All quiet on the western front

 

Apologies about not posting any updates recently but there has been zero bench activity of late. This has been due to some heavy duty and extensive home renovations. This has affected every room in our home, so as you can imagine it has been extremely disruptive. What it has meant is that all my focus has been required to liaise with and manage the builders to ensure a productive workflow with the least disruption as possible. TBH most of the work went without hitch and any little snags are slowly being ironed out.

In all this time both our garage and my mancave have had to accommodate all sorts of personal paraphernalia so even if I wanted to just chill in the cave, I had no way of getting in! December will be occupied with getting our home respectable again and ready for the ensuing festivities.  I should be back to some sort of normality early in the new year, so once the cave is accessible again normal service can resume.

Until then, a happy Xmas modelling to you all.

Los 

Why do I build what I build?

I’ve had to take a break from the hobby since the beginning of September due to some large home improvement work and whilst doing plenty of re-shuffling hobby stuff around the place I have been musing over why I model the subjects I do. Looking at both finished product and ongoing work I do seem to have a propensity for depicting damaged or destroyed axis vehicles. So why is this?

 

Scale modelling with ADHD

 

Being naturally blessed with wizard like hyper focusing abilities, you would assume that during the past decade I would have produced a vast portfolio of work. That is one of the upsides of the condition, however there are far more downsides and being neurodivergent makes things a little more complicated!

My condition appears to be getting more difficult to deal with as I get older so a return to scale modelmaking has been a lifesaver in so many ways. The hobby has created a quiet, calm, anxiety-free space that I rarely get to experience in everyday life. I love other shit too - obviously, I’m not completely mental, it’s just that most regular day-to-day stuff makes my cranium internals spin, like it’s occupied by ten highly caffeinated squirrels!

Jagdpanther G1 (Meng 1/35 kit TS-039) Chapter 1: Brief history, kit reviews, and adding zimmerit

 

History

The Jagdpanther was preceded by two attempts at mounting an 8.8 cm gun as a self-propelled anti-tank weapon; Ferdinand - also known as Panzerjäger Tiger (P) - These used the ninety-one leftover Porsche-built VK 45.01 (P) chassis from the Tiger tank competition it lost to Henschel in 1942, and the Nashorn on the Geschützwagen III/IV (which used a combination of the Panzer III and Panzer IV components) chassis. Ferdinand proved to be too heavy, and Nashorn lightly armoured and under-powered.

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 16: Mission accomplished.

 

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And so, at last, after more than thirteen years of neglect, may I present the finished article. I hope you like it.

 

 ‘der Grashüpfer‘

 

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 15: Final stage weathering & tilt cover frame

 

 

 

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Oil paints were used again to accentuate areas at the rear of the vehicle over existing acrylic dust layers. This was done by adding both oil paints and pigments. Once dry, areas around the handles and steps had the dust layers smudged and dirty deposits were also added onto high wear surfaces. 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 14: Second stage weathering (dust layer)

 

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The next stage of weathering effects is one I have used on a couple of projects to date, and the results can look convincing. Looking at progress so far, I decided to add a subtle toned-down application to just the lower front, rear, and sides, and see where it would take me.

Hairspray and acrylic dust weathering effects SBS

If you like a dusty operational look to your AFV models and are quite handy with the hairspray technique this process can create realistic looking disrupted dust and light mud effects. What we are aiming to do is to selectively remove, mark, and disrupt an airbrushed dust toned layer of paint. We are effectively reverse ‘hairspray chipping’ the surface by leaving larger deposits rather than creating small chips. This works best using acrylic paints over a layer of hairspray or chipping fluid. 

All these images on this page show the effect on late war axis AFV's with a three tone camo, so you have to look close up as the effect can appear very subtle. Using this effect on an early axis German Grey vehicle or over green allied or Russion vehicles for example, will produce a much more pronounced effect and produce a starker contrast with the vehicle's paintwork. 

I prefered to add any textured dirt layers before this dust layer effect was airbrushed on, as I wanted it be the final weathering layer, to keep the overall dust and mud tones consistent. But obviously, this is just an effect I favoured for these projects, so if the vehicle is to be portrayed as just having driven through fresh mud, that can just as easily be applied over any dust layer. Or you can mix and match if you find that visually more appealing.

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 13: Oil paint rendering

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

These selectively applied and time consuming oil paint stages are not for everyone, but as soon as I saw Mike Rinaldi’s work in his Tank Art books, this was something that very much appealed to me. The richness, depth, and versatility that working with oil paint brings is unparalleled in my opinion and has now become an important step in most of my projects. In my pursuit for in-scale realism I will happily spend days going back and forth adding tiny effects to try and compliment the overall look, often spending hours on one particular feature. I love the results that can be achieved and find the whole process enormously therapeutic.

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 12: First stage weathering begins

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With the vehicle fully built up it was time to put a personal stamp on the project. For this first stage of weathering here are the steps I followed:

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 11: Connecting the body to the chassis

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After being kept apart for so long it was finally time to permanently fix both sub-assemblies together! The two mouldings are mated by way of small keyed joint connections. Following the build steps as per the instructions it's simple enough to turn the body upside down, align all the keyed connections and fix the chassis down onto the body. As already noted in Chapter 3 the connection is not at all precise and requires a little rework to achieve a clean flush fit between the two assemblies. The instructions have you mate the two parts early on in the build steps so handling the parts and sorting the issue is easy to resolve. It will be far more of a challenge if paint and fragile fixings are already added!

