Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D - part 4: Priming the interior and finished 'Hans'

As for the priming, I always use XF-1 flat black from Tamiya. I try to cover all the surfaces, specially the retired corners, which never get the basecoat and the weatherings, and i think its a good pre-shading technic as well.

I surfed on the Internet last week and i found the real Hans! Yes, its true, he was almost bald, just a little hair on his scruff :) And how bizarr, this photo made in Czech,1945.

And here is the miniature Hans. I didn't paint too much details, he will be just a "supporting actor". The flesh-tones are darker than usual, cause he will sit into the cabin, so I calculated with the light conditions.

The next step is to paint the basecoat of the interior...I take a big breath...pics soon :)

Sd.Kfz. 234/2 PUMA (prologue)

As I was reading the Panzerwrecks 6. I have found a very good photo of a PUMA from the Ardennes campaigne. I decided that I will built it, and I will built it as much as accurate as I can.
Fortunately the book provides information about the unit that it belonged to. So it seem the vehicle was from the Pz.Aufkl.Abt.2 and formed part of  " Kampfgruppe von Böhm" during Wacht am Rhein.

This Puma has excellent details and challenges for a modeller. The Dragon kit with the aftermarket upgrade sets should do the trick, and of course some scratch build parts if neccessary.

I have started now the building, so pictures will follow shortly.

Cheers,
Aron

1000th pageviews

What a nice, round number! :)
Thanks everybody for the interest, we make models steadfastly!

SCMC members

BTR-80 Battle of Grozny 1999-2000 (part 2)

I began painting. I have started with primeing the whole vehicle to flat black. The black will help to create shadows in the later stage. I always use Tamiya or Gunze acrylics, because they are create a strong base. I do not like traditional primers, so I don't use tham.

After the primeing I have painted the BTR with valejo acrylics. I used some minor modulation to break the monotonity of the plain green color.

 

 

 

After the modulation I have added the filters with artist oils. And the chipped paint with valejo ss camo black brown.

 

 

Next phase will be the painting of the stowage and the mud. Later the figures

Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D - part 3: 'Hans' the bald driver

Before the paint-work of the interior, and before i glue together the upper and the lower parts, i had to make the driver. Cause i am a fan of Miniart figures, the base came from the 35054 set. I like the poses, and the foldings of the clothes, those are perfect for my taste. 'Hans' almost fit for the driver's place, I just converted the arms, the hands, and the hip. I had to change the head, for a bald one, cause there are not enough space under the roof (which hold the MG above the driver cab). I did not use any details, because he will not visible too much. So, 'Hans' ready for the "life"...

Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D - part 2: the lower part

 The winter holiday has given me the chance to start my new project. I began the building process with the lower part of the vehicle, cause i have to paint the interior first. The inside of the halftrack is so puritan, I just use some spare PE parts (e.g.: fire-extinguiser bracket, gasmask and MP-40 holder). I must sand the bench, cause it had too deep wood imitation.

I think everybody knows the famous Pakwagen photo from the Panzerwrecks 2. I love it, its a real veteran. We can note the bald tyre, and hard to believe its still working. I sand the left tyre, and i made some damage on the running surface.

On the front plate there is a hole for the crank. The cap of this hole is usually missed, who cared this little thing in the war!? . I drilled the cap and made the 2 small furrow on the sides. This could be a nice detail on the forepart.

The next step will be the driver, because he have to take a seat before i glue together the lower and the uppert side...

Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D - part 1: the new project

Hi Lads!

First of all, we wish you a happy new year, 2010!

New year --> new project :)

When i built the Panzerwefer42 with MG151, i used the drilling from the Dragon 6217. I think the Dragon should call all of the Sd.Kfz. 251 kits as SMART, because we get all the parts to build a simple Sd.Kfz. 251/1 version.

This is my first Sd.Kfz. 251, and i love it! The original vehicle has a graceful-shape and a great engineering with the wheel and track combination. The model is the usual Dragon quality, nice details, but it need extra work cause of the flash. I have a full metal Friul track set for it, and i will use the Voyager bins and fenders. The interior will build out of the box with spare PE parts.

The story behind this vehicle is "under construction",  but i am sure it will play in May,1945, probably in Czech territory.

One more thing, this model will not base on a real vehicle,but who knows!? I will try to catch little details from a lot of original photos, and i want to show, how can a modeller take inspiration from period pics.

Pictures soon.....................

Rifle Brigade, Sevastopol 1855

The Crimean War and the Siege Of Sevastopol

The Crimean War (October 1853 - February 1856) was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Turkey, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea.

In September 1854, Allied troops (British, French and Turkish) landed in the Crimea and besieged the city of Sevastopol, home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet which threatened the Mediterranean. The city was captured in September 9, 1855, after about a year-long siege.

The Crimean War is notorious for the logistical and tactical mistakes that plagued both sides. Nonetheless, the war is sometimes considered to be the first modern conflict as it introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare, including the first tactical use of railways and the telegraph. It is also famous for the work of Florence Nightingale, who pioneered modern nursing practices while caring for wounded British soldiers. The Crimean War was the first war to be extensively documented in photographs.

