German recon unit at the Siegfried line

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so as my other entry is rather small (SAS Jeep) and i can't continue on it as i can't paint at the moment because of technical problems (broken parts)
and to be honest this idea was my Original plan to enter

so the plan is to make a recon group that consists of 2 vehicles , a sd.kfz. 250/9 Neu recon half track and the sd.kfz.234/1 schwerer panzerspahwagen
wich is a 8 wheeled heavy armored car
the diorama is supossed to have several features like trees wich i have already and the boxes they are in have been collecting dust for a few years now so i think it is time to use them and i plan on making dragons theeth tank obstacles and those high triangle anti tank walls wich where placed at either side of a road to stop tanks from passing through
they could climb them but they would reveal the bottom of the tank wich is a easy target for a hidden Pak40 or some similar weapon

i will try to make a layout with some older kits i have made wich are similar to the 2 kits i will be making for this entry to see how much space i have on the base and wich ideas i can actually get in the diorama and wich i will have to leave off

so for the first part of the build i will be building this kit

this is a older dragon kit wich according to the box is from 1999
so it older then the best kits dragon made and to be honest this kit shows it's age a bit but the photo's of the box content will show that


when you pop the lid this is what you see in this rather thin box (it is lower then the boxes they use now)

and the sprues

sprue a


sprue b ,you get 4 of these


sprue c


sprue d
up to now they are all basic sd,kfz 250 sprues


sprue h wich is for the turret


a driver and transmission box


some very old wallpaper thickness decals and i didn't know dragon ever used this mesh but when i first opened the kit i found these 2


the istruction sheet is basicly the same as the ones you get these days


because of the mesh that was in the kit i ordered this eduard set for it
the only reason was that i didn't want to use the mesh on the turret but this set wss the same price as the turret upgrade set from another brand so i decided to get this one


the content of the pe set


sorry for the glare
but i will replace the kit barrel with this AFV club barrel that i have left

and that is about everything i have for now
i made a small start a week ago but lost intrest in the kit after 45 minutes so i packed it back up and worked on something else
but i started building this today and made some progres
i still need to look for some more information about all the aspects of the build but it makes more sense to me if i add the vehicle information when i do a update about the vehicle rather then in this intro

so i hope my idea makes sense but if not i will make a update tomorrow anyway and bash together that layout that i mentionned before to give a idea of what i am going for with this build
so stay safe and happy modelling
cheers Mark

[rwsmith14]

Looking forward to it, Mark !!

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks RW
I will post a update as soon as i can

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
i think it is time for the first update of this build
the build is going fine and i actually am about to finish building the sd.kfz. 250/9
the work has stopped at the point where i need to paint and weather the interior but like i mentionned before i need a new airbrush nozzle as i managed to crack or break them all and the shop owner is on vacation untill next week
but then again it doesn't stop me from building the kits and do as much as possible untill i get the new parts

so first a small introduction about the sonderkraftfahrzeug 250

the sd.kfz. 250 was designed in the 1930's as a small half track wich was to be used as a armored personel carrier
the most of these vehicles found their way to the recconnaisance units of the several panzer divisions as the larger sd.kfz.251 could move 8 troops instead of the 4 that could be moved with the sd.kfz 250
but the vehicle was not written off just yet
because of the high max.speed and good off road preformance it was used for other tasks
like with a lot of German vehicles they had sub variants
with the sd.kfz they had 12 different versions ranging from a apc (sd.kfz.250/1) to mobile command centers like the Greif from field marshall Rommel
there was a modernizing of this vehicle in 1943 , this was a major overhaul of the vehicle and design of the upper half of the vehicle was the biggest change
the Original design consisted of 19 armor plates and was given the name alt (old) after the redesign and the new version was called neu (new)
this version was build up with only 9 armorplates wich drasticly reduced the time it takes to build the vehicle as everything was simplyfied
the entire range of the sd.kfz.250 had this overhaul but all the versions where still produced after small changes
there where 2 special versions of the old model that where not called 250 but where known as the sd.kfz252 and 253
these where a ammo transport (252) and a observation vehicle (253)
the sd.kfz 250 remained in production untill the end of the war and was generally used as a support vehicle as no version was suited to fight against heavy vehicles like tanks but they still fulfilled a important role as support vehicles
a fun little fact about this vehicle is that there where no Ausf.A and B and so on
the only 2 main versions where known as the alt and the neu unlike the bigger brother the sd.kfz251 wich and A,B,C and D versions

