kapteenipirk

Time to finally start showcasing some of my many aircraft related builds. Bristol Type 130 Bombay (I know, not the most accurate types of figures, but should give you a sense of the aircraft's quite large size, that is quite close to a Lancaster bomber btw) While there are way too many aircraft for me to even mention, that i would like to create in kit form, there are a few... shall we say... "holy grail" type items, and this is one of them . Can't even really remember when i first saw some info about this rather obscure British transport aircraft, but ever since that i have absolutely loved it, and i would go as far as to say it is definitely one of my all time favorites. It just looks so... right... to me. So, in one of those rarer cases fo me these days, this kit didn't get the chance to sit on the stash for long. The build is very much "out of the box" and took me about few days to get from start to finish. Below are a few WIP shots of this build. As this is the Type 130 version of the Bombay, it meant that there are a number of areas on this aircraft that got changed, even on the early production models. The main landing gear wheels are shrouded, the nose sports an earlier type of turret, the aerodynamic shroud for the rear turret is smaller, the rudders are slightly different and the engines i think are of an different type as well. Pretty-much the only difference between this and the very first prototypes is the fact that the 2-bladed propellers have already been changed on this model of the Bombay. As the kit parts are that of a production model of the Bombay, it meant that the changes mentioned above, would require some alteration or complete replacement of certain kit parts. With the "older" bits arriving as resin parts. Oh, and to add to the list of changes, the arrangement of windows is different as well. A few new/altered window-holes had to be created around the cockpit sides, as well as the top of the fuselage. Lets just say im not really that experienced yet, with these types of short run kits (a couple Special hobby kits under my belt from this type of category) and certainly not used to this level of alterations. But id say it worked out fairly well in the end . (a part of the seatbelts was eaten by the carpet monster) I did do some bit of research in to this particular aircraft to try and see how it was in real life, but due to reasons, the paint job is now very much an overdone "patchwork" style jobbie. To cut a slightly long and uninteresting story short, it wasn't supposed to look that way in the end, but due to availability of paints to me at the time, and not wanting to risk loosing all my mojo while the build would be on a pause, i integrated the wrongly shaded silver/steel shades as part of the paint job in a way as tough the belong. Not perfect, but at-least it looks slightly more interesting now. Despite the array still rather fresh challenges, the lack of locating pins, and other quirks of a short run kit, i had great fun making this . Now for something a little different, but very closely related to this. While "physical" model making is the preferred method for me, i have also dabbled quite a bit with some digital type model making. and im not talking just about 3D-modelling. There is a game called "Kerbal space program" that had me engaged with the building of many types of contraptions for quite a number of years. And chief among these contraptions where aircraft of different sorts. some just straight up replicas of real life examples, but there where also a great number of all custom builds as-well, based on real world stuff to a varying degree. Out of all the custom builds i made along those many years in that game, one of my all time favorites of those, is a build that is very much inspired by the Bombay, as well as the Handley Page Harrow/Sparrow (got both of those in my stash as well btw) So, for your pleasure, as a bonus showcase, here is that very aircraft build from KSP I call it the "Raven" Not to get too much into it an bore you, the reason why it looks a little odd, is that in the game you basically have a collection of bits of a predetermined size that you can combine together and move about to create stuff. So, don't have a ready made cockpit part of the right shape... well, just build one yourself out of a bunch of other bits. Don't have a way of putting actual windows on your aircraft, just use some window looking solar-panels instead... so on and so forth. 6-engined, with defensive armaments like a heavy bomber and a relatively large cargo-bay. High mounted wings, fixed landing-gears... much of the DNA from that type of British combined transport/bomber aircraft is there. There are also elements of other older bomber types and transport aircraft there in the design. As to how well it would work in real life terms... dunno... but it was a joy to fly around, and i do just love the looks of it. So much so did this aircraft become fond for me, i decided to create a newer "cleaner"/updated version of the Raven. But i think i do still prefer the original. Now, where this starts to get a little more relevant as far as modelling goes, i have actually for a very long time been thinking about turning some of these custom KSP builds of mine into reality trough the magic of 3D-modelling/3D-printing. And if there was ever a place to start, it would be this. Now, im not saying for certain that that will happen, but there is a chance that a 1/48 or 1/72 scale version of the Raven might appear in physical form at some point. Or more accurately something that is closely inspired by the Raven, as there are areas i would like to change/clean up on the printable one. And there it is for you, a 1/72 Bombay, and a custom video-game creation based on it. i hope you enjoyed taking a look .

Thanks . It's certainly nice to finally get some kits out of the "to do" pile as it has grown somewhat Speaking of progress, the Jagdtiger's friend has now been completed as far as it can at this point in time. As with the other cat, she needs some proper weathering stuff, figures and some stowage to be considered truly complete. Compared to the previous build, this time i managed to remember to put the rear wall on the hull before the upper hull was put in place. And to se if i could make things a little easier, went ahead and added the front plate of the superstructure to the upper hull before anything else. It actually ended up being a lot easier to push that into place properly, and made it no more difficult to put the upper hull in place. But, while i did remember those bits, i remembered that i was supposed to leave the tools and other "add-on" bits off until the camo was painted on, only when i had already added half of em on. Luckily since it was still the same build session, i was able to pry the stuff off without damaging anything The camo was one of those cases of choosing a pattern that looked fitting enough and then just winging something similar to that. Next up will be the American T34 heavy tank appearing in some German camo/markings. Hopefully with some in progress updates as well.

