Misc: Current Armour, on the go...

Oldies and newbies.

With a nice kind of symmetry, here's a bunch of older models, and my current crop. Amongst the older ones, the first WWII mini-military model I made on returning to these ol' hobbies, the 1/76 Airfix Panther, in late-war 'ambush' type camo'. This remains one of very few completed models, thus far. The vast bulk of my kits require varying degrees of painting/finishing.

The latest bits of building, today and yesterday, were the rear bins on the newer Airfix Panther, and a second go at the mortar crane/winch, on the B&P Sturmtiger. Whilst I was at it, I also changed the Sturmtiger's upper casemate access hatch handles to wire ones. Looks nicer, methinks.

Rear stowage bins on ye olde Panther, one open.

I really took my time and had a look at a load of ref for the second attempt at the winch. And I think it's come out okay. Nicer, indeed, than the one on the ACM Sturmtiger. I also roughed up the 'fenders' a little, and added some dings and hits to give the ol' beast a more worn in look. I'm looking forward to painting the Sturmtigers. I think I'll go for one of those late war funky three colour disc camo' patterns.

Winch deployed inboard this time.

Suitably chunky for this rather oversize model.

From behind...

Kit Build/Review: Airfix 1/76 Panther #2

White Milliput zimmerit goes on to the hull.

On this second build of an Airfix 1/76 Panther I haven't bothered detailing the box contents or initial build. Instead I've just jumped in at the point where things get more interesting (to me, at any rate!), with detailing the kit. This is part of a current series of 'panzer wrecks' for the battlefields of my putative 20mm WWII wargaming collection.

Rear turret access hatch open.

Chipped zimm...

Zimmerit on the turret as well.

After applying the white Milliput zimmerit to the major areas, I decided to detail a number of other aspects of the kit. Mostly this meant opening a number of hatches; in addition to the easy commander's cupola hatch. In fact nearly all the crew hatches are open. I suspect they all baled out - and sharp-ish, as they haven't destroyed the tank, as per reg's - after hitting a mine and coming under fire once immobilised. The driver's vision hatch and the rear turret hatch (is this the 'loader's hatch'?) both required rather more effort! But I think the results are worth it. 

Both main turret hatches are open.

Driver's hatch also open, as are the two upper hull hatches.

Note different zimm' patterns on turret and hull.

Zooming in on the turret a bit.

Hull glacis up close.

Keen observers might spot that the turret and hull zimm' patterns are different. I've seen this often enough on photos of actual WWII German tanks. But I didn't follow specific reference. I also removed the turret lifting eyes and replaced them with bent stretched sprue, which I think looks a helluva lot better. In addition I scratch-built towing clevises (clevii???), a tow-cable, and added some tools and spare track.

Note missing rear road wheel.

I've scored the kit itself just two and a half 'kreuz this time. Maybe that's a bit harsh? But it is pretty poor. The tracks, for example, are so bad as to be unusable, f-f-f-frankly. Still, it does make a usable base kit for having fun like this with, albeit in the slightly smaller 1/76 scale, as opposed to my preferred 1/72.

Added details: tools, tow-cable, turret lifting eyes, etc.

Am I therefore wasting my time polishing a turd? Perhaps... I've even ordered several OKB Grigorov 1/72 resin Panther track sets. They look amazing online. I want the tracks on this to look nicer than is possible using the awful rubber band jobs that come with the kit. I also took the trouble to make sure the wheels went on without recourse to the oversized 'cap' type doodads that Airfix supply. 

I'm quite keen to add a jack and maybe a bucket at rear. And I may well add the rear stowage bins. Or perhaps jus one? And have the other 'missing in action', with no zimm' where it was... hmmm!?

Misc: Model Mag Haul

Recently picked this lot up, free.

Approx' 40 mags, of which half are Airfix Model World.

 I do love Freecycle. I'm a member of two local groups; one for Cambridge, and the other Fenland. The former is very active, the latter a lot less so. Nonetheless, I just picked up a load of modelling magazines - 40-ish, mostly Airfix Model World and Tamiya Model Mag' International - from someone on the Fenland group.

I'm not sure how many of these I'll keep (nor what I'll do with any I don't keep). But a cursory flick through all of the non-Tamiya titles has revealed numerous articles of interest, sometimes directly - a 1/35 Maultier Ambulance build will aid my 1/72 Opel Ambulance, re interior detailing - and sometimes simply in broader technique terms, as for example general painting/weathering methods, and suchlike.

