Paul: If they are both tied together, maybe a single monster mantlet. Kind of like the early Pz I's, but supersized!

I've finally organized my backstory. Hopefully the timeline is OK. I used the Dust story line for the specifics of the walker itself, and when it became availablbe, and reality for the start of the first battle of Stalingrad. Everything in between is my own fiction. I don't know the Dust line enough to know if anything else jives with them or not. So, here goes:


To better understand the current actions of the Red Guards, 3rd Scout Platoon, it is useful to tell the historical background regarding the battles for Stalingrad.

1st Battle for Stalingrad:
August, 1942: The German 6th Army attacks Stalingrad, becoming locked in a ferocious struggle for control of the city lasting through the winter. The majority of the city is reduced to rubble and intense close-quarter fighting, along with skilled sniper activity, became the norm.

In late January, 1943, the Russians prepare a massive two pronged attack to encircle the beleaguered city and try to trap the German army, taking advantage of the weaker Romanian and Hungarian forces protecting the flanks of the city.

The Germans learn of the impending attack and are able to pull out most of the 6th Army from Stalingrad, leaving a small, sacrificial, rear guard. Although the Germans abandon Stalingrad, they are able to hold against the Russian attack by re-deploying 6th Army and with reinforcements from Army Group Center.

Although the German Army holds back the Russian onslaught, the battle quickly devolves into a very static WWI style trench warfare, with neither side being able to advance significantly. This lasts for approximately 2 years.

Also, the Germans allied with various Middle East countries which began putting pressure on the British in Africa, allowing Rommel’s Africa Korp to tie up the Americans. It would be 1946 before the Americans and British would be able to invade Europe and become bogged down in Eastern France.

2nd Battle for Stalingrad:
In March, 1945, the Germans reorganized and prepared a massive assault all along the static Eastern Front, including Stalingrad.

Additionally, the Germans have a new technology they are counting on to give them the advantage this time. Hitler’s secret labs have developed an armored walker. The armor is sufficient for all small arms fire, they are fast on open terrain and thus hard to hit with heavier fire, and nimble enough to effectively negotiate the rubble of Stalingrad.

The new walkers led the German attack into the city, but quickly outpaced the follow on forces, resulting in quite a few being captured by the Russians. For all their advantages, the walkers can only carry a limited supply of ammunition for their main guns, and many had no additional armament. As they separated from the rest of the forces, it was not too difficult to isolate and trap them.

Recognizing the significance of this new technology, the Russian captors quickly sent their prizes to the rear in order to study them more fully and modify them to their own needs.

Nevertheless, the German assault was ultimately fruitful and Stalingrad fell under complete German control in November of 1945. The new lines were established approximately 100 miles east of the Volga, where the action again became dead-locked for another 2 years of relatively static warefare.

3rd Battle for Stalingrad:
Utilizing the captured Walkers, the Russians made external modifications to the armor and changed the guns to more powerful 152mm smooth bore guns, firing caseless ammunition. The walkers, designated SSU KV-152i “Fury of Ivan”, were organized into Scout Platoons and first used in the recapture of Kiev during the winter of 1947.

The plan for the Scout Platoons is to lead the way into the city, then establish overwatch/sniper positions while the rest of the army advances past them. The intent is to not let them get too far ahead of their supply lines as the Germans had done previously, but to maximize their shock value in the initial assault.

Beginning in February, 1948, the Russians have made steady advances against the German lines, putting them back on the east bank of the Volga by the end of April. In strength they prepare to take back Stalingrad for good.

In May, 1948, the attack on Stalingrad begins. It is here that we join the Russian 3rd Scout Platoon in the rubble of this embattled city…

Happy Modeling, -zon

Zon, sounds nice. I don't know anything about the Dust series. Did I hear correctly that there's a 1/35 scale kit of the walker?

By the way, I'm basically done with my Panzyusha Carla II. I'm going to let her rest for a few days and see how she looks then. I know I have a few more details to address. And I'm still debating on figures and a base. I'll try to post some pictures of the work and what I have done.

Alex: Yes, they do kits in 1/35th and 1/48th. They also do pre-built/painted "Delux" models, some of which are cool but not offered in kit form .

Here is the link to the main page:

Dust Home Page

On the left you will see buttons for Dust-48 and Dust-35, along with a bunch of other stuff. They also have figures, but I've not tried those, so don't know how they compare with typical 48 or 35 figs.

Sounds good on the Carla. Can't wait to see it.

Happy Modeling, -zon

Zon, Thanks. I'd never heard of the setting. I like the look of their walkers. I don't work with a lot of resin because it irritates my sinuses. So it looks like it'll be a scratch job in styrene at some point.

Okay, Picture time

The rocket trailer. I used sections of the wood bed sides from an Italeri Opel Blitz. I used the trailer from a Flakverling as the chassis. You can also see one of the two scratched rocket crates I built. I figured two rockets per crate. As you'll see, I would just need a general shape. I tried to retain as much of the bed detail, primarily the support rails. The front of the trailer is actually two sections spliced together with a support rail used to cover the seam. The inside of the trailer won't be seen.



Back to the panzer. With the redesign, I went ahead and broke down a variety of components. I also shaved down the bullet splash sections on the upper hull to allow the cover plate to sit flush. The white pieces are templates made from cardstock.


Styrene cover plate cut out and taped to hull. I had to use pieces of the kit launcher mount for the turret version. With the changes, I had to go back and repair the mount.


Add a little bit more detail. I moved the traverse handle to the rear. I traced out the traverse arc on the cover plate for later. I made a series of arc scratches and abrasions to simulate wear on the hull deck from traversing the launcher. This shows later with washes and weathering.


Cover hatches for access to the covered over fighting compartment. I figured the crew would stow their gear here as opposed to on the hull where it could get in the way. The hatch hinges came from the spares and were cemented atop hatch doors made from scrap styrene. I used stretched sprue to make the raised edge of each hatch. I added bump stops to limit launcher traverse. These were re-purposed fender supports from a Panzer 3 that I had in the spares. I also added bolt detail to the cover piece. The bolts were made from stretched sprue.


Panzer and trailer off to paint.


Time for the trailer payload cheat. I built up a frame from sections of sprue and scrap styrene. Mounted two of my crude boxes to the top. Made a white glue and tissue paper tarp. Dried, I painted the tarp Green Drab. I chose this color in a most calculated and scientific method...it was the first flat green paint I grabbed.


Washes.



All coming together. I tack glued the panzer and trailer to a section of wood flooring scrap.




I'm not done yet. I still have some touch-ups to do. And I am debating on a base and figures. It's a shame there aren't many Dragon figures with the figures staring off into the distance. Something like that could work well here.

All in all, I'm pleased with it. I even enjoyed the redesign. I enjoy these "what-if" style builds. Depending on time, I may try to do another one or two.

What do you think about a Panzer 2 mounting a 7.5cm leichetschutz 40?

Alex, nice job scratching the filler plate on the hull, it looks really natural (as natural as any manufactured steel object can!). Though I hope you work on the ammo limbers tarp a bit, looks to 'fitted' since it touches all the sides of the limber.

Alex: Looks great!! I'm really liking Carla and think the re-design worked in your favor. My only comment would be to consider a heat shield on the trailer. I would hate for a launch to cook-off the rockets in the trailer. Then again, maybe they fly off fast enough to not be a problem.

As for the resin on the Dust kits, it seems to be a slightly different type of resin from the typical. If you'd like, I could send you some of the scrap and you could test if it bugs you or not. For reference, in my photos, the dark grey is plastic and the light grey is the resin. The resin cuts pretty well with an X-acto, but does need some sanding. HTH.

Happy Modeling, -zon

Nice idea Zon, a heat shield would be essential. Any exposure to heat is enough, at least when dealing with rocket exhaust. Not to mention the crew could be killed by fumes! Nothing like several-hundred-degree exhaust gases burning up your lungs I'm sure.

Good suggestions. I just have to get this thing to a point where I can step back and start on some other campaigns. It's still pretty early in this one.

I was hoping no one would make mention of any shielding for the rocket exhaust. The ICM kit has shielding for the Studebaker's windshield, top, and rear window. You definitely wouldn't want a jerry can rack on the rear deck.

I played with a folding metal flap on the front of the trailer. I kind of dropped it when I added the storage box to the front. Even with the box left in place, there's a 1 cm space there for a flap. Another option is just to bolt on some thin plating on the trailer's front and extend it upward enough to keep the backblast off the rockets. I'm still on the fence about that one.

I agree about the trailer tarp. It appears way too thin. I can layer that a bit and thicken it up. The sides are done like that for a reason. I plan on stashing some equipment on each side. I may just go and have the cover fixed to the trailer sides and leave the rear hanging loose over the back.

Zon, thanks for the offer on the resin. I think I'll pass for now. If I build one I'll probably just scratch it. My use for it would be for the next End of Days campaign or a sci-fi based one. I would make a robot or some sort of armored suit based on that general shape to support our extra terrestrial overlords' infantry. I really like the shape of that walker.

Alex: Sounds good.

Some minor progress on the walker. Cleaned up some seams with Mr Surfacer and scratched some fuel lines.



Happy Modeling, -zon

Hi all,
and a happy new to everyone.

@Alex: your Carla II is killer dude, have you thought about
some sort of secondary MG in a remote mount just to keep the bad guys away. Or is Carla too far behind the lines to worry about that sort of thing?

@Zon: the Walker is well mean dude, can´t wait to that finished. If it doesn´t bother you I may take a part of your background story to make mine . But only if you give me the o.k.