Sorry for the really late reply, but Yeah, that would be one way of doing it, but i feel like the way ill likely do it is to just sand away some of the excess paint from affected areas. That idea of building the whole track/wheel assembly and having it be removeable for painting could be that answer to the dilemma i had with the "magic" tracks on the Dragon kits, so thanks for that suggestion . Just hope i can remember that when i one day get to those kits. It has been a while since i got any progress done on the AFV side of things, but i finally managed to get back to the builds that where already in progress. As i mentioned on the diorama side of this project, i'll be getting rid of the large assembly-line'ish builds as they tend to give me too much of a burnout. So with that in mind i focused all my recent efforts on the Jagdtiger with the "Porsche" type suspension. I did mean to give some in progress reports, but as this particular build meant creating a vehicle with its own fictional history, paintjob... and so on, i kinda winged it most of the way, so it was a little difficult to report on in other ways than "let's see where this goes" Plus, there weren't really any huge gripes about the build to note/complain about either... well, minus a couple things. But, here are some picks of the how we got where we are. Going slightly back to my old style of painting things, first thing i decided to continue with was painting all the tools and other stowage items while they are still on their sprues. As part of that fictional history for this vehicle i decided to do some slicing and dicing on the skirts of the Jagdtiger. Just some careful cutting with the hobby-knife. Finally learning from my earlier AFV builds and the Spitfire project, i built up the Jagdtiger to a "blank-canvas" state. Basically fully complete minus some smaller items that aren't supposed to be covered by the camo pattern. As some have already pointed out, the front of the superstructure was pretty difficult to put on, and certainly needed some muscle behind it to get it to snap in to place. One mistake of my own doing is a good example of why you perhaps shouldn't take too long before resuming a build, as when i resumed the build, i managed to accidentally skip a stage. This step being the building and fitting of the rear plate on the hull. somehow didn't really make note of it missing until i had already reached the second to last stage. Needless to say, i do not recommend trying to put the rear plate on while the rest of the hull is complete... By prying off the upper hull (as much i could without ripping of the main gun) and by using some extra tools i managed to get it somewhat correctly in place. Then it was time for the camo pattern. As camo patterns on German vehicles where mostly or almost entirely painted on the field by the troops rather than in the factory, so no real standard existed, it meant i had basically endless choises. I ended up with a pattern that is based on one i saw on my reference material about German AFV's and mostly just winged it, as i didn't really have any good inspiration for this one. So long as it's not one of the more common types and so long as it fits a west European theater anything goes. And of course, to fit the vehicles now made up history, gotta include some sings of previous battle damage that has been repaired in a hurry. After the basic pattern was done it was time to add some wear and tear all over. Wanted to be a little more generous with it this time around, but feel like i could have taken it a little further still. A bit of dry brushed steel, some smudged on dark gray paint and a bit of dry brushed rust and slightly mud looking paint. Also remembered at this point i hadn't painted the insides of the hatches. After the 6 or so decals had been added, it was time to do something that is a complete departure form my earlier AFV builds. I decided to follow the route i had taken with my figures, and cover the entire vehicle with lots of Citadel shade stuff. and here is the end result of all that work, with some placeholder figures to give you some sense of scale. It is still not a 100% complete. I need to start doing some experiments with the Revell weathering set i got to see if i can some more realistic mud and rust in places. and of-course there are the copious amounts of figures and stowage stuff that needs to be done. Some that will no doubt be mounted on this very vehicle. Since its been a relatively short while for me going from those rather simplistic and bland AFV builds to this full on shaded and weathered beast. The end result... has taken some time to get used to. But i can now see that this is without a doubt the way to go in the future, and i am already very happy with the results of this build so far While that whole thing was going, i also went ahead and refurbished this little extra thing that came with my Tamiya Kingtiger. It does still need some of that shade stuff tough. Also i made this little Panzer.IV as a weekend build prior to the Jagdtiger. A little bonus "toy-tank" type build for me to play around with. Plus, i wanted some of those early tank crew figures with the rather oversized beret's to use on other AFV's. If i had started a little earlier in the morning, i could have actually done this as a one day build. As it's one of the old Tamiya Panzer.IV kits it was cheap as chips and quick to build. To make the process even quicker, i actually didn't paint the hull nor the tracks at all, just use the plastic as the hull color. I went a little bit further than i was supposed to and added a couple stowage items and that placeholder figure from what i had laying around from my earlier projects. And then i went another step further and used this as a testbed to see how an AFV covered in that Citadel shade stuff would look like, before i possibly ruin my Jagdtiger. Oh, and that antenna is from a Riich antenna/generator set. And there is our progress so far in the AFV side of things. I suppose it's finally time to say the project has truly began As mentioned in the Diorama side of things, build will be proceeding one collection/diorama at a time. So, next up will be the other Jagdtiger and the Beute T34 heavy tank (or T29 or T30 depending on the gun i choose). Also, i will likely start a back and forth where i will complete one AFV, and then one or two of my Aircraft kits, and them move on to another AFV... and so on... But, we shall see.

It has been along while, and a great many kits related to this project have arrived and gone to the stash. So much so, that im only missing stuff on like two of the mini collections/dioramas... And how many figures have i completed in that time... five... And if my calculations are correct, i have about... i dunno... 350 or more yet to be done. And those are all the new ones. So what about that old collection and the recycling effort. Here is what i decided to keep from the old figures i had painted/built in the not too distant past. First we have the ICM officer/staff set which is one of the few old sets i didn't decide to buy again. These fellas alredy had a fair amount of detail painted on, and due to the lack of multiple accessories dotted around them, it was a fairly simple job to "update" them to my new standards. Dunno what im gonna use them for tough, but im glad i saved em . Oh, should probably point out the officer in gray did not originally have a cartoonish villain look with the added cape and eye-patch. I scratched those out of some bluetack. Cause you know, why not... The next ones are some various crew figures from Tamiya sets. Not a 100% complete yet as i need to add some straps for the binoculars, some wires for the headset and other small accessories. Four of these figures will actually be appearing twice, but the new ones will have alternate uniforms. The duplicates for the two SPG crew men will receive black uniforms, while the mustachioed officer will have an SPG crew uniform, and the last commander there will likely get a camo suit. like he was supposed to have from the beginning. It has to be said that the eye's in some of the figures look alittle off in various ways, but as i mentioned before, that i literally the best my shaky hands are capable of. But i shall always give it my best shot, as the added facial features do add a great amount to the finished result... even if they are a little goofy . There are still a couple more of the old figures i need to fix up, but the rest shall stay as "spares" Oh, and before those figures where fixed up, i completed these... Should be enough to get even the King Tiger to the shops and back... probably Wanted to give them variety, not only in terms of their color, but also their condition. Some are pretty mint, while others are covered in rust and have chips of paint missing, while others fall anywhere in between. All of those are of the Tamiya kind. And last but not least, some of the old figure related equipment got "updated" as well. More will be done in the future but i think it's good start. I decided i should add the shading stuff once these have been put on the figures or AFV or something, as they are pretty tiny and tricky to handle. Finally some progress then. Not exactly sure where to continue from here, but likely a case of either doing up more figures, or i shall finish off the AFV's i started some time ago.

Thought that it would be good to start doing more regular updates so i don't have to spend all day trying to remember everything that went on in the last months But yes, more kits have arrived once again. Now we are at a point where there will be no more new collections/dioramas appearing on the WWII side of the project, just need to complete the ones already on there. Sure, there are still lots of kits i would love to make, but this collecting has gotta end at some point. And as far as the variety i was looking for, ive got plenty enough. I have also finally gotten some builds related to this done. They will be showing up on the figure side in the near future. I probably already showed some of these in the past, but as a little bonus, here is my entire old collection of 1/35 scale German figures + the one AFV kit i decided to keep from the few i built in the past. Oh how wonderfully monotone they where. And with no shading, weathering, or facial features. But it was a lot of fun making them . their current/future fate can be seen on the figure side of things. And here is my old King Tiger with crew and the start of what was going to become a diorama similar in style to what im doing now. The Tiger was supposed to be accompanied by another AFV and plenty more figures. I believe that was my second ever AFV kit with some slightly proper weathering (all drybrushed) on it. The crew didn't receive the same treatment unfortunately. Oh, and as far as how i shall proceed with the many builds ahead of me. I decided the best idea would be to do it one collection at a time to minimize the build choice related lottery . No more huge assembly line type builds either as those tend to give me a horrible burnout that last's way too long . And the collection that i shall focus on first, shall be the "Western steel wall" as i already have the two Jagdtigers underway, and im really looking forward to all the ways i could customize my Beute T34 heavy tank Tough first i will likely want to focus on some of the more universal stuff, like tank-crews, stowage and so on.

