I made a start last night on the armoured Sdkfz7 mounting a Flak 37. It's been ages since I built a Tamiya kit and I'd forgotten how enjoyable they are. Clear instructions, parts that fit, no uneccessary bits that you need micro tweezers and a robotic third hand to attach. I struggled a bit finding decent pictures of the cab on one of these but having said that I didn't search as thoroughly as normal. I found one photo of an unrestored vehicle with greenish grey canvas seats rather than the usual black or red brown so thought I'd have a change. I've added a bit of wear to them which came out better than I expected.





I wasn't sure what the box to the left of the driver's supposed to be. In view of that I decided to hide it under a map. I've added decals to the dials as I'd got some in my spare decals box. I forgot to level off the speedo dial so when I microsolled it it doesn't sit flat. Having said that I don't know how much wiil be seen through the open doors. I've put various bits and bobs in the cab and left it reasonably untidy as I would imagine that the Luftwaffe lacked the discipline of the Heer (rather like the RAF to the British Army. Any "Crabs" out there sorry )







I made a start on one of the figures last night and decided to try undercutting for the first time as the detail is a bit soft to say the least. Made a massive difference once I got some paint on it. I used Vallejo 105 Luftwaffe Uniform but it's a bit dark so I need to lighten it a bit. The figures are a long way off anyway but I was in the mood for having a go at one. Will post some more pics once it starts going together. I don't work to the kits sequence anyway after some dreadful experiences with DML stuff where fragile stuff broke as it went on too early in my opinion so just work to what seems logical to me now.

Hi

I hope end with this one!

Tamiya Kubelwagen + Eduard + DEF .

Regards from the south

Alvaro

Lots of great work is going on in this thread.

Colin, I am in awe of your very subtle and convincing weathering! Nice.

@ ComradeMP, you’re doing fun things with a Tamiya T55 as well I see. Looks great!

I have a bit more progress to report on the T54 mod. 1949….







I think I’m going to have to fiddle with the wheels a bit as none of them sit quite straight… Grrr. They are Tank resin wheels and although they are nice and detailed they have a mould seem running round the wheel and the two halves do not fit to create a perfect circle.

Then the Friuls and it’s off to the paint shop for me!

Cheers

Matthew

Well... Less than two episodes of Oliver Stones' Untold History of the United States and three glasses of wine later...



... two track-runs of Friuls completed...

cheers

Matthew

Looks very nice, Matthew. Hope you get the wheels to behave properly.

Looking forward to see more

Thanks, Jesper. The wheels are behaving a bit more now, but they could be improved further. Half the problem is that they don't fit on the axels properly and I don't have the poly caps so have inserted rolled up shim to keep them in place. I'll get there though...
cheers
Matthew

Maybe put on the track temporarily to ensure everything lines up and use the guide horns for .... well.... guiding the wheels?

Not sure it will help, but worth a try.

[/quote]
Maybe put on the track temporarily to ensure everything lines up and use the guide horns for .... well.... guiding the wheels?

Not sure it will help, but worth a try. [/quote]

Good idea! I'll give it try.
cheers
Matthew

Slow progress....

Regards from the south
Alvaro

Karl - I love the way the bits you have added bring the cockpit to life. I'll remember the idea of adding wear to the seat itself. Too often I think these are new vehicles that didn't have time to get much wear on the fabric but i imagine that under the stress of wartime use wear accelerated considerably.

I like what you have done here.

Paul, thanks for that. I always like to add various bits of kit to vehicles to make them look occupied plus it makes them a bit more interesting to look at. I'm not sure how much will be visible once the armoured cab's on but I do it as force of habit these days lol. I know what you mean about wear and tear. When you look at the weathering on some vehicles you'd expect them to have been in the field for a few years with all the rust etc which isn't very realistic when you consider how long a tank would actually last in action. I would imagine from factory to being blown up would be a few months if that. With this being an AA vehicle it would be pretty much out of harms way so would just get normal wear and tear with the crew being in and out of the vehicle all the time. Having used and driven military vehicles in the past, I know that squaddies don't take much care over the vehicle, be it whatever, as it's not actually theirs so a cigarette burn on the seat or using the cab floor as an ashtray is no big deal when compared to their own car..lol. Some 4 tonners and Land Rovers I had handed over to me looked like a dustbin in the cab so I'd empty all the last drivers crap before I'd take it anywhere. I've tried to create that mess here to add the human element.

