In the spirit of Halloween, I'm resurrecting an older build from the dead.

It's Dragon's 250 Neu, Tamiya Zundapp, and assorted figures.

The theme of the scene is an 11th SS halftrack & grenadiers following the abandonment of Arnswalde following Operation Sonnenwende (Solstice). In the long run it will be an extremely muddy/frosty scene, complete with a couple refugees (Mr. Rutman has inspired me so).

There's the conversation at the halftrack, a lot like this:


...an intense little interaction between two exhausted soldiers, and a couple refugees trying to keep up with the withdrawal.

And on top of that, I've got some material and corpses to discard at the roadside, like much of the pictures from the era.

Anyways, this is the state of the halftrack-

DSCN1817 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1818 by mullinator7, on Flickr

As far as halftracks go, the fit is pretty ok. Will need some filler, but that's ok.

As seen months and months ago, a motorcyclist (which is close to finished, contrary to this old pic)

IMG_4000 by mullinator7, on Flickr

And the two exhausted troopers

DSCN1808 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1809 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1810 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1811 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1812 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1813 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1814 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1815 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1816 by mullinator7, on Flickr

These two may also be familiar to forum regulars...
IMG_3791 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_3783 by mullinator7, on Flickr

I've also got a new camera, so the difference in quality on some of the pictures is excitingly noticeable. I've got a book on the Aufklarungs Abteilung from Nordland division coming too, complete with color profiles.

I'm also looking through for a couple Stalingrad refugees that will being rushed past the troubled scene and gruesome images on the roadside. However, the biggest mountain I've got to climb in this build is the halftrack's tracks. I hate magic tracks...

Happy Halloween! And thanks for looking!

-Conor

This is really coming along and the new camera is working really good.
J

Hehe, that second guy looks like he's picking his nose

But seriously, nice figure work and that motorcycle looks ace too.

Nice work Conor , vehicles figs , shaping up nicely !!!

Hi Conor ,

new project and a good start as well , take your time with the Dragon if not it can be pretty rough to build it ....

Kurt

Thanks fellas,

Well, school sure does ruin my time at the bench.

Regardless, I did get a painfully small amount of work done- mainly face painting, beginnings of base construction, and some more progress on the vehicles.

First up is this beautiful Tamiya Zundapp. Great build, a blast to paint.

DSCN1828 by mullinator7, on Flickr

DSCN1830 by mullinator7, on Flickr

I've got two derelict kits from my bench getting added in. They will be abandoned on the roadside.

DSCN1827 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1826 by mullinator7, on Flickr

The flak is not nearly in as good of shape as it looks in the above pic anymore.

Finally, the dramatic little pair has had a bit of work done.

DSCN1839 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN1842 by mullinator7, on Flickr


More to come. Much, much more. Big stuff. HUGE stuff. But still in 1/35 scale of cource.

Stay tuned!

-Conor

Conor, looks cool, but the eppulettes on he kneeling guy are placed upside down...or backwards, depending on how look at it. They should be round end at the collar.

Looks more like a DKW rather than Zundapp. Pretty sure the Zundapps of the era all had boxer engines like the BMWs. Happy to be corrected.

More great progress,thanks for posting the clear pics.
J

Conor , good to see you back on this everything looks great !!!

Negative sir, I'm happy to be corrected, you're right. I've built four other Zundapp's so it's second nature to name them as such! Must pay attention.

-Conor

What the hell is this, an update in less than a month? Can't be.

But it is, and it's a vehicle of all things.

My 250 got some paint and early weathering, just got the tracks left to add. I might also note that the interior is wrong- Dragon gives it parts to the basic 250 troop carrier, AND for the communication variant, which I discovered after I had painted, detail painted, and fixed the interior together. So I'll find a way to cover up some of it and move on with life.

All 76 individual treads, two pieces each.

DSCN1915 by mullinator7, on Flickr

And the rest-

DSCN1909 by mullinator7, on Flickr

DSCN1910 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Preliminary applications of mud before the tracks go on. Some basic (behind the wheels) and some more advanced (above the tracks).

DSCN1911 by mullinator7, on Flickr

And the epicenter of the scene, in mock up form.

DSCN1912 by mullinator7, on Flickr

DSCN1913 by mullinator7, on Flickr

DSCN1914 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Wrapping up this update -the crew is OOTB with the addition of Alpine heads, and the radio man is a beautiful Alpine figure, with the arm slightly re-positioned. -The divisional insignia may need adjustment to be 11th SS. -Lastly, the obvious overpsray from my malfunctioning airbrush will be taken care of via weathering effects.

So! That's all. Almost time to get rolling on the base....

Questions, comments, concerns?

-Conor

Looking good, Conor! 🍺

—mike

Very nice progress on everything ! I like your grouping of the figs. makes a lot of sense.
J

Thanks gents,

Dave it occurred to me that I never acknowledged your post the other day; that tabs have been fixed- that's always been something I get wrong the first time

DSCN1918 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

Also, the worst of it is over- tracks have been finished and fixed to the vehicle.