Should be interesting indeed... interesting to see how im gonna fit all of this on my shelves and be at-least somewhat done before some of the viewers will have moved on to another life... Aaanyways... speaking of a lot of work, quite a number of kits have arrived in the meanwhile and the pics/descriptions have been updated accordingly. Some new collections have made an appearance, but from this point its pretty-much all about completing the collection/diorama plans i already have in the WWII section, as there is already plenty enough to fill my quota... tough a couple mini collection will still appear using some Tamiya kits i got years earlier. Didn't want my Nashorn nor Pz.II to sit on the stash forever, so i got them some nice companions so they can be made a part of this project. Oh, and i also included a bunch or random ramblings/research related stuff and some pointless arithmetic. Like how if i completed each and every figure i got for this project, i would end up with over 350 of them. There's also some stuff about tank crew uniform, stowage stuff, some personal history... that sort of stuff. More will undoubtedly be added as this project goes on, and i find out new stuff or finally remember the million things ive already forgot to mention ... So, while no build updates yet, a lot has been going on behind the scenes.

Note: this is another one of those segments that will likely be edited/updated many times as the project goes on, essentially making this the unofficial new "hub" for this Felt this project could do with some serious housekeeping in all aspects, mainly the documentation. So, time to start fresh... so to speak. Was going to go full on deep with the entire process, but id rather keep things nice and short, and if there is some info im missing at the moment, i can add it later. And don't worry, this will be the final format for this. Even tough im sure future me will want to come up with a "better" way of documenting this. So, basic principle for this project was to start something that would allow me to get a sizable collection of interesting military stuff, without it spiraling completely out of control into mad hoarding of kits And that need for focus for this project is exactly why this side of this project now exists. Not only will it hopefully give a better idea of the end goal for this rather large pile of kits, but will also act as a sort of way for me to better document what each kit was supposed the used with and what still needs getting. But, if your just interested in the build updates, below are- Links to other WIP related segments of this project: So, what's the grand plan: Didn't really go into this too well on the WIP post's, but here is a hopefully better explanation of what is to come of all this. For as long as i remember, ive had a huge fascination with WWII related stuff, and when it comes to modelling, you can probably guess the issue that comes from that. So, i needed to come up with some type of project that would allow me to continue my 1/35 efforts in a way that makes sure i can end up with a truly pleasing "collection" by the end of it. I don't really know why, but everytime i get something like a 1/35 scale tank, i always start wondering that what could i get that goes along with it . So, just a random pile of this and that from different nations doesn't really work for me that well. And focusing on one nation with the same randomness just causes me to want everything and anything that's interesting... Or basically just all of it EDIT: So, about those 1/72 scale efforts i mentioned. Basically i ran into a kit of the railway gun "Leopold" (Hasegawa btw. something id wanted a kit of for years) some many many years ago, and thought that would be a great start for a rather nice diorama, a proper diorama. Without getting too much into it, i had a fairly clear plan, i got more or less the kits i needed, but felt i could get some more options, and prettymuch it became a case of years going by and the list of "options" growing and growing way beyond my original plan. So, here was my solution, to this dilemma. My biggest point of interest in WWII is pretty-much anything related to Germany. So lets focus on that. How to keep myself from repeating my aforementioned 1/72 scale efforts. Let's get every single model with the purpose of creating a diorama around it... or at-least turn it into a "mini-collection" of sorts. And let's make sure all these dioramas have a distinct theme around them. I could go more into what my idea of a "mini collection" is, but id rather just let the pics/plans do the talking instead. How historically accurate will these collections be: I know some are bound to be wondering this, but the simple answer would be to just say "close enough" I will of-course do some research where necessary to make sure stuff fit's together well enough, but the fact that one of my collections is going to use Wolfenstein and Valkyria Chronicles as it's source, kinda tells you how not so serious i am about that stuff. Some other rambling/pointless arithmetic: Alright, this first bit is pretty important and i moved it here from the bottom of the WWII segment... While the stipulations for my choosing of models is that each would be part of a diorama (say, like 2 tanks a couple packs of figures and some accessory stuff) or part of a themed mini collection (say, related to a certain battle or a certain theme, like German combat engineers in i dunno, Normandy 1944) none of the components are to be permanently fixed to any one collection or diorama base. If something from somewhere else would fit perfectly as a background element or even center stage somewhere else, i wanna be able to use it like that. I mean... something like an Opel Blitz or just your plain old German soldier aren't exactly rare elements on any front. And the above brings me to another work saving solution that im surprised i didn't think of before. As well as the miniatures being interchangeable, why not make any potential diorama bases work that way too. The Kharkov/Eastern front collection for instance, i could probably get away with creating just a couple bases with a few "flexible" elements that will allow them to feel fresh and unique instead of creating like 4 separate ones. Before this project began, i had... let's say.... a bit of a brand loyalty to Tamiya... Or more accurately i was afraid of moving away from my comfort zone of Tamiya MM series kits. As a result of this, there are a great number of kits from a great number of manufacturers i have zero experience with. So a number of first's will be happening during the course of this. So, did some calculations for the fun of it, and turns out that if you count together every single figure related to this particular project, you arrive at over 350 figures... 5 have been done so far, so... about over 350 to go... i knew this was a great idea... Some research related/possibly helpful stuff: I know, i know, there is propably already some readily available info on a lot of this stuff, but me being stubborn and thick headed i just had to find these out myself. Not all this info may be 100% correct, but i trust it should lead one to the right direction anyways. Stowage on German vehicles: And here i go down yet another rabbit hole... I already had my suspicions regarding this subject but i wanted to be sure. These are just a few points i noted and more of a "point you in the right direction" sort of thing, not a definitive guide. So, as far as i could see, overall German vehicles tended not to carry that much extra stowage on vehicles when in the eastern and western fronts. From years 1939 to 1941 you could see some fairly "stuffed" vehicles, but from that to about 1942 to early 1943 extra stowage is pretty scarce and in late war pretty-much all gone. But the Afrika Korps tough, they seem to have been pretty well equipped and supplied as a majority of the vehicles i saw carried a number of extra stowage items. It would take far too long to go into detail over the types of stowage item carried in what situations, but the three most common items i saw where, jerrycan, stahlhelm and wooden boxes (these three items mainly apply to tanks). Another point that just came to mind, is that the more lavishly equipped divisions would have probably had more extra to carry around, so that's something to consider. One can also go the extra mile and start thinking that who or what is that stowage meant for, as im sure the types of stowage on tanks and say... apc's is probably a bit different due to the nature of the cargo/task... Blah blah blah ... i could go on and on, but i think im just gonna confuse myself and others , as there is no real "clear" answer regarding this area, but i will try my level best to take these things into account when choosing the stowage items for my tanks and other vehicles. Tank crew uniforms/assault gun uniforms: Another one of those rabbit holes where i was quite curious to see what this was about, and it still kinda hard to tell the actual truth... but, it seems that the general rule was that assault gun crews would have used field green uniforms while tank crews wore black. During this research i also noticed that amongst assault gun crews there was a common lack of peaked caps. And as far as i could see, the color is the only difference between these two types of uniform. And these are the rules ill be applying to most of my crew figures. Most, as there are of-course camo uniforms as-well, then there are those slightly odd uniforms worn during the third battle of Kharkov, winter uniforms... yeah, not so much of a general rule then is it. But trough it all the lack of peaked caps among assault gun crews seems to remain across the board and i would guess the winter/camo uniforms are probably the same worn by infantry. Oh, and of-course the Afrika Korps fall in to their own unique category that i need to research further... MP40 actual usage: Apparently one of those things that people get often wrong... tough as usual there are bound to be exceptions. But, it seems that the MP-40 in actuality was a weapon most often issued to officers and vehicle crews, and thus not something that a common soldier would usually carry. WWII related dioramas/mini collections: Stug's under maintenance: (no year or theater specified, but probably around 1944 somewhere in Normandy or Italy). Time to start with the main ticket item, and the one i plan on turning into a proper diorama with all the bells and whistles. Without a doubt, the StuG.III has to be one of my favorite AFV's of all time, and also the favorite of a certain man with a mustache. It was pretty-much the MiniArt figure-sets that set the direction for this project. The engine lift with a panzerIII/IV engine, a set of 75mm ammo for the Stug/Stuk/PanzerIV.... and so on. There are still a couple items that need to be added, before i can mark this as complete. A StuG.III, StuG.IV and StuH42 are under post battle replenishment, receiving some much needed repairs, fuel, and ammo to get them ready for combat. Parked close to these is a Bergepanzer.IV ARV that pulled the StuG.III out of the battlefield after it's engine broke down. While the Engine replacement for the StuG.III is going, the ammo loading crew are already busy unloading a bunch of ammo from the back of a supply truck to load it on to the StuG's. Amidst all this hustle and bustle the fuel crew have decided to play a round of cards to pass some time before it's their turn to jump to action. That