and some specs of the basic model

crew: 2+4 infantry ,the 250/9 had a crew of 4
length : 4,56 meters
width : 1,945 meters
height : 1,66 meters
weight : 5,800 tons
max. speed : 76 km/h (road speed)
range : 180 to 200 km
preformance 100 bhp or 73KW
armor 5,5mm up to 14,5mm
powerplant Maybach HL42 TRKM 6 cylinder inline water cooled petrol engine




a sd.kfz.250/1 alt , the basic model of the sd.kfz.250 range


a sd.kfz.250/1 neu the redesigned version from 1943 untill the end of the war

as for the sd.kfz.250/9
this was the second version designed for recon tasks
the older version was armed with a single mg34 and had the large frame antenna on the roof
the 9th version was better armed and unlike the other versions (except the 253) it was a closed vehicle for the most part as the turret was covered with mesh screens and not armor plating
the armament consists of a mg42 and a kwk 38 2cm cannon
that is the vehicle version of the better known flak38 but unlike the flak the kwk has a small 10 round magazine instead of the regular 20 rounds for the flak guns
this was done due to the lack of room in the turret
the turret was a design that was used more often as various vehicles have these turrets
they can be found on the sd.kfz.234/1 , sd.kfz.222 and the Aufklarungspanzer 38t
but other then the addition of the turret it is basicly the same as the regular version
these vehicles where assigned to the recon units of the Panzer divisions where they where used as scouts and often operated in groups
allthough they are armed the usual tactic was to fall back once they where spotted
the relative thin armor that could only stop small arms fire and the 2cm cannons limitations where no match for a tank so it was safer to retreat then to try and take out enemy armor with these vehicles

and here are some examples of the sd.kfz 250/9



as you can see there was no room for tall guys in these things

and now for the build

work starts with the wheels


and some more wheels
there are not that many on there so it was done in no time


then you get to build the hull tub
in 1999 there was no slide molding so no 1 piece hull either


the swing arms for the suspension where next to be installed


the axle and the torsion bars for the front where easy to assemble and where made up from 4 parts instead of the redesigned ones we see in dragon half tracks these days (they all share the same design or look)


steering bar was added


the road wheels had a small seamline but a sanding stick removes them with a few passes


then the work moves to the interior
the first parts of the pe set are glued on


the rear of the interior floor


these covers over the axle where a bit of a challegnge but it does lok nice when they are in there
to bad you won´t see later on


the interior floor was glued in place


the firewall was build up
nothing special here but i had to remove the molded on pedals/controls as they where blocking the floor plate wich needs to be glued on to this


everything is installed


the right side of the hull
the pe set adds a lot of things on the interior that the kit doesn´t


the left hand side
the 2 gasmask cans are from my spares box all the other parts are either fully made of pe or addapted parts from the kit


the sides are glued on
this is the point where i stop glueing parts on
well only on the outside but to be able to paint everything i can´t put the upper part of the hull and the roof on there just yet
they can be constructed but painting is slwing it all down for now

and that is all i have for now
i am a bit further in the build at the moment but i didn´t upload the new photo´s yet and this update is big enough already
i don´t want you to fall asleep while you are reading this
but i think i am ready for a new update soon and if i manage to build the entire vehicle before i go shopping for ab parts i will start on the sd.kfz.234/1 to keep me busy
so i hope you like it and untill next time
cheers Mark

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Looking really good so far Mark
I like all PE you added so far, It gives the model great details.
Very nice kit by the looks of it.
I know what you mean about waiting with glueing the roof on, I have the same with my Dragon Sd.Kfz 251/22 Halftrack that is on the shelf of doom somewhere waiting to be dusted of.
Anyway, Keep up the good work Mark, you're on the right path here!