This 1/35 build by Kev Smith might help me...

... with the interior of my Opel Blitz Ambulance.

Some really helpful visual ref'.

The Tamiya titles, only one of which I've glanced through thus far, seem less likely to be of direct use, as my main scale is 1/72. That said, I do have a few 1/35 kits, including some Tamiya stuff - an 88mm, for example! - so I'll look through them all at some point soon as well. There are also a few aircraft themed titles. Again, of less interest to me, as I'm mostly a land warfare modeller. But that said, I have amassed a pretty large stash of 1/72 WWII German aircraft, and even a few items outside that favoured niche area/scale.

Having thumbed though a good three-quarters of these mags already, one thing very apparent to me is the bewildering array - mind-numbing, perhaps? - of material on offer. The kits themselves, and the humongous amount of ancillary stuff, from the paints and modelling equipment to aftermarket detailing stuff, and decals, to all the reference resources, books, museums, shows, etc. It's amazing! 

In the same issue as the Maultier, there's this 1/76 oddity...

... a captured British armoured staff car/mobile office.

Another thing that constantly astounds and sometimes even bemuses me is the degree of obsessional interest in detail. Very few of the featured builds in these magazines are simple straight out of the box affairs. Most of mine, by contrast, start that way. Adding detail and modifying kits is something I do do, of course. And I'd say it's one of the aspects of this hobby that's potentially the most fun. But it's also an area where the 'anorak'-ish aspect of the hobby can sometimes make me feel ill at ease, most especially at shows or club events where it can become an unattractive form of point-scoring display (rivet counting, I've heard it called).

Having said this, the upside of this obsessional aspect of the way so many of us engage in these hobbies is the abundance of information, which grows continuously, both in print, online, and elsewhere. In case anyone hadn't noticed I've been getting into WWII German 88mm Flak guns recently, and what started as simple out of the box pleasure is evolving into obsessive researching and a desire for a bigger collection of models of this interesting weapon.

Kit Build/Review: Hasegawa 1/72 88mm Flak 36

I quite like building the same thing by different manufacturers. It's nice to have several of any given thing, so one has a unit, for future gaming. In this instance this is my third 88mm Flak gun. One of the others is an Airfix 1/76 version, the other 1/72, by Zvezda. This Hasegawa is the later Flak 36, and comes with crew, ammo and boxes, and the two trailers.

I knew I didn't want to build the crew. For one thing the figures ain't great. And for another, I wanted the crew to be bigger (more figures, not taller or fatter!), better posed/sculpted, and probably dressed differently. I've seen so many pictures of 88mm crews, and very often, due no doubt to the intensity of the physical work, and perhaps the location/climatic conditions, they'll be dressed more casually.

I laid all the parts out, per the steps in the instructions, ready for clean up.

Step one.

Step two.

Step three.

Step four.

Step five.

And so on...

Nearing completion...

Boom...  done. Now it just needs paint and decals. 

The trio of 88mm guns.

So, the model is made. It's better than the Airfix kit, by a long margin (and bigger). But it's not quite as finely detailed as the Zvezda. Actually this might be better, for wargaming purposes. Too fine detail - as many kits for 'pure' model-makers are these days - and the resulting piece is too fragile. At this point I'm not sure how to paint it. But I'm intending to paint it ASAP, and get the decals on. I need to change my long established m.o. of building and then abandoning kits unfinished/unpainted!

Show Report: Scale Model World, Telford, 2019

Under cover of buying opportunities for xmas and birthday goodies, I was able to persuade Teresa to accompany me to Scale Model World in Telford. I first learned of the show, IPMS' flagship event, via model-making pals at the Wisbech IPMS branch. 

I booked us a night in an AirBnB place, near Wenlock Edge, in a very beautiful spot (and at a bargain price!), which turned out, having just had the car washed, to be down a muddy potholed lane. The weather, which had started sunny and turned rainy, had been an almost biblical deluge for most if the latter half of the journey.

We didn't get to see the countryside, or the local historical attraction - the world's first Iron Bridge, built by Abraham Darby III  - due to the poor weather and lack of sufficient spare time. The first day we barely saw anything through the heavy rains and eerie mists! The view across the valleys from the picture window of our B&B, on waking on Sunday, was magnificent in the sunshine. My photos don't really convey the splendour, alas.

