OOORAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

I just found the rivet review board. I have been posting my progress on my 120mm Luftwaffe Flak Crew member walking out of the falaise gap in august '45 ( I plan to add three other figures and make a small vignette).

THe base figure is the tamiya MG-34 gunner on manuver, I have adjusted the uniform and modified a verlinden MG-34 ( I made the tank barrel version and removed the buttstock).
These modifications are below




The helmet recieved a few details



THe mods looked like this when I was finished




The choice of heads is a toss up, which o you prefer?


I have yet to put the chlak weatehring on him and secure the head, but this is what he looks like now.




I await the debreif.

Craig
NC, USA

Check the eyes. Too much white imo. Also a trick for doing figures is to look at them in a mirror.

Hey Craig forgive my ignorance with anything German, but what is it he is carrying? Also don't know much re what a flak crew jacket looks like, only that it looks different!
Think you need to putty the joins b/w arms and torso, following the creases of the uniform.
Looks to be a seam along the rear of the left arm that needs removing
The equipment looks great
Eyes are a big problem for most to model lifelike, but try to err on the side of 'less is more' with the whites of the eyes...Being German you could make the eyeballs blue to blend them somewhat...
One other thing is to possibly position the head different to straight and level? Maybe lean it slightly to the right, as he is compensating for the effort required to shoulder the MG 34?
Well on the way here though, and would like to see finished pics!
Cheers
Brad
P.S. Falaise pocket occured in '44...

Brad & Steve,
Thanks for the points.

The eyes have always been troublesome for me. I tried to add lenses to the glasses to obscure them but that did not work.

The time frame was a typo, I had done a bit of reasearch to get this figure (and the rest of my vingette) right.

I thought the seam on the back of the uniforms was the coat seam.

BTW he is carrying a two- 50 round drum carrier. Thanks for the atta - boy on the equipment.



Craig

Although the sculpting is done well. There are a few points I should make. I think you should study more of what your going to sculpt better. There was no such tunic as that he is wearing. It has no breast pockets or buttons. It also has no insignia. Im also confused what kind of weapon he is carrying? Also, NO machine gunner was ever supplied with a submachine gun as a side weapon. Usually they only had a pistol. The machine gunners kit goes on the right side of the belt. Not the left. The glue marks are noticable on the left back arm. Also, your figure is too glossy, take some dull coat to him. Keep us posted.

OK, Craig, here's my checklist for you. Some of it has already been mentioned by others.

1. Jacket. If I remember right, flak crews had a jacket similar to what tankers have. I will check when I go home and let you know. The seam on the back of the right arm is the original jacket seam, can't see anything on the left arm.

2. Badges & patches. I assume you will add 'em later?

3. Helmet. Looks good.

4. MG34. Why'd you take the butt off? Won't it be hard to fire without a tripod?

5. MP40. The folding stock is a bit too straight in relation to the receiver and barrel. It should have a slight angle, like on an AK. I know Harrison claims no machine-gunner would carry an SMG, but who can say? Veteran soldiers would pick up whatever did the job best, including enemy weapons, so it's upto you.

6. Paintjob. Uniform looks shiny and weathering a bit heavy-handed. Didn't the Luftwaffe wear blue trousers as well? Not too sure if I'm right though. Eyes look too big. Work on the eyelids to narrow them down. Don't use pure white, and tone down the eyeballs. That might help. I don't know if it's the photograph, but the head with the spectacles looks like it has no mouth. You need to work on that. I've got this fig halfdone, and here's the head if it helps:


7. Pose. I know the head isn't glued on yet, but the neck looks a wee bit too long. Maybe you could sand down the base of the neck. The spectacles need a bit of work as in lenses. The left hand isn't gripping the MG correctly.

That's all I can see. Don't be discouraged by all the criticisms, that's what the RRB is for. Good luck and have fun.

Craig, I can appreciate a lot of work has gone into this figure, but I can see a couple of things I need to comment on.
The Fliegerbluse looks too long in the skirts, it's a much shorter garment in real life, finishing just above the hips, yours looks almost the length of the Service Dress jacket. It could have the Luftwaffe eagle on the right breast, but I think this was not always the case. I think the fly which covers the buttons needs to be more defined.
I don't think it would be possible to carry an MG34 in the manner shown, the weight of the weapon is mainly in the receiver portion, so it should be balanced further back on the shoulder. Alternatively since it had a sling, it could be slung over the shoulder, or suspended from it. Infantry always had the butt attached, it would be unusable in the configuration shown, this looks more like it came out of a vehicle, but has a bipod attached.
The MG gunner was issued with either a P38 or '08 (Luger) as a personal weapon, which was correctly worn on the left hip, balanced by the tool kit on the right, as Harrison has stated. I wouldn't deny that soldiers would pick up anything lying around, but I suspect he'd have enough to cope with with the MG, having carried an LMG (Bren) & GPMG, which are very similar.
Apart from the 50 round drum in the case, there's no evidence of any ammunition; the MG34 & MG42 used a lot, it was normal for every man in the squad to carry at least 50 rounds of belted, the gunner carried 200 rounds, & the loader 150, so really he needs an ammo box.
Painting, well I've got to agree with David. I like the idea of the head with specs on but the mouth needs more definition. The field grey trousers are incorrect, they should be Luftwaffe Field Blue as the jacket - only paras wore field grey & these were a different design. I'd also like to see a bit more definition of creases & perhaps a bit of dry brushing on the highlights.
I'm sorry if this sounds super critical - I do recognise that you have done a lot of work on this figure, I think it could be a real gem with a little attention to the details.

Steve, David, Harrison et al,
THanks for the input, I will recheck my refernces on the Fliegerbleuse, and add the correct color to the pants.

As for the kit, this is a flak crewman pressed into infantry service with scrounged weapons (hence the butt stockless MG-34- pulled from a panzer and a scarcity of rounds) If you could see the figure up close, he only has one magazine in the pouch. I figured he would have picked up an extra weapon along the way ( I saw a reference photo while looking for the Panzer MG-34 of a gunner firing the MG-34 while he had a MP-40 on his back. I figured an ad hoc infantryman would have a non-standard load-out.

I am going to add another 50 rnd drum to the holder and each of the other 3 figures will have the double carrier also. TWo of those I plan to be Hohenstaufen stragglers (listeneing Steve?!)
Great input guys.

Craig
NC, USA

One thing not mentioned, is that I would work on the shading and highlights.

Hey Treadhead,
My appologies, there is such thing as that tunic. Forgive me, i am somewhat unaware of what the Luftwaffe wore. But this is a great reason to start learning.

WHere wuould you start with the higlights?

I have started a bit of dry brushing, but washes still give me trouble.

ANy hints?

Craig
NC USA