[Nev]

Hi mate making a cracking start to this build! The PE really sets it off

I managed to get myself a hold and fold a week ago so hoping to do more PE on my builds, excited to be following your build

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Frans
The pe set was a great to work with
I started the other kit for this build yesterday so i only need to take some time to make a update and a new intro for the sd.kfz.234/1
I don't have a pe set for that one though but the kit has some pe for the important parts like the turret covers
I hope to have the updates up soon
Cheers

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks Nev
I have a hold and fold myself but i don't use it as much as i thought i would when i bought it
It still is a nice tool to have and it helped with several parts like hinges and S shaped parts
But i still use a pair of pliers for most parts

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so it is time for a new update , this time i will finish constructing the sd.kfz.250/9
i will get new ab parts tomorrow so i will get painting when i have completed the interior of the second kit for this build

so here i the progres so far


after the lower hull work continues with the build up of the fenders
the pe gives much more detail then the kit parts


the other fender
you can chose the headlight you want on this vehicle in the kit
there is a bosch headlight wich is seen on almost all german vehicles and there is the notek light
with the kit they have the same position on the fender but the pe set provides a extended mount wich was mounted on the front of the fender
i picked this option because the vehicle already has 2 small headlights so i didn't see much use for the bosch light


then it was time for the rear plate and a few photo etch to replace the kit parts


the door received pe aswell
the cage on the inside serves to hold the first aid kit wich was to be glued on the door without any details so the pe was a good addition


the inside


the stowage boxes received new hinges wich had a bit more detail then the kit part
there where parts for the locks and chains but i think i would have damaged the part if i tried to remove the styrene details so i didn't use those


then the fenders and stowage boxes where added to the hull


the other side after the fenders where added


the front plate and the suspension guard (a curved plate under the front plate) where added


the upper hull had some ugly details wich i removed
later i added the small eyelets wich where used to add camouflage
the larger hooks on the front and back where optional but i decided they would be a nice extra detail


then it was time for the guns
there are a few photo etch for this step like the shell casing tubes wich guide the shells into a box underneath the mount


same step but the other side of the part
this is before the guns are mounted on the large mount


not much difference but here the guns are glued on the large mount


here the guns are placed on the turret ring
as you can see i drilled the front and rear of the telescopic sight
this is just a small thing to do but it looks much better then a flat front
when it is painted black i will add a drop of water effects by Vallejo in the hole
this will give a shine and depth to it wich will look like a piece of glass


from the other side again
i needed to add the seats and radio at this point


the turret was finished with the upper part


the seat and radio i mentioned before


the cages that form the roof of the turret


the stowage boxes where added to the rear of the turret
i added a Aber German 2 meter antenna wich by now is standard for me when i build a German armored vehicle


all the major parts together
they will be glued once the interior is finished


from the rear

and that is all i have for now
i like the Eduard photo etch set wich works better then i expected as it was kind of cheap
but still the parts where easy to bend into shape and are nicely detailed
so the next thing for this build will be the construction of the sd.kfz 234/1
once that reached the point where the interior is ready i will start painting both the vehicles and later i will finish building the 234
so i hope you like it so far and untill next time
cheers Mark

[panzerman]

Your build of the SdKfz.250 is progressing nicely. The after market goodies are really enhancing the kit. Keep having fun.
Bill.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Bill
It was needed in my opinion and i usually replace the barrels on a flak gun as the muzzles look bad most of the time