Leo Tolstoy wrote a few short sketches on the Siege of Sevastopol, collected in The Sebastopol Sketches. The stories detail the lives of the Russian soldiers and citizens in Sevastopol during the siege. Because of this work, Tolstoy has been called the world's first war correspondent.

The Model

 The official boxart painted by Raul G. Latorre

The kit consists of 5 white metal parts, all pieces are cast to a high quality and the detail in each piece is excellent, very minimal seam lines and no flash. All the parts of the kit are sandwiched between two layers of high density foam in a sturdy cardboard box. A very nice kit for anyone who is interested in this era of history and very well priced.

Next: The base

Béla Illés

MG151/20 auf Panzerwerfer42

I think, nowadays the modellers have to choose some interesting and not usual, "boring" theme to attract attention.

I always love the Czech 1945 theme, so its not surprising, that i choose this strange one.

This is a modified Panzerwerfer 42 Nebelwerfer to 8cm Raketen Vielfachwerfer (note the box behind the front wheel and the bar on the top of the cabin), after that the vehicle got my favorite weapon MG151/20 drilling.

The base is the old Italeri kit. I hope the Dragon will put this vehicle on the new kit list.

I used the following upgrades: Voyager PE, Hussar wheels, Friul track, Royal Model upgrade, Dragon Drilling, and some scratch build.

At the end of the building phase i would like to say thanks for the helps to Attila Baranyai, Denes Benedek, Szabolcs Varga and last but very not least Aron Vrbovszki. The paintwork will start in the next year, cause I will get more info about this vehicle later from a Czech book.

Laszlo Gaal 

Panzer IV Ausf. J early

Panzer IV Ausf. J early - 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking' - Poland Autumn 1944. - 1:35

This Panzer IV was produced early 1944. It has saw lot's of battles. It has battle damage all over and it is equpied with the wide Ostketten as the veteran crew know how useful it can be on the eastern front...

This model was a major milestone in my modeling. This was my most upgraded modell with the most work spent on. I wanted to show corretcly as much detail as I can. The base kit is Tamiya, with five ABER PE sets, Friul tracks, moskit muffler, Armorscale Gun barrel, Tristar workable running gear and CMK interrior kit.
The turret skirts where a real horror to build, but despite that I liked every moment of the building and painting.

Aron Vrbovszki

My 3 favorite models

Please let me show you my 3 favorite models from the last years.

My Stug 3 Ausf.G based on a photo, which made in Maaseik, Belgium, 1944.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h142/glaca79/stug/stug3.jpg

Probably this tank was belong to the 10.SS Pz. Div. "Fründsberg". To copied the damages was a big challenge for me, but i did it, BTW to finished it took about 20 months. Huhh, it was not a speed modelling ;)

The Gaz-66 is a russian beauty, every ex-communist country used it in big number. My truck was a great experience, and i tried a lot of technik specially on the cabin. One day it could be a part of a little vignette...

This Sd.Kfz.250/8 Stummel was inspirated by Mirko Bayerl's same model. The vignette show a peaceful moment in March,1945, when the 6th Pz.Div fought around the Balaton (the hungarian sea). Note the typical hungarian dog, called Puli :)

HO HO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO...Santa is coming, or...

Pz.III Ausf.L, Russia 1943...part 1

Here is my latest model, the tiny 1:48 Tamiya Pz.III Ausf.L.
I upgraded the kit with the fantastic Aber PE set, and the alu barrel also from the Aber.
I remade the weldings and the casting imitation on the back.

Janos Illés

Here are the photos after the building phase:

Some never-ending project

Unfortunatly i have some never finished project from the last 3-4 years. However i have got a lot of new experience, specially how to built models clean and precisely.

Here are some pics of my unfinished practices:

1:35 Sd.kfz.11 late from AFV Club + Aber PE + MIG wheels + balsa back

This model was finished by my friend Attila Baranyai, you can check here:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd284/Attila_Baranyai/Sd%20Kfz%2011/Sdkfz11NebelwFINISH01.jpg

1:35 E-10 from Trumpeter + Lionroar barrel + Friul tracks

Attila made an extrem paintwork again:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd284/Attila_Baranyai/E-10/DSCF0357-1.jpg

1:48 Kingtiger from Tamiya + Voyager PE

by Laszlo Gaal

BTR-80 Battle of Grozny 1999-2000 (prologue)

     The 1999-2000 Battle of Grozny was the siege of the Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and fighting left the capital devastated like no other European city since World War II. In 2003 the United Nations called Grozny The most destroyed city on Earth.

This is the old Zvezda kit with eduard PE and custom resin wheels. The excellent figures are from MasterClub.

However this model is much more to me than the materials listed above. It represents a kind of symbol of the fightings, and a tribute to those brave men who fight and died there, on the land of death.

to be continued...

Aron Vrbovszki