E75 Heavy Tank with 128MM Flak 40 Gun

 These 1/72 scale Fist of War, Modelcollect kits are great for experimenting and enhancing. The E-75 is a basic King Tiger. Length and link track, are OK, if you are careful.  Since there was no turret for the extra links, I made frontal amor out of them.

The 128mm Gun was more detailed, but needed some enhancement. I created the walk around structure from evergreen strips and shapes and some screen.  I then use my spare parts boxes to create the elevated rotation system. I also added some bits of brass tube to the barrel. 

  

Overall I achieved  the effect I was going for here as well as wear on the tank. I wanted to give the impression that the turret was somehow destroyed and replaced with an experimental replacement.

Vince B 8-25-22

 

Achilles Tank Destroyer

 This is a 1/72 scale kit of an Achilles tank destroyer in Canadian service during WWII. It is a styrene plastic kit with photoetch from ExtraTech in the Czech Republic. Stowage is from Black Dog, Value Gear, and the parts boxes of myself and Vince.

Lancia Autoblindo 1ZM

 This is a model of an Italian Lancia 1ZM armored car. The kit is 1/35th scale and is from Copper State Models. Very nice kit but it can be tricky getting all four wheels level. Although a WWI design, I built it to replicate a machine in use in Libya in 1931.

Weathering did not go as planned, but I think it cam eout OK in the end.

I did not notice the gravel buildup at the tires until after these photos were taken. I have since fixed this (I hope).

Sd.Kfz. 9 FAMO

 This is from the 1/72 scale Revell kit. Really nice. At 1/72 , it does require some tweezer work, but its worth it. 

I used various resin stowage from Black Dog and some Chinese knock offs to fill in. Also used some Preiser bits.

I did add some minor details such as the tow wench cable and fire extinguishers. 

 

Vince B. 8-21-22

Panther on Flatcar

 Both of these kits are OLD Dragon. As such they lack some details, especially on the Panther. This was before photoetch screens were available, so I made from screen. Anyway, they were mostly obscured with the stowage. I added various bits to indicate that the tank was loaded and shipped out in a hurry.

You can see that they neglected to run the Panther through the wash before loading as the dried mud has fallen off the tracks as it was loaded on the flatcar.

Note that several of the side skirts were hastily replaced but not painted. The camo was free hand airbrushed in layers. I performed both Sponge and brush chipping before final weathering.  Oil Washes were applied in layers with gloss coats in between.

Overall I am happy with the results of my add ons and effects of the weathering and wear on both the Panther and Flatcar. I believe that the rails and wood came out well along with the painting of the flatcar wood decking, mostly obscured by the tank and stowage.

Vince B. 8-17-22

PZKPFW 38(T)

 

This is Tamiya's updated Pzkpfw 38(t) in 1/35 scale. When the Germans took over Czechoslovakia in 1938, they realized that the Czechs had developed a vehicle that was superior to the Panzer I and II. So, they appropriated the design of the 38(t) and ramped up production. Certainly these vehicles were obsolete by mid war, but many of them continued to serve into 1945. And this is why I choose the tri-color camoflauge as German Grey was going to be a bit too lack luster given my mood.

Assembly was pretty straight forward with only one piece of photo etch included in the kit.

I used a piece of steel wire for the antenna, and the tracks are from Fruilmodel.

I used the Mission Models Dunkelgelb which is supposed to match the German RAL swatch number during the war. It has a slightly different tint than the traditional Tamiya Dark Yellow, but I do like it. I also used Tamiya Red Brown and Olive Green for the other two colors.

The stowage set is from Value Gear and some pieces from the kit. I had to do some work to get the Fruil tracks to fit as they were slightly too wide, but I made it work.

I used pigments to make the muffler nice and crusty, as well as for the dust and some of the mud and dirt on the tracks. I ordered the decals from Star Decals as they are specifically for late war vehicles. I took a file to the tracks for that burnished appearance. The Fruil tracks worked really well for this model and gave the results I was looking for.

I enjoyed building this kit, and for the record, I always wanted to build one of these. Now it's done and I hope it can stand up to the quality models that those in this club produce 

Be well.

Panzerlok BR57 mit Kanonen und Flakwagen

 Try to say that three times fast. These are both Hobby Boss kits. As with the others I have built, these fit together like Tamiya kits. The detail is great and seems accurate from what I can tell from books and photos. Even the tracks are well detailed.