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
well as the first vehicle is finished up to the point of painting i can go on ith the second vehicle for this build
this will be the sd.kfz.234/1 schwere panzerspäh wagen (heavy armored reconaissance vehicle)
i will post a intro for the vehicle and the sprueshots in this post and do the actual build in other post as it would be a huge post if i did all of that in one single post

so here is some information about the sd.kfz.234/1

first some specs

crew : 4
lenght : 6.02 m
width : 2.36 m
height : 2.10 m
weight : 10.500 kg (approx.)
engine : tatra 103 V12 diesel engine
power : 210 bhp
top speed : 85 kmph
range : 1000 km
primary weapon : 2 cm kwk 38 cannon
secondary weapon : 7,92 mm MG34 or 7,92 MG42

history
the entire sd.kfz 234 range (4 versions) where designed to replace the older 8 wheeled sd.kfz 231 series wich had become out dated since the introduction in the mid 1930's
the sd.kfz.234 series design stages began in 1940 and the first vehicles entered service in September 1943
the vehicle is a 8x8 design wich means all of the 8 wheels are powered
a intresting part of the design is that it has 2 steering wheels and all wheels can be steered
this gives the vehicle a impressive mobility and helped in so called shoot and scoot situations where the vehicle falls back right after it fires it's gun
this is further improved by the high speed it can reach when driving in reverse due to multiple reverse gears
if this kind of tactic is preformed by the crew the back facing driver will be responsible for pulling the vehicle back out of harms way

the vehicles where assembled by different factories but they where actually produced by 3 factorie wich all had their own resonsibility in producing their part of the vehicle
the chassis was made by Büssig-NAG
the armored body was made by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke in Krefeld
and finally the turret was produced by Daimler Benz
the Original order was to have a full scale production of 1500 vehicles of each version
in the end the grand total was about 1500 vehicles of all 4 versions combined

so here are some pictures of the sd.kfz.234/1

as you can see the gun was able to be pinted almost straight up and used against aircraft
the problem however was that the turrret turns too slow to allow for succesfull anti aircraft fire
besides the slow turning the magazines for the gun only have 10 rounds instead of the 20 round magazines found on the flak 38 wich is basicly the same gun with a different mount


lots of storage room in the huge fenders ( a womans dream, mobile storage space )


there where 3 other versions aswell

the 234/2

armed with a fully clsed turret houssing a 5cm tank gun
the gun is similar to the one from early Panzer III tanks allthough it has the addition of a muzzle to decrease recoil in the small turret

the 234/3

armed with a forward facing 7.5 cm L/24 gun
this gun hd a very limited traverse range wich mens that the vehicle has to be aimed t the target and the gunner can then aim and adjust the last bit before the shot
this gun was also found in the StuG III ausf. A up to ausf. E and the Panzerkampfwagen IV ausf.A up to ausf. F1

the 234/4

this version was the most powerfull when it comes to the gun
it has a Pak 40 7.5 cm anti tank gun wich was mounted on a frame that wwas build inbetween the roof and floor plates of the interior
sometimes refered to as a Pakwagen this was a better solution in making the Pak 40 mobile then the rather desperate idea of mounting the same gun in the sd.kfz.250 half track (wasn't a great idea)


so ith the history lesson out of the wway
here is the kit i will be building

the boxart


what is inside the box when i firt opened it (one of the rare times i didn't open it before)


upper hull and fenders


wheels and suspension , you get 3 of these


more suspension stuff , 2 of these are needed


various items


main parts for the lower hull


turret parts


gun parts


star antenna


small items and tools


the dragon card with 2 frets of pe , 2 decal sheets and metal width indicators

well then that is all i have for now
i hope to get back to you all with the build update as soon as i can
cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so it is update time
this time i will deal with the build of the 234/1
to be honest it is pretty far in the weathering stages right now and the figures are painted already (still need a wash) so in terms of putting up the updates i am falling behind but luckily the build is going fast enough to finish in time

as for this kit , it goes together like you would expect from a Dragon kit
the only parts that require some attention are the large fenders wich have to be glued on while you put pressure on them
if you don't they will bend outward and reveal some nasty gaps between the hull and fender
but it is fixed with some strong masking tape or large F clamps ( i really need some of those)

but here is the build up of the 234/1

i the first step you need to add the flange that connects the 2 halfs of the lowest part of the hull


all of this is used to build up the suspension and axles


first bits are added


steering parts that will connect to the wheel hubs are next


then the top swing arms and hinges are added


same step but this is from underneath the hull


the leafsprings are added


so with the rather labor intensive suspension behind us you can start to build up some parts of the interior
i later found out that the interior is far from complete
it lacks a radio and ammo rack for the gun
i found 1 photo of the interior online and used that to check if i should scratch build something that coul be visible from above when you look inside the vehicle
that wasn't the case so i decided to leave it like it is in the box