I;ve done a bit more work on my project and it's going together nicely. I tried the top of the cab on and you can hardly see anything even without the doors on but such is life. I had some Griffon Models stuff arrive from Historex today. They really are on the ball with getting stuff out. There aren't that many clips of shells in the kit and they lack detail so I've ordered some PE clips, HE shells, AP shells and some spent shells. Came to about £25 which was more than I paid for the kit LOL. They do look nice albeit tiny and there's 10 clips so I can use some for the other Flak 37 I've got. I'm not looking forward to putting these together though. I think I'll paint the clips before I assemble them and put each shell into the respective clip which I've got to bend before I put them onto the base of the clip. Typical. I get a kit that's a doddle to build then something that's a nightmare to add some detail. I just didn't think about how small the shells would be. Hopefully they'll look nice when finished. I'm hoping to get the actual half track and Flak 37 built this weekend so all that's left is the cam. then I can start on the figures and ammo. Fingers crossed. This is where I am now

Some Progress and some gear I sourced from the spare parts box

and Desert basecoat applied

It's coming together nicely although last night it was a typical nightmare with the rubber band tracks. They're always that little bit short so one of the bogies snapped. Fortunately the rear wheels are on a metal through axle so the repair when done wasn't noticeable. The other one went on okay for some reason but that made a change. Because I'd built other bits as I went along I could drop them all together quite quickly. I was looking at some photos of a restored one and noticed that the door handles on the kit looked nothing like the real thing so shaved them off and used 30A fuse wire to replace them. There were no handles on the inside and as I plan to have the doors open I put some in there as well.





I decided to have all of the "windows" open so drilled out the door windows as they looked as if something was missing from a recess, and then filed them square. I used a bit of thin plasticard to replace the sliding metal panel on the inside. Not perfect but it will do. I was getting tired and fed up of gluing myself to stuff by then. Scored the door panel/frame join so that I can bend them open and gave them a coat of paint. The inside will need weathering with the usual chips and scratches. I'm going to go for three colour cam as the dio I'm planning will be late war. I'm not sure whether to paint the truck bed where the Flak 37 sits in camo or leave it in dunkel gelb. Logically I'd have thought that they'd have sprayed it in camouflage seeing as the rest of the vehicle was otherwise there'd be a big patch of dark yellow on the ground that would make a nice target. I've not been able to find any period photos that will help and no modern photos from above so a bit stumped. Thoughts anyone? These are the pics of the inside of the doors.





And where the build's up to this morning. I'm leaving all the little bits left to add until I'm ready to spray as I always end up knocking them off. Plans for today are to do the sides of the flat bed which should be interesting as it's plastic mesh which I've got to cut to size and I think I'll build the Flak 37. I've bought a replacement barrel as the one in the kit was really poor whereas the one I've now got you can see all the holes in the flash suppressor so looks really nice. It was quite cheap really so well worth getting as an improvement. Hopefully some more photos in the next couple of days

Howdy Y'all
Its been a busy summer but I got some modeling time in this weekend. Worked on my Tamiya Campaign project, the 1/48 Kurogane:

The projects are pretty interesting to follow the progress.
Take care,
Don "Lakota

Looking good everyone! Matt, that scratch work is amazing, and thanks for the compliment! I am finally calling this one done, I should have used some newer decals as the 30 year old ones just wouldn't set properly and still have some silvering no matter how much solvaset I used...






Thanks for a great campaign!

A quick update on the SU-76m.

Assembled the sie fighting compartment wall. I left the shells off their stowage racks until after the interior walls are painted. Also pictured are the ammo racks for the submachineguns and the radio.


All of the fighting compartment walls. All the details are added...though I am sure I'll have to go back and add something.


Added the upper hull body panels to the engine deck and front. The fit was a bit off and the instructions were a bit vague here. You line it up on the one side and allow overhang on the other.
Lot's of parts ready to be assembled.


Roadwheels, suspension arms, suspension fittings, drive sprockets, driver's hatch, and antenna assembly.


Fenders and exhaust. And I assume the air intake.


Assembled.


So far the build is coming together quite nicely. I'll probably pre-paint the crew compartment if the weather allows. Or I'll go ahead and start on the gun.

Almost there after a concerted effort this weekend. The Flak 37 went together without any real problems. Only minor tweak needed was when I was fitting the armour plate on the left it has to fit behind something (no idea what it is) that was attached earlier. I had to sand the bar quite thin so it would slip behind it. I've done some weathering on it which considering I'm spraying it may seem a bit pointless but some things like the shield that protects the gunner from ejected shells would take a lot of hammer. Anyone who's ever been hit in the face by an ejecting 7.62mm rifle round will tell you how much force that comes out with so imagine a 37mm shell hitting something solid.





It's more for reference really as I never know how the cam's going to turn out until I spray it. I had some new paints come this week so may try some different greens and browns and see what they look like before I start spraying. I'm leaving the sides up as I can't find a decent picture of the supports for the side panels when they're down. Odd really as they've put the folded supports on the back panel but not the sides. I found a photo the other night with them down but it wasn't clear enough for me to scratch something. It's going in a dio anyway which will be a street scene providing cover so the sides would have to be up so it can move. I've given up on the Tamiya crew I was using out of the seperate Flak 37 kit. They're not too clever detailwise and considering I've bought stuff like a metal barrel and the Griffin ammo (HE and AP plus empties) and clips the nice bits would make the crap figures look even worse lol. I'd bought a DML crew for a Flak 38 in the stash but I'm going to use them on this. I made a start on them last night and I'll put some pics up once there's some real progress on them and before I put them on the vehicle.





