OK Guys, anyone up for a small build log?
So, the story is... I've still got some FJ parts I want to use up (Yeah, I really should get the FJ's out of my system!). Now, I've pretty much got the pose set but, I want to do something a little bit different with the finish this time. I thought about the usual settings.. Normandy, Cassino, Ardennes etc, then came up with the idea of the SS-FJ btn 600 fighting it's way along the Oder. Now just to throw everything way out, how about if he was wearing the SS Pea-Dot smock?
Yes, I know, it was never issued, but it did actually exist! Apparently, a number were found at the clothing works at Dachau and taken back to the US for use as duck-shooting camo. Other reports say that a shipment was destroyed on a bombed train en route to the unit. I have heard that a photo exists of an officer actually wearing it in the field. So although highly improbable, it's just possible it may have been issued in very small quantities. Whatever the truth of it, it should make for an interesting piece? What do you all think?
So....What have I got so far? Here's a few WIP's.







The legs are a mix 'n' match from the DML hedgerow set and the set with the 'Puppchen' AT Gun. The detail was pretty soft, so I re-scribed them and put them together at the right angle using the crate as a guide. The torso detail was completely removed, but the area where the arms would join the shoulder was left at the same size as a guide to where the putty thickness should be. The hands are Gen2 items. The left knee was pared down slightly to get a better 'sit' for the left hand. The forearms are spare para arms from the above sets, The upper arms are made from twisted wire. I find that this gives me the flexibility i need to position the arms correctly. The belt and webbing is made from the old stand-by, lead foil. The buckles are cut from etched mesh and filed to shape. Shaped wire completed the 'O' and 'D' rings. The collar is a Gen2 item, reshaped to the cut of the smock.
The head, oh boy, this was a good one! Two Hornet items. I liked the look of the face but, I wanted an M43 cap tilted to the back of the head. Another Hornet head was brought in and the cap carefully cut away. The full head was then cut off at the back and the two parts carefully aligned. The gaps will be built up with putty at a later date. I did at one point, think about an FJ helmet with SS runes but, after reading about it on a collectors forum,decided against it. One poster reckons that finding one of these would be about the equivalent of finding Adolf's porn stash!
At the moment, nothing is set in stone for this one, so any ideas..Shout up!
All the best,
Gary

Looks brilliant to me buddy. Maybe the hat is a little high? You have that under control I am sure though. Sorry,too many glasses of wine tonight.
J

Hi Gary,

What an interesting theme!! And the smock issue is fascinating! I say go for it!!!!

I like the general pose a lot although it has its dangers me thinks!
Hopefully you will suspend the MG on a strap from the shoulder. Otherwise the angle of the hand would be quite impossible.
In this context, I find his upper right arm part a tad too horizontal, don't you think!? Try it out..I did and I couldn't get it that level without having troubles....and why would I choose an awkward pose!?!
The dangling ammo belt is running under the designation "artistic license", as the drawbacks heavily outweigh the advantages.

It is with the greatest interest that I will follow this project!!

Good luck!

Cheers

Romain

Looking good. I like the pose, the MG is obviously suspended on his shoulder. Perhaps the neck is a bit long.

Glad to see you back, mate!

Mario

Very intertesting pose you've got there Gary. I assume the MG is going to be hanging on a sling? I must say I use FJ figures from DML in the same way, mostly as spares- plus I've done the same thing you've done with the Hornet head- sacrificing one to give the hat or helmet to another!

I for one am glad to see more FJ figures You can never have too many spare parts. I'm always amazed by what you do with the straps and webbing, it always looks great. Other than tan't really say anything that hasn't already been said. Looking forward to the next update!

-Conor

Evening Fellas!
Now, that's what I like to see... Ideas!
Jerry, good call on the cap. The more I look at it, the more he looks like some sort of rapper! A shallower angle is on it's way at the next bench session. Don't be worried about too many glasses.... I get my best ideas while under the influence. Problem is, I always forget them by morning!
Hi Romain, I see what you mean about the angle of the arm. That's one reason for using the twisted wire as an armature (I'll get my coat now...) When it's attached to the shoulder, I can position it any way I need to. I think the pose would be better if the arm was held closer to the body? What do you think?
Now, Romain, Karl and Mario have picked up on the position of the MG42, yes it will be on a sling. In fact, the gun and sling will be a mini-kit in itself. The ammo belt will be shorter when it's finished. I'm also toying with the idea of an an ammo belt round his neck,too. Opinions? As for artistic licence... There's going to be quite a lot of that with this one
Mario old buddy! My finest critic and inspiration! Glad you're along on this one. The neck? maybe just a bit long but, I'll be sculpting a tunic collar and maybe a scarf so, perhaps not so noticeable later in the build?
Conor, happy you showed up for this one! I know you love your FJ's so, I'll try and make this a good one for you By the way, when are you going to finish your FJ build? Still waiting on that one
Right then Guys, a little surprise I found on the net. It's from the Museum at La Gleize:


So, it's on now for sure!

