Crusader Mk3; Tunisia 1943

[bull-nut]

Couple of pics of a small dio being worked on for a Tamiya 1/48 Crusader Mk3. Tank still needs a matt coat when I can get back to the airbrush. Still need to add a lid, bucket and line for the well, a shallow layer of water, and two crewmen from Dartmoor Military Models.

Groundwork area measures about 200x150mm.

Crewmembers will go next to the tank, just by the well top, or a little further back by the number 3 & 4 wheel stations. Glue was still wet when these pics were taken, hence why the ground work around the foliage looks darker in places. I also know I need to clean up the sides, that will come at the end.

Not sure whether it needs a small tree or low wall at the back to finish it off, I have some of the Hirst Arts Egyptian moulds I could use to make a stone wall, but I'm worried they would be too big and heavy looking.

Edited December 13, 2015 by bull-nut

[Badder]

I

Couple of pics of a small dio being worked on for a Tamiya 1/48 Crusader Mk3. Tank still needs a matt coat when I can get back to the airbrush. Still need to add a lid, bucket and line for the well, a shallow layer of water, and two crewmen from Dartmoor Military Models.

Groundwork area measures about 200x150mm.

Crewmembers will go next to the tank, just by the well top, or a little further back by the number 3 & 4 wheel stations. Glue was still wet when these pics were taken, hence why the ground work around the foliage looks darker in places. I also know I need to clean up the sides, that will come at the end.

Not sure whether it needs a small tree or low wall at the back to finish it off, I have some of the Hirst Arts Egyptian moulds I could use to make a stone wall, but I'm worried they would be too big and heavy looking.

I make my walls from plastic sheet, the thicker stuff. I cut the plastic to the shape I want the wall to be, then carve the pattern of the bricks out by hand using a scalpel and a ruler... or sometimes freehand. Score the horizontal lines first using a ruler, then turn the scalpel blade sideways and scrape down the line again, widening the 'mortar gap'. Adjoining walls should be scored to match and then 'dovetailed'. Then I do the vertical lines. You can lessen the amount of time and effort needed by covering the bulk of the wall with 'plaster' or 'render' and only scoring the brickwork for the exposed areas. I simply cut fine-grade sandpaper to shape and glue them in place with CA. I reckon I can knock up a fully-bricked 1/35th scale wall for a 2-storey building in an hour, and a 'slightly damaged' one in 10 mins.

[bull-nut]

Nice idea, though pretty much every image I've found of rural Tunisian walls shows them to be fairly rough, almost like hand rendered mud, or like the buildings in Tatooine in the original Star Wars, (not a surprise really as that's exactly were it was filmed.)

I think I'll dig out a few of the blocks I have precast and see how they look.

Other issue now is whether I use the DMM models, which are wearing short fatigues, or other figures in longer battle dress. Google shows crews in Tunisia wearing the both.

[thehennessyguy]

looking good the small sandbag fortification really shows the scale for the crusader

Brandon