Zvezda Mercedes L4500A Chapter 11: Creating a diorama

 After starting to build and paint some accessories I got side tracked, as I often do, so the truck and trailer were relegated to a nice dust free storage box. Early in 2024 I got some inspiration from the most excellent ‘The Army that got away' publication to restart the project. The book tells the story of how 15 Army largely escaped from their Atlantic coast defensive positions after D-Day. Pursued without any real urgency they escaped via the Scheldt estuary pretty much intact.  There is some great info and period images that I’ve never seen before, and it gave me some ideas on how I could finish of this project.

I started building a base that I could display both vehicles abandoned and pushed off the side of the road with GI's rummaging over the booty.

Starting with a long wooden picture frame and some polystyrene I began playing with ideas. Having weathered the underside of the truck with the intention of it being visible I eventually had them both sat in a roadside ditch. The bank behind them would contain a hedgerow and some trees.

 

Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (sWS) armoured cargo version. Chapter 8: Exhaust muffler

 

I have completed the visible portion of the exhaust muffler with the brilliant Lifecolor acrylic rust set.  I started with a pinky hot manifold base coat. Next came various applications of the three darkest rust tones, generally adding them lightest first but also going back and forth building up the layers until I felt I was getting somewhere. An extremely diluted lightest rust tone was added over the clamps. MIG smoke pigment was added in and around the end of the pipe.