Hasegawa Humber Armoured Car 1/72 scale

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While i was on the Hasegawa modelling wagon i dragged out these two Humber armoured cars i made a while back, and thought i should add them to my blog. Great value when you buy from Japan or China these guys were no more than USD 10 each delivered to Australia. Better than buying from the UK at close to the same in pounds…..

As usual with Hasegawa models they were easily put together and not too complicated to build. I didn’t like the metal axle rods and lack of suspension. You need to fix the metal rods so the wheels do not slide from side to side or rotate. I should have fixed these two to an MDF base to prevent any slippage and also as they are quite delicate. They come with some stowage items like a box or two and some rolled blankets/tarpaulins. The crew figure, which typical for Hasegawa, is awful. So i replaced him with a crew man from Battlefield Miniatures. I also added aerials so the forward recce team can radio into headquarters when they spot the enemy.

Choices for your British in plastic 1/72 scale Humber Armoured Cars is extremely limited, and in fact i think only RPM make an alternative version. I haven’t seen that model but can recommend these Hasegawa kits as an excellent addition to any British force.

Looking at these pictures i may go back and add some more mud/weathering/dirt to my vehicles as they look a bit clean!

Hasegawa Puma Armoured Car

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 1 Comment

My German force definitely required this iconic armoured car for the front line reconnaissance units. My choice was either the Hasegawa or Roden version, and opted for the Japanese model company mainly due to getting one for around $10 direct from Japan.

Hasegawa make excellent models for wargaming, not too complicated, but entertaining to put together, and with an excellent amount of detail. I think far better than the quick build stuff out there. This Puma was no exception. One particularly good thing is the way the wheels are set up which makes them really easy to align. With eight wheels there is a lot of capacity for making a mess, but the easy construction of the suspension means it hard to screw it up. The only thing i did struggle with was the main gun assembly which i couldn’t quite work out from the instructions and pictures, resulting in me fudging the connection to the turret a bit. Not that i can tell now.

I popped in an AB figures commander in control up top, added an aerial out the back. The instructions do show an aerial with like an upside umbrella on top. I tried that but it didn’t look right so i scrubbed it. Three colour camo scheme and based on 3mm MDF finished him off, plus a bit of dry brushed dirt. Hey Presto here is Captain Schulz wandering around looking for trouble.

Zvezda German MG Teams in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 2 Comments

Just a very quick post on a couple of German MG teams painted up and based ready for our next clash. Coming in a box of two for a few dollars this is a great little kit and good value. The poses are excellent and look really good hiding behind a grassy knoll. Based on small MDF squares and painted in SS camo these dudes will bolster the firepower of my German troops.

Taking photos of figures with my phone is not the best but i hope you can make them out OK!

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River Sections and Rustic Bridge

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 1 Comment

Finished some river sections and a rural bridge this week. The river sections all made with 3mm MDF cut to shape. I then added modelling clay river banks. The banks were then sealed in with a coating of acrylic filler, and then coated with a thick layer of sand and PVA glue. Some bigger gravelly bits were glued close to the waters edge. The water itself is just blue and green spray paints, the photos are actually a bit brighter than real life. The banks were sprayed brown then dry brushed with a lighter shade of brown and then flocked with a  couple of greens. I added some reeds made out of an old cut up paintbrush which came out OK.

My bridge was scratch built using foam board covered with embossed plasticard. Details were added with modelling clay. The road way was just cardboard bent and glued in place. Painting involved various different colours including grey, light brown, sandy yellow and pink.

The river sections were all 15 cm wide and from 30 – 40cm long. I need to make some shorter bits and also some more 45 and 90 degree turns for variety. Photos below!

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ACE Dingo Armoured Car Part 2

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I built the second ACE Dingo i had in my kit box. This time i learned from my previous attempt and so the construction process was much smoother. It took plenty of extra plastic removal to make sure all the parts fitted without gaps. I was also able to get my wheel alignment much better by getting the suspension on early in the piece. Still i had to cover some dodgy bits with stowage items. A definite improvement on the first attempt at this kit, but i would still try the S-Model Dingos rather than this ACE kit.

I added my AB Figures Dingo crew, one driver and one officer with binoculars. They were a tight fit but really make all the difference!

Here they are scouting out a very fancy French country house!

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Dragon Stug IV Late in 1/72 scale

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Picked up this little beauty at my local hobby store. Unfortunately these days you pay more at the store than on line. Retail shopping is a dying breed…….

Its official I love Dragon kits. Even if I have to pay a little bit more for them compared to other manufacturers, its worth the money. This little Stug was a pleasure to build. Starting with the wheels which are moulded separately making it super easy to paint the outer tyre part black and the inner hub dark yellow, before fitting them together. The tracks themselves are one piece flexible plastic/rubber which I much prefer to the really fiddly multiple part tracks I have struggled with on other kits. I didn’t quite manage to get the sagging weight effect of the top tracks – something I need to investigate further next time.

