Shelf queen resurrection. Armoured Sd.Kfz.8 DB10 (12T Gepanzerte)

[Kelscale]

I am almost at journeys end with a build I honestly thought would never get finished. I opened the lid on this kit in 2013 after reading a story about an unusual, and as it turned out, unique late war German prime mover. Built on a Sd.Kfz. 8 DB10 chassis, this was a rare, armoured variant that was pulled from the Pilica River in Poland in 1999. It had sunk in the river on January 18, 1945, during the German forces' withdrawal. The vehicle was later restored to a running condition in 2003 and is now on display in a museum.

 

 

 

 

 

Trumpeter’s 2012 kit is based on this restored vehicle and on the whole, is a fairly simple kit to build. From an accuracy perspective there are a few inconsistencies even with this one-of-a-kind restoration, and they have opted to only include a set of late DB10 front wheels and not the large faced ones which it was fitted with. MR Modellbau do still make a resin aftermarket set of the large rimmed, solid tyred type so there is this one option if you hate, as I do, vinyl tyres.

 

 

I managed to get 90% of the kit built, with the chassis, running gear and interior fully painted before a house move in 2015 shelved it. It remained unloved in its box until May 2024 when it saw daylight again after I purchased a new photobooth. I was just grabbing stuff to hand to experiment with camera settings and the chassis ended up getting photographed. After inspecting the pics, I concluded that the original work was presentable enough to resurrect it. I’m pretty sure it’s not the norm to return to projects abandoned so long for obvious reasons, but I liked the fact that it not only looked cool,  but was unique and rarely built.

 

PIcs taken out of its storage box in 2024

 

I was pleased with how the running gear looked

 

Although it had been kept safe in a storage box there were areas of my original build that could still be improved on. Two sprocket types were included in the kit and typically I had not used the ones fitted to the restored vehicle. Refitting the correct ones was a challenge but it meant I could add the missing track pad bolts and address the issue of the roller offset misalignment which makes the tracks ‘hover’ over them due to the teeth not engaging! This is an issue that all too many kit manufacturers seem to make, and it can often spoil a build. Trumpeter are guilty of this on all their Sd.Kfz.7 & 8 kits but there was thankfully a well-publicised fix that Terry Ashley once offered on his old PMMS website.

 

The old sprocket and the freshly painted alternative set test fitted along with the resin wheels

 

 

Chassis and running gear completed. Sprockets and front wheels still require weathering to match existing effects. I have left one side engine hatch off but very little of the engine will be visible

I worked on this in between other painting projects, so progress was slow but by May this year the new sprockets were fitted, and it was onto the bodywork. A pretty big visual anomaly that required addressing before I could continue prepping for paint was the lack of any real armour overhang where the upper and lower mouldings fixed together. The actual design had the upper plate overlapping the lower, but the kit parts pretty much butted up to each other. This I remedied by shaving off a small amount of material from the lower angled plate each side of the already fitted storage bins.

 

Slowly shaving off material from the lower side plates

 

To create the upper armour overhang

 

In June I was working on the interior. It was 95% painted but the kit fire extinguisher was of an older type, and I had yet to paint and fit the wooden benches. By the beginning of July the interior was complete, with an added empty 3D fire extinguishire bracket replacing the kit part. The two bodywork mouldings were fixed permanently and awaited fitment of all the kit’s exterior fixings. These were all remarkably still present, so were added along with some better represented 3D items, copper grab handles and PE tilt cover loops. I also re-scribed panel lines, added some welding and replaced the kit jerry cans with Bronco items.

 

The MG ammo box is yet to be weathered

 

Ah!  Grasshopper

 

 

 

So, after a mammoth 12 year journey it was finely time to prep for paint. I primed with rattle can Tamiya fine red oxide then post shaded with Mr Hobby Mahogany surfacer 1000 with the airbrush, which allowed me to also get a decent coverage into all the nooks and crannies.

 

 

 

 

For the Dunkelgelb base coat I used a mix of both Mr Hobby and Tamiya lacquer paints.

 

 

 

 

I originally intending to copy the monochrome finish of the restored vehicle, but I got inspired by another modeller's camo work and figured what the hell!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front wheel choices. Multi-spoke, deep dish or a larger rim with low profile tyres🤔

 

 

So here she is, midway through the weathering stage and on the way to looking presentable again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26 by Kelscale

[vytautas]

Great job on the piece; details everywhere!

 

Vytautas

[Milan Mynar]

Great work, it is an interesting kit.

[Model Mate]

Absolutely wonderful work - detailing, painting and weathering all exemplary!

[Bullbasket]

You've done n excellent job on the cammo. Very nice work.

 

John.

[Stef N.]

Marvellous work. 

[Kelscale]

On 25/07/2025 at 15:51, vytautas said:

Great job on the piece; details everywhere!

 

Vytautas

 

On 25/07/2025 at 15:57, Milan Mynar said:

Great work, it is an interesting kit.

