Howdy Everyone,
Here is one of my entries in the Ardennes Offensive campaign. It is not a vehicle, figure, or aircraft. Since it is intended to shoot ‘BBs’, some might say it is not even a kit. But it is made of plastic, requires assembly, putty, sanding, filing, paint, and weathering, so Mr. Dabao (shonen_red) was nice enough to give it his blessing and allow it in this build.



So far I have:
1. Cleaned up, filed, and sanded most of the pieces.
2. Painted the red ‘safety’ barrel and sight assembly black.
3. Disassembled the main gun and magazine to add weight to bring the weapon close to the proper 8.7 lbs. (Two ‘D’ cell batteries and assorted nuts & bolts strategically placed did the trick.)



Soon:
1. Finish the plastic preparation.
2. Fill in and sand the screw holes with plastic sprue.
3. Mask off the original gun’s plastic grips and stock.
4. Begin painting the different parts and assemblies to reflect the proper shade and type of metal. (Reference photos show mostly gun metal with worn areas revealing steel, brass, aluminum, etc.)
5. Weather the nylon sling. (I am thinking of caking it with mud and dirt, letting it dry, and then just wiping any excess off)

What do ya think?

Any comments, questions, and/or complaints are welcomed.

Which campaign is that for?? Did you scratch the parts yourself?

Hmmm, were does the Ardennes Offensive come into this? If you take this as a modeling exercise, ok, but this is just a generic German SMG. I don't see the connection.

Henk

Hhmmm, I see what ya mean-this equipment may have been used in the Ardennes Offensive, but what makes this kit unique to that campaign and not just another MP40?
I had not thought of that.

So, Henk, if I get you right, this kit needs an angle.
Did the Germans put any white, cloth sleeves over their equipment as camo during the winter? Like a sheet? Would that work on a machine gun?

Any suggestions from anybody out there on how to make this thing 'Ardennes useful'?

I'll have to do some research and check it out....

i see what Henk means "
and i see what you are going to do .
as far as i know it wasnt a done thing generally to put snow cammo on your weapon although thats not to say it wasnt ever done ?
you could finish it up on a snow base like its been dropped into the crisp snow ?
but keep your snow seperate from the bb gun so you could remove it from the base obviously ,try to portray the fact is has been dropped or lost during the ardennes offensive also i would probably put some other things there too, why not try to sculpt in the snow a hobnail boot print ? or make a glove from scratch >?