here is the partialy build up interior
the steering wheels and seats will be painted seperate


and the forward looking drivers workspace


once the interior is at this point you need to glue the upper and lower part of the lwer hull together
once that is dry and set you need to attach the steering arms


some bump stops are added on one side of each suspension arm


the view ports on the upper hull where placed
i Always find them a little fiddly to put together but they fit good
i decided that as the diorama scene is in a resting setting the viewports could be opened up as i think it looks more intresting then closed


here it is on the inside


when the interiors of both vehicles where ready i primed them with ammo grey primer
the interior color is a mix of Tamiya flat white and dark yellow
i mixed them in about a 4:1 ratio to get a off white wich resembles the creme white/creme weiss of the real vehicles
it looks white though but when i sprayed some on a white sheet of paper i noticed the difference
then i painted the gasmask cans with Vallejo german grey as a basecolor
the fire extinguisher is painted with Vallejo red


the gasmask cans where drybrushed with Vallejo german field grey WWII


the seats where painted in Vallejo leather brown and dry brushed with Vallejo yellow ochre for some worn spots


a better view of the "worn"spots on the seats


the steering wheels of both vehicles where painted with Vallejo black


once all the seperate parts where painted i used a piece of sponge to make chipping effect on the interior
my paints of choise for this are Vallejo modelcolor german camo black brown and Ammo for Mig chipping color
these 2 colors are about the same so i use what ever is closest to me and easiest to pick of the shelf


once everything is painted i sprayed on 2 thin coats of Alclad aqua gloss
once that was dry i used Ultimate light dirt wash to highlight the interior details a bit and to get the floof panels a bit dirty


after a little bit of cleaning they looked like this
they where then flat coated with AK ultra matte varnish


the last bits and bobs where glued in place


with the interior done you can button up the hull and glue on the fenders


i added a small detail in the form of a electric wire for the headlight (wire is next to the horn)
i used a bit of 0.5mm leadwire for this nd glued it on the light's base and folded it around the fender


the front part is finished up with the width indicators and the large bumper


the bracket for the spare wheel was added
you can choose if you want to add this part or leave it off all together
ofcourse you can add just the bracket and leave the spare wheel off too


the exhaust mufflers where added


all the tools and brckets for the jerrycans are next
i want to paint the jerrycans seperate as i think this is easier
besides that if i remeber correctly the kit supplied straps for the jerrycans have a poor fit and they are rather thick so i will make some out of tape and wire or with leadfoil to replace them


the other side


so with the hull basicly complete (only the wheels are missing) you can get to work on the turret

it starts with the mount for the weapons and gunsight


then the KWK 38 is put in place


the seats and steering wheel of the turret are next


the cleaned up turret armor
it still looks a bit thick to me but i wasn't planning on sanding it down


the gunmount was placed on the turret ring


the mesh covers for the turret where put together


the MG42 was added once the turret was put together
i added a drum magazine from the spares box for a bit of added detail


the mesh screens where put in place


some brass antennas where added
the 2 mtr antenna is from Aber and the star antenna is from orange hobby


the fully build up model before painting


as one of the last steps you can put these massive wheels together


and finally the jerrycans
you get pe for 6 of them but you get 9 cans
i will put the ones without the pe in the spares box once they are painted and weathered

and that is all i have for now
as you can see in one of the last pics it is a pretty nicely detailed kit
i liked building it allthough it is a shame the interior is incomplete

so i hope to be back with a new update very soon
untill next time and thanks for stopping by
cheers, Mark

[rwsmith14]

The suspension looks great.

Mark, are those the kit Tires?.. if they are... they look impressive !