 

On 25/07/2025 at 23:15, Model Mate said:

Absolutely wonderful work - detailing, painting and weathering all exemplary!

 

On 26/07/2025 at 06:45, Bullbasket said:

You've done n excellent job on the cammo. Very nice work.

 

John.

 

On 26/07/2025 at 06:47, Stef N. said:

Marvellous work. 

Thank you guys. Appreciated

 

Whilst I’m still having fun slowly making my way around the vehicle with oil paints one thing is bothering me. As it was not common for lightly armoured German halftracks of the period to apply camo to their interiors, I’m undecided on whether the tops of those big rear lockers would have received some.  It’s unlikely there will ever be a contradictory photo if I do, so what would you do? Leave as is, add some camo or maybe even consider partly covering one or both with tarps etc

 

 

 

Edited July 30 by Kelscale

[Morantbay]

1 hour ago, Kelscale said:

what would you do

I love the subtle scratches and chipping you have going in that area, so I'd suggest doing ... nothing that covers that up or distracts too much from it.

 

It might be an opportunity to showcase a couple small arms or potato masher grenades resting on top there.

 

Fantastic work by the way.

[Kelscale]

19 minutes ago, Morantbay said:

I love the subtle scratches and chipping you have going in that area, so I'd suggest doing ... nothing that covers that up or distracts too much from it.

 

It might be an opportunity to showcase a couple small arms or potato masher grenades resting on top there.

 

Fantastic work by the way.

Thank you, and thanks for that suggestion. TBH its only really bugged me since I took a birds eye view image🤔  When I masked the interior to apply the exterior paint it never crossed my mind to paint the tops of these too.  Doubtless because they were already painted.

 

I'll have a play around with placing stuff on them before I consider applying any camo

Edited July 30 by Kelscale

[Kelscale]

This is some progress pics after a first round mapping around the vehicle with oil paints *Pics uncover a few places I've forgot yet to blend in the oil😳 See the dot of buff on the hydraulic suspension arm!

 

 

Darker oils added and blended out around the engine and crew hatches

 

 

 

The benches are to be removed and the overscale wood grain texture removed

 

 

Rear idler oil work

 

 

And a little photo background fun

 

 

While I contemplate what to do about the top of the rear lockers it was time to get right into a second stage of weathering effects. This time using acrylic paint to simulate a light dusty layer.

 

This technique has been around for a long time, often airbrushed with enamels and effects made with a brush dampened with thinner. I will be using acrylics and adding hairspray beforehand. I have used this on a couple of projects to date, and when you get it right the results can look convincing. Looking at progress so far, I decided to add just a subtle toned-down application to the lower front, rear, and sides, and see where it would take me.

 

Whatever medium used this effect works well when portraying vehicles that have been out in the field for a while. Ones that have stuck to the roads and are generally dusty but not too muddy.  Although it takes time to master and I'm still a long way from that, it does add another interesting layer. It is also a great way of desaturating the paintwork finish. Normally I would carry out this step before any oil mapping but my intention this time is to just leave faint traces of the acrylic dust tones layer. It was airbrushed in thin coats and 90% of it removed, moving the dampened brush downwards creating streaks onto lower edges. Any previous oil paint highlights still visible that have lost their effect or blended in will be re-visited and embellished in the final weathering step. 

 

 

Crew benches sanded and freshly re-painted.  Tops of external lockers yet to receive a coat of dust

 

 

Edited August 3 by Kelscale

[Keeff]

This is superb work, a brilliant resurrection and really informative! 

 

Now if I were you, I'd leave the tops of the boxes as they are with some wear effects.  I'm not sure the camo was applied to any interior parts and think it looks best as is. 

 

I really like some of the subtle weat and weathering effects you apply and achieve .... very inspiring! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

[Kelscale]

On 04/08/2025 at 20:52, Keeff said:

This is superb work, a brilliant resurrection and really informative! 

 

Now if I were you, I'd leave the tops of the boxes as they are with some wear effects.  I'm not sure the camo was applied to any interior parts and think it looks best as is. 

 

I really like some of the subtle weat and weathering effects you apply and achieve .... very inspiring! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

 Cheers Keith

 

I have decided to leave the top of the rear lockers as is. I have yet to place a few select bits of crew gear and I will likely end up placing a few items on top of them

 

 

I'm getting close to the finish line and it’s been a fun project to re-visit. I might yet place it on a simple base as I've got a few that I started without any clear vision of where they were heading. I have also finally tracked down an aftermarket resin copy of the kit’s vinyl tyred DB10 front wheels. I had drawn a blank but a kind fellow on the book of faces pointed out that Panzerart do actual offer some. For some bizarre reason, together with many online retailers, even their own website has them mislabelled as Sd.Kfz.9 wheels!   If they don't end up on this version, they will definitely come in handy for Trumpeter's unarmoured DB10.

