1/72 Scale

1/72 Scale Modelling

Esci Marder III in 1/72 Scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 11 Comments

Boxart Marder III 8010 ESCI

OK so I have finally been beaten by vinyl tracks. I am very sad to admit defeat. I have spent most of August working on a troop of Panzer IVs from Zvezda and Esci (vinyl tracks!), but I tried to finish off this old kit I picked up for pennies. Alas no it was not to be……. After many attempts trying to use my superglue and patience technique on this little guy I ended up with too much super glue and too little patience.

The kit was thrown in the garbage, something I am not proud of, but you have to draw a line somewhere. Buyers beware this one is a real dud. I think I better turn to Unimodel and buy their Marders as their kits are excellent.

Should have my panzers finished soon and I can get back to posting something more constructive!

 

 

“M7 Priest: Rare Photographs from Wartime” by David Doyle

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

I have been unable to get any models built in the past month as we have been out of the house while getting some renovations done, and then we were overseas for three weeks on a most excellent holiday! So I am missing my hobby a bit and getting itchy fingers.

But luckily I can still read and write. My latest reading material is about another awesome Allied design from World War Two, the M7 Priest. It was a powerful 105mm howitzer placed on a Sherman hull, used for supporting infantry and attacks with some heavy firepower. It was used very effectively during the war and even after in later conflicts. I had just purchased two Priest kits made by Unimodel so it was excellent timing that I had this book for inspiration for when I actually get around to building them. Plastic kits of the Priest in 1/72 scale are very hard to find, and I think Unimodel must be one of the only manufacturers.  The Plastic Soldier Company make a Sexton, and I think Revell do a 1/76 scale Priest, but Unimodel maybe the only 1/72 scale producer.

Anyway the book is full of fantastic pictures, as the main title “Images of war” suggests. It does detail the design and development stages of the Priest, plus some specifications and performance of the vehicle. But most of all there are many, many shots of the tank in action in many different situations. They were used in multiple roles from blasting strong points, longer range artillery and even transporting troops. The main design was constant but details were fiddled with over the years and these slight differences are illustrated very well throughout the many photos.

If you have an interest in this particular vehicle or you are planning to build one in small scale this book is a great source of visual inspiration. I will be picking a couple of pictures out to use to base my kits on when my Priest models get to the front of the queue. I was very happy to add this book to my growing collection of reference material for military vehicles from World War Two. If you like tanks you will enjoy this book.

Esci Pz.Kpfw.V Panther in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

One more Panther! This will be it. I now have seven Panthers which is enough for any battle. Four from PSC, Zvezda, Dragon and now a vintage Esci kit.

I have been having a lot of fun buying up these old Esci kits on eBay. They really hold up well even after all these years. I think I like the smell of old cardboard and instructions with brown edges. This one had an illustration of using a lit cigarette to help melt a bit of sprue for an aerial. Fantastic suggestion back when cigarettes were good for you.

In comparison the other Panthers I have built in this scale, it measures up well. It is a nice chunky model, like the Plastic Soldier Company ones, only with much better detail. I also prefer it to the Dragon Panther which is too refined and looks a bit boring. So it was a winner all round. I did not use the crewman as he was rubbish, and may pop a nice AB figures German officer in the hatch. I was very happy with the end result, but the building of this model kit was definitely a challenge. Two words. Vinyl tracks. I am sort of seeing them as a positive now, like a badge of courage, I have to conquer the shitty vinyl tracks. In this case I managed to snap the front sprockets, but trusty drill and wire to the rescue I fixed them up better than ever. Probably two gallons of super glue were used in the making of this cat.

A very weird design issue with this kit was the lack of hull above the running gear. Esci have left off a whole area where you can just see into the hull of the tank. Very odd. So that needed fixing with some thin plastic card. The tow cables were tricky to fit and needed more super glue and patience. I made an aerial out of washing up brush as usual, rather than taking up smoking again and stretching sprue with my Benson and Hedges.

I gave up modelling when I started smoking in the 1980’s, but then luckily modelling has been the addictive habit I have taken up again in the 2010’s. Gave up smoking a long time ago. Probably a good swap from a health perspective.

I used a red brown base followed by dark sand and three colour camo. I made sure I under cooked the chipping and went easy on the dust and dirt. Learning from previous over cooking. The original decals were brown and crispy like barbequed pork so I used some nice new ones. Happy Easter everyone!

