¹⁄72

Midsummer’s Night in Sicily

Introduction

Sicily, the gem of the Mediterranean Sea, the birthplace of Italian culture. In 1943, Sicily was the gateway to Southern Europe, a springboard for an Allied attack against "the soft underbelly" of Nazi-held Italy. The Herman Goring division was tasked with strengthening the local Italian garrison troops and preventing an Allied invasion. I've always been in love with braille scale AFV modeling, especially since this scale is so appropriate for dioramas. These 1/72nd scale kits allow me to combine my love of military modeling and military history. My recent builds, as well as guest comments, can be seen at: http://blog.sina.com.cn/charhobby

Construction

The kit used in this diorama is the Italeri 7041 Panzer III Ausf M (“Herman Goring” paratrooper armored division, 2nd battalion, 5th company), the Italeri Brick Wall series, as well as bits from old 1/76nd scale Matchbox kits. Improvements to the Panzer III included: adding 0.4mm copper wire to both sides of the turret for grab handles, an antenna made from 0.2mm wire, and improving the spare track rack.

Painting

I sprayed the first undercoat of Burnt Umber to all edges and gaps of the tank to add shadows and depth to the final coat. The second coat is a thin coat of 20 percent Tamiya XF60 + XF57 mixed with Tamiya X6. This yellowish color is sprayed over the entire model, and will show through the subsequent coats. This is followed by an overall coat of XF60 -Tamiya dark yellow, a thinner coat than the first. XF2 white is mixed 25% to XF60. This final coat is sprayed thinly and allowed to dry thoroughly. To pick out raised detail, a pin wash of oils was mixed in a 1:35 ratio (1 part paint to 35 parts thinner). After all these painting steps, the initial foundation of white is still visible.The camoflage pattern of XF62 olive green and XF64 red brown was next applied with a brush. Other colors used to detail the suspension included: XF64 red brown, XF63 German gray, X10 gun iron, XF16 aluminum, and XF52 soil. Washes of burnt umber, burnt iron, and red brown were combined with MIG pigments to weather the tracks. The figures were painted with the following Tamiya colors: XF49 khaki, XF50 wilderness blue, X10 gun iron, XF7 red, XF57 leather, XF10 red brown, and XF63 German gray

Diorama

Diorama material: Italeri wall series and MATCHBOX 1/76 parts from the spares bin. Background: For the street light post, I used a hollow plastic tube, the street light foundation is a checkers chip. I also used a LED diode for the bulb. I first built up the diorama base with clay. Ground cover and vegetation was then added for realism. The diorama was painted using Tamiya X6 orange, XF57 earth, XF10, XF64 red brown, and XF11 deep green. I used washes of Windsor oils ivory black and MIG pigments as a final step.