 

The reason I started this project is I'm unable to actually build any new models at present due to a nasty allergy to pretty much all modelling cements. I haven’t started a new kit since February 2024 when I realised the symptoms were not going away and it was becoming a real health concern. The symptoms persist if I so much as look at a bottle of TET so it's looking unlikely I will be popping open any new kit boxes for the foreseeable future either. 😷  S**t business I know but, mustn't grumble an all that. I'm so fortunate in having quite a pile of shelf queens like this one and with care I can just about manage the odd bit of extremely limited ‘sticking stuff together’, so long as I cross my fingers, mask up, and ensure there is oodles of ventilation.

 

Anyways, enough of my grumblings, let’s get back to what I am able to do. Looking at the pics below I can see I still need to carry out some subtle tweekage and I won’t be able to move on until I do. We are most definitely our own worst critics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23 by Kelscale

[Nemanja]

Outstanding painting and weathering, looks like a real thing for sure!

[Tijuana Taxi]

7 hours ago, Kelscale said:

 Cheers Keith

 

I have decided to leave the top of the rear lockers as is. I have yet to place a few select bits of crew gear and I will likely end up placing a few items on top of them

 

 

I'm getting close to the finish line and it’s been a fun project to re-visit. I might yet place it on a simple base as I've got a few that I started without any clear vision of where they were heading. I have also finally tracked down an aftermarket resin copy of the kit’s vinyl tyred DB10 front wheels. I had drawn a blank but a kind fellow on the book of faces pointed out that Panzerart do actual offer some. For some bizarre reason, together with many online retailers, even their own website has them mislabelled as Sd.Kfz.9 wheels!   If they don't end up on this version, they will definitely come in handy for Trumpeter's unarmoured DB10.

 

The reason I started this project is I'm unable to actually build any new models at present due to a nasty allergy to pretty much all modelling cements. I haven’t started a new kit since February 2024 when I realised the symptoms were not going away and it was becoming a real health concern. The symptoms persist if I so much as look at a bottle of TET so it's looking unlikely I won’t be popping open any new kit boxes for the foreseeable future either. 😷  S**t business I know but, mustn't grumble an all that. I'm so fortunate in having quite a pile of shelf queens like this one and with care I can just about manage the odd bit of extremely limited ‘sticking stuff together’, so long as I cross my fingers, mask up, and ensure there is oodles of ventilation.

 

Anyways, enough of my grumblings, let’s get back to what I am able to do. Looking at the pics below I can see I still need to carry out some subtle tweekage and I won’t be able to move on until I do. We are most definitely our own worst critics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That really is excellent, some of the smallest touches add the most realism.

 

I too suffer badly from fumes, trigger for Cluster Headaches in my case.

Made a couple of adjustments that may possibly help you.

Firstly I constructed a small tabletop extractor from a few cheapish bits

Secondly the only cement that I found that was tolerable is "Deluxe Materials - Plastic Magic Glue"

This is my extractor, actually works a treat and even my missus was impressed with the results.

Its a cheap bench top soldering fume extractor like this 

With a Ducting Pipe to Square Transformer 100mm / 90.5mm x 90.5mm Hood Pipe Connector attached to the rear

Then a length of 100mm hose that vents outside, the extractor can be angled down next to the work piece

 

 

 

[Kelscale]

On 07/08/2025 at 07:45, Nemanja said:

Outstanding painting and weathering, looks like a real thing for sure!

Thank you

[Kelscale]

On 07/08/2025 at 08:43, Tijuana Taxi said:

 

That really is excellent, some of the smallest touches add the most realism.

 

I too suffer badly from fumes, trigger for Cluster Headaches in my case.

Made a couple of adjustments that may possibly help you.

Firstly I constructed a small tabletop extractor from a few cheapish bits

Secondly the only cement that I found that was tolerable is "Deluxe Materials - Plastic Magic Glue"

This is my extractor, actually works a treat and even my missus was impressed with the results.

Its a cheap bench top soldering fume extractor like this 

With a Ducting Pipe to Square Transformer 100mm / 90.5mm x 90.5mm Hood Pipe Connector attached to the rear

Then a length of 100mm hose that vents outside, the extractor can be angled down next to the work piece

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice and your experience Tijuana.

 

I have not tried the Deluxe materials magic glue and I agree, getting more extraction will definately help.

[AdrianMF]

Interesting model, superb finish and a fascinating backstory.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Kelscale]

I forgot to post up pics of the completed build. Fitted with the kit's front wheels and tyres.

 

[Shagohod]

Fabulous work. 👍👍

[Keeff]

That is jaw-droppingly good!  Not only the detail of the kit, but the paint, wear and weathering is outstanding ... 

 

 

Keith ☺️ 

[Mr slow]

Excellent paint job.

I can't say I've ever seen this kit before. A very unusual half track.

I'll have to get one for my stash.

[Model Mate]

Your work always leaves me pretty much speechless, but I have to say you’ve outdone yourself here. Sublime detail and realism - fantastic work!