is basically the main idea for this collection. Made a bit of an interesting discovery during my kit acquiring process, when i originally saw that Bergepanzer.IV kit, i knew it was a perfect addition. Well, turns out it's not as perfect of an addition after all. Being based on the Pz.IV hull, i assumed that would be the earlier more common ARV of the German army... nah, the Bergepanter was produced earlier and in way...WAY higher numbers. Despite it being a rather rare bit of tech, i still feel it works better. While having three StuG.III's of a similar production run together all with or without Zimmerit, would make more sense... I wanted some real variety. And yes, the StuG.IV will be built up using the Zimmerit covered bit's. while the others will have "smooth" steel. Kits still missing: None. Its all systems go. Let's stop them here/Western steel wall: (semi fictional 1946, western front). I'll have to be honest and say those Jagtiger kit's where completely an impulse purchase, and it's trough sudden inspiration that i was saved and this project didn't go off the rails before it really even started. And as one can guess by looking at the title, it was indeed that figure set that gave me inspiration. I have since come up with my own title, but the old one still just as well. It is an alternate history where an attempt to assassinate Hitler by he's own underlings, is successful. Now with the German military, and indeed Germany itself under more "rational" control, pretty-much all military plans take a drastic turn and Germany, and indeed Europe end up in a rather different kind of state by the end of it. And unlike in real life where bits of tech like the Jagdtiger probably just helped Germany loose the fight, in this alternate history, it becomes a rather vital tool for the army. I'll save rest of the alternate history .... for when it's time to release the complete builds. Just like with the Soviet T-35 i showed earlier, one cant help but look at the Jagdtiger and see so much potential. Well, lets have some fun and utilize all that potential within that thick steel shell. Kits still missing: Basics are there. Will maby add some figures later Battle of Kharkov (1943 Eastern front) + other Eastern front wintertime battles The last major victory of WWII for the Germans must be a very popular subject since there are some many kits labeled to be related to the Battle of Kharkov... or at-least one of them. Well, since there are a good number of kit's related to this battle, might as-well bring some of em together and create a little assembly of AFV's and their crews. I will now be braking this up in some way to make it more about fighting in the eastern front in general, but of-course a number of the figures and a couple of the tanks being from that third battle of Kharkov, that will still be a thing. Likely it will be the Early production Tiger and Pz.IV in their own Kharkov related diorama, while the rest are likely to stay on their own. But this could change with time/inspiration. Kits still missing: Doesn't really need anything extra The coldest day (1941-1942 Eastern front) Something a little simpler but nicely detailed. An AA-halftrack crew and some passing soldiers trying their hardest to battle the fury of winter. I originally got the Dragon kit as a basis for this project, hoping i could get the Flak 37 separately and in some way add the ammo-trailer in to the mix as-well. Once again this kinda turned into a needlessly expensive lession in inpatiense . More about that during the build process... Kits still missing: All there now A game of real life minesweeper (1943 - 1944 somewhere in the western front)? I wanted some hanomags, so i got some Hanomags. Just some German combat engineers preparing for whatever their task for the day is. Likely something that includes a lot of high-explosives in one form or another... and a lot of hard manual labor. About those explosives... well... now we got some boys with their radio controlled toys thrown in to the mix. Kits still missing: None really Papiere bitte (classified location, year unspecified) What lucky chaps, they got more than an oversized doghouse to spend those long hours in. Tough i imagine that hut ain't too comfortable either. One of those oh so common background elements that i thought would be fun to bring in to more focus since all the perfect elements where there. But one has to wonder, A fancy set of wheels for our posse, a guard tower and an SS officer in black making "pleasant" conversation, what must be going on in this place. Well, for now, let's leave that to the imagination, even if that might come up with some... let's say... unpleasant images given the era and nation we are dealing with. Kits still missing: None. Heavy weapons in transit/an accident waiting to happen Something very small and simple for once in my god-damn life. Will have to see how easy it will be to adapt those figures to carry some AT-weapons instead. As for that alternate title, well... you'll see. Kits still missing: Should be all there Start of something late war and Normandy/western Europe related Still a bit lacking in proper inspiration as far as what to add into this. Kits still missing: enough there to work with Squad 07 (fictional setting based on videogames) Something that's gonna be me having a bit of fun and creating something based on Wolfenstein and Valkyria Chronicles. Some other elements from other series may appear as-well. So, nothing historical will be seen here. Kits still missing: up to inspiration. Is it a boat, is it a tank... a bit of both actually Just the sort of weird and wonderful stuff i love oh so much, so how could i not. Kits still missing: all there Something afrika korps related Haven't gotten around yet to getting any kits for this. But id like to keep it to about two AFV's and a couple figure sets in size. Kits still missing: Wheres the boat Crew is already there, but they ain't got a boat yet. Kits still missing: 🚤 Beute division (based on the Prinz Eugen division, somewhere in the Balkans) When you first start looking/researching the German army in WWII you undoubtedly get the impression of a deeply mechanized/motorized technologically advanced military.... But when you start diving a little deeper, you find they where in fact mostly horse drawn at the start of the war due to the limited time they had to prepare their military. And while they did have lots of advanced tech to rely on, it wasn't there in high enough numbers and often came with a boat load of issues that needed to be ironed out. So, what is a military like this to do other than use whatever they can get their hands on, be it the vast inventories of France, what the British left behind at Dunkirk, or whatever Soviet and American vehicles they could retrieve intact enough... so on and so forth.. And use this "borrowed" equipment they did. So much so that some divisions where mostly comprised of equipment of non German origin. Kits still missing: managed to get everything i need Some other Beute panzers Basically just an excuse to create tanks and other stuff of other nations without spilling over into their nations categories/inventories too much . Kits still missing: hoping there wont bee too many more additions . Duckhunt on the VFW... or STG... whichever you prefer. One of my favorite toys in Warthunder and i think a wonderfully quirky and awesome bit of tech. So, i think i can make an exception to my rules and slide this in as its own solo thing. Still a bit unsure as to what figures to use with this tough... Kits still missing: Just the one kit actually. Prototype in transit I may or may not have explained in my WWII Russian project that how much i love armored trains and military trains in general. But i really, really do love them oh so much, so much so ive started to 3D-model/3D-print them myself. So, naturally i quite fancied those 1/35 rail based kits from trumpeter ever since this project started. I told myself they are pretty pricey and take up a lot of space, but i couldn't help myself anymore. The BR86 with a 6-axle flatcar carrying our prototype tank, a high sided flatcar with some equipment and an AA-flat-car will make up our train. Kits still missing: All the bits a there Wait... didn't i just destroy one of those earlier? (1944 - 1945, somewhere in the western front) Aah, the Nashorn, what a lovely beast. When i saw that kit on the shelf of a modelshop... that unfortunately hasn't been around for some years now, i knew i had to have it. Was going to build it back then... but trough my own fault i ran out of paint twice while priming the bits. And that's when the kit went in to the stash for good. Hasn't been any less of a pain since as i have been meaning to pick it up and finish what i started countless times, but never got around to it despite completing many other similar kits. And now, trying to find something to go along side it so it would fit the parameters of this project... In that same research process that inspired the Prinz Eugen division based collection, i found the perfect weird and wonderful partner for the Nashorn. A Sherman that had been repainted and had it's turret removed, perhaps to serve as an ARV, or perhaps as an armored supply vehicle... who knows. But for my purposes, it shall act as an ammo/fuel carrier for the Nashorn. Kits still missing: will have to see which of my existing figures fit best. So nothing missing really. Chilling in Norway (1940 - 1941, somewhere in Norway) The little PZ.II was the second of my kits from way back, that needed some sort of a companion, and what better to accompany that little toy tank than a multi turreted monster. Kits still missing: will have to see which of my existing figures fit best. So nothing missing really. Some universal stuff that will be used a little all over Figure side of things Other bits Post-war/cold-war/modern related dioramas/mini collections: Well, i suppose i lied a little, i didn't get any of the post WWII stuff with any diorama plans in mind. If there is something i appreciate more that WWII German stuff, it's modern/cold-war German stuff. The Man-KAT series of military trucks, the Leopard-1, Gepard AA tank... just so much stuff ive wanted to build for ages, but for the longest time, some revell 1/72 scale stuff was all i got. But, if i can get something nice together, why not create a "diorama" out of em. 1/35 scale modern/cold-war German military personnel wasn't exactly something in abundance, so one set was gotten x2 and to fill the ranks further i added some US personnel as-well. I mean, with West-Germany, and the later reunited Germany being a part of Nato, it shouldn't be too inaccurate to have some other Nato nations personnell around. Sadly no French or UK figures where available at the time. As for that Flogger, there will be a more proper story attached to that one, but as one can guess, it will wearing German markings and carrying US missiles. For this one, i will be making my own decals for the first time. At-least proper one's that is. And that's about it for now, sorry for the big wall of text and images, and the rather vague descriptions here and there, but this is just how projects tend to go for me im afraid. My mind just doesn't like to compute such terms as small and simple. And inspiration is still the main driver as far as getting kits goes. But, this is still far more organized/on track than some of my other projects in the past. to everyone who bothered to have a look at my mad scribblings.