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks RW
Yes those are the kit tyres
The detail on them is very good and the ones that will be used are uild up of only 4 parts the spare one 3
So not those things where you have to glue 8 discs together to make 1 wheel
They did need some presure when i glued them though as a few where a little bend but nothing serious

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
So with the end of this SIG coming closer by the minute
I thought it was time to do some updates as i am nearly done with the build but the groundwork of the diorama is still drying a bit
So while that is happening i will do those updates
For this one i will do the painting and weathering of the vehicles


I don't have step by step photo's of the camoscheme
But the base is mr hobby aqueous H403 dark yellow
The dark green and red brown are both feom tamiya and where dulled down with buff color to make them look more fades
I didn't do any form of pre shading or panelfading on them as i thought the weathering would do enough this time


To start the detail painting i began with the wheels and tyres
The wheels are in the basecolor of the vehicle and the tyres are painted with a 4:1 mix of vallejo black and german grey to make this very dark grey color wich is nearly black


I then started with the tools
I always begin with the handles
As a basecolor i make a mix of Vallejo English uniform and white in a 4:1 ratio
As it is hard to see on the vehicle i placed the cup of pai t next to it so you get an idea of the color


To make them look like they have a woodgrain and a laquered finish i use vallejo smoke
This is applied in a similar way as you would do with dru brushing but i leave more on the brush so i can drag the paint over the tool handle


While the tools where drying i painted the fire extinguishers with vallejo military green
The straps that hold them in place are painted with vallejo leather brown


The straps where finished by painting the buckles with mr metal color stainless steel
The head of the fire extinguishers where painted wuth the same paint as i used on the tyres


The metal parts of the tools where also painted with the mr metal color stainless steel to finish them


The 2cm cannons and the MG42 where painted with mr metal color dark iron and slightly vuffed around the raised details
The covers that are mounted next to the guns are painted in the stainless steel color and where also slightly buffed


To complete the interior work i sprayed the lower parts of the turret with the same creme weiss as i used for the rest of the interior
The radio has some vallejo red and white on it to make it look a bit more intresting
The shell casing boxes are painted with vallejo german camo bright green


Since all the other painting jobs where done i started working on the exhausts
I use 3 colors from the Ammo for Mig range
This is the first one and it is old rust


I then stippled the second color on them
This is dark rust
I try to make it look as random as i can so it will look better in the end


And the last color was added in the same way as the second
This time i used medium rust
At this point is looks very unrealistic but it only serves as a base for the pigments later on


The mirror is painted with mr metal color chrome silver
And the heads of the width indicators where painted white as that seemed to be the most common color used by German forces


Here are the vehicles after the painting stages


After a coat of vallejo satin varnish i applied the decals
For armor i prefer satin varnish over the now very popular Alclad aqua gloss as this varnish is just as strong but is easier to cover later on to get a flat finish
With the help of some microscale micro sol the decals went on without any problem


I then started to add chipping
I used both a fine brush and a sponge where possible
I used vallejo german camo black brown for this


The wheels also received some chipping


Just to show you guys the half track at this point of the build
It has all the same things to it as the 234


The wheels of the half track


And while i was at it here are the jerrycans
Both in the base color and with paintchipping


After the chipping was done i gave the models another coat of the satin varnish
And once that was dey i applied AK DAK wash on all the raised details and panel lines
I left it around the raised details like bolts and rivets but all other excess wash was removed with a brush moistened with thinner and some toiletpaper ( unused ofcourse )


The same wash was used on the wheels


And the jerrycans


And on the half tracks running gear


I then started working on the streaking effect
You can do this with oil paints and with pre made streaking grimes
I used the AK streaking grime for dark yellow vehicles as this is a dark brown
I applied small stripes on all the vertical parts of the vehicles
And left them to dry for about 30 to 60 minutes


Then using a flat brush and thinner you can make them thinner and transparent untill they are less visible
It depends on your own taste how far you remove them and in this build i removed most of the streaking to leave only very thin streaks of dirt on the surfaces


Herr you can see the end result a bit better


And the streaking effects on the 234


And as i was far too lazy to slap on a decal number plate with individual numbers i picked some Eduard pre printed photo etch plates and glued those on the vehicles


