Search the Community

Hello all, This is a bit of an opus of mine! One of a two part diorama in 1/35. Featuring: tiger 1 (tamiya), one 20mm AA gun (Tamiya), 16 figures (various makes- see figure WIP:) Took around 5 months to complete with a lot of research and planning before hand. I used the below two books for some of the research: The Harry Yeide book is a little bit of a dry read but helped with some of the unit specifics etc: I'm really happy with it and enjoyed every bit of it despite being a long complicated build. As mentioned in the tags its all brush painted and mostly scratch built (bar the interior furniture of the house and shop which I got from Verlinden and miniart and the shells are from tamiya.). I'd like to mention that the 246th VGD were in the area of Lucherberg but not the village itself. The figures featured here are for storytelling purposes, the unit was being pulled off the line at the time when the 3rd fallschrimjager, 8th regiment took over the position, these are supposed to be retreating stragglers! If anyone is interested in the battle itself it was part of the American push towards the Roer in operation Queen. The Siegfried line was first breached in sept '44. Then Aachen, the city itself, fell on the 21st of Oct and this is a loosely based diorama set early dec. '44 in the various villages and minor towns before Duren (and then Cologne). To give a general overview. Yes my tiger is very scared and heavily weathered but I wanted to have a little fun with it plus it was from the 301 which inherited its tigers from other units, meaning they would have been fairly cobbled together and would have been around the block a few times. Plus in two months after being depicted here, tiger 201 from the 301 looked like it did in the picture below: This photo came after the tiger 201 put a Pershing 'fireball', out of action in Elsdorf. It then backed up into a building and got stuck. From the shackles and tows being loose it looks as though they may have attempted to retrieve the tank but gave up and the crew abandoned it to the advancing Americans in February of '45. Elsdorf is around 30km from Lucherberg. Might seem a bit odd showing the back of the model but this will play an important role in part 2 and it shows the tiles and dormer which can't be seen from the front. And yes if that panzerschreck was to fire in this confined position then its crew would almost certainly be knocked out by the toxic fumes created by the back blast and also yes the mg42 is in a tactically terrible position. The pics below are a few close up on some of the specific items I scratch built: Such as the head stone and cross: I also scratch built the telegraph pole/signs/light: The doors and handles (plus a little ding a ling bell at the back of the door which you cant actually make out!) I made the dozer shield with the exact spec from the ones used to clear roads. These were normally attached to stug's or panthers adapeted especially for rubble clearence. The idea here being that the dozer sheild and shovels were used to clear the space for the tiger to shelter in, away from the marauding 'Jabos' (allied fighter bombers). I also did the balcony, drain, shop sign, picture frame, fire place and cellar doors (which you would have seen in plenty of the other pics). A couple big ole shots without the tiger: Sorry if the pics are a bit repetitive but I'm not very good at them and theirs loads of angels I try to cover. I could wax lyrical about this one all day but at the risk of boring you all half to death I'd just say if you have any questions please feel free to ask away! Part two might be another five months away as its of similar size, has three afvs, 18 or so figures, a pub, garage and few other its (but a little less scratch built items). Thanks for viewing, Paul

This year, other than a few submarines early on, my focus was on military vehicles - mostly small scale as well. As per usual activity was sporadic due to work commitments, but in the end a surprisingly productive year. All brush painted using acrylics (typically Tamiya, but also MIG Ammo and Italeri). Cheers! Mirage 1:72 M3 Stuart completed as an Australian example in New Guinea Tamiya 1:35 Centaur Mk IV (my first 1:35 AFV) Bronco 1:48 Staghound Mk 1 Armoured Car - NW Europe 1944/45 Bronco 1:35 Comet Mk 1 - Germany 1945 Bronco 1:350 HMS Vanguard (S28) SSBN Bronco 1:350 USS Seawolf SSN-21 Hobbyboss 1:700 Typhoon SSBN Masterbox 1:72 British Armoured Car Austin Mk IV - France 1918 IBG 1:72 Crusader Mk III - Polish Forces in the West, UK 1942 Takom 1:72 Chieftain Mk II - West Germany, 1980s Airfix 1:72 Sherman Firefly Vc - Normandy, August 1944 Masterbox 1:72 HMLS Kia-Ora, Mk 1 “Female” tank - Gaza, April 1917 IBG 1:72 Crusader AA Tank Mk III - Normandy, June 1944 Roden 1:72 Rolls Royce Armoured Car - Iraq, 1941 Dragon 1:72 Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle - Iraq, 2005-2006 JB Models 1:76 Saladin Mk 2 - Brunei, 1964