Well.. this ought to put a sizeable dent in the collection. Mmm... so many lovely Spitfire kits. And soon there will be even more. Among them a couple rather large ones too. The only unfortunate thing right now, is the fact temperatures have gone so low, it's likely going to take some months before i can truly touch any of these new additions proper. But, i suppose this does mean i should be able to get more building of kits done now that i can't spend an entire weekend priming like a dozen or so kits at once.

Thanks. Would be very lovely to see for sure, but would also be one pricey facelift to wear for maby a couple weeks .

A couple more kits find their way into the collection. Finally the first dedicated photo reconnaissance version sneaks it's way in. It also allows me to start filling up the "international" section of the collection. Tough, weather or not this is one of the "from the ground up" type PR spitfires, ore one of the many, lets take a fighter and turn it into a PR variant, who knows... One thing i do know for sure, i wont be trying to collect all the PR variants, as that is a near impossible mess (great many purpose built variants, and an equally large amount of "modified from existing fighter" type variants as well... if my memory serves me correct) , and won't really provide much in terms of proper variety. But if there are interesting enough variations, why not. This KP kit of-course led me to finally check out the extent of their numerous Spitfire kits... and surprise surprise, i ended up placing an order for a whole bunch of em. Oh, and as a bonus, i ran into this vintage kit. Not exactly something i needed, but seeing the molds/parts used in this kit, i knew exactly what i need to make from this kit... ... and here's a clue. this will become a 1:72 scale version of a 1:1 scale spitfire that was based this very Airfix kit (tough it was an even earlier boxing, or bag... but parts are the same) So, lot's of fun times ahead , and that goal of even managing to "complete" the international side of things to my satisfaction, doesn't seem so far fetched. Now if only i could get around to building any

Long story short, all 7 ships are now built and the project can move on to the next major stage . In this case it's the making of all the little planes and helos. The final stage after that, will be the matter of doing some finishing touches to each ship, and adding some rigging. Sorry for the lack of updates, but it's just really difficult trying to come up with anything truly interesting to say without me just repeating myself or going into excessive pointless detail . Plus, im barely finding enough mojo/time to build these things in the first place . Just once again in over my head about the amount of work needed... So, here is a little compilation of mostly all the times i was a basic dunce... aand maby a couple cases of the kit's being a little... fascinating First lets start with the "Grand old lady" as she was nicknamed. The ship maby grand, but building it... maby not so much. Didn't take any pic's of it, but the main mast was quite the tricky one to make, with a lot of bits to begin with, but also an almost complete lack of any locating/supporting bits to let you know where the many "branches" go, or anything to help the "branches" stay in place. Also one curious element was the fact that the core of the mast, essentially acted as part of the sprue... so not only do you get a lot of cleanup ahead, you also get a rather large risk of cutting away something you weren't supposed to. Next logic puzzle was the rear deck/hangar. As is illustrated in the image above, the rear deck piece also has the hangar floor as part of it, meaning it extends quite deep in to the hull. Due to a lack of mounting post in the hull for the entire length of the hangar, making it impossible to know if it's straight and level while it's drying (rather important for things to lock together)... Minimal guiding elements on the underside of the flight deck piece, again meaning attaching the hangar straight and level (again, important) is almost impossible , but also just enough guiding elements that everything has to align properly, or the hangar will be droopy and nothing locks in place properly. Cant even properly explain how i got this area to be as somewhat clean and together as it is, but it required quite a lot of manual poking and aligning of bit's while they where drying, and shoving a large brush trough the opening where the superstructure/bridge goes, to push the hangar walls against the ceiling. Had to give it some muscle too, as there where some elements that didn't want to lock together otherwise. And it was during all that head scratching that i made one of my dumbest mistakes of my entire modelling career. What i did wrong seems perfectly obvious now... Putting some tape to hold the wall secure against the walls of the hangar/deck is perfectly fine, putting it over a large decal... well... the result are pretty clear. Thakfully, there was enough residue left that i could use it as an outline to "reconstruct" the missing portion From some distance... Not too bad, but something that will haunt/bug me for the rest of eternity. As for the tanker/refueller that came before this. A lot of bits and pieces in it for sure, but the bits went together rather well. One rather interesting thing was the fact that in the instructions, your supposed to take the included metal wire, and insert it into what would become the refueling hoses (to keep it a more permanent shape after bending... i suppose). But on the re-release they obviously listened to all those who noted that part was rather tricky to do, and included electrical wire that already has a copper core. But at the same time, that old step in the instructions and the metal wire are still part of the kit Maby i just got lucky...or unlucky and someone included the wrong...or right stuff on accident... As for the large carriers, not much assembly to do, but there where some mishaps and interesting little puzzle's involved. Like what to do when you need to tape down a slightly warped piece of hull to the flight deck, but can't because the area is surrounded by decals... Thank god for quick acting CA glue, otherwise i would have been there all day... As for my own mishaps. I'll let you figure out whats wrong in that circled area. It was partly down to unclear instructions as-well. And that's our progress so far. all in all, while there have been an few head scratches involved, im pleasantly surprised by how well everything has gone together , and can already wholeheartedly recommend you getting these kits if French ships are your thing. I mean... it's certainly a lot of plastic for not that much of a cost. Totally worth it in the end no doubt, but considering the amount of times ive wanted to move on to other types of kits... certainly a lesson in remembering not to take this whole "assembly line" mentality too far.