The top section is excellent and full of detail. Some hatches can be modelled opened or closed, so next time I will add a commander and crew. Everything fitted together perfectly with no issues. I primed and painted the bottom section before gluing on my pre-painted wheels. Then the tracks went on, before I glued the top and bottom together.

I went with a dark green on yellow camouflage scheme, and a dirty brown wash to blend him into the base. I couldn’t recommend this Dragon kit more highly, and will buying a couple of more of these to make up a troop.

Check him snooping around a Normandy village in the following photos.

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Hasegawa 88mm and half track 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 1 Comment

After finishing my Zvezda 88mm with AB crew, I needed to make sure I had some transportation for the gun to get around. I didn’t want to have my gun and crew base trailing a halftrack round the board so I decided to get hold of a second gun in the limbered position. The two Hasegawa kits, 88mm gun and heavy halftrack, were just the ticket. Bought direct from my favourite Japanese web site these kits are way cheaper than buying Hasegawa from any other source. At under USD 9 each they are such a bargain. If you buy Hasegawa from other foreign web sites they are probably double the price.

The kits are easy to build and I can highly recommend them. Check out the below pictures. I gave them my usual dunkelb treatment, plus added drivers from AB figures. All that is missing is the gun crew sitting in the back seats. I think I will add them at a later stage.

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Zvezda 88mm Gun & Crew

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 2 Comments

I needed some heavier anti tank weapons for my German Army in Normandy and you cant really be without one of these famous 88mms. I don’t think Zvezda call it an 88mm, its something like a heavy flak gun or similar. Anyway the Zvezda kit is an awesome model and very easy to put together. I picked it up at around USD 5.50 from the Ukraine, so pretty reasonably priced. It goes together very easily and has good detail, perfect for my needs. I think on a par with the Hasegawa 88mm (which I will show in another post sometime). The Zvezda gun comes with a base and crew, but I wanted something a bit more exciting. So I made a square MDF base that would fit the gun plus some room for the crew. This was textured with PVA glue and sandy dirt from my front garden. I replaced the Zvezda crew with a much better crew from AB Figures, except for the gunner who was part of the original crew. I glued the crew onto the base in some modelling clay to blend them in, and also added some shell casings and live ammo boxes to add to the scene. The crew were painted in my usual peadot plane tree whatever SS camo scheme, which is getting better, and more time consuming, the more I do it. The 88mm gun was primed black, sprayed dark yellow and then given a wash in chocolate brown/black. After a highlighting in a lighter sand yellow the gun was glued onto the base with the crew. I found it much easier to place and paint the crew once they were attached to the base, and then add the gun afterwards. I added some green flock to the base and hey presto we are ready to rock and roll.

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Red Brick House

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 1 Comment

Finished my latest Normandy house this week. This nice little red brick number will add some more residential addresses for my Normandy villages and some good hiding spots for house to house action.

My semi-detached two storey house is scratch built from a simple plan I drew up. Starting with foam board walls which I covered with plastic sheet embossed with a brick pattern. WIndows are framed with balsa wood, plus shutters, doors, lintels, doorsteps all done with 1mm balsa wood from Bunnings. Its all mounted on 3mm MDF for strength. Chimney pots are made from some hard plastic tubing I got from somewhere, can’t remember where, just cut into short 6mm sections and glued on.

The interior has some wall paper (wrapping paper) and a removable 1st floor with attached wall so you can have men on the ground floor and first floor. The roof is also detachable, and I made this out of some plastic sheet I bought that is embossed with a roof tile pattern.

The whole thing was painted a mix of red oxide and bright red, then I rubbed ground up white chalk pastel into the surface. This created the effect of white mortar between the bricks. Window frames and other details done in white, and the shutters red and yellow for a bit of a change.

The base was covered in sand then painted dark brown and flocked in a couple of grassy colours. Pictures below!!!

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Dragon Horch Heavy Cars in 1/72 Scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 2 Comments

I needed some more transport for my German squads to get them smoothly and quickly round those little Normandy lanes. These Horch cars from Dragon Models came up, and at two kits in a box for less than $20 from BNA Models, I could not miss the opportunity. As usual with Dragon kits I found them really nice to build, with enough details to make things interesting, but not too fiddly to be annoying. Everything fitted together perfectly, and I would highly recommend this kit. I am on the look out for maybe a halftrack or two from their range.

I added my usual drivers from AB Figures and painted them up in the finest dunkelb. All ready to go. Photos below show them in convoy with a Panther and just posing in a country lane.
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