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Dragon Sd.Kfz. 171 Panther Ausf.D Late Production

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 11 Comments

Another big German tank finished. This time a Panther. So far my Panther brigades are made up of Plastic Soldier Company vehicles and one from Zvezda. Dragon kits are always a special treat, they are great to put together. I always keep one eye on the Dragon USA web site as they often have special deals with kits going as cheap as USD 8-10. That is a great saving over anywhere else. It is very rare that Dragon kits come up on eBay for resale, and if they do they are quite often priced higher than buying from the source. So where is the value in that?

The moulding and detail on this kit is of the usual high standard I would expect from Dragon kits. The running gear is very clever as it is moulded in rows making sure each level of wheels is straight. It also saves on time but does not reduce the realism. The tracks are the nice soft type that fit very easily and can be glued to produce sag on the top of the wheels. Oh what a relief after fighting for days with a face full of superglue wrestling with those old Esci tracks! The detail is very delicate and a different level to the Plastic Soldier Company models. The only addition I made was the plastic aerial on the back. The side skirts are optional and are nice and thin. In hindsight I wish I had made some damage to one of them like on the box art. Next time.

My paint job started out well. A nice covering of sandy dunkelb, followed by camo green and red brown patches with my brush. Then I over sprayed with my Tamiya dark yellow to fade everything out. Unfortunately I am still experimenting with my weathering. So I think this time I overdid it with the chipping and lost some of the impact. As always its a learning experience, so next time I will take it easy with my sponge. I used decals supplied with the kit from the two options you get.

This is a great kit. Much better than some of Dragon’s other “fast build” type offerings I have built. I think to hide some of my average painting I will add some extra foliage branches and stuff like that. In case you are wondering I had to take photos on a bit of white paper as my table is all packed away for renovations. I think I need a stronger light source for my photos! Next I have a vintage Esci Panther, oh no back to the horrible tracks of death……….

Esci Jagdtiger in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 7 Comments

Oh boy another big cat I had never built before. This time a Jagdtiger tank destroyer. It’s a beast of a vehicle. Another eBay purchase for not much more than pennies. The kit seemed pretty old as the box was beaten up and the decals died a while back, but the box art still looks pretty good. Opening up the kit I just love the smell of 1980’s childhood I get from fading paper instructions and old cardboard.

I do read a lot of criticism on the net about these old Esci kits, but I love them. This one is another old gem. It’s a relatively straight forward and easy build as the tank has no turret and is made up up a big piece of lower hull and a big piece of upper hull. One massive barrel of a gun. It comes with a commander figure who I declined to include, plus a couple of hatch torsos who were also relegated to the spares box. All the detail is nice and chunky. Towing cable and extra track add some interest to the solid sides of the tank. One of the pictures in the instructions showed some battle damage on one side of the fender, so I hacked off the front fender on the left side.

The only thing that’s a real struggle with these Esci kits are the tracks. They are this horrible stiff vinyl type stuff that doesn’t want to go where you want it to go. Whatever you do, do not attach the side fenders until after you have the tracks finished. I used a lot of super glue and some clamps and wedges, and a lot of patience to get the tracks to glue and stay. I found that gluing and weighting or clamping or wedging them a small section at a time was the only way to do it. I managed to get the tracks to wrap around the front sprocket and then sag only by wedging some card firmly under the upper hull while the super glue was drying. So tracks aside the construction was problem free!

Paint job was a three colour camouflage I pinched from the internet somewhere. Chipping and mud and dust and rust all added later. The decals are from my spares box as the originals were yellow and crispy. Overall a great little old kit that still scrubs up nicely, if you can put up with the tracks from hell……….

My photos are limited to the churchyard right now as everything is packed away ready for some renovations in our house!

AB Figures British Infantry PIAT Teams

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 4 Comments

I am continuing to finish my British Company, it’s taking a while, but I am slowly getting there. I have another two squads half finished and another one primed. Also a bunch of commanders, HMGs and observers. My painting speed is so slow I may be done by Christmas. These guys are the anti tank PIAT teams from AB Figures. They are attached at platoon level so I needed three of them. They only come in one pose from AB so I have done three teams the same. They will rarely appear together so I was not too concerned. Maybe I will boost their numbers with an alternative supplier to have more options of figures. As always I love AB figures and they are great fun to paint up. MDF bases and a few tufties and we are ready to stalk some panzers……..

On another note we are having renovations done soon so my blogging time may be severely limited. It will slow down my painting even more……….erghhhhhh

Hasegawa M3 Stuart Light Tank

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

Boxart M3 Stuart Mk.I 31103 Hasegawa

 

Another great little kit from Hasegawa in Japan. They are pretty old kits I think but Hasegawa models are always really fun to put together. I have yet to find one that I did not enjoy. I have two later Stuarts from S-Model almost finished to make up a trio of light tanks. So even though I think this older model was mainly used by US forces I have added him into by British just because I felt like it and found him on eBay for a bargain price from someone.