I added some minor details which can hardly be seen between the cars. I added the brake line hoses. 

The camo pattern is free hand airbrushed with Floquil Lacquers and Model Master Enamels. I used several layers of washes and pin washes with some drybrushing to bring out the details. 

I really enjoyed this project as it allowed me to combine two kits seamlessly.  though each of the three cars were painted separately. The rail set is mounted to two planks of hardwood flooring.

 

Vince B. 6-29-22

Green Knight

 This is an unknown 1/35 resin knock off from China. Not sure of the origination. Resin was a bit brittle and these kits do not come with assembly instructions.

The detail of the resin was great and begged for layers of paint, washes and drybrushing. All with enamels and oils to start with. I wanted the underlying suit to stand out from the metalic armor. I used layers of floor wax and green food coloring over some oil washes in the recesses.

The final layer of gloss green was done with Crystal Cleer and food coloring.

The base was from junk parts, just painted, washed and dry brybrushed. I wanted to make it look like an abandoned piece of machinery.

Vince B. 6-26-22

"No Mans Land"

 Another 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' diorama.  Also a Post Apocalyptic rendering using the Academy M998 kits, one of which was for the Shelf Queen club build for Oct.

Of course the figures are all combinations of Maser Box series, the same ones I had used in the 'Mad Maxine' diorama. 

You may be able to see many of the tattoos on the girls. These were from a decal set. The figures were base painted with enamels and then washed and glazed with oils. 

The signage was from the internet converted to a decal sheets and put onto posts made of evergreen scraps painted in an aluminum enamel and weathered. 

The green goo in the drainage ditch was Gloss Mod Podge with food coloring, then coated with the Woodland Scenics poured resin. Barbed wire was twisted 14 ga SIS control wire filaments.

Creating this story was a lot of fun. Some girls you just don't want to piss off. 

Vince B. 6-9-22

Panzer III Ausf. N

 I have completed my version of the Takom kit for the club build. This is the kit that I have discussed several times needing a slow build and attention to fidley bits and details. Not a weekend kit for sure, especially with the Photo Etch.

The kit is very well detailed which makes much of it delicate and hard to hold when working, mostly due to the hull and turret side armor brackets. Though they are plastic, they seem to be properly thin. 

Of course no Panzer would be complete without a pile of stowage on the back. Most of this was Value Gear. 

It did take a lot of work to get the tri color scheme well blended. Though the tank is well worn, scratched dented etc, I didn't include any battle damage.

Its passable for entry in a show, but I dont think its my best work.

V.B. 

Hotchkiss H35

This is a 1/72 scale Hotchkiss H35. The kit is from First To Fight. Velejo USA Olive Drab primer was airbrushed onto model, then Polly Scale US Sand was brushed on, and the black lines were drawn using a Zeyar paint pen. It was given an overall wash with burnt umber oil paint.

Had to prove someone other than Vince was building models. :-)
(And the cat hair visible in the last photo has been removed.)

Classic Build with Tamiya Flakvierling and Sandbags

 This was a tough one, OUT OF THE BOX, completely. Per our club contest requirements, these CLASSIC Tamiya kits (091 & 025) were combined to make this. 

The Flakvierling kit includes some accessories like the replacement barrel case and a few other equipment boxes with the shell magazines. The trailer was pretty well detailed for its time, and the instructions on the gun show how to modify for a traveling  position.

I thought this would look best in the desert with lots of rocks and sand to go along with the sandbags. It also allowed me to show off some chipping and scratches with rust. 

I am pretty happy with the results for what it is.

Vince B.  5-6-22

Marder I on Trailer

 You had all seen me working on both the Tamiya 1/35 Marder I as well as the Das Werk trailer kits. I had been showing progress on the Thursday night calls. The combination was a perfect fit.

Of course the new Tamiya kit was as perfect as it gets. The only added detail was the radio set wiring and head phones. All else was adding of the Value Gear bits. 

I had been practicing on my chips and scratches and am satisfied that I got the hang of it now. 

The Das Werk kit allows for several options in positioning. The rear wheels can be removed and the ramps put in place. There are two styles of ramps provided. Even the front wood panels can be in the raised position. I decided to pose the Marder already stored in place.

Unfortunately, most of the detail painting of the wood planks gets hidden away under the dirt work. 

Overall I got the effect I wanted and it only takes up one space in the display case instead of two. 

Vince B.  5-1-22