JackG

Graham - hmm, that is an interesting point (i must have read something wrongly). So did some further digging, thinking maybe it had to do with when getting hit in combat. Apparently fuel itself wasn't the problem that caused Shermans to brew up, but rather the stowage of shells. Another found preferance for petrol engines was better performance - power to weight ratio? regards, Jack edit - well Nick beat me to it, and even provided more info.

According to British Tanks in Normandy by Ludovic Fortin, petrol based engines were preferred (opposed to diesel which was more prone to catching on fire). Also mentioned is the M4A1 unsuitable due to it's cast armour providing limited space for ammo stowage racks. The M4A2 itself had become scarce. - I'm guessing at this point of the war, this last type mentioned was no longer being manufactured, and those still existing were in critical theater use and did not warrant being called back to the UK for refit? regards, Jack

From what I understand, the Sherman V was the first to be converted, and would be most numerous during Normandy. By war's end, the Ic and hybrid were more prominent in numbers. regards, Jack

I've a resin conversion from Tankworkshop: http://www.tankworkshop.com/Shop/agora.cgi?cart_id=705.20932&next=10&exact_match=on&product=Tank+Workshop&user4=British The resin product I'm working with is flimsy and warped causing fit issues, requiring a lot of fettering and prodding. I believe Fighting 48th is out of business, and is only selling whatever he has left on ebay. Which is too bad as his looks to have been better quality. As for the wheels, I have on order a set of pressed type w.6 (MR Modellbau) and tracks T54E1 type (Gaso.Line) from the web store Track48 located here in Canada. regards, Jack

Very nice, I like this. Built straight out of the box, or does it need something to make it a British/Commonwealth vehicle? regards, Jack

Converting Tamiya's 1/48 Firefly Ic to the Vc, wondering if the open spoked wheels are alright to use, or were they all solid? regards, Jack

A personal thanks to all of those kind comments. longshanks - when you say you can almost smell him, hope it is the paint you refer to and not the aroma of a u-boat waffe crewman - lol. regards, Jack

Thanks for those responses, if anyone has more info to add, please do so. In the posted link, a member gave this list of prop types: VDM 9-12067 A : metal VDM 9-12153 A : metal with external pitch weights VDM 9-12176 A : wooden Were they for the ground attack version, or the D-9 as well? regards, Jack

Would they basically be same process, as say wooden Rotol props? Is there a metal sheath present on the leading edge (how important is this piece?) and if there was metal present, did war shortages affect this in later years? Anything specific for the Dora prop - would be greatly appreciated. regards, Jack

Also posted in the figure section, but since it is a maritime theme, have introduced it here as well. Resin 1/10 scale kit from Young Miniatures, completed with Vallejo acrylics. Also tried just a hint of some red ocher weathering powder on the flesh areas, but most of it ended up painted over. The binocular straps were scraped off the bust, and scratch built new ones with two layers of Tamiya masking tape, stuck over top each other and then cut to size. regards, Jack

Resin 1/10 scale kit from Young Miniatures, completed with Vallejo acrylics. Also tried just a hint of some red ocher weathering powder on the flesh areas, but most of it ended up painted over. The binocular straps were scraped off the bust, and scratch built new ones with two layers of Tamiya masking tape, stuck over top each other and then cut to size. regards, Jack

That really is smoking hot, you rendered the hell out of that thing! Seeing how well that turned out, I'm seriously considering to add that to my stash. regards, Jack

I've built the profi version earlier this year, it's pretty much straight forward build. The cockpit assembly is a bit tight, so think out the process and make sure you attach A1 and B7 early. I ended up omitting the latter piece as even tweezers could not get in there. For the wingstruts, I attached the V shaped one to the upper wing - theses should be perpendicular and be mindful of their orientation. The pair of inner struts were attached to the fuselage. I compared the angle to scale drawings, but you can tilt them slightly inward, as once you press the upper wing down on them they will adjust to the pressure. There are two pieces representing brass pipe (A11 and A12). If you can paint these beforehand as well as the area in general, you will save some headaches. I attached these after the wings were together, and it wasn't easy. If you plan to rig her, drill locations holes before final assembly. Finally, if you got the spare change, might want to consider the seatbelt/PE set from HGW. regards, Jack

It might depend on the acrylic brand, in particular the ingredient resin. Very cool temperatures effects the formation of film, which will be less durable and more susceptible to cracking. It's suggested 10C or above, but definitely not lower than 5C. More complete description here: http://painting.about.com/od/acrylicpaintingfaq/f/acrylics_freeze.htm Also to consider is the the bottle temperature, which can be lower than the actual air temperature if they are stored outside overnight. regards, Jack

The solid shaped triangle sections? Looks to be just extra padding under the belt, sort of pressure point when the pilot is strapped in? For colour, I'd go somewhere between buff and khaki, with aluminum buckles - though not sure what metal was used here. regards, Jack

