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'Enemy at the gate' or 'For you little piggy, the war is over'


Badder

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So, I finally got round to starting this GB. Although I've completed 3 dios in the past year I've not taken part in a GB before, so a vignette is a good starting point. Leaving things a bit late, I plumped for something small and quick, that being the motorcycle in the title. It comes with a total of 4 figures, so that made complying to the rules easy, although I may not use all of them.

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With such a small vehicle, I am left with more room for 'scenery' and have opted for making a tree or two, using my 'fishing line' method.

This method was 'invented' in my 'Carry on Regardless' WIP, in the diorama section, but I've since improved it and will show the method here also when I get to that stage. In the meantime, I have purchased a suitable base, from Hobbycraft at less than 2 quid. It's a deep box frame and I've replaced the glass with a thick 6x6inch photo-frame backing to ensure a nice solid/stiff base to work on. Unfortunately, I've photographed the whole thing upside down, so what you see below is the rear/bottom of the box frame.

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I am intending to do a 'frosty or scattering of snow' scene, where the trees are still in their late Autumn colours. I may make a section of wall/building as well, and hopefully there'll be a bit of humour somewhere.

Anyway, work on the bike has been rapid. Stupidly, I have erased some of the WIP photos and only have the following left.

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Side-car dry fitted. I airbrushed the whole lot Field Grey and used blu-tac as a mask around the tyre prior to spraying it black.

TFL

Badder

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Hi Badder and welcome to the Vignette GB. I am looking forward to seeing you work some of your scenic magic on this project. :popcorn:

Kind regards,

Stix

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Sounds like a nice project Badder, I've got one of these on my entry in the Eastern Front GB. It builds into a nice little kit.

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Hi Badder and welcome to the Vignette GB. I am looking forward to seeing you work some of your scenic magic on this project. :popcorn:

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix.

I'm thinking of doing a very large tree. A forty-footer, maybe, or a sixty-footer if the BMW turns out REALLY naff. lol

Sounds like a nice project Badder, I've got one of these on my entry in the Eastern Front GB. It builds into a nice little kit.

Hi Ozzy.

,

There's a bit of misalignment in the petrol tank area to be honest, but that's the only issue I've had. Oh, I did lose the rear number plate three times, the last time permanently. I've bodged a replacement from a tiny bit of plasticard, but it's not an exact copy. My fingers aren't up to any greater accuracy. It will have to do. Question for you, regards your Eastern Front GB.... are the figure's uniforms contemporary to that period?

Rearguards

Badder

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Hi Ozzy.

,

There's a bit of misalignment in the petrol tank area to be honest, but that's the only issue I've had. Oh, I did lose the rear number plate three times, the last time permanently. I've bodged a replacement from a tiny bit of plasticard, but it's not an exact copy. My fingers aren't up to any greater accuracy. It will have to do. Question for you, regards your Eastern Front GB.... are the figure's uniforms contemporary to that period?

Rearguards

Badder

You can't beat a little scratch building, in regards to my dismounts with the pictures I've found they are correct if the pictures on the net are from Stalingrad. The scene is troops that encircled the 6 th Army rather than those that were in the city from the summer, there is a mixture of troops in quilted winter uniforms and those in grey coats and summer uniform with capes. I did have to give a number of troops different weapon systems as the Tamiya kit comes with 4 that are later in 1943. If the uniforms are from the wrong era then it could be any bit of the Russian advance there after.

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Here's a view of my frame/base from the correct side! The thick hardboard insert is from a photo clip-frame of 6x6 inches and fits nicely. The original hardboard was way too thin and would have bent/warped/moved, causing damage to the intended groundwork. Also work has commenced on the front forks and wheel assembly.

943988DSC05008.jpg

TFL

Badder

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Motorbike and sidecar constructed fully and painting continues.

Whilst researching the vehicle, I was disappointed to see just how much physical detail Tamiya opted to omit from this model... the mudguard struts and some frame and engine details in particular. I may scratch the mudguard struts at least. Also, Tamiya, failed to assign the correct colours to parts of the bike... the saddles and the engine parts being designated 'field grey' in the instructions, whilst they are black and metallic/chrome respectively in the actual vehicle. Still, things could be worse.

A gloss coat should be going on today in preparation for decals and first in the weathering process.

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Rearguards,

Badder

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So, I took the plunge and scratched the mudguard struts. I used two pieces of wire, bending each to form deep U-shapes and then fitted the ends of these into small holes drilled into the forks either side of the wheel. I held them in place with Blu-Tac and used CA to fix the struts into the holes and also to fix the lower strut to the underside of the mud-flap. Whilst not precise copies of the originals, they are close enough and way better than having none at all. Kinks/bends in the struts can be explained away as realistic damage.

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TFL

Badder

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Details like that are a huge improvement to the model, giving that nice touch of realism. Great job! :clap:

Ciao

Well done with the mudguard struts! :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

St.ix

Thanks guys.