Yeah, that would have certainly helped. Well, something to think about in the future

Thanks. Since i've never owned or seen the original boxing's, hard to say, but for their age there hasn't been much in terms of flash or other stuff to clean up. Haven't really had any issues with the build so far either... as far as fit issues anyways. There are some bits are a little tricky to build tough. I can imagine accommodations must have been a little rough. Hope they at-least had air-conditioning fitted . Must have been a pretty sight tough Alright, time for a build update. These still need a bit of improving/cleaning up, but here is where we are... ...or...at-least were i was a a few days ago. Ive already built the T47 class destroyer as-well. Oh, and here is how the deck decal application went. very hit and miss... Lets just say, if you don't get the giant decals right from the get go, you can try and fix em, but likely the more you try to fix them, the more wrong it goes. I will see if i can do some cleaning up later. But im not keeping my hopes up too high. And here is me getting it right on the other ship. Ahh, much better Other than that one decal looking a "little" wonky, progress has been pretty smooth so far. And as predicted, the builds themselves are going along at a pretty rapid pace .

Time for a little update on this project. Not too much has been going on to be honest, after nearly 6 months since the move, i finally manged to get around to fixing the little bits of damage sustained during the move. But there is one potentially game-changing step forward, and one little bonus addition to round out the collection a little further. the big one is the fact i have finally decided to get myself the materials needed to create/print my own decals at home. They may not end up being that high quality, but at-least it means i can start filling a lot of blanks in the area of "international" spitfires and their roundels and other markings, in-case i need to. As for the bonus addition... ...Why not add a little extra section to show where the Spitfire development went after the airframe had pretty-much reached it's limit, and the next step from there. This also is a proper start to another collection ive wanted to do for a long time, a collection of some British naval aircraft. I know, i know, i read some reviews about them, and Trumpeters British aircraft in that navy category don't tend to be of the highest quality when it comes to historical accuracy, but i don't mind, im just really happy to have kits of these in the first place . So that's something else to look forward to... And probably something that wont even fit my shelves, but oh well I won't make any promises, but hopefully once im done with my 1/400 french fleet, i will be returning to this project for a while to build say... another 4 or 6 kits. But we shall see.

Thanks. It's been a while, but a lot of progress has been made with this project. progress i felt wasn't really worth the mention, as it's just been a whole lot more of painting upon painting. Especially since... These beauties arrived . Instead of waiting for the first group to be done, i added these as a part of it. And here is our progress with the project so far. Here are the two carrier hulls/decks next to each other. To make sure the collection wouldn't look to monotone by the end of it, i decided to give the modern side of the fleet a two-tone grey camo on the hull. And submarines would also get a different set of color schemes. But, there are still some elements left that will link these ships together. Mainly the french flag striping on the hull, but the way certain details are painted, the yellow striping on the carrier-decks, so on and so forth... Above is rest of the hulls in order of size, and below is every other bit of plastic. It may seem like a lot , but it's 7 ships worth of bits, so it should all go together pretty quickly... unless of-course we get enough fit issues to sink a battleship... While i have to say i did really quite enjoy the whole process so far, that was perhaps a little too much painting to do in one go, as ive been about an inch away from moving on to whatever other projects are on the bench. But a collision has been averted and now im feeling in high spirits again . Tough, there is still painting that needs to be done. The crew, aircraft and GSE i will paint once the ships are done. And there are still a bunch of little details that will need painting as the process goes on. Was starting to spend a little too much time searching for whatever might still need painting, and shuffling trough the many instructions for it to make sense to continue. So, next step is making sure to attach those huge flight-deck decals before any construction begins.

Cheers everyone. Plenty of seats still left (bout a couple thousand at-least ). I know the feeling, gave a part of my stash away to one of my cousins, who apparently didn't get as into model making as once thought... Poor things probably still sitting idle in their boxes in some dark corner... alone... afraid.... I don't now what im on about either... ...Aaanyways, seems to be a good sign that there haven't been any comments yet about the overall builds feeling about as good as trying too eat moldy baguettes I mean, some fit issues are to be expected given the age of these kits, so i won't mind that too much. Yeah, i suppose french subjects in this area are not that common, but then again, neither are there too many kits out and about either (that i know off at-least). I also built the 1/350 Dunkerque some time ago, as it is a very interesting and attractive design. Man, would love me a 1/200 Le Fantasque class destroyer. And here is where we are at now with the project. Just a whole lot of painting has been going on. I did also do some sanding on the carriers hull to smooth out the seams. You can already start to see my fictional custom scheme im going for with each ship. Some of my Luftwaffe blue is used as the main hull color. A french flag stripe adorns the bow end of the ship. On the stern we have a black stripe that changes in shape and size on each ship, and on some doesn't exist at all. We also have bow and stern waves painted on to give the appearance as if the ship if moving, even if it's completely still. I know, computers and guided weapons aren't really gonna be fooled by WWI vintage disruptive camo'esque technigues/ruse's. But i thought it would make the ships a little extra artsy and interesting to look at. Wasn't intending on the white to end up so streaky and opaque, but i suppose in this instance it kinda makes it look more realistic. The stripes of the flag are the exact width of a piece of masking tape, so that's how i got them so even in terms of their width. It was painting of the red anti-rust paint first, then it was masking of the flag stripes. Then came the main hull color. After that was painting of the flag stripes by removing one bit of masking tape and moving it so it became the opposite edge of the stripe. Then it was masking of the black waterline stripe. Then the black stripe in the stern, and finally painting of the waves with the white being painted first, with black borders added using a pen, and some blue being added to make for a better effect. I know, the waves on the tanker look a bit weird with how the black extend above and below the waterline, will need to see about doing something to fix that. Haven't gotten around to painting any of the aircraft or the crew yet, but i went ahead a found a bunch of reference picks for me to use to get them more or less correct to how they where in real life and on those particular ships. There is still a bunch of painting left to do with parts of the ships, but we are getting pretty close to starting construction

Cheers. Let's just hope i can keep up the momentum long enough to reach the end .