DSCN1916 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

DSCN1919 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

So next up is the finer details and weathering- odds and ends, snow, LOTS more mud, etc. For now I'll concern myself with the remaining figures and beginnings of the groundwork.

Thanks for checking in!

-Conor

I feel your pain. If I was rich,I would hire someone to build the treads for me. It would be sure then that I would build a lot more tanks,etc.
J

Conor,
Looking really good! Can't wait to see this stuff start to land on some groundwork.

Is it too late to do anything with the MP40 on the 'nosepicker'? The sling seems pretty loose like there's no weight on it.

That's quite okay Conor... I assumed, yea I know, that you were just busy with the build... and it looks like this time my assumption was correct! Looks great man.

@Dave no, not so much the build as it is school and work- my two real jobs, and much of why posts are so few and far between and how I can so easily forget/look over simple details! I need to retire already.

The real battle will be having this together in time for AMPS Nationals in April. It will only be about an hour and a half from me in Danbury CT so I will make my pilgrimage.

As always, thanks for the input- hearing from people who build at your prestigious level means a lot.

-Conor

Hi Conor, not sure how this one escaped me before, but I really like the way it’s shaping up & the concept. Also looks like you’re going all out to avoid shiney uniforms too, bravo. (Is it just me or does the helmeted guy with outstretched arm (photo 11/6/16 @ 13.14) look like Ted Danson…?) Others are better than me in checking details, although there is one that some seem to forget - helmet chinstraps, either done up or hanging loose.

And the 250’s camo looks exactly right too, in scale & colour. Not so easy as it might seem to pull off but you aced it.

Cheers, Tim

Thanks Tim, your work is some incredible stuff I might add too.

The 250 was done with Vallejo's Dunklegelb modulation set, and AK's 1945 panzer colors. It's typically hard to miss details with such a high powered camera as I sue- much to my horror, usually.

-Conor

PS, that fella does look remarkably similar to Ted Danson...

I've started the base! plaster cloth from the scenic factory (or woodland scenics, I accidentally have a set from each. covering the base, I let it harden overnight, then I've got my surface to build up from

DSCN1928 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

Loosely set up, I've added the derelict Pak and Flak (rhymes). Rusted from AK and Vallejo, they look pretty good now. The Pak is actually the ancient Revell/Italeri kit that the modeling elders of the site must remember. Still a great kit. It had been sitting on the bench for ages.

DSCN1931 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

DSCN1930 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

And the Tamiya flak, also which had been sitting on the bench for ages.

DSCN1929 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

The plasterclloth dries a lot like paper mache, just much easier to work with. Great product. Next step is sculptamold, then work can get started on the ditches.

IN one of those ditches, will be this guy, who was left on the bench so long, he succumbed to starvation and paint fumes. Just kidding, he was dead OOTB.

DSCN1925 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

Not super happy with that camo, but given that he'll be very dirty, I'm not super concerned.

I touched up Ted Danson as well, snd began the blurred edge camo on his trousers.

DSCN1924 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

Not super happy with that either, but, it's my first attempt at that scheme.

And finally, I threw a worn out whitewash on the 250-

DSCN1926 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

DSCN1927 by Conor Mullin, on Flickr

I painted it like a heavy wash, then dry brushed and wore out the paint as well. NO hairspray technique or chipping here. Afterwards I threw on an AK winter grime effect. Very pleased there.

Thanks for looking!

-Conor

Yep,I like that washed out whitewash look. Very convincing
J

Conor this is very cool, nicely done w/ your 250, gotta love a crowd gathering.
Looking fwd to the dio base, thanks for sharing!

Sincerely
Dave

Look at that! I did something again!

Progress, step by tiny step.

What's been done now is my diorama base, particularly the two embankments along the road. As you saw, they've got a Pak and a Flak abandoned there.

DSCN2145 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN2146 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Yes, and given that this is a winter scene, it will be chilly, featuring some ice. But how do you make cheap, low-tech ice?

DSCN2147 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Wax paper, white glue (I exclusively use Elmer's) and a bit of tap water. Dry it overnight, and the result is as seen above. I did not spread mine out quite enough, leaving it a bit thicker than i wanted.

Onto the water.

DSCN2148 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Mix 2 parts evenly and you get this-

DSCN2151 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN2152 by mullinator7, on Flickr
DSCN2153 by mullinator7, on Flickr

This pictures were taken as it's still drying, so it will even out and dull a bit. If you look close you can see where some of the ice was added. I only used a little, but I got the effect I wanted.

Finally, just a teaser of what other work has been going on...
DSCN2155 by mullinator7, on Flickr

Figures are nearly done save for one more, if all goes according to plan, this will wrap up in a week!

Thanks for looking!

-Conor