The view from our AirB&B bed.

And up by the window itself.

Day One

Having dropped our gear at our accommodation, we headed to the show for the last hour or two of the opening Saturday. A fairly rapid tour of the three enormous main rooms at the Telford International Centre revealed the enormity of the event. Apparently it's the largest model show of its type in Europe, possibly even the world? And there's a strong International presence that tends to back that idea up.

In the end I didn't even look around either the competition area, or the 'kit swap' room. Doh! Nor did I take many, or in fact any, photos of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of models on display. I did briefly say hi to the Peterborough IPMS group, who are local (but I haven't visited), and the Wisbech group, who are even more local, and who I regularly attend.

One item I was very interested in beforehand was the Horton Ho-229, in 1/72 (also available in 1/144, 1/48 and 1/35), by Japanese co. Zoukei-Mura. Sadly for me, at £40 this was way too dear. It's a splendid looking kit, however, and a fascinating modelling subject. But I reckon I'll get a Revell one for now! Some pictures from the show follow.

Two 1/72 examples, and the dinky 1/144 version.

A very funky 1/35 version of the model.

Also available in 1/48! Note very cool wood textures (decals?).

Another view of the 1/72 kit: in both skeletal and skinned form.

The stall that stood out for me on my first dash around was Collect-a-Kit, on account of their vast stock of 1/76 and 1/72 kits, including lots of old Esci, which I feel peculiarly nostalgic about. Almost all of these kits were priced up at £8, which seemed quite reasonable and attractive. In the end I bought quite a few. But, and rather strangely, no Esci kits.

We rounded off our first day at SMW with a delicious Italian meal at Wildwood, followed by a trip to the pictures to see Roland Enmerich's Midway movie, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. After the ordeal of the overly long and foot to the floor oddysey of getting there, this was a great way to complete our first day.

Day Two

The Sunday allowed me to spend more time checking the entire show out more thoroughly. Sometimes I was accompanied by Teresa. But more often she was off doing her own thing. She showed most interest in bigger shinier models, and even suggested I buy her a lunar lander kit as we perused the very impressive NASA SIG stand.

Fool that I am I overspent on both days. And what with fuel, food, cinema and accommodation this proved to be a very expensive weekend. I'm going to have to find some stuff I can flog, to get money back into my haemorrhaging bank account. Pictured below, my haul from the show; all 1/72 or 1/76, except for the 1/35 Tamiya 88mm. The latter, something I always lusted after as skid, Teresa bought me as a b'day or Xmas gift. Bless her!

I do love these old kits; beautiful box art paintings!

More 88mm guns for a battery, and some IBG models (new to me).

Preiser figures, IBG mags (!), and the Tamiya 88mm.

I really love Preiser's 1/72 WWII German figures. I don't often see them on sale anywhere in the UK. A pity, as they're amongst the best for WWII Germans in 1/72. . The set I acquired at the show, whilst rather pricey, are beautifully sculpted. And come in kit form on numerous sprues, giving many assembly options. The Preiser boxes are also jam packed with info, inc 'Gestaltung- und Bemalvorschläge', or design and painting suggestions!

These figures, the IBG Stug, and the Hasegawa Mercedes G4 (inc. saluting Hitler and entourage!) were the first things from the show I unboxed and started working on. I'll be posting on these soon..

Kit Build/Review: Airfix Churchill Mk. VII, Pt II

I didn't get as much time modelling yesterday as I'd hoped to. And what little I did was just some painfully slow painting: first I base-coated the Churchill and several other gray undercoated Allied vehicles in Humbrol acrylic Olive Drab; then I set about blocking in areas of other colours, black tires, wooden tool handles, gunmetal where required, and different shades of greens and grays for blanket rolls, etc.

I opted to make the Universal Carrier and associated gun (6 pdr?) a darker Olive Green, such as many of the WWII British vehicles I've seen in places like Bovington and the Land Warfare Hall at Duxford are. The (?) truck will be getting that 'black clouds' type camo' I've seen on such vehicles. But that'll have to wait till another day. As we turned in, on account of a Teresa having an early start and requiring my taxi services.

