RainierHooker

Hello all, and welcome to my second foray into 1/72 scale AFV vignettes... 0-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The Marder was a somewhat brilliant solution to a myriad of problems, chief amongst which was numerological inferiority in armored vehicles on virtually every front. It sought to combine an abundance of otherwise obsolete or non-standard tank hulls and a number of different foreign and domestic anti tank guns at the Wehrmacht's disposal. The Marder II, made in two versions, combined a prewar PzKfw.II's hull and mechanicals with either a captured Russian 76mm anti tank gun (in the SdKfz 132) or the German PAK40 75mm gun (as in the modeled SdKfz 131). While the open-topped and lightly armored self-propelled guns couldn't hope to compete in open combat with allied main battle tanks, their heavy firepower, small and nimble size, and their sheer abundance made them perfect for ambush work in the fighting withdrawals that the German military found themselves in throughout the second half of the war. 0-4 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr My model represents a Marder II of the German Army's 9th Panzer Division, one of the few divisions known to operate the SdKfz 131 model in the Normandy campaign. The 9th Panzer Div was certainly a hard-luck unit, in almost constant combat on the eastern front from the very first day of Operation Barbarossa. It was badly mauled at the battle of Kursk in 1943 and stayed on the front line until finally pulled off the line in April 1944, with only 15 tanks and a tiny percentage of its men left. The 9th was transferred to southern France for respite and reequipping. This recuperation was cut short when the Allies landed in Normandy in June. The division absorbed the 155th Reserve Panzer Division and was thrown at the allied advance, arriving just in time to be almost completely encircled in the Falaise Pocket. Tasked with holding a gap open so that Army Group G could retreat to the east, the 9th Pz did so at grevious cost. Of the 12,700 men and 150 Tanks that the 9th Panzer arrived in Normandy with, only 1500 men and 5 tanks would escape to fight another day. 0-3 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-9 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

Great examples of how unexpectedly great these “easy assembly” kits can turn out with some proper care. Bravo!

Thanks all. I have done very few vehicles, but I really wanted to try my hand at weathering with oils, so this tiny truck seemed like a good mule to experiment on. Once i got the hang of it, I couldn't stop, and the semi unplanned result is here. I'll certainly be adding more vehicles to the workbench and this corner of the forum in the future.

This is my first model of the year and my insomnia project of the last week or so… 0-5 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Here’s a 1/72 scale model of one of the most ubiquitous medium trucks in the WWII German military: the Ford 917t. Ford’s Cologne factory had already captured approximately 50% of the German civilian truck market by the 1938 introduction of the 918t. This model was a European-ized version of the American 1938 model 81T, equipped with a 90HP Flathead V8, and it was ordered by the Wehrmacht who used it as one of the standard medium duty trucks to equip the Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe. It stayed in production through 1941 when replaced by the V3000S a minor redesign, emulating the American 1940 model's sheetmetal. The model is from the Polish company IBG, a recent release with good detail. Of course, I started further detailing the little Flathead provided, and things spiraled out of control from there. Engine plumbing and wiring, as well as scratch built battery, voltage regulator, radiator support rods, and windshield wipers. I decided to build the model with the hood open to display the handiwork. Paint and pose are loosely based on three pictures I found of three shoddily painted 917t’s of the Afrika Korps, each bearing a slapdash “13” on the door. 0-13 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr After completing the model, I incorporated it into a vignette that turned into its own follow on multi-evening insomnia project. The scenery is a blend of real rocks, model railroad foliage, and AK’s “terrains” for the dirt. The figure, tool box, and jerrycans are 3D prints from different sources, the cast resin oil drum from an old Verlinden set, and the blanket and wood load scratch made from tissue and basswood respectively. The model was painted with AK's Real Colors range and almost everything else was painted with artists oils, a new medium to me. The whole thing allowed me to practice a whole bunch of techniques. 0-7 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-8 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-6 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-10 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-9 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-11 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-12 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr As you can see, it all neatly fits in a pint sized glass globe sourced from Amazon. 0-14 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

Lovely build of a seldom seen model. There's one of these kits that has been collecting dust at my local hobby shop, this might encourage me to bring it home next time I'm there.

