That StuG look great! I especially like heavy look of the tracks.




I actually, thought about calling this campaign 1000+ initially but then it might have been too limiting as there are not many kits in that part count range. Still, do you guys think it might be of any interest? As kind of a Mk. II after this current campaign is finished?

I don't really even know what kits would have that number of parts, and what the subject matter would be. Any ideas?

I've finally got around to finishing off my Sdkfz 251/7D. I'd built a 251/7C so decided to spray them both at the same time as I like to do a couple of vehicles at the same time with the amount of time it takes me to balance the airbrush and get the paint consistency right. Here's the last stages of the build.
















So that's me done. I've not weathered it yet as it's going in a dio so I won't bother doing it until then It's the fourth DML halftrack I've built now and I'm getting used to the build format-not the way DML tell you to do it but the practical and sensible way. I've enjoyed participating and there's been some lovely bits of work that have come out of it so will continue following. Is there agallery up for the campaign so I can put a few pics in before I forget?

Good to see some members are still able to make great progress in this campaign. I've just fonoshed to unpack most of my stuff after my move. Not ready to resume working on my M3A3 but will do my best to cross the finish line on time

Olivier

@Paul H: There are not a lot of kits living up to 1000+ parts. I can only think about the Trumpeter and Meng MAZ-based kits (Scud, Smerch, Bereg) and maybe some of the Tiger kits with interior and single link tracks. As I said, this was one of the reasons for reducing the threshold to 500, at that time.

@Karl: Congratulations on the finished kit! The result looks really good. I have a weakness for the green/brown over desert yellow schemes, anyway

Here's the link to the campaign gallery: https://gallery.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/30156

@Olivier: Glad to hear the moving went well! Good to have you back! Looking forward to seeing more of your M3A3 soon.

Karl Nice job on that 251 congrats

My Eduard PE Zimm arrived yesterday

Add that to the parts count too

Karl,

Great looking engineer 251. Nice detail on inside.

That Zimmerit looks good!

I have completed the base for the Mk IV heavy tank and have mounted the tank on the base:

This turned out REALLY nice! Great job, Jeff!

Thank you, Cristian. Tried a new process for ground cover by using potting mix...took time removing fertilizer bits and some pieces of bark, but you can get very fine to coarse soil. Additionally, since WWI battlefields tended to be well churned, often former forests or orchards, wood splinters can be included.

Thanks Jeff. One of my favourite things about half tracks is what you can do with the inside. With it being an engineer vehicle there's all sorts of bits and bobs I could put in to make it look lived in. I decided to do this one as a team tasked with mining. I may stick a mine detector in the back as well as I've got a couple of spare ones kicking about. I've built a 251/7C as well but tasked that as an assault/demo vehicle just to be different.

How 'bout a 750+ campaign?

Jeff - I think you have captured the way I think of WW1 with your dio. The mud on the tab=nk & the churned earth look just right.

My own Stug project is all but done. I am waiting for a set of tow cables to arrive from Poland but all else is completed.

The first set was wasted when I was clipping the cable end off the molding block and it went SPRING and launched itself into oblivion. Drat! This is the firt time I ever worked with resin and I had not anticipated its springiness.

I had ordered two sets but I did not realize that this vehicle needs two cable to be loomed together on the engine deck. So, the project waits for the postman.

Speaking of the looming, I see on the drawing that there was some sort clips to hold the cable in place. The kit, of course, does not provide and cable clips or cable for that matter. I'm thinking of making them out of scraps of PE left over from another project. Any thoughts on doing this and making it look realistic?

I decided to revert to plan A, and finish the 1/72 Dora. I wasn't happy with my work on the SCUD.

The rail cars are done, but need some wash and dry brushing. I am not going to "weather" it, it only saw action once, and then was dismantled for scrap.

I decided to treat the track as a display base, since it isn't the focus of the model. So, I just painted it black.

All the upper parts are just dry fit, including the barrel, so there are gaps and such.

