Striped Stummel

Hey All!

Another vehicle from the Salute 2017 line up, Battlefronts plastic 251/1 built up as a 251/9 'Stummel'.

Along with the crew, the gun and shield and interior were modified/scratchbuilt. As the Salute scenario 'Lost Panzers' is placed in '43, the model should be the earlier model with the Kw.K37 sunk into the front hull mount but as I plan on only building one Stummel, I chose the later model as it has a cooler look!

Working with the plastic models is so much easier and the prep time is minimal compared to the resin kits. That said, I will probably continue to build resin as I have sooo many in my collection already.

I painted up the crew as mix of old and late-war field grey. The new tunic was a much more red tinged green cloth. 

I built a cradle mount for the MG42 and attached it to the gun mount.  One little oversight I noticed on the plastic MG42 from the 251/1 kit - BF mirrored both sides of the gun barrel, using the same large hole pattern on both sides instead of the long slot for the right-hand side. Minor thing but I didn't highlight that side so that it wasn't so obvious.

The gunner had a millimeter of his head taken off as it is modeled with the M43 Einheitsfeldmütze sitting way too high. It makes the figure look deformed. Simply use a razor saw to take off the cap and file a bit off the top. Re-attach with crazy glue.

Cheers!

Troy

Camo'ed Quartet

Hey All!

Finished up the Panzer IVH zug for the upcoming Salute 2017 Schwere Kompanie game 'Lost Panzers'

 Painted up pretty well though the airbrush was acting up...

Used a mix of Tamiya and Vallejo Model Air...theres your problem...dont mix!

Wheatfield is Teddy-bear fur, cut and painted - looks pretty convincing though you will make a big mess when trimming your bush...

Just a few more things to finish up and I should be ready!

 Cheers!

Troy

Goryunov SG-43

Hey All!

PART I

Just a small post - on a missing product in 15mm, the Soviet SG-43 Goryunov HMG.

In preparation for Salute 2017 in Vancouver, I realized I will need two SG-43 MMGs teams for the Schwere Kompanie 'Lost Panzers' scenario I am planning to host.

As pointed out on the BF forum, the mini is available in the Flames Of War Vietnam product line as the Type 57 HMG though it is missing the shield, has the wrong crew and carriage. I'm guessing you could head swap the crew and modify the uniform but I wanted to see if I could make something passable - and spending 50 bucks for 3 MGs is out of my budget!

I turned the barrel on the dremel and built the body from plastic.

Crew taken from the AA DsHK 1938 (modified) and midwar Maxim HMG blisters.

Little bits made from brass sheet...

PART II

Cheers!

Troy

Life in Plastic...

Hey All!

Lots of projects in the pipe…I finished painting up the sMG42 team...

Colors as per my Recommended Colors (on the right sidebar)

Over the Christmas season, I ordered a bunch of new(er) Battlefront plastic boxed sets from Imperial Hobbies in Burnaby and Sentry Box in Calgary. Both are great Hobby stores and are highly recommended.

Sadly, the Panzer IVH Platoon GBX79 I ordered was an older box with the incorrect 8-spoke rear idler wheel and 4-panel Schürzen. This has since been changed but it must have been old stock. I fired an email off to Battlefront, who are sending out the correct Schürzen panels taken from the OOP older resin GBX79. I got mine in record time - kudos to BF Customer service! Too bad design and research aren't as good!

Unfortunately I could not get the panels to work with either the old or new mounting rails as the triangle spikes do not line up with the panels (2 per panel). So I removed the mounting supports and covered over the scars with zimmerit done with a soldering iron.

This is a great improvement over the previous resin offering from Battlefront.  That said, there are a few minor tweaks you can make. The turret cupola is too high. Sand off the cupola mounting peg and a bit off the bottom to bring it more into scale. The main gun mantlet fit is poor and will need some filler. Also you can add zimmerit on the sides and shield.

Dents added to the rear and side mufflers. Bolts added to back of turret Schürzen. A cut was made in between the spare road wheels on the fender.

I added zimmerit to the fenders and sides of the hull. Also added a locking pin to the front fenders and tow point. The hull MG was sanded down to recess it into the hull (it sticks out too far).

I also built up one of the new Battlefront Tiger I tanks. This is one Great kit!

My only fix is when mounting the tracks, you have to add a temporary small spacer strip of 1/8" plastic on the rear end of track when attaching to the hull to space it or they will sit too low.

 Some zim was removed and a pin added to replace the flimsy hull MG.

 And finally, I took a Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf D and made a 251/9 out of it.

Lots of changes and extras added. New floor, bench removal, new 7.5cm gun and mount, and sMG 42 mount  scratchbuilt.

Cheers!

Troy

Christmas Wrap

Merry Christmas All!

 Just working on a few more figures for my sMG teams...


I changed up my Recommended Color for German Kar98 strap to Orange Brown 981- the one in my collection is a more of a red-brown leather color. I was using Saddle Brown 940 but there isn't enough contrast.

I also have moved back to Olive Grey 888 for ammo cans/spare barrel cases and the like.

 All the best to everyone out there - somehow Peace in the new year...