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 10: Weathering stage prep work

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Before commencing the first weathering stages of the build, there were a few areas of the model that I still wasn’t 100% happy with. Firstly, the paint colour on the re-worked sprockets wasn’t a great match to the rest of the running gear. Although this was more likely due to my choice of primer colour than the actual base coat mix, they definately exhibited a more creamier tone as opposed to the greyish hue of the existing track wheels. Rather than masking and re-spraying paint I stumbled upon a solution. Applying Abteilung buff oil paint seemed to be the perfect answer. This was carefully stippled on and blended out from the wheel centre. 

Left for 72hrs to cure I then sealed the oil paint work with VMS matt varnish. This was essential as both enamels and pigment effect work would still be required to harmonise with the existing chassis tones.

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 9: Decals and front wheel options

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Regarding decals, what’s provided in the kit is not surprisingly extremely limited. In addition to the instrument dials only a pair of licence plates along with a 'prototype' plate are included. Interestingly Trumpeter don't match the ones found on the restored vehicle!   

 

Both licence plates were added and sealed.

 

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 8: Painting the exterior

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It’s difficult to ascertain from the rescue images under all that rust a clear paint finish, but it’s almost certain it would have originally received a dark yellow base coat. As to whether it had any traces of camo, I have not read of any evidence that it had. The Polish resto team never added any, which leads me to believe that it didn’t, but with just the one surviving vehicle it's always possible that others did. 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 7: Construction completion of the exterior

 

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Viewing the recovered vehicle a fair chunk of upper body armour plate has been replaced, and weld lines criss-cross the repaired sections. Some prominent welds, such as on the rear plate to the lower body may well be original so it is curious to note the absence of any significant weld lines at all on the kit. And whilst not all the welds may be original, I have decided to add my own in the most visible areas like where the rear plate attaches to both side and lower plates. I have also re-scribed the panel lines as I felt they were too shallow.

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 6: Completing the interior

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Before the upper and lower body sub-assemblies were fixed permanently together the interior required a few parts to be painted and added. The largest items being the kit supplied wooden benches. Along with the steering wheel these were kept separate for painting. I had long since removed the kit fire extinguisher from the driver’s side wall as it was pointed out to me that it was of an early design. In its place now sits a 3D printed late style empty bracket. Two other features that look peculiarly placed are the MG ammo box and its leather pouch. As these were already fixed in the vehicle as per the instructions, and well bonded, they were left to avoid damage. They have yet to be detail painted.

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 5: Painting the re-worked sprockets and solid wheels

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The sprockets and solid tyred wheel sets have now received paint. They still require a very light application of dust to match the tones used on the track wheels. Some work is still required with oils to replicate the leaking wheel bearing hubs as seen on the restored vehicle. 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 4: Re-working the alternative kit sprockets

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Larger faced kit sprockets ready for primer with large kit PE step ring, and some 0.7mm bolt heads added to replicate the track pads retaining bolts. 

 

The reworked handed sprockets. 

 

    Left (Port sided) and right (starboard side) sprocket

 

 

Sd.Kfz 184 Ferdinand (Dragon 6495) Chapter 2: Paint

Continuing on from the build in Chapter 1 way back in 2020, it has since been primed with Tamiya’s rattle can red oxide fine surfacer. It's a perfect foundation for German armour, especially if you fancy employing the hairspray technique. 

 

After carefully washing and drying the model overnight it took about three light passes to get a good coverage over the entire model. This was then left for a couple of days to cure.

 

 

Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) S3000 Truck (ICM kit 35451)

 

This is the first ICM kit of the KHD truck. Released in 2015 this is the S3000 rear wheel drive version. ICM KHD S3000  Subsequent releases include a civilian, a maultier, and 4WD versions

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 3: The kit vs the restored vehicle and FIXING the sprocket issue

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Now I have had time to examine my twelve-year old build in detail there are some issues I see with the kit compared to the actual restored vehicle. There are three main areas that I felt needed addressing. One is making good an original build mishap, the second is a very prominent inaccuracy issue with the bodywork, and the third concerns the fitment of the body to the chassis. Then there will be some additional detail to add here and there.

 

For sale

Dragon Panther A Normandy 1944 kit #6168  Sd.Kfz.171 Panther A Late Type

Fully boxed unopened kit

For sale to UK mainland buyers only £50 including postage

 

Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12T (Trumpeter 1/35 kit #01584) Chapter 2: Resurrection time

Continuing on from Chapter 1 let's begin with a brief recap of this extremely rare vehicle.

The restored vehicle was recovered from the Pilica River in Poland. It is believed that only a handfull (period images show just three) of these were ever manufactured, making this surviving example pretty unique indeed! This armoured variant of the Sd.Kfz 8 was all but forgotten until it was recovered and then restored to running condition. Having a full lightly armoured hull around the chassis and drive train, it is believed that this was a prototype of an armoured artillery tractor.

Since commencing my build the below three period images are the only ones to be currently found online. The first one appears to show a vehicle fitted with pneumatic tyred front wheels and a four door rear panel.

Both the lower front panel shape and design, and the large upper panel overhang are very different on this example compared to what is offered in the Trumpeter kit.

 

Unlike the kit this vehicle has just two rear doors.

Flakpanzer IV Ausf G "Wirbelwind" Dragon #6342

Here we have Dragon's 2011 kit #6342. This features an Ausf G early hull without zimmerit.