Well done - I like it! regards, Jack

Terrific build, and great story you have posted. regards, Jack

I think this is rather good, has that painterly look to it. regards, Jack

I've gone ahead and posted questions on this subject over at missing-lynx, as it is something that I'm also curious about. As for camou patterns on Kursk Tigers, I think the reason one cannot come up with a consistent style is that they were applied in the field, at workshops, even possibly by the crews themselves. Colour is also a variable as they were supplied in paste form, and could be diluted many ways, with fuel, used oil, etc. regards, Jack

hello Johan, Regarding the Bovington Tiger, I recall reading the late author Jentz was present when these tropical colours were discovered. There was a portion though that could not be detected, so under Jentz's guidence, the restorers completed the overall two tone scheme. The tropen directive only stated that a total of one third of the vehicle was to be covered with RAL7008, and the shapes are only described as irregular patches. For the colour photo you have linked, if the colouring is accurate, my opinion would be this is an example of the dark yellow introduce in Feb. 1943 as the new overall colour for vehicles. Olive green was applied afterwards in the field, if deemed necessary by the commanding officer. Over at missing-lynx forums you will find some discussion of 503 during Kursk. Many thoughts on the exact colour combiantions, but I did not encounter any suggesting tropical tones. regards, Jack

Tim and Mac, thanks for the positive comments. The Tunisian Tiger colour scheme, I think, is still a bit of a minefield. Most modelers are familiar with tropen schemes that were put out in 1941 and 1942 but rarely applied them in their builds, it being more popular to have a finish in a single desert colour. When the Bovington Tiger was refurbished, there were traces of the the two tone scheme (RAL7008/RAL8000) found underneath, and this has given a wider acceptance for the existence of this scheme. It can be argued though, that since this particular vehicle belonged to the 504th and arrived much later in the campaign, it cannot be justly said that all preceding vehicles were finished that way. The colour directive though does exist, so on paper, all vehicles sent to North Africa should have left the factories painted accordingly. As they say, never say never. Evidence of this scheme can be found in Russia - was this was on purpose, or were African bound vehicles diverted to the other theater due to a sudden change in the tactical field? If it is the latter, then there is a chance that grey finished vehicles were sent to Africa, perhaps repainted while waiting at an Italian port, or even later at some field depot. Then there is the eyewitness accounts, from both sides, describing the colour as green. Anyhow, back to my build. Originally I was going to do a monotone scheme until closer examination of this photo. Just below the Heidi logo, you can see a camou pattern. It's shaped like a jigsaw puzzle piece is how I can best describe it. So using the colour callouts from the Bovington Tiger, this is what I went with: RAL7008 = Model Master enamel Afrika Khakibraun '41 RAL8000 = Xtracrylix Graunbraun I would of preferred using just acrylic, but I could not find RAL7008 in the Xtracrylix range of paints. Finally, here is something fun. Though not the best scientific method, but utilizing one of my build photos and altering to grey scale, you can see that the two tones are quite similar and difficult to differentiate. It is a similar argument as that for the French campaign of 1940 with the disruptive brown over panzer grey. regards, Jack

That is a magnificent build , and equally awesome photo work. regards, Jack

Excellent work on all aspects. I like how the green shows through the white wash, very convincing. regards, Jack

LRB1975, JOCKNEY, lar74, foxy and Jaykay - thanks for all those positive comments. Build time, well I started this one in January but did put together an Oeffag Albatros in between. It took longer than it should have, as I did quite a bit of work to make a more accurate representation of the 501st Tiger, as set out by this info: http://tiger1.info/models/products/TAM32529 . Also, the brackets and fittings for the cable on the hull side were scratch built. Except for the hull crosses, I had to make my own decals. The stalking tiger and Heidi logos were simple enough, black on clear decal film. The turret number was another story, as my printer does not do white ink. So using white decal paper, I did several test prints to match the background to the vehicle colour. Thought it looked successful, but the digital camera zeroed in on the red hue and made horrid photos. Ended up hand painting the tropen colours to the white edges of the numbers. Most of the weathering on wheels was done before attaching to the axles. While they lay flat on the workbench, florys wash was applied liberally (Light Dirt with a few drops of their Sand wash, otherwise it looks too pale). Gravity/capillary action allowed the flow to build up around details and inner side of rims, but still left a thin film overall. After attachment, the odd streak seen is weathering powder applied in wet form via a thin brush. For the rubber portion, I just made sure the surface that touches the tracks was dustier than the side section. regards, Jack

Thanks, Johan! Here are some sites I suggest, that were quite helpful: http://www.miniatures.de/colour-ral-farben.html For panzer colours, regarding any vehicle type, this one should definitely be bookmarked. http://tiger1.info/ Great site providing details for a more accurate build. There is a link 'Popular kits' that lists specific changes geared to specific model manufacturers. http://www.tiif.de/ A German site, but an invaluable resource of b/w period photos dealing with the Tiger. Until recently was an open site, but now you have to register (no cost) and be over 30 yrs of age? http://missing-lynx.com/dg.htm A vast forum, their search engine is top notch for finding discussions/arguments on various topics. Among it's members are a number of writers, researchers, and illustrators whose names you likely are quite familiar with. regards, Jack