I originally bought the 1/24 Hasegawa Kubelwagen just for the guns, jerry cans, helmets, etc, for another project, but, the kit was just to good to resist putting together and adding it to the diorama. I wanted the kubelwagen to look extremely damaged and partially buried in the sand, so I started by replacing the plastic body with metal panels. The metal panels are made with K-Y Jelly tubes. I got my tubes from a medical supply house, for my sons past medical condition, but I suppose that they could be bought at any drug store. I emptied the jelly into a pop can, (not down the sink!), and threw it away. The tube was then cut open, washed, and then rolled flat. The impressions are done simply, (yea right), by rubbing the metal over the plastic body panel. For 2 sided panels, 2 panels had to be made, (front and back, then glued together. Since the Kubel was going to be partially buried, I only made body panels for the left half, front and rear. The rest of the kubel is the plastic kit, except for the roof, and the roof arms.







More to come........

Hi steve,
Welcome to ArmoramA
Great first post. I applaud your ambition. And this sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the KY Jelly tube idea. With the demise of metal tubes for toothpaste that sounds like a good source for it.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this diorama.
Cheers,
Craig

Hello Steve and welcome to Armorama from a neighbor to your south :-) Oh great lookin gkebel dio, I would love to see some close ups. Cheers Kevin

Hi Steve

Welcome to Armorama and the forums.

I really like this.

Its a very unique and different setting/diorama.

Regards

Sean

Greetings Steve:

A long time lurker, huh? No problem. You're off to a
great start. A very interesting idea, not that common.
I like a different approach. Hope you'll post more
"during construction" pix as you make progress.

Once again, welcome to the fold; the Big A.

Looks good.
For future reference, you can purchase empty metal tubes at art supply houses. They are a lot cheaper than buying them with products to toss away, just for the tubes. I pick mine up at pearl paints. They come in various sizes also. Cost between .50 cents to $1.25, last time I bought them.

Hi Steve,
I really like your progress so far.It's different just by using the damaged Kubelwagen,and the raised groundwork at the back gives alot of depth.Will you be airbrushing the base and giving the windscreen a smashed look to it(it's hard to see in the pic).Best of luck,look forward to your next update.Cheers,Shay

Thanks All! I'll post updates as they mature. I normally build "daily driver" cars, so really this is no exception as the "Rommels Rod" will be the center of attraction. There is a broken windshield, (the pictures don't show it very well), and the groundwork isn't finished. The base is made from 1-1/2" Signfoam, and the by-product from power sanding the stuff is a really fine yellow powder that I will use. The sand on the base now is just a "primer" for the final groundwork.

I always pay attention to what the armor guys are doing.






Steve