All the best lads,
Gary
Next update should be about next Thursday... Christmas is coming and the Grandkids love me working overtime......

Maybe just put the hat a bit lower in the back of his head? I do like the way it looks from the front,maybe just a tad lower there but I would take some off the back of his noggin. I would go with the additional ammo belt around the neck,saw that in a lot of pics,specially the Gran Sasso raid to nab Mussolini.
If you are going to make a partially spent belt,make sure you show the links out the other side of the gun as those belts did not disintigrate. But you probably alreadu know that bubba.
You are up late,aren't you? No Telford this year?
J

Hi Gary,

This will be just brilliant surely.....because you think...and along the right lines too..impressive indeed!
The idea with the scarf is perfect!
Ammo around the neck is not impossible, especially in the final stages of the war, but the fact that this ammo is prone to getting dirty should not be forgotten!

You could also sculpt some more hair showing between the base of the hair and the cap. After all, german soldiers had longer hair.

And you will make sure he doesn't look too happy, won't you! After all, the fighting in winter 44/45 was hard enough!

I look very much forward to your next postings!

Cheers

Romain

Oh yes I do like my Fjs hahaha. I have no doubts this will be another great one Which FJ build do you mean? I've got one I've finished, and a second that's kinda halfway there hahaha. Working on a WSS kit right now.

-Conor

OK Lads, time for a little update..
Been playing about with the right arm a bit.



Think it looks a bit more natural now.

Made a start on the puttywork. Left arm first.






Also sorted out the knee tear and the 'sit' of the left hand.



Now the front of the knochensack.


Now it becomes apparent why I make the webbing first. It enables me to get the puttywork done in sections without having to match up the other parts already done. I find that if I try to do too much at one sitting, I WILL get a fingerprint in some part of the soft putty. Just makes life that bit easier!
Also managed to get the groundwork started. I like the idea of the grenade tied to the jerrycan. Must be nasty! I still have to sort out the issues with the cap and keep the existing set-up or change the head for a different expression? The ammo belt has been shortened. I think it looks better now. I'm going to go with the belt around the neck too. Anyone know of a good way to bend a styrene ammo belt without snapping it? Damn, I wish Dragon would make these in DS!
Over to you Lads!
Gary

Gary, years ago I saw an original pic on the internet of a radio operator in a dugout wearing the peas pattern smock. Wish I'd downloaded it now but it just proves that they were issued at some point even if only in small numbers

Hi Karl, I would dearly have loved to have seen that pic! At the moment, that would be like finding the holy grail!




This one threw me out for a bit until I took a closer look. The guy is actually wearing the drill uniform.
Oh well........
All the best,
Gary

Lovely work with the putty Gary- the arm and smock are looking brilliant. What putty are you using by the way?
The shorter ammo belt looks better IMHO- as for bending these the only way I can ever get styrene to bend is by heating it with a flame but I find this easily distorts or melts the plastic while I'm still trying to work on it! I agree these bullet belts should be DS- would make them much easier to work with.
If you could fine a resin one that might do the trick- they are easier to shape using some warm water.

I got an ammo belt to sit fairly good across a figures shoulders using a cheap lighter. Just held it a few inches above the belt. It would probably depend on how hot the heat source is though... I managed to melt away one belt on my first try lol.

The result was this. Not quite what I wanted, but I didn't want to risk ruining the belt hahaha.


Eww. Seam lines. Didn't notice those

Is that a mix of milliput and green stuff you use for putty? I remember seeing that used by someone on here, can't remember who though. Whatever it is, it works great. Flawless work, sir.