Here´s up to now:
Stretched and raised hull



Engine and Drivers compartment:



I´m going to start work on the buisness tonight, got to get the breechblock housings sorted so I know how big the casematt has to be.

Paul

Paul, I'm interested to see how it'll look with the wheels and track on. I'm betting it'll have a very distinct look as compared to a stretched panzer 4 chassis for a Hummel/Nashorn.

I figure Carla will be a few clicks behind the lines, probably with some infantry support. She does have a hull MG...I actually upgraded the kit's crappy one for one from the spares. There really isn't anywhere to put a small turret on the upper hull without getting in the way of the launcher. The launcher really takes center stage on this thing. I thought about S Mines or even a close in defense mortar but it's too late in the war for the former and the launcher would get in the way for the latter.

I've come up with a fix for the potential back-blast issue on the trailer. I figure a "sheet-metal" cover over the front half of the trailer to cover the rockets. I also might add an observer's spot on the panzer. I've got a small hatch with binoculars in the spares. I think it was an unused part from a Dragon King Tiger kit. I was thinking about mounting it in between the driver and radio operator's hatches. I'd also like to add a remote launch switch so the rockets can be fired from outside of the vehicle.

Paul, excited to see more of your scratch work, it's always great.

Alex, sounds like you've got it down.

On a side note; I still haven't been able to order my stuff for ANY of the campaigns I was in. Still screwing with the insurance. I was woken up today at 8am, "they'll be here to tow the car in a bit". Tow driver showed up with a full truck and said he'd have to come back! It's now 11:30.... Someone at the insurance company is going to have a really crappy day when they hear from me.

Christopher it´s only just started dude, only just started

Alex the silhoutte of this babe will not be so quickly forgotten, that much I can promise you.

Breachblock # 1:



Paul

Paul: looking nice and mean! The guns are huge! You will need a second vehicle to cart the ammo. As for the backstory, you absolutely MAY use it, tie into it, alter it, even re-write it entirely. No worries here. Just know my Soviet guys will be coming after you, assuming yours remains German.

Happy Modeling, -zon

Paul, got a name for it?

Warzenschwein? Or some other term for a wild boar. How about Säbelzahntiger or Säbelzahnkatze?

Or maybe a girl name referencing her amble pair of "dual guns"...if you know what I mean?

Bertha II!!!

Egh, don't think it matters what the crew would name her, everyone else would just call her 'Death'.

Hi there,
well if it has to be ladys name then this "Dolly Buster".
(don´t google it) . No seriously here´s the official name:
Sdkfz142/3 Jagdpanzer III 128mm zwilling.
I was going to nickname it ferret, hunts fast and kills fast. But the name "Säbelzahnkatze" from Alex will now be adopted.
Cheers Alex, that´s cool dude.
I´ll be back tomorrow
Paul

Paul, I was going to suggest something for a bull or ox...like "Stier". The sabre-tooth cat seemed to fit the smaller panzer 3 chassis with those big ole guns. Prowling through the rubble, ambushing its prey.

Paul;

http://www.obsdiecastplanes.com/images/PS89002-FlakpanzerE100-OL-r.jpg

Hello what if'ers
My first campaign ever,if im doin anything wrong please sound off!
To the model it's going to be a HUMVEE-MRAP.
Short history:-
US defence are frustrated with the loss of humvees and decide to mrap the hummer,but the outcome makes the vehicle under powered and top heavy.with this failer specialist vehicles are introduced ATV etc still using the MRAP name!

I'm trying to stay on the sidelines and just quietly observe, but it is a bit challenging with so many awesome ideas and stories being created here One of the things that I love most about What If campaigns is the constant flow of creativity flowing through them, and that no questions ever go unanswered. Rather they are met with equally creative or usefully practical ideas and solutions. I have so many ideas going on in my head right now that I honestly don't know where to start, and yes I blame you guys, keep the synergy going fellas!!

Hi guys
misses is workin the weekend so 48 hours of modelling yaaa.
Moved the suspension down,and made room for the striker axels and suspension arms.

Jeremy, I am a big fan of these what-if and EOD style builds. I build alot of what-if style subjects, so it works out for me. My problem is having more ideas than campaigns. I'm a runner and I come up with and work out alot of the details while running. SO I blame car exhaust as a contributing factor as well.

I'm almost done with Carla. I'll paint the revised trailer tarp in a few minutes. If time allows I'll give Carla some stable mates. And what I have planned for What-If 4 is so freaking out there I scare myself. It involves a 1/35 hummel chassis, a 1/35 panzer 4 chassis, and the engine from a 1/48 Academy F-86. Let's see if yall can figure that one out.

Stephen: Awesome!

Alex: There are so many possibilities with that I don'e even know where to begin, but it'll be interesting for certain