Well, there's plenty of seats in this cruise, so welcome aboard

This is a project that is sure to feel very nostalgic for some, as the kits i have in the bench at the moment, date back to the 60's and 70's. Personally, i don't think ive ever actually bought a Heller kit (might have gotten some Heller plastic in a different brand of box tough), tough ive seen some around and have been aware of the brand. But thanks to Glow2B and them reviving the brand, i can right that wrong, and have my own taste of some fine French vintages. As for how fine these will be, we shall see. But if nothing else, i got this small fleet for less that what a new Trumpeter 1/350 battleship would cost (like the O-class). And i can guarantee i will have quite a bit more fun doing these as-well. Even if the level of detail will be a little low in comparison. And to further increase my enjoyment, i will be painting these in a rather more custom and colorful paint scheme that hopefully shouldn't bee too wild/out of place. My only bit of aftermarket detailing, is some of those 1/350 scale human shaped cardboard cutouts. They might be really simple compared to the newer 3D-printed stuff, and slightly out of scale. But i think that for this project, they ought to be a weirdly perfect match. Oh, and Ive already got the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle and the submarine Le Redoutable in order , and i hope eventually we get to see many more of these kit's, as from what i was able to find, there where quite a few back in the day. So, ought to be an absolute delight, and but a light snack compered to the PE infested kit's of today

And to think that at one point i said to myself i wouldn't do German stuff in 1/35 scale anymore since i have so much in 1/72 scale... Below is the figure side of this insanity It's pretty safe to say that about everything in this projects vehicle stash could be worthy of their own dedicated topic. But i simply don't have the mojo nor the time for that, so im instead gonna just do a compilation of some of the more interesting parts of each build. and there will be lots of builds . EDIT: Ive decided the brainstorming process and agenda, the stash and other non build related things, shall move to the diorama side of this project. So, once that's done, i suggest you pop in there to see what kit's are supposed to go with what, why certain camo over other... Let the building and painting begin: While the figure side of the project has seen a fairly small amount of progress in these past few months, there has been some decent progress in the armor side of things. While im still in high spirits, might as-well make sure i get the most annoying part over with on a few of the kits. This time comprising of 5 Takom Blitz series kits. Here are a few highlights from that progress. Unlike many of my earlier projects, this time around i wanted to take a different approach to painting them, instead of painting pretty-much everything before any construction begins, this time im doing it as the build progresses. The Jagdtiger kit came with this handy jig to make sure the suspension arms are perfectly aligned, tough in my case due to the layers of paint already present, that's as deep as i was willing to go as i was afraid i wouldn't be able to pull it off without braking everything else off. It can also be used to build the entire length of track around the drive sprocket and the idler wheel, but to me that made no sense, so i manly just used it to get the sprocket properly aligned, and the "curve/hang" that goes from top of the sprocket to the road-wheels. So, not perfect, but a neat addition. Other than some slow going at the start, and not being able to join the tracks perfectly, they went together rather nicely, and since they where link and length, it didn't take a stupid amount of time. Now as for the (P) version of the Jagdtiger, oh dear... Takom Blitz... more like Takom Verdun . Essentially 3 bits per track link... making up a total of a few hundred bits. About 3 to 4 hours of snipping an cleaning, and about 4 to 5 hours of painstaking assembly. Buuut... with some careful gluing... and i really mean careful, the tracks do actually sorta work. So points to Takom for that For the record, i wasn't careful enough, and a number of the links got permanently glue together, thankfully there where enough free segments for me to make it all work. The actual bogie itself is fixed in place, but the other "arm" of it is allowed to move about freely. After the big where at this stage, it was time to move on to something a little smaller. With all of the Panzer III based ones, the assembly was smooth as butter for the most part and putting the link and length tracks together was weirdly enjoyable. It wasn't all rosy tough, as in the Panzer III N kit, the layer of dark gray paint i had on, was perhaps a little too thick, and this happened when i was putting the road wheels on. Before i could get them fully seated, the pins broke off. But with a bit of cleanup i was able to get them glued back on rather nicely. The two Jagdtiger kits where admittedly a bit of an impulse purchase, and it's only.y trough a sudden inspiration after the fact that i came up with a way to bring them together in a semi-fictional display set in 1946. And that's not the only hasty decision as part of this collection, as one display that i wanted to make, would be based on the third battle of Kharkov (1943), and for that i got the Panzer-III M. I thought at first that surely by that point they would have had shurtzen equipped tanks going about, well... after some hours of research, not a single shurzen plate in sight. Instead what you would mostly see, are L and J model Panzer III's. So, to correct things a bit, i will be switching around the guns of the M and the N models to create a shurzen plated "late" model N. And something that better resembles the L model. It's not going to be perfect by any means, as there are probably going to be some out of place small differences, but they should be close enough to make the cut for what im planning. Ive already checked, and the kit parts are interchangeable. Another thing that i almost thought wasn't a thing either, was the Winterketten, but after some more digging around, i found a number of vehicles that had them, but it certainly wasn't an all too common feature by any means. So, a bit of a case of And there is the progress so far. I will be keeping a small brake from all this, and will move on to some Naval matters that ought to be nostalgic for some, and perhaps a bit crude for others.

Alright, the first bits of the paint/uniform variety list are there. It's one of those things that will expand bit by bit as the project goes on, as there are a lot of uniform types and bits related to them, to go trough. To save myself and everyone else a bit of trouble, ive added red numbers on top of each paint-pot to make it more clear as to what the color code for them is, and so that i don't have to write them down everywhere. Oh, and i should also add this to the top at some point, but it's highly unlikely i will extend the paint list to include uniform outside WWII, im already confused enough as it is .

Sorry for a very late reply, but Sooo... as can be seen straight away, i basically redid the entire front-page of this project, as my earlier form of "documentation" just ain't gonna work for me anymore. So time to fix things before i get stuck forever and just... ... Where's he gone??? Im certainly not giving up yet as far as the forum side of this hobby, that's for sure But just changing things up a bit as a job tends to eat away at one's time and energy to use for hobbies like this. And it certainly doesn't help that my stash is bigger than ever...

EDIT: this update doesn't make perfect sense anymore, so some edit's have taken place. I went trough all the old figures to salvage as much of the small bits i thought would be useful. Things like guns, helmets, bread-bags and such. I also picked out a few figures an put them to the side so i can hopefully improve their paintjob to a better and more realistic standard. So, while this may be a reset on the collection, im not having to start all the way from ground zero Quite a healthy stack of bits and bobs. They will need a bit of work tough. Some weathering on the guns, repainting of quite a few bits to introduce some much needed variety, some cleanup of areas where glue used to be, and a whole lot of shading and weathering all around. not exactly the easiest of things given how tiny most of these bits are, and the fact they are loose bits now But never mind that. And combining those bits with all the other extra bits i had left over... ...and i think we have a pretty good place to start . Also, i got some slightly different Citadel shade stuff that will work better with lighter shades/colors like flesh and white, so bits of figures won't look so dirty and as if they spent all afternoon in the engine-bay of a tank, or inspecting a chimney. Some smaller and more precise brushes where acquired as-well, tough that wont help too much given my shaky hands, but hopefully we should be able to attempt things like painting the eyes for instance. Oh, and some small files where added as well. Edit: results of some of this can be seen in the first page now.