There ARE limits to what I'll consider scratching! I suspect some would add all the bike's electrical cables and piping for the engine etc. There is one rather vital part missing from this Tamiya kit... the short length of pipe linking the engine to the 'condenser?' and thereby the rest of the exhaust pipe! As it is, the 'condenser' just floats beneath the front of the engine. If I'm feeling very brave, I might try and make/fit one. It would have been far easier to correct prior to assembly though and I may not risk it.

Rearguards

Badder

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Painting finished except for the BMW badge (I have to wait until my eyes work) Gloss varnish and decals applied. Weathering next.

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Quite pleased with the front mudguard struts. There's similar on the rear but I won't bother with that.

Very disappointed with the sidecar rider.... Tamiya clearly think it's okay to grotesquely deform a figure in order to get him to fit. His right leg is bent outwards from a point half way down the thigh bone, just so that his foot can rest on the bar outside. Meanwhile, his left thigh bone is incredibly long and his left shin bone very short. The latter isn't too troublesome as his left leg is mostly hidden inside the body of the sidecar. His right leg though is terrible and I've had to chop it off. Now I just have to find him a new leg.....

TFL

Badder

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As some of you may know, I have some spare German infantry.. or to be precise, Panzer Grenadiers. These, I had gracing my Villers Bocage diorama, only to be informed that they were of the wrong period and wearing uniforms contemporary to earlier in the war. So, this afternoon I shall be studying them closely and selecting one as a leg donor for the amputee sidecar rider.

The motorcycle/sidecar is finished barring the addition of the riders and stowage. Pics to follow later.

TFL

Badder.

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Work halted on this GB as I purchased a StuG III by Dragon...opened the box and was distracted by the somewhat ancient contents. The instruction sheet declared that it was copyrighted in 1995, and I think the box must have been on the shop shelf ever since. Some of the moulds are awful with crazy injection points, stupid placing of 'overflow/expansion holes' etc. Worse still, some of the sprues are warped. To add to the frustration, there are THREE sprues lettered 'B', TWO each lettered 'I' 'D' and 'E'. Oh, and some of those sprues have TWO different letters on them!

Faced with all this, I had to wonder whether it was worth building or just to write it off as a bad lot.... and so got into constructing the thing. Much fiddling has resulted.... The drive and idle wheels are an absolute horror. Using Dragon's locating pins results in awful misalignment of the inner and outer 'spokes' of the idler wheels and the teeth and 'pierced hubs' of the drive wheels. So, off with the locating pins on the drive wheels and much filing of the idler wheels to even up the spokes.

So, the StuG has taken over as I try to make a silk purse ,out of a sow's ear.

However, I have purchased some more figures for the dio... and the scene for this vignette may change. I'm just not happy with the Tamiya figures to be honest. In the meantime, here's a couple of shots of the vehicle as it stands at the moment....

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At this point I hadn't painted the BMW emblem. I have left the MG off the sidecar until I decide which period of the war this motorcycle will be relevant to.

Top photo: There SHOULD be a pipe leading from the cylinder head to the cylindrical tank beneath the front of the engine, but Tamiya didn't bother with it and nor have I. I just noticed the awful ejector pin mark under the rear saddle, but I shall either fill or hide this somehow.

TFL

Badder

Edited by Badder
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That combo is looking great Badder.

I had a go on and in one in the early 90's that a mate brought back from the Far East after a stint as a UN observer. It was a zadput copy made with the tools looted by the Soviets after the war. Great fun but I wouldn't fancy taking Stalins hordes on with one.

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Your motorcycle and sidecar look superb! Your detailing and finish are first rate. I was just looking at the satchels on either side and thinking they could be the real thing! Very effective! Well done.

And it sound like the Dragon Stug is.......'interesting'..........

Kind regards,

Stix

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On ‎10‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 10:21 PM, Yeoman1942 said:

That combo is looking great Badder.

I had a go on and in one in the early 90's that a mate brought back from the Far East after a stint as a UN observer. It was a zadput copy made with the tools looted by the Soviets after the war. Great fun but I wouldn't fancy taking Stalins hordes on with one.

Thanks mate.

I have only just been able to get full access to BM in the past hour or so... something weird was happening where I couldn't interact with the site. I had to use a different search engine.... and that worked. Anyhoo.... I have made just a little progress on this GB.

I wasn't totally happy with the Tamiya figures, so I searched my local model shop for some better ones. I came up with those shown below. Hopefully they will look the part.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

On ‎11‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 11:09 AM, PlaStix said:

Your motorcycle and sidecar look superb! Your detailing and finish are first rate. I was just looking at the satchels on either side and thinking they could be the real thing! Very effective! Well done.

And it sound like the Dragon Stug is.......'interesting'..........

Kind regards,

Stix

Cheers Stix.

As always, the model looks better actual size! I will probably do a bit more hairy stick work on the engine and re-do the red light covers with clear red over base white. Oh, and the Stug has been ...er.... as you say, 'interesting'. It came very close to going in the spares box (previously known as the bin) However, I think I've rescued it.

Rearguards,

Badder

On ‎12‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 8:17 AM, giemme said:

Excellent, love the weathering! :clap:

Ciao

Cheers Giemme!

Clapping is always appreciated!

Rearguards,

Badder

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