Hi all Quite a productive year but not as many as last year. Started this year on a yellow Twin engined Target Tug. The build log for this and the next few are here Whilst that was going on I finished a stalled build, the tiny Eduard 1/72 Kunkadlo, a lovely little kit, literally. Brush painted using Humbrol enamels. I also started the KP 72nd scale Piper Pawnee crop duster, completed as a Glider Tug from Deeside Gliding club. Brush painted using Humbrol enamels. With a few scratch built additions. Another longterm stalled build was the Revell 1/48 Typhoon, this is the most modern Aircraft I have modelled. The Revell Lockheed Ventura built as a RCAF GR-V Target Tug , a lovely kit with some Quickboost and scratch built extras. Brush painted with Humbrol enamels. This was followed by the lovely Williams Brothers 1/48 Ford Flivver, brush painted with Humbrol enamels. A sweet kit. A 1/72 MPM DH Vampire FB.5, brush painted using Humbrol enamels. That Finished off the first multiple build thread, I then started my FAA builds thread First up a non FAA machine, a distraction build whilst doing the Anson Testors 1/48 Travelair Mystery Ship a cracking little kit brush painted using Humbrol enamels 1/48 Grand Phoenix Fairey Firefly Mk.I, a cracking kit , again brush painted with Humbrol enamels 1/48 Lindberg Fairey Flycatcher with scratch built cockpit internals and Amoury engine with lead wire exhausts A further distraction build, Airfix 1/48 Hurricane Mk1 Tropical, what a fantastic kit. Brush painted with Humbrol enamels. And another Distraction build, a 72nd Plastyk RWD-5BIS a sweet little kit And finally Special Hobby (ex Classic Airframes) 1/48 Avro Anson, complas a Mk.1 post WWII ASV radar trainer, some scratch built details and again brush painted using Humbrol enamels. I have some in progress builds that are not quite there yet, an FAA Skyraider AEW is not too far off completion and am doing a P322 Lightning 1 and have just started a Chipmunk. Thanks for looking in. I wish you all a Peaceful and Happy Christmas . Chris

G'day all, I had to go away on a work trip for a few weeks so thought I'd take a kit and some tools with me to keep my sanity. A great kit straight out of the box which made it a fun build as well. Since getting back into modelling around 7 years ago I jumped straight into using an airbrush, however this build was my first brush painted model in over 20+ years. I have a lot of respect for the work that you brush painters do, but since tackling this my respect has increased further. I think I'll stick to my airbrush. Before this build I didn't realise what a mine field USN Dark Blue was (especially with the different ANA blues that have the same number), so I went with Humbrol 77 Navy Blue Matt followed up with some floor polish to get the gloss finish. Looks alright to me and my wife likes the colour too. Following this build I'll try not to get too wrapped up in colours, so I'll finish off my Olive Drab P-40N, move onto some Luftwaffe builds and maybe make a start on a RAAF Foliage Green Spitifre Hope you enjoy!

Hi everyone, and happy upcoming new year! First time modeller, new member. Wanted to share this out of the box build using the simplest tool setup I could find on a side-table in my uni room. Kit went together just using the Revell contacta glue, Revell aqua color paints thinned with tap-water, and a £5 brush pack. Decals were applied using Revell's decal fix to form around the detail. For a first attempt, actually quite happy with the result, definitely inspires to keep going! Next step might be to use some Milliput superfine putty for the gaps, and use Revell's Aqua color mix for the thinning as opposed to tap-water. Looking to stick to brushpainting with acrylics, personally think it might be more enjoyable and much easier to setup/maintain, you can listen to music while you're at it without a rattling compressor nearby, not to mention I've seen some astounding results with them like the works of @PlaStix here on the forums. Looking forward to all the feedback!! Cheers, Ed.