Jerry,
Yes he did tank on those cardboard boxes and I think he was a 19D (the horror!) in a former life.
He loved to tell us stories about how they drank from water puddles and the like as I guess his unit couldn't organize Class I.
Maybe your Col. put on the wrong blouse?
Dan

Yeah, I was a grunt in the eighty duece for a while and we never lacked for water or MREs so I don't know where your guy got his stories from.
I have to change this guy to a Oberst as he looks way too old to be a Major.
J

Hi Jerry
Still following your masterpiece, and it just keeps getting better. That broken windshield is just spot on.
Jacob

Wow!! Great show m8!! The 3 guys are spot on, but the Major takes the wrap!
Typical for you to think about the cap lying upside down...and the label inside!! It's so illogical the other way round!!

One of the things I love most about your work bro!!!

Congratulations!!

Cheers

Romain

Jerry- the work you've done on Herr Oberst is top class. Getting the pose right was the first hurdle and now seeing the paint work just brings it all together. You only have to take a glance to know he is an Officer- the uniform details are superb. The hat is my favourite bit though- the insiginia on it and the name badge on the inside- small touches that likely took a long time to do but boy are they worth it!

Well mr. Jerry-man sir....
You really nailed that one! It has all been said before, but I must mention that hat-part once more.

Jacob,Romain Karl and Ron,
Thanks for the uber kind words my breatheren. Seems like the schirmutze is a hit! Nice to know you guys caught the attention to detail as it makes it worth while after all the cursing about dremeling out the inside of that tiny hat.
Karl,you have a way with words brother.
Romain,I think this pic of some new branches will make you feel a bit better. The color is better and I now crimp each leaf in the middle and some also on the tips. I obsrved on my real trees that the leaves are seldom flat. That is what was not fooling the eye on my previous branches I think.
I also went back and crimped the leaves on the old branches. Takes time but it's worth it?



I took happy snap of the Oberst(he still will be that rank in the end) There are pips there but the shallow PE is very hard to discern. I will have to make some pips in more relief?



I put some grey at his temples but I think more is needed? You can see,he looks way too old to be a Major.
KJ

Hi Jerry ,

excellent work on the Colonel , you've managed to paint the pips in gold . Nice job ! The rank of Oberst fits him well indeed .

More gray at his temples ? I would say yes , Master J

Kurt

Jerry that is such a uber Oberst!!! That's a great choice for heads too.... I knew he looked vaguely familiar? That is why Hornet heads are so popular, one head can serve so many different purposes.

That would be a good idea for a monthly competition, to use the same head and see who can come up with the best figure based on the chosen head.

Well done my friend, well done. I'd cast my vote for her Oberst right now, even up against my volksturm mechanic...



Keep it going...

Hi Jerry,

the branches are much better IMHO!! Well done m8!!

Apart from that I don't necessarily agree with the grey hair. The war provided quick promotion! And there are enough examples of Obersten in their end 30ies or early 40ies.
On the other hand, stress can sometimes produce grey hair!

I wonder if green stuff is not the easier (and better) way for the Schulterstücke!?

Cheers

Romain

I'm with Romain in regards to the grey hair- the way you have it at the temples I think suits him best whereas Dave's excellent face with all grey/white hair does make that particular Hornet face look a lot older. Then again- it is your vision Jerry so if you want him with more grey then rock on.

(Incidentally I was messing about on a spare head trying to use the cotton wool for the hair- I got it on okay but he looks like a cross between a surfer dude and one of those troll toys you used to get with the mad hair that stood up ! I gotta practice it!)

Romain, Yes,I think something like putty would work. I want to try using some extruded sprue first though?
Karl,
Thanks for looking in again so soon! As far as the cotton goes,I have found the less,the better. First prepare the plastic or resin hair as if you weren't using any cotton,then apply very small threads of cotton after putting just a tiny dab of white glue on the head. You can then trim with a small scissors. I use the one on my Swiss Army knife.
J

Hi Jerry,

Super, inspiring stuff.