Lovely little Messerschmitt

Thanks so much gentlemen. The whole affair was quite an enjoyable build. It's the first vignette I've done in a while. It turned out so well that I'm going to have to do more!

And here it is in the completed vignette along side the Bf. 109 and its pilot... 0-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-4 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-3 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-7 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-18 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

As I was building a Messerschmitt for the "I Feel Deserted GB" here on Britmodeller, I decided that it needed a little in the way of accompaniment. Searching through my stash resulted in finding a tiny little Kübelwagen as a bonus sprue in a Dragon Sherman tank kit. and this is the result: 0-8 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The build was actually rather challenging from a fit point of view, not to mention that the whole model is less than 5cm long. The build thread can be found here: The model was finished with AK Real Colors in a chipped Sandbeige and Olivgrun camouflage scheme over Dunkelblau. Decals came from two different Peddinghaus generic sets. Details such as the fielder in the front passenger seat were lifted from other resin detail sets and the jerrycans are 3D Prints from shapeways. 0-3 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-6 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-2 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-5 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

Here are more pictures of the Friedrich without the diorama surrounding it: 0-34 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-36 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-33 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-28 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-26 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-29 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

This is my 1/72 scale recreation of a particular, and slightly peculiar, Messerschmitt Bf. 109F-4 as it looked before it became a photo magnet on RAF' Bir el Asta Aerodrome in Egypt sometime midway through 1942... 0-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr This aircraft bearing the yellow wavy line insignia of III./JG27 was apparently brought down largely in tact at the aerodrome between May and August 1942 where it became a regular setting for candid photos. It bore a hitherto unidentified stenciled emblem on the fuselage sides below the cockpit, bearing a bomb motif likely alluding to the aircraft being assigned to the short lived 4th Staffel of III./JG27 which was specifically created for "Jabo" (fighter bomber) duties. in late August 1942 this Staffel, and others, were consolidated into the autonomous "JaboGruppe Afrika". 7IIIJG27-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Screenshot 2023-11-25 at 10.10.56 AM by Evan Bailly, on Flickr My model was made for the "I feel Deserted GB" here on Britmodeller and started as a fairly straitforward build of Eduard's new 1/72 Bf. 109F kit. As you can see it morphed into a vignette with a pilot and a Kübelwagen. The build thread can be found here: 0-11 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The Messerschmitt itself was built largely from the excellent Profipack box complete with masks and PE. I ended up piecing together the aircraft in question's insignia by raiding no less than 5 other decal sheets from other kits, generic sets, and the scrap bin. The "Jabo" stencils on either side of the fuselage were hand painted. 0-13 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The vignette base came as an afterthought, but I think it really sets off the models displayed on it. The sand is from AK's "terrains" line and the remainder is model railroad scenery supplies. 0-5 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-16 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-14 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

This Kubelwagen, in 1/72 scale, came as a bonus sprue in a Dragon Sherman tank kit. I started it as my second build of the GB to accompany my Messerschmitt Bf.109F shown above. It was a filly and complicated little kit to get right so I propose it counts as a build of its own, and in fact it was finished first out of the two builds. Build thread here: 0-12 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-4 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-8 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-2 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

Here's my 1/72 scale rendition of a particular and peculiar Messerschmitt Bf. 109F-4, before it became a war trophy on the RAF's Bir el Asta aerodrome in mid 1942. Build thread here: 0-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-11 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-13 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-36 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-33 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr As you can see, it is included in a vignette along with a Kubelwagen that came from a second build in this GB. That'll be detailed in a following post...

Done and done! 0-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-11 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-13 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-15 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-19 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Heading over to the gallery now...

Done... 0-26 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-29 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-33 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-34 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 7IIIJG27-1 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr I'll get the diorama base finished up in an evening or two and get some pictures over to the GB gallery thereafter.