I bought a metal barrel, and it is way heavy even after I had it machined out down the middle. I need to add more counter weight, or just glue it in place. Thus the glue bottle prop.

The paint bottle is just as a size reference, and i also tried to show how much is left, a lot of fiddly boring stuff, like hand rails.

Dave - That Dora is amazing. Do you you know how far the original would toss a projectile? I would sure hate to be on the receiving end . . .

Two types of projectiles were fired using a 3000lb. charge of smokeless powder: a 10,584 lb. high explosive (HE) shell and a 16,540 lb. concrete-piercing projectile. Craters from the HE shells measured 30-ft. wide and 30-ft. deep while the concrete piercing projectile proved capable of penetrating 264-ft. of reinforced concrete before exploding! Maximum range was 23 miles with HE shells and 29 miles with concrete piercing projectiles. Muzzle velocity was approximately 2700 f.p.s.

5 ton shell - holy crap batman

1000 parts??? Are you insane? lol. 500 was more than enough for me. Mind you I will admit I did enjoy the build especially when it all started coming together

Cristian,
Despite your help, I haven't found anything in my area of interest that has 1000+ parts, but I too was thinking about a 700-800 part build... Between reviews, and previous commitments to other campaigns, it would be late Jan or Feb before I could take on that level of project. I stuck several reviews in during this campaign and that killed some of the momentum on my project, so lesson learned. Never the less, I think it would be a great idea.

I've really enjoyed watching these beautiful projects roll to completion and I'd hope that a lot of the same modelers would want to do another big kit campaign. If you do start another campaign and it begins before that period, l'd still follow along as a highly interested bystander.

Those high parts count kits aren't going to build themselves!

Cheers,
Paul H

@Jeff: I fully agree with Paul, concerning the excellent way you captured the WWI scenery. That barbed wire and the churned soil makes it scream WWI.

@Dave: That IS a real beast but you did a great job on it. I would have serious problems finding an appropriate display spot for that mean gun

@Paul: Can you share the drawings you mentioned? That might help providing some ideas. I'm no StuG specialist so don't even know where to look for them

As for the new campaign, I like the idea of 750+. It will open this up for a large attendance while still being a raise compared to the current one. Since the 500+ is still running until October I was thinking of a starting date behind that point in time. With all the holidays towards the end of the year, it might give some of us more time for modelling so maybe a start around beginning of December might fit with about 9 month runtime. What do you all think?

Cristian,
To me it sounds doable, I guess you could put it forward as a campaign, format the suggested rules and see how it pans out...

Cheers,
Paul H

I would up for a build such as you describe during the time you suggest, sounds like fun!

Below is a portion of the drawing I am working from. It is from the excellent Tank Power 405 Sturmgeschutz !!! book, one I highly recommend. I have used this book more than any other reference building my model.

As you can see, the two cables are neatly coiled with clamps to hold them in place. I have cable kits on the way and will trim the wire to fit the drawing but will need to make something to hold the cables in place and replicate the clamps in the drawing. I had in mind trying to make them out of spare bits of PE fret. I'm not sure how to cut them. Maybe scissors?

Suggestions welcomed, PE is relatively new territory for me . . .

Thanks for the feedback, Paul! I'll keep this in mind and put it forward once we approach the finish line on this current campaign.

As for the clamps, these look fairly easy to reproduce. PE is one alternative as you said. Maybe you have some rests from those single layer types used in some kits for parts that do not need bending. There are special PE scissors but I think regular nail clippers could also do the job but will dull out a lot faster.

An alternative to PE would be using aluminum foil from food containers. There is a slightly thicker type used for barbecue containers, for instance. It is much more flexible than PE and can be easily cut with regular scissors or a hobby knife. The bolt heads could be bits of stretched sprue, for instance if you're not too hung on the _exact_ shape.

I've finally gotten the decals and a wash on this. Not much at all left to finish.

Cristian,

I agree with others on limiting kit parts to 700+. I have the Dragon T28 Super Heavy Tank which boasts over 700 parts...most of them applying to the four track runs