Oh, I like that a lot!! You sure the 4 guys cannot make it?? Would be a pity!!!

Are you giving the helmets a little more shading around the bands holding the camo cloth??? Could work miracles!!

Good show m8!!!!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Romain, thanks for checking in!

I'm still picking at the helmets. More shading on the bands sounds good though.

The four guys will still make it in — just not all four helmets on that rack, it's really tight in there. Here's what I had to go through to fit the six MB 'Off to the Front' figures into the ride:

Driver/passenger compartment:
1. Trim firewall transmission opening for passenger foot clearance
2. Discard seats
3. Remove material from driver and front passenger (bottoms and backs)

Rear crew compartment:
1. Discard bench seat cushions (too long, wide and thick)
2. Shorten bench length
3. Widen walkway between benches
4. Remove material from crew bottoms for feet to touch down
5. RT rear crew: Move leg/foot up onto RT bench
6. LT rear crew: Cross feet into walkway
7. RT front crew: Wrap RT leg around bench corner
8. LT front crew: Wrap LT leg around bench corner
9. Trim one rifle butt RT front corner
10. Trim front of folded top for RT rear crew fit





From the onset, I built the vehicle in parallel with the figures, modifying, checking and fitting at every stage. This build has been a real challenge for me but i'm pretty happy with the results thus far.


Hope that wasn't too boring but I thought the info. might help someone else down the road.

—mike

Shame they won't fit like that because it really works.
J

Hey Jerry, thanks for checking in!

I didn't get around to including these last night. Here are some images to illustrate the cramming issues. It's hard to fathom that they fit six soldiers into the back of the 1:1 vehicle!

Left: Modified front seat cushions made from paper (fail — still too thick). I just keep the seats around for photo ops w/o figures.
Right: Illustrates legs wrapped around front of modified benches and chopped rifle butt.



Unfortunately, the helmet rack had to go. Rider's elbows are right up against the storage box. However, I will use the hanging method on future builds — another Sd.Kfz.10, etc. in the stash.



In addition, there will be stowage crammed under elbows, arms and in back to fill up the empty spaces.



Jabo eye-view!


Legal Disclaimer: All figures are subject to further improvement!

—mike

This is Paris-Dakar....and the co-driver (satellite-free navigator) is passing on instructions to the driver!

Are you planning some refining on the figgies??!? (Hope so! )

You can at least finely outline all the elements (shoulder flaps, Y-carrier, underside of the collar, lower part of the caps, o.s....
I think you get the drift!

Cheers

Romain

Glad you picked up on that! Winfred is saying: "We're going where? ... to our doom?!




Oh yes. ... Lots more to do on that front. Since these guys have been ordered into battle, the least I can do is try to make them look presentable.

—mike

You have fit everybody in there very nicely. How about hanging the helmets on the outside somewhere?
Remember these guys liked to bleach their softcaps with gasoline until they were fairly light. The whiter,the better.
J

Thanks Jerry!

Yes, just what I was thinking — believable though, not just glued to the sides. I've got some ideas. Now where would I hang my helmet if I was riding in that little bucket? ... Hmmmm ...

Bleached softcaps — I'm on that!

Also, a while back, I purchased some transfers but I'm not 100% certain if they're correct for these guys or which item goes where. And I still have no idea which unit appears in the original photo. Here's what I've got from Archer Fine Transfers:

DAK Shoulder Boards (for infantry troops)
Afrika Korps Uniform Patches (for infantry units)
German Helmet Insignias

Then there's the Tank Commander and the two adjacent tank riders ... ?

Any input would be greatly appreciated ... as long as it's not too complex.

—mike

You can put away the helmet decals. The guys usually had painted helmets or covered them in mud to blend in better.
The Inf epaulettes would be edged in white while the panzer grenadiers would be light green.
If you only have european theatre patches that is cool as well because a lot of guys used them as the desert versions were more rare. Supply was always a huge problem in that theatre. We liked to sink their supply ships!
J

Thanks Jerry!

Hi mike ,

good progress , nice work !

Looking forward to see more !

Cheers

Kurt

Hi Mike,

Coming along well, nice passenger arrangement. Look forward to developments.

Cheers

Al

@ Nick, Kurt, Alan,
Thanks for checking in guys!

@ Romain,
I did some more work on the camo bands and cloth — the figures in general.

@ Jerry,
I bleached the caps in gasoline ... in a well ventilated area, of course!

—mike

Super!!!! Show me.... .....please!!


Cheers


Romain

Sorry Romain! I work on weekends, so no updates until next week. ...

... Oh well, I couldn't resist! Here's a quick blurry update pic. Still lots more to do.



—mike

You work on weekends...and still find time for modelling....impressive!!!

Thanks for the sneak!! Helmets are coming along nicely already! Einfüllstutzen looks top too!!!

Figure itself is indeed hard to tell from this picture!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Mike -

It's fun seeing the steps! Nice work! I get working on the weekends too - odds and ends if time allows during the week; come Saturday - getting into it!! I'm looking forward to seeing how you do the layout stuff - and, in the mean time, remaining envious of your skills with figs and vehicles!

Looking forward to the post-weekend-post!

Cheers

Nick

Guys, you shouldn't pity me. I actually have a fair amount of hours during the week where I should be getting things done. And on weekends, I have a little time where I can do some research — which brings me to a dumb question:

Would some Kartoffelstampfers und Panserfausts be appropriate items for random stowage in das DMAG? Or should there be crates instead of loose explosives laying around?

—mike

Hi mike ,

i would say yes for the potato mashers and i don't know for the Panserfausts because i think they were not used in the north African theatre . The time period is a problem , Panzerfausts
were invented in late 1942 and the Africa korps surrended in Tunis May 1943.

But hey ...who cares if you want panzerfausts as stowage in the vehicle.

Nice progress by the way !

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

I had a feeling something just didn't make sense according to the location or the time period — just couldn't pinpoint what it was. Mashed potatoes it is, then!

Many thanks for the history bit!

—mike

it is my pleasure mike and i meant the Africa corps !

Keep up the Good work !

Cheers

Kurt

Hey Kurt,

Isn't it Afrika Korps, Afrikakorps, Deutsches Afrikakorps or DAK? ... you know, with 'k' like Kurt!

—miKe

Hej MiKe

the guys are right....no Panzerfaust for DAK!!! Hand grenades are not "stored" loosely...well not normally! So think of some other goods..!

Water is precious in those areas! Fuel and oil for the vehicles too, and if Jerry cans should prove too big, you can put some british cans in! NA was finders-keepers paradise!
Food would be nice too! Some of the DAK guys were so malnourished, they looked like KZ inmates rather than Wehrmacht soldiers!

Cheers

Romain

Yes mike , das Deutsche Afrikakorps but the exact word for korps is corps in English . That's what i was trying to say !

Kurt

@ Romain, Thanks! This is very helpful info. — can never have too many jerry cans!

@ Kurt, Thanks again! For a minute, I thought you might be feeding me a test — hope I passed!

I got a bit of late-night bench time in last night after work. The lack of sharpness on the six MB riders was driving me "Nuts!" This was no one's fault but my own. Back when I originally modified & painted these figures, I was much more heavy-handed than I am now — too much sanding followed by too much paint and so on. So, I cut-up and tacked on some quick paper epaulettes to enhance those details. It might have helped to revive these guys just a bit.

I'll try to post an update soon.

—mike