie now and watch it again after reading this. Overall an excellent read and one you can certainly whizz through in a few days.

Ploughed Fields Corrugated Card

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 11 Comments

I was destroying some card board boxes to put into the recycling the other day but then was suddenly struck with a terrain vision in my backyard. As i tore up the reinforced card board i remembered something i read somewhere about making ploughed fields out of corrugated card and thought i would give it a try. You can never have enough rural scenery, and my painted carper tiles get a bit stale.

This is about the easiest terrain build you can hope for. Clean up your corrugated card by removing the top layer of card leaving the furrowed bit. Then glue to an appropriately sized piece of MDF. You can make any size you like. The card is blended to the MDF using some no more gaps/caulk/arylic filler around the edge. I gave the edging a good cover of PVA and sprinkled with sand for texture. I also did some PVA glue and sand sprinkles on the furrows too for effect. A good dark brown spray from the can followed by a couple of lighter brown dry brushes adds some texture to the surface. The usual green flock around the edges plus some in the field for variety. I did have some warping issues with the MDF which i sorted using some heavy weights and also painting the bottom of the terrain.

Together with some hedges below the results are pretty convincing. For almost zero cost this is a great addition for my table. I just need a tractor and some hay bales now.

Plastic Soldier Company Sherman Firefly in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ Leave a comment

The Sherman Firefly is a very poorly catered for tank model in 20mm. There very few options for the wargamer in 1/72 scale. Armourfast produce some very basic kits, Unimodel have a firefly i haven’t built, and I think Dragon models do a Firefly which i have never seen available anywhere. The Plastic Soldier Company produce the best option in this scale, and i was lucky enough to pick up a box of these crucial tanks while i was visiting PSC HQ in Henfield in October. They come in the usual PSC style in a box of three and are great value for money costing around $22 Australian per box.

Very easy to build, they come in about a dozen pieces, and can be put together in quick smart time. I like having a change from the more complicated builds. The tracks come in a top and bottom section that glue to the running gear. They have a really nice heavy sag to them on the top, an effect which is hard to get with vinyl one piece and link and length tracks. You need to drill out the end of the barrel for realism. Turret hatches can be open or closed so you can add one or two tank crew and commanders. I used my favourite AB Figures tank commander drinking a cup of tea. It was fun to even paint his army issue enamel tea mug with a blue rim. Detail is nice and chunky as usual from PSC. After building fiddly Dragon models with all their delicate bits this made a nice change for a bit of rough and tumble. I added stowage from various places in my spares box, plus some wire aerials and decals from all over the place. My decals are pretty random as i don’t suppose to adhere to any historical accuracy. I just use what looks good. A light weathering with various browns finishes him off. Its a great little model and i am excited to build the other two. I think some camo netting over the turret and barrel next time will be the plan.

Here is my Firefly taking up a defensive position on the edge of town.

Dragon Models Sd.Kfz 260 and Sd.Kfz 261 Kleiner Panzerfunkwagens

~ Colonel Mustard ~ Leave a comment

I picked up these two little armoured cars from BNA Model World, who were having a sale a few weeks back. Dragon kits tend to be a bit pricier than others, but can be great to build, so i am always on the look out for a bargain. These guys came in around $15 each including postage and i couldn’t resist.

Armoured cars are a particular favourite of mine to build and for wargaming units they are very handy. I like to use them as command vehicles, forward observers and also to ferry around heavy weapons teams. These two kits will be especially useful as command vehicles and forward observers, as they are both unarmed and so will need to keep a low profile.

Both similar kits the only real difference is the massive aerial the Sd.Kfz 261 has, plus the metal rail above the hull. My wife thought the Sd.Kfz 261 might well  double up as the laundry platoon, as the aerial looks like a hills hoist. So they easily could have dried a few uniforms. Building these two tiny vehicles involves a two part hull, plus a simple axle and suspension set up. That bit is easy. Then it gets quite fiddly as you need to attach plenty of detail, some of it very skinny and fragile, onto the outside of the hull. Some parts need filling and sanding as the same hull mould is used for all the Sd.Kfz versions and holes need to be filled when not used. I managed to break a few parts very easily so i would not recommend these kits if you want a really sturdy wargames model that is going to get thrown around. The only disappointing thing i found was the metal mesh crew hatches or turret should have been photo etched or metal rather than being solid plastic. Also the option to model the roof/turret open would have been a welcome alternative.

Overall a challenging pair of armoured cars and really enjoyable to build. Definitely on the fragile side. I managed to drop the Sd.Kfz 261 on his head just as i finished flocking the base. Luckily he had the instincts of a cat and landed on his feet, i only had to reattach him by the axles and also lost one headlight. Butter fingers. I might have uttered an expletive or two. Photos below.

imag04652