My offering will be a Steyr 1500, which I opened today

It looks and sounds like some great builds are forthcoming. I'll most likely build the DML Marder III M if it comes out in time, otherwise the Tristar Marder III H. Can you tell I want to build my first Marder

Looking forward to seeing everyones progress.

This campaign is really starting to get of the ground. Here is a small update on my build. The main gun is ready and I will start camouflaging the hull with some branches soon. I found quite some pictures with Marders with extra folitage. This is the look I am going for my Marder.

More to follow soon.....

@ James - unfortunately I'm not familiar with model's you've mentioned, but both DML and Tristar are rather good companies so you should have no problem with assembling of any of these models. Looking forward to seeing your Marder!
@ Jesper - nice build so far and also nice pictures. What is your main source for WWII pics? This is not the first time when you're showing pictures that are new for me.

I'm almost done with gear box, finishing the engine, brakes, started working with cooling fan, radiators and fuel pump. I hope to post some pictures of my progress soon.

Andrzej

I wanted to change the gun of the BT-7, or for a 20mm gun or a short barrel 75mm
(Panzer IV B type)... is it too crazy ?!

I mean the EExpress gun is .. .. well at least an MG 34 will be there.

Doing a german version, i found some BW pics, i wonder if these were painted Dark Yellow or German grey or even just adding a german cross over the russian dark green

And we're underway. The choice was this:



T-26 with Eduard photoetch, Aber fenders and replacement barrel. A couple of things I noted.

The kit represents an early (1933 version) I believe - the road wheels are the early type (solid rubber). After considering making replacement wheels for the later version (all 16 of them) I gave my gave my head a shake and found a pic of a T-26 in late Summer 1941 with mixed early and late road wheels.

I am modeling the T-26 with ALL early road wheels that was in the same regiment , and for which no known picture exists. But (trust me on this), it was there



Not a great shot - but the body is together, the turret is together, and I have begun the process of grinding off all the bits that are going to be replaced by photoetch. The rear engine vent is also visible - spent some time getting that folded and tacked into shape.



Another shot from the back - all the vent detail on the engine has been removed, as has the kit engine vent. A bit of putty to cover the seam where the rear upper hull attached to the lower hull. The turret ring has also been dremeled out - the kit supplied turret had no hope of fitting. In fact, the kit itself almost looks like it was produced by a number of different manufacturers. Perhaps someone knows a bit more about the history of this kit? I found mine under a pile of obscure Russian armour subjects at the LHS.

As of last night, I had also got the major parts of the Aber fenders together. And now remember why photoetch is not on my Happy things to do list...

@John, interesting choice to make it into a German version. Quite a lot of these were captured. Due to limited spare parts only a few stayed in service for long.

I have never seen any converted with new armament. The 45mm gun was actually quite good in 1941-42 when most of the BTs were captured. So the Germans probably did not have a reason to change the gun.
You can of cause use some artistic licence and modify it, but I think a German 75mm gun would be too big for the turret although some Russian versions of the BT tank had a short barrelled 76.2mm howitzer.



I would paint it overall Dark Grey as it fits the 1941-42 period best. However, I believe I have seen a BT 5 or 7 in Dark Yellow for partisan duties and it is likely that some were pressed into German service without being repained with anything other than big large German crosses.

@Andrzej, I think both of these pictures are from a Polish Militaria Press book: "The Marder II" Otherwise they are from the internet. I really find the Polish kagero and Militaria books excellent value for money - especially those translated to English or being bilingual

@Grant, looks good. It will be interesting to see the final result when you have added all the AM stuff. I think this kit could use some AM details.

I'll stick with the original gun but will add an MG42 anyway
The 75mm german gun would be to long... but i can always change the turret

I will paint it dark green and then apply the german grey, with all the weathering some spots will have some greenish-grey look.

