Month: March 2018

Finished

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Now I have finished the Puma build. Construction went well and very fast, as I didn’t wanted to show interior details, apart from the two hatches on top of the turret. But these two were planned to be filled with the two SS tanker figures, so also no need to apply more detail than the rudimentary gun breech from the kit.

The vegetation on the base is from Silhoutte, and turns out to be quite realistic. The grass on the base was airbrushed and highlighted using Tamiya acrylics, but the foliage on the “bushes” that were used to camouflage the vehicle were used from the box, after receiving a layer of matt varnish (also to cover the shiny spots from glueing the foliage to the branches). Attaching the foliage is a quite stressful endeavour, and finally I got the best results by cutting the foliage material into small pieces, that were then attached with a slow, gel-like superglue from the hobby shop. CA used for PE dries out to fast, and also the gel structure helps to attach the material much better. I also tried white glue, but this dries way to slow.

Actually applying the bushes as camouflage was fun, and I managed to strike the balance between applying an sufficient amount of bushes to appear realistic (which is a lot, as can be seen from historic reference fotos), and still being able to show some details of the vehicle.

The figures are stock Alpine.

Another 8-wheel reconnaissance vehicle – SdKfz 231

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I somehow fell in love with the 8-wheel German reconnaissance cars, as I really enjoyed the built of the Puma, which to me is a very elegant and surprisingly modern looking vehicle. Now I embark on a more museal endeavor, and start to build the precursor, the 8-wheel Buessing NAG  reconnaissance car SdKfz 231.

The kit I am going to use is the AFV one, depicting a very early version. I also bought the Nuts & Bolts volume 35, and the reference photos show some very seasoned vehicles also during later stages of WW2, when already later versions of the SdKfz 231 where in production. I added a PE set from Voyager, and also a cheap set from Eduard. Usually I do not like Eduard PE set, but this particular one features the additional front armor plate that was introduced after the French campaign, and on almost any vehicle seen after, e. g. in Russia or North Africa.

But finally I changed my mind and will use the kit without the front armor, showcasing a scene in France in 1940. I will also add some Alpine tanker figures, and some left over civilians featuring a street cafe in a small village.

Construction starts with the chassis, and resembles the SdKfz 234 construction, apart from the fact that all parts look more fragile. The plastic of the AFV kit is a bit soft, and tends to break away when cut from the fret, so some filling will be needed.