A whole heap of Allied materiel gets the Olive Drab treatment

I took the opportunity to further painting work on a few other languishing models, giving me a nice chunk of Allied gear. Some of these vehicles will be populated with figures. But that's not going to be immediate, as I don't know what figures to use, and only have a few Jeep riding Yanks anyway. I'd like at least some of this stuff to be British (or poss' Canadian?) ... hmm!?

Blocking in some other basic colours.

At this juncture I decided to fix the (6pdr?) gun, by adding a little disc underneath, to stop the trailing arms from continually falling off. This proved to be a tricky and very fiddly/delicate operation, involving some masking, so as not to allow cement to seep into the moving parts and glue the whole shebang into one solid immovable block.

Note tiny disc plate and two-part masking mit ein tiny hole.

Mask in place, disc gluing. Success!

Once I've got a bit further with the painting of all these Allied vehicles, I'll need to address decals. British markings appear to be a bit of a minefield. So, with the Churchill AVRE, should I do it up as the 79th, as in Hobart's lot? Or are there other options. My researches so far are inconclusive and confusing. A divisional emblem and individual tank name and number are, I think, essential. Bridge weight discs and arm of service flashes aren't visible on many (any?) of the wartime photos that I've seen. Some Churchill AVREs appear to have had the geometric squadron marking, and sometimes letters and numbers as well (see second pic below). I've seen models with aerial recognition stars to. But I've not seen them on actual wartime vehicles yet. 

Percy Hobart, of Funnies fame.

A terrific picture, but not many markings visible.

Yesterday ended with a visit to Hardwick, and a pub dinner with my dad and family, and my sister and nieces and friends of theirs, at The Blue Lion. Pub drink prices, at least in some places, are going through the roof! Still, that's good in some ways. It'll prevent me getting too bibulous. My dad's been knocking back the sauce rather worryingly of late. Fortunately on this occasion, he was under control! It was lovely to see my sister, over from Spain, with daughters Ali and Sofi.

Even though we only stopped for an hour and a half (constrained once again by my darling wife's work commitments), the trip each way is an hour long. All this family business doesn't half cut into one's modelling time! Thank goodness we don't have kids. Then I'd never get any hobby type stuff done.

Useful track reference...

Speaking of which, back to the models. I found this quite useful link (there's a vertical volume suspension system pun in there somewhere!), in my quest for inspiration and information when painting tracks. Whilst the page in question deals only in VVSS tracks, it's good enough for me as general ref' for Allied tracks as a whole.

I've opted to undercoat all tracks black, except where they're either spares or armour, in which case they may well be the same body colour as the vehicle (often getting painted in situ). Once all the other basic blocking open of colours is done, I'll gloss spray a whole batch, and start adding weathering washes, the decals, etc.

My current WIP batch is growing ever larger.

Thought I'd include these two Sherman's.

I have a whole heap of Shermans, of various types. I plucked out two in an Olive Drab that matches my current batch of models. Blocking in the tracks was very messy, as they are very chunky in their detailing. As well as blocking in colours for tools and stowage, I had some fun adding one of the two crew figures from the Hasegawa Grant kit I built recently to kind of these tanks.i had to do some surgery on both arms to get them to sit more naturally. Plus I made a map and map case, to add a little interest.

The original Churchill, now an AVRE mortar, almost lost in the crowd.

The original dynamo for all this work, my Churchill AVRE conversion, is now almost lost in the crowd! This is in part due to my confusion over markings. But otherwise it's down to the glacially slow speed I'm currently working at. I had hoped today I'd have gloss coated the whole bunch. But I didn't finish work on the blocking-in of base colours till about 10.30pm. Hopefully I'll do it tomorrow, before we head over to our friend Patrick, for a day on his boat.

Three Jeeps, one completed ages ago. Two on the go.

I like this guy. One of two figures from the Hasegawa Grant kit.

I forget where the trailer in the above photo came from. Was it with the Academy Halftrack? I enjoy adding some stowage, including a coil of cotton thread rope, fixed in place with liquid cyanoacrylate glue, aka superglue. The figure was the other of the two that came in the Hasegawa Grant tank kit I built recently. I did that all hatches closed. The figures don't actually fit those hatches anyway! So I thought I'd use them elsewhere. I've now put one in one of my many Sherman's, and gave this chap ready for another, when the time comes.