Then came masking the canopy using the kit-supplied yellow-tape masks and some additional Tamiya tape for the insides: 0-16 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr A spray of RML66: 0-17 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Followed by RLM79. While this was drying, I too the time to paint the gunsight, still on the sprue: 0-18 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr And finally, the masks removed, the gunsight and canopy parts were glued in place: 0-19 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Our pilot need only await aerials, navigation lights, and a few spots of touch-up before joining his steed in the diorama: 0-20 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

On to the final steps... I started off my Friday evening by slathering the clear sprue in my off-brand Future/Pledge/Non-Descript-Acrylic-Floor-Gloss. I left that to dry while I ran my kids to music lessons (9 year old son Violin, 7 year old daughter Piano). After returning from that, and doing the Mr Mom thing for a few more hours, I finally got the creatures in bed and sat down at the modeling table. First was finally committing to making the as-yet-unkown Jabo stencil on the fuselage sides below the cockpit. I made a tiny circle mask out of Tamiya tape and commenced to hand painting the stencil with a brand new tiny bristle brush. Thankfully, the one on the actual aircraft is hardly detailed, so I didn't have to suffer too much... 0-14 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-13 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The clear canopy bits were then cut off the sprue and fitted to the model. A slight bit of sanding was required, but not much to get it perfect: 0-15 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

I rarely drink beer much anymore, but if I do, I want to feel like I'm drinking a loaf of bread. That, and I don't trust any beer that I can see through...

An extension? Hmmm... I have a few more things waiting in the stash, and since I'm wrapping up my first two late entries, I might have time for one more. I model best under duress anyway.

All decals on, matte clear applied, and onto final weathering. Since I'm modeling this Messerschmitt as it was before the incident that resulted in it being yard art at an RAF Aerodrome, I'm trying to tread the line between "used" and "nearly derelict". Starting with a thin pin wash of Tamiya Dark Brown Panel Liner: 0-11 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-12 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Next will be another thin spray of matte clear followed by powders and pigments...

The postman delivered the final decal sheet that I needed to complete this Messerschmitt; a sheet of JG27 emblems from Peddinghaus. After applying the shields to the engine cowling, I've undertaken the task of finishing off the million or so stencils included on the Eduard decal sheet. For my sanity, I'm only doing a handful at a time, starting with the little dashed lines denoting the walkways on the wing roots... 0-9 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Also, over the weekend I finished up the landing gear. I thought I had taken pictures of the construction and painting process of these little, but important bits. Alas, such photos aren't anywhere to be found in my phone's album. 0-10 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Once I get the last decals on, and spray a matte clear coat, I'll put on the "Jabo" insignia on the fuselage and turn my sights back on the cockpit and glazing. Should be wrapping up this build soon.

And... this one's done. 0-3 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr I finished up by adding my promised detritus; a back seat loaded with jerry cans, a wood crate on the rear deck, and a canteen, gas mask can, and helmet on the front seat. Then, I liberally dusted the whole thing with weathering powders. 0 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-5 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 0-2 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr I'll get some more pictures of this little guy alone, and in the completed diorama, over to the Gallery once I complete the diorama and the Messerschmitt over the next day or two.

Thanks guys, I pretty well assumed, after my very cursory research that the decals were almost certainly spurious. I'll likely throw them in the ever expanding spare decal box, if anything, it's good to have pieces and parts for those random cases. I'll likely be building one of the several known KG 51 Sturmfolgeln, I just have to abide by my own self imposed rule of never (mostly) building a model from the box-art.

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Overnight the terrains had mostly set, it's still a bit soft in the most built up areas. It definitely shrinks a bit, so I'll have a little remedial patchwork on some of the more noticeable shrinks and some cracks. The "Desert Sand" is a touch rougher than i expected, but it's supposedly sandable after fully cured, so I'll probably knock it back a bit with fine sandpaper before all is said and done. I did add some more leafy and tufty plant bits from my random assemblage of model railroad scenery supplies: 0-41 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr