Sd.Kfz 247 Ausf B

 ICM Kit # 35110

 

This is a 2020 release and models a rare early war command vehicle. Based on the 4x4 Horch it was quite early on replaced by the Sd.Kfz 250 series. As no vehicles survived the war intact it is quite speculative as to how accurate this is, especially in areas of the interior and in particular the radio sets. There are however a few wartime pics of the exterior which ICM overall have managed to replicate. It is unfortunate that the engine cooling louvres are moulded solid and the tyres are rubber items. Some areas such as the weld seams and the mounting hardware on the fenders lack detail and many of the smaller items are overscale. The pioneer tool clasps are moulded on extremely crudely and there is a strange diamond pattern on the floorplate.  What can be commended is the engineering as it all slots together extremely well, especially the main upper and lower sections which left no visible gap along the whole connection.

A full build blog can be found here:  https://www.track-link.com/forums/site_blogs/45766/flat

 

 

2020 Mancave re-shuffle

June 2020

It has been almost four years since my little outdoor mancave was built and in this time, it has turned out to be a fantastic purchase, fulfilling all my hobby expectations and keeping my other half eminently happier.  Although I would have liked a little more room the garden footprint available was restricted so it took a little while to figure out how to make the available space work. Up until now it has been relatively easy to update and add a few components here and there, but the time has now come for a complete overhaul.

I notice some modellers are extremely fastidious about maintaining a clear and clutter free workspace and I like the idea, but for me, no matter how hard I try, I realise I am firmly in the ‘messy space’ camp. My bench nearly always resembles a ‘war zone’ at the end of most sessions. It really does not pose an issue at the time; it is that once the process is complete, I always seem to have re-located half the items in the cave! I also seem to have mastered the art of misplacing items when the sole purpose was to place them in a safe space!  In addition, I have never had a dedicated space to photograph my models, instead making the less-than-ideal temporary set-up when and wherever there is space to do so. Certainly not an ideal scenario.

For these reasons I have decided to reorganise my whole workspace adopting set areas for completing various steps in the building process. In theory, working left to right seems the logical way of separating various stages of the build for me so I will be making dedicated spaces for the build, the paint prep, airbrushing, paint finishing and weathering, ending in a dedicated space for photography. Underneath these stations will be the appropriate items in storage spaces with the idea that it should not prove as difficult to replace said items back into storage thus keeping dedicated areas cleaner. Thats the plan anyway! 

Because of space restrictions the floor standing glass display cabinets will be moved indoors with all the completed builds housed in them. My small wall mounted display cabinets will remain, and I will also be sourcing some small Perspex cabinets to cleanly house painted builds in progress.

I am hoping this will solve the issues I am currently experiencing and who knows those missing items will hopefully materialise in the clean-up!