Well, it's been some time, and if it seems that things have changed dramatically in the front page of this project. That's because it has. EDIT: And yet another refurbishment of the front page is taking place, due to me wanting to optimize my form of documentation even further. I'll truly try and make sure things don't take a drastic change from here on anymore. In my new and final format for this project, all the brainstorming, what kits go with what, the stash, and so on, will be put on the diorama side of things as that just makes more sense. Basically all that used to be here, is getting moved/redone in a better way. Oh, and here is also a link to the AFV section of this project. A list of all the paints to use when painting WWII German unifroms + things to note (this ain't gonna give you a 100% perfect result, but should still work pretty nicely) I will try my hardest to boil down my research (using mostly google mind you) into some form of a usable list of paints that should get you "close enough" to the real article, and some of the variations of it. So then you can know exactly in how many ways you can paint a Germans trousers . But, i am in no ways an expert painter and you'll have to convert everything from Revell codes. What paint's to use for what bits: To do this research, went down the rabbit-hole in google and saved myself around 300 images about various uniforms and bits related to those. But like i alluded to above, these colors wont be exact, just something to get you in the right ball park. NOTE: this list will develop as the project goes on. Also, i won't go into every detail , but i will try and give info that should at-least get you pointed in the right direction. Some universal stuff related to all uniforms. This is something that works for pretty-much any army, but as the war went on, due to material shortages and problems with the supply-chain, material savings and people ending up with a mish mash of different uniform pieces, would have gotten worse and worse. So, stuff like the greatcoats that weren't so great at being great winter coats...ill, get me coat... would be made from thinner and thinner materials, and while the more elite troops got the more proper jackets, some poor sods would have to make do with the older coats even in late war conditions. One thing that had me puzzled for a time, was why many figure sets tended to be labeled "German elite troops", it just seemed odd as all i saw where late war uniforms/weapons. Well, it's actually true in a way, as later on in the war, the better more advanced stuff, like the Stg-44 or the reversible winter/summer jackets would have been given to the more elite among the army (mainly SS-troops). Army uniforms (east/west front 1939-1945) This one is a little more of a universal set of colors to use, and will be useable with: Classic early to late war field jackets. Pretty-much any of the colors in that list will do for the main fabric color. As for the collars with the rank insignia, that seems to be almost always a blueish dark green, so 48 should be close. As for other badges/rank insignia/decorations, that kinda depends on the unit and rank and so on, so kinda difficult for me to say. The greatcoats seem to use more or less the same spectrum of colors, same goes for the trousers. Officers uniforms also use about the same spectrum, tough as far as i understand, they are sometimes a little more tailored, and thus appear in a wider range of colors...though i think that applies more to the real high rollers so to speak... or for those who are more interested in using the war as an excuse to go shopping for free paintings. the peaked caps can also fit into pretty-much any of those colors, as far as the fabric on top, and the band in-between...tough the band is usually dark green or black. the sun-visor (or whatever it's called) does seem to always be just black. As far as the decorative piping and badges and other detailing, again, it's kinda hard to give a general list as it depends on many things, but silver/red/pink/gold for the piping, silver/gold for the eagle and the leaves, and silver/gold/black for the decorative kinda chinstrap looking thing, should get you a believable look. As far as the field-caps, i think they to could fit pretty-much any of those colors, but weirdly i8n this category they where all pretty uniform in their color (field-grey). The buttons on these uniform, and indeed any uniforms can also appear in a wide variety of colors and materials. As the war would have drawn on, these would have been made from not so strategically important materials. Anything from metal to wood to plastic would have been used at various stages. and any of the colors above and many others like brass or gold would work. but i guess the overall classic choice would be something like silver/steel for those nice shiny dots. Tank crew uniforms (east/west front 1939-1945) Army uniforms (Afrikakorp) Tank crew uniforms (Afrikakorp) Kriegsmarine uniforms Luftwaffe uniforms The all black evil SS guys I know there are some morbidly curious folk like me, who are wondering about the black uniform with the red arm-bands. Well, as far as i can make out, it does seem to be a type of uniform that wasn't used in the field. Instead being used by more internal security type guys, and i guess by some of the more nasty fellows involving subject not suitable here. But...im not entirely sure, and not really interested in finding out either. Equipment/guns/other knik knaks Another bit with a wide variety of colors, is the good old bread-bag. These colors are to be used for the fabric bits. there are also little leather bits used, that are of a different color spectrum. Metallic canisters of different sorts would have carried colors that seemed to fall within this fairly narrow field. These could be, ammo-cans, the canister for you soup, your gas-mask canister... etc. The silver and steel colors would of-course be used for the bits where the paint has come off. And this is all i have for now, more will be added later. The actual figure building/painting: Alright, enough prattling , lets get to the heart of the matter. Before starting off with the new stuff, i wanted to do some experiments with the shade stuff and painting human faces. After a few "willing" participants , i arrived at this chap. To avoid you dying of laughter, or getting deathly horrified, i won't show you the other experiments. But, id say i was able to arrive at a satisfactory result, The eyes and the eyebrows are oversized yes... but they atleast fit the bill of cartoony, and not overly alien/horrifying. And it's going to have to do no matter what, as that is literally the best result i can do. Even with the smallest imaginable brush i could find, my shaky hands prevent me from doing anything more precise. And no, that is not melted Scho-ka-cola, it a just facial hair that doesn't really, but also kinda weirdly fits. If not for the fact im doing a new one of these figures, i would have kept him around. Now, another difference to my earlier work, is the fact that i decided not to paint a stockpile of guns and other small nik naks, as it would have been kind pointless. Just do the ones i need and do more if needed... That made no sense... And as far as painting the figures, i was going to go figure by figure, but i just didn't really like it. Felt i was spending more time shuffling pots and cleaning the brush than doing actual painting, so, set by set is how it will be. As this was a Masterbox kit, and in keeping with the earlier project, all of that was surplus from my Tamiya figures. I built up each figure to this point before attaching the 3D-printed base. After that went on the shade stuff and all the patches, to make sure i can reach some of the areas that are going to be cover up with equipment. After all the small equipment was in place, it was time to shade/weather that stuff as well, and then add some straps using painted strips of office-paper. And that way we arrive at our first figure set complete. The Cold wind By masterbox. Not a perfect result by any means, but im really happy with how they turned out. Certainly better than earlier results . I know that wasn't much in terms of describing the process, but the figures where of an excellent quality, went together really well and thus there isn't really anything interesting to say. And there's also the fact my painting/building process is about as basic and low budget as it gets, maby minus the overpriced Citadel shade stuff, and a couple really tiny brushes. Just a matter of adding a coat of primer from a rattle-can (the kind from a hardware store) to the sprues, then just hand-paint everything after which comes some dry-brushed wear and tear and finally an application of darker shade stuff. I suppose one thing of note, is that i now use a lighter kind of shade for the face and really light surfaces, like white. The faces and white winter coats on the Soviet chaps looked a little too dirty, but more on that later. And yes, this does mean that i won't be making a separate showcase for the completed figures. It's all going to be here from start to finish. It sure is going to be a lot of work, but it's sure to be a lovely time. And to anyone who bothered to have a look at this mess.

Thanks. Don't worry, there will be plenty of projects like that somewhere in the future. And yea, ive fallen for that old trap myself a few times