The kit comes in the usual grey softish plastic and is a nice easy build. Usual average rubber type tracks, once they are painted and based they are decent enough. I switched out the awful crew man for an excellent AB figure. You can model hatches open so that’s a good thing. I also added an aerial I think in the right spot, well it looks like a base for an antenna. The turret MG I changed for a much better one from a Trumpeter kit spare, and I added some Cullen hedgerow cutters onto the front as they fitted so nicely. I am not sure cutters were ever placed on the front of these tanks but it looks to me as if they should have been.

A nice olive drab paint job, British decals and some dirt and dust finishes him off ready for a patrol in the bocage. Although armed with a pop gun and paper thin armour not sure what use he is going to be if things get hot……..

Humbrol HK 72205 3/4 TON TRUCK in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 4 Comments

HUMBROL HK 72205 3/4 TON TRUCK KIT CONTENTS SEALED

This was another eBay find. Its actually just an old Esci kit that was reboxed as Humbrol. It’s a kit I first built in the early 1980’s as a young lad. I would have twisted most of the parts off the sprue and glued it all together and got him into the action without a drop of paint. How I was easily pleased in the 1980’s, which is probably why I liked the music back then too…….  It’s amazing how a smell can teleport you back in time, and the smell of this kit gave me such vivid recall. It must be something about the cardboard box and maybe the plastic, anyway call me weird, but it took me back in time.

I remember this truck being my favourite vehicle for my Allied forces. Originally I built him with the canvas tilt on. This time I left the back open, mainly so I can fit in some passengers or cargo sometime. The kit really stands the test of time and puts together very easily. Something about trucks that I really enjoy building. I tried to put some cable using wire around the front winch, but could not quite manage it. I did add some clear plastic as a windshield as that is not included in the model. The original decals had long since perished so I added some of my own. I like the Allied star on the bonnet,  which I think came from a Unimodel kit.

A man from my reliable supply of AB Figures British drivers is at the wheel, I cant remember if the kit came with a crew man. If it did it was probably rubbish so I threw him in the spares box. I love this kit. I think it’s the only Dodge truck available in this scale in plastic, so you better go and find one on eBay.

I seem to find eBay a great source of old Esci kits if you are looking around! I have a bunch at home now gathering dust that I need to get cracking on.

 

Stonewall Figures Combat Miniatures WW2 British Infantry 20mm

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 3 Comments

Continuing on with painting up my British Infantry company for battles in Normandy here are a group of eighteen figures I recently finished. They were part of an amazing eBay purchase I made from a lady in the UK which had included a bunch of AB figures plus some unidentified British soldiers. After hunting around on the net for a while I figured out that they were from Stonewall Figures Combat Miniatures range in 20mm.

Stonewall Figures – British

They are much chunkier than AB and CP models and have a little less detail. While the detail is not as refined they are still really nice figures. The faces are full of personality and the poses are all really natural. The detail is very clear which makes these guys very easy to paint, and I had a blast painting this group. There are some really different poses, including squaddies carrying stuff, one with a benson and hedges stuffed in his gob, and another bloke waving his hands around shouting “Cor blimey guvnor!” I have plenty of rifles plus some SMGs and officers.

They mix in very well with all my other metal figures from AB, CP and SHQ. I think in the remaining eBay stash i have some heavy weapons and even a stretcher bearing group. Also a while stack of German Panzergrenadiers who are in the painting queue with a million others. Anyway if you need some extra squaddies to bulk up your forces I would definitely check them out. Here they are in one big group and then smaller bunch of 4 -5 men.

CP Models British Tank Crew

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 4 Comments

Just another quick blog while I am on a major mission of painting up my remaining pile of British figures. Another favourite figure maker of mine in the UK is CP Models. They do an awesome range of World War Two in 20mm – check them out at CP Models

This little trio of figures will be required when any of my British tank crews bail out and need to fight on foot. An officer with a revolver and the gunner and driver clutching SMGs make up the trio. Blurry photos sorry but my phone camera is useless and needs to be upgraded for taking tiny pictures.

CP Models really give AB Figures a run for their money. I have a whole stack of German panzergrenadiers all primed and ready to go. It’s only my laziness in front of painting endless German camo schemes that is holding me back. CP figures are really nice to paint as their detail is so clear and defined, it makes it easy. Great faces and great poses, you really cannot fault them.

These guys have just jumped out of their Sherman tank. I cant see any damage maybe its just run out of gas and ammo……….