-Conor

I have had some luck putting the belts in boiling water,using a tweezers. You have to get used to it and practice how long to keep the belt submerged. I have also cut them into shorter sections and bent them as it is easier to get them to conform to complex curves that way.
The putty work is brilliant so far. I need to adopt your technique of doing a small section at a time. Looks like it makes way more sense that way.
Gonna be another stunner buddy.
J

Evening Gents,
Just a small update. Last one for a while - Back to work in the morning
So, where to start? OK, The putty..
Conor, you're right, it is a 50:50 mixture of green stuff and yellow/grey milliput. Mix up the individual parts as you would normally do, then mix the GS & Milliput together. Make sure that the bit that joins the yellow & blue parts of the GS is cut away and discarded. It never mixes right and will not set, leaving a permanently soft lump in your sculpting! The beauty of mixing the two is that it can be smoothed with water and a brush like milliput and it will take fine detail like GS. You get about half an hour to do most of the sculpting, after that it gets difficult to smooth with water. Fine detail like seams etc. can be etched in with a sharp blade after about an hour and a half. try experimenting.
OK, so what have I got done? At first glance, not a lot! I concentrated on the head this time. The cap angle has been slightly adjusted and the hair sculpted in. I gave him slightly longer hair than I usually would, figuring the weren't many barbers around in the Third Reich in March 1945!






If you noticed, I also sculpted in the right collar of the field blouse. I've only done the right side as most of the neck area will be covered by a scarf but I wanted to have the SS Runes on display as well. Bear with me, I think it'll work

I've also done a bit of work on the lower back of the jump smock. Notice how the pistol holster is attached first, then the putty is built up around it. This gives the correct 'sit' to the item, giving the impression of weight.



I'm going to try the boiling water trick for the belts first. If that doesn't work, then its back to using styrene cement on the back of the belt to soften it. I don't like using this method as it's difficult to judge when it's soft enough to bend. I usually end up breaking it
That's it for now lads, over to you
Gary

I am really liken the new additions a lot. Nicely done. I love the pistol as you know I love weighty things. The hat looks spot-on now and the hair confirms it.
Very nice to follow.
J

Hi Gary,

Niiiice job so far m8!!! You are talented, no doubt!!

I simply love the hair....exactly what I was "seeing"!!
Obviously your putty mix is very effective!!

The tricky bit was/is/remains the 3-dimensionality of the torso. At least for me in my first attempts!!

You'll manage nicely I'm sure!!!

Thanks for letting us watch!! Really fascinating and inspirational thread!!

Cheers

Romain

I have to echo what Jerry and Romain have said- the putty work is awesome- the work around the collars is particularly crisp- as is the hair which now makes the cap look perfectly positioned. Cracking stuff!

OK, Latest update....
Here's a few pics












More puttywork is done... The scarf, lower front of the smock and the thigh pockets. The breadbag was done at this point, as the MG 42 sits directly onto it, pressed into the semi-cured putty for the right 'sit'. The MG gunners pouch is a DML item, reworked a little bit to bring out the detail. The MG 42 is just about finished, all I have to do here is to add the front sling swivel clip. this will be done after the figure is painted & finished. Why, You ask? The sling is made from PVC electrical tape. As the sling is under a load, it needs to look stretched and tight. Lead foil isn't much good for this sort of effect and photoetch is useless, so electrical tape fits the bill perfectly.
Just to finish off, I thought I'd give you a sneak preview of something else I'm working on....



All the best Lads,
Gary
Nearly forgot! Does anyone know a supplier of resin MG Belts?

Ok Gary, I may be asking a dumb question but what is the brand of that green putty and where can I get some. It looks to be a great medium for all kinds of things. Your figure is coming along nicely. I echo others in asking you are attaching a sling to that MG-42? That is a heavy weapon system! Again Great job. I am hooked in watching it till it is finished.

Hi Lonewolf7, thanks for looking in!
The putty question isn't a dumb one, in fact it confuses a few people because it's a mixture of two different kinds.

Likewise for the sling, it's all in the last post.


Hope this helps
All the best,
Gary

Inspiring stuff you got here, air! Love how everything sits just right. I'm itching to get green stuff to use with my milliput. Love how this is looking.

That teaser picture at the bottom, when and where can I expect to find the build log for that? Epic looking scene there too.

Loving every minute of this!

-Conor

Hi Gary,

Live Resin produce Nato cal belts (for the Mag) and maybe they could be used!? I believe Tank produce a set too (but I'm not sure).

Thanks for the idea to use electrical tape!! I'll try it out!

The figure is coming along nicely!! Tricky bit remains with the right arm...! Don't forget the shoulder!! Shouldn't it be drawn back a little??

Are you sure you want the bipod extended??? If I were him, I'd fold it down

You are tempted by daunting projects...I love that!!!! This "next" figure looks great. Wouldn't want to miss progress on that one!
So thanks for keeping us posted!!!

Cheers

Romain