There's not a huge amount left to do on it now. Just a few little bits to glue on like headlights etc then finish off painting it then weathering. Oh and the figures. I think it should be done by the end of the week. Figures always slow things down with me because I make more mistakes painting which p***es me off so I have to strip them of paint and start again from scratch. Considering that I bought this on a whim a while back I'm glad I started this as it's given me an idea for a dio subject/plan I wouldn't have thought of.

Colin that looks superb mate. I've got the DML one sitting here waiting to be built. Seeing how well yours has turned out may motivate me into starting on it. (I need to reduce my stash a bit). Love the mud splatter effect. Doing it in different layers looks really effective. I think I'll give that technique a try or at least practice it for a while on some old wrecks I've got. The half track looks well used but not on it's last legs as some do when people cover them in rust and holes. Cracking build.

Beautiful build, Colin!

Almost there now. I've literally spent all day on it today as my mojo was definitely working. For the first time ever my airbrush was working properly and did as I wanted! In all fairness I've not had it long but even though it was cheap I much prefer it to my old one. This is double action with a gravity feed cup as opposed to my old one which was single action with a bottle underneath which kept falling off. I set the pressure at 10psi today and it worked fine. I must be getting the hang of it. What really made my day was I've finally found ideal colours for German camouflage. I've tried all sorts of combos in the past but today tried some new colours that I'd not bought before. Tamiya XF67 NATO Green and XF79 Linoleum Deck Brown. I'm really pleased with the colours. I've done the deck camouflaged in the end as it made sense to as what's the point in half camoing a vehicle? You can't really see the inside of the cab which is a bummer after the care I took with it, it's all good practice.. I've given the deck quite a bit of wear from where the crew stand and walk when the 37's engaging aircraft. Because it's a small area for them to work in I'd imagine quite a bit of wear to the paint. A bit of chipping all over but nothing drastic just the usual places where crew would sit etc and the a bit of wear and tear. I'm going to have to use the Tamiya gunner as the DML ones a bit too tall but I'm keeping the DML loaders as they're quite nice once they're painted up. When I've got the crew in and the Griffon clips and ammo sorted I'll give it a wash and spray of mud and dust then it's ready for the dio. When this is finished I think I'll have a couple of weeks on buildings so I can start displaying stuff rather than keep completed builds in boxes :-( .It doesn't look so naked now with some paint on it









Until I built this I'd forgotten how enjoyable Tamiya kits are too build which is why we took the hobby up n the first place. If I'm honest I prefer building something like Tamiya and Italeri over say Bronco or Dragon. Maybe not as accurate but less stressful. Tamiya will have two pieces to make up an item such as a chair whereas Dragon will have 12 and you won't know which bits you need as the instructions are so vague. Bronco it will be 48 pieces plus 20 wing nuts. I do sometimes think that we sometimes take the fun out of hobby for ourselves

Camo looks good Karl! It's nice to do a Tamiya kit once in a while just for the joy of everything coming together so easily even if detail suffers a tiny bit.

Karl, very nice job on the camo. Sometimes it is great to just add glue into the Tamiya box and shake it for 5 min. Out comes a finished kit.

Looking forward to see more

The building is finished. Now to get on with the paint job... Unfortunately, I don't have access to my airbrush until mid-September. I will be hard pushed to get this one done by the deadline.











cheers

Matthew

Thanks chaps, for the kind words. I'm calling it done now that I've got the sides on. I'm quite pleased with it overall as it went together with no drama and I'm happy with the weathering. I debated doing a bit more but then stopped myself before I overdid it. Less is more as they say.









I've added some Griffon spent shell cases to the floor and I've got 10 clips to make up to equip the figures and to put on the gun but I think they'll take a while to do as they're small and fiddly. You're right about Tamiya being shake and bake kits. I really like them as it's grass roots modelling. Simple and enjoyable. As Colin said sometimes we lose a bit on the detail side of things but the fine detailing isn't everyones cup of tea. I sometimes think rivet counters forget why we do the hobby. They obviously want to produce "the perfect scale representation" of a particular vehicle while some of us build just because we find it relaxing and enjoyable. In my stash I've got Dragon vehicles with their indie track links and rubbers and crap instructions, Bronco and their tiny wingnuts on vehicles sitting next to Tamiya and Italeri with their simplicity. Out of all the manufacturers, I enjoy building Tamiya the most. They fit together nicely, the instructions are good and above all they're stress free builds. I could have just used the kits 37mm ammo clips but decided to go for the PE option and replace them for better detail. My point there is the option. Some people may not want to use the PE supplied in a kit as a) it scares them (b) they have fat fingers (c) they glue the bits to themselves on a regular basis (that'll be me then) so it's always nice to have the basic injection part there in the first place then buy PE if you like afterwards. It's a shame that Tamiya don't produce new kits more often instead of revamping their old kits. Obviously the newer versions are better but there's sill lots more they could do. Thank you for a very enjoyable campaign and for reminding me how fast I can build if I put my mind to it