Still working on the Panzer II for the Blitz campaign, and a Faun and a JSU-152 and the An-12...i'll never finish...it's hard being a Plasticohlic

I haven't read this one . Anyway... searching the internet you can find most of pictures that are published in many books... sooner or later.

Andrzej

I signed up for this campaign, planning to do a Marder. This is the first time I went through this thread since it started. (I have been doing a few campaigns with those aero-thingies) So now I realize I am a bit behind. I have a lot of PE for Marder I want to build, so I might change to something else, to avoid a rush job. A check of my stash closet reveals an Easter Express KB-85.

I have never built anything from this manufacturer before. I also haven't built anything Soviet in the last 35 years. But since I have this kit, and since I paid almost $5.00 for it, I will give it a try.

A quick inspection shows flash out the ying-yang. The ejector marks actually show through to the other side of the plastic. There are 4 lengths of vinyl tracks. The kit is molded in two shades of light gray plastic, and the detail is remarkably chunky. The decals, well I think they are decals, are included in the box.

This ought to be an interesting build.

hey there peeps only just signed on this campaign ope thats alright...

this will be my 3rd campaign ( shermans + halftracks campaigns ) for this campaign i was tamiya's panzer III N going to be done in kursk dio

need built of help with turret interior tho... the kit has breech assembly but has anyone got any pictures of headphones hung from wiring equipment straps etc i plan to have turret doors open

ope this can help will try get a picture of panzer III up tonight

cheers in advance

Tony

Welcome onboard, Carl

Sounds like that will be a challenging build, but I am sure it will benefit from your effort and the result will be fine. Some EE kits are quite good with only limited fit problems while others are a real challenge.

If you need some "standard" Soviet WWII decals I can send you some.

Thanks Jesper. I am just going to do a quick OOB build on this one. I picked up some Russian markings that I will be using. Since I started this kit this morning, I have discovered the fit is really bad. I will be using a lot of putty to make things look half way normal.

Not a challenge. But it is a great chance to get back to the basics.

Hi Carl,
I'ts nice to see so many people joining this campaing!
My OOB build moves on and I plan to post some pics this afternoon. The main engine part is basicly done and painted, so is gearbox (it still needs some detailing but not much). I've just assembled cooler, hatch and some parts of interior.

Andrzej

Time for some pictures (finally...). Here is my WIP engine with gearbox - as you can see it still needs some more painting (fan is not painted at all yet). More coming soon (I hope).




@James and Bruce - thanks for support in convincing my wife

Here's my brand new Kar98k ASG

Andrzej

Hello,

Here is my entry , the T(pee)-34!.

1/35 scale T-34 from MIG and a Verlinden soldier with "Things to do".

Life is great when you have vacation!!








Cheers
Christer

Nice dio!
And it looks like...ahem..."everything" is pretty much in scale too.

Christer,

What can man do when nature calls??

Great diorama (as usual).
I do love what you've done with this tank - it's very realistic! So is the soldier .
Thanks for sharing.

Andrzej

Hej Christer,
det är mycket bra (correct??)......

This one surely is an eyecatcher!

The Dio looks great, and the title is right on target!

Andrzej....great work on that drivetrain so far, looking forward to your progress on this one.

Christer....excellent! That's as natural as it gets!

Thanks guys!

@ Bill, Andrzej, Mobious, and James, even a man has to obey when nature calls!
@ Ron, the sentence is correct! Tack!

Cheers
Christer

Here is my first submission for the Eastern Front campaign, in fact my first submission ever!!


By warreni, shot with Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL at 2008-07-12

Brilliant! Very original Christer.

Chas

@ James - thanks, I'm happy you like it. My progress is rather slow now, but I'll do all what I can to press it forward. I have a lot of pieces already assembled but building this monster needs good planning - what to assemble and what to paint before assembly.

@ Warren,
Nice to see that you've found us!
What is the scale of your model? It's a nice clean built - maybe a little too clean . I think it could use some weathering.

Andrzej