Cheers

Al

Thanks for the tips on making the hair Jerry !

No problem Karl,any time!
Dave ,yes,I remembered you using this Hornet head when I picked him from the bunch I have in the tackle box. I picked him because he's older looking.
Mr Saunders sure is talented.
Thanks all,for looking in again,



The next actor enters the stage. The Oberst is missed. His adjutant silently laments the loss of this Father figure.




He is still in the first basic pose to test the position. I now have to do the usual slight adjustments and then adding of putty/taking away unwanted portions,etc.
I will use new hands from Alpine or Hornet once I get the pose down.
Still adding text to these posts even though I have the impression no one reads them! Heeheehee.
And yes...the branches are just laying on the car,not attached yet.
J

Nice pose on the new guy!

—mike

Agreed. Nice pose.

Jerry, look at this new figure and think of this for a short moment; the last scene from the old movie of Planet of the apes, where the main caracter screams to the heavens - "Damn you, damn you all to hell"
Sorry, couldnt help it. I acually think this figure will bring in even more dispair into the scene.

Jacob

PS: I read the texts.

Hi Jerry,

You know, even though your last two pictures are only mock-ups, they already demonstrate your ability to make something static, very lifelike, almost a photo of a an actual event. It's remakable.

Keep posting, and many of us will keep taking notes!
Cheers
Nick

I'm with Nick!!

If there's one among us to turn "plastic" into lifelike "beings", it's you Jerry.

A talent, a real one!!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Jerry,
Your mini drama is getting better with every step!
About the age? I couldn't withstand to ask the grandfather of a German friend (the old man is 92 today, having been captured at the end of 1944 in East Prussia, he spent his days in a Russian coal mine until 1952). He told me that in 1944 the army still counted a considerable amount of profesional soldiers, who were in the army before the war started and just followed the flow.
I can imagine that your "old" guy just was an officer who was just not too eager to make a carreer!

OK, it's me again, but....
Looking at the general theme behind this superb build, I'd say it is too dramatic, too Hollywood. It makes no sense (to me) that anyone would sit like that, mourning over an officer if the road had just been strafed by gunfire and everything got shot to hell. They'd be taking cover or getting out of harm's way.
Place some onlooking, battleweary G.I.'s or Tommies next to it and it would add more realism and atmosphere to the whole thing. And as an added bonus you'd get more diversity in figures as well.
Just my thoughts.

Mike and Paul,thanks as always gents!
Jacob, thanks for reading all of the stuff I stumble through.
Nick,very well said but I hope that I can live up to your expectations!
Romain-thanks as always for checking in and the kind words
Paul-Yes,I know there were many career officers still around,some with many wounds by now during this epic battle. I was concerned with making the hair color match the age in his face. I thought I should maybe add more grey to the temples?
Ron- Ah yes well...desent gets a lot of things done so it is a good thing.
The scenario here is that the Adjutant has pulled his Commander from the car after the vehicle has been riddled with shrapnel and has taken a brief moment to despair in between attacks. Maybe things will be more clear when the whole sheebang comes together. I hope so?
Thanks guys as usual for your comments and participation. It means a lot to me,just in case I haven't made that known enough!
J

I don't think I ever want this build to end! Each of these new elements to it just builds into a story on it's own and it really adds the human element to it. Add that to the fine detail like the room-temperature oberst and his cap really cements this one in memory. I want to ask how much there is to this one, but I'd rather not know hahaha. I've really got to chime in on this one more often.

-Conor

Jerry,

This just gets better and better.
The details are great.

As a point of interest, there's a KM Kapitän (so roughly equivalent) buried in the cemetery in la Cambe, Normandy, called Hugo Pust.
He was 75.

The adjutant figure looks good, IMHO. Certainly adds to the emotion of the whole thing.

Looking forward to further updates...

Cheers,

Sean