Only a few spots of rust where added
I used Mig production light rust effects for this
For those who don't know this product it is a rust colored wash


I then had a little shocker
I didn't like the thick and ugly straps for the jerrycans that where in the kit
So i had to make some of my own
I used lead wire and lead foil that i have cut into strips
The square stryren rod is to shape the leadwire


I rolled the wire around the rod to make a square spiral


I then cut them in the middle to get individual buckles


This is how they look when you remove them from the rod


Here are all the steps
I made small holes in 1 strip for each strap to resemble the holes for the locking pin
The other strip was pulled through the buckles and folded and glued together

When both sides are ready i glued them together and added a.small pin to finish them


Just before i glued the jerrycans in the holder i added a small streak of fuel residue with the help of AK fuel stains


To finish the jerrycans i added some dust on the lower part of each can
Now they are ready to go on the vehicle


Here they are placed


And the straps where fitted
They are painted with vallejo leather broen and mr metal color stainless steel like the other ones on the vehicles


Once all the paints on the vehicles where dry i sprayed them with AK ultra matte varnish wich i hardly thin at all and in this way 1 coat will do most of the times
Then i started to prepare for the mud and dust effects
I used these 3 products for them


First i brush the Kursk earth effects on the hull
This serves as a glue for the pigments


While that was still wet i added the pigments
I used the dry mud for the most parts and in some corners and recessed areas i used the darkmud to make it look like that was still wet


A better view of the entite hull of the 234


The wheels where given the same treatment but this time i replaced the AK product with Ultimate light dirt wash
This was done to test if i could actually use it for things like this as i haven't used the Ultimate washes that much at this point


They where then covered with the same pigments as before


I rubbed of the excess pigments with a old brush


And the sides where cleaned a bit too
And this is how i finished the wheels


I forgot the photo for the tracks but i don't have any big secret on how i made them
They where primed in Ammo grey primer and then painted black
The metal was brush painted with mr metal color dark iron and then buffed a bit
They where then glued on the vehicle and received some pigments to blend them in with the rest


This is how the 234 looks with the massive wheels installed
After i made this photo i decided that it needed some more pigments on the sides so i added those later


I dusted the fenders flat surfaces with the dry mud pigments

And that was the complete rub down on how i painted and weathered these vehicles


I then added mig prod. railroad rust to the exhausts
As you can see there is some tonal variation in them allthough not as much as i hoped for
The tips where dusted with a little bit of black smoke pigment for the soot

I now have a small mini reveal on the 2 vehicles and then call this update done

First up the sd.kfz. 250/9














And the sd.kfz. 234/1














So that is all i have for now

I hope you like it and be prepared i will be bothering you guys some more the upcoming day while i finish this build and my other entry in the sig
Happy modelling
Cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi there
me again as i am still waiting for a lot of photo's to be uploaded i thought i could do the update for the figures while i wait

so since the vehicles where ready i loked through my stash to see wich figures i could use
and since i have build a decent amount of those cyber hobby orange boxes i still have a few figure sets laying around that have no box
so i tossed them in a big box and taped the instruction on the figure bag

and after a little search i found these 2 sets

both are a bit older but the figures looked good enough to me
they are all in warmer clothing so it fits my idea of a late 1944 setting as the last parts of the Siegfried line where taken in late Novermber and early December ,just 2 weeks before the Battle of the Bulge
1 of these sets is supossed to be kampfgruppe peiper set so that will work out great for this


here they are all build up
the bodies loked okay but i found the heads a bit soft so i replaced them all with heads from a Verlinden prod. value pack
it contains 25 heads wich are all different and i think it costs about 10 or 15 euro's so lot cheaper then the ones you can find from Hornet allthough those look very good


so to start the painting proces i primed them with Vallejo black primer
i do want to note 1 thing: the method for figure painting i use comes from the osprey bok called modelling Waffen SS figures
allthough i never had the same results as the writer i am happy with the ones i do manage to produce and i don't see myself as a figure painter as i only add figures to a build if i need them to help with the overall story
but it is a good book for those who want to get more information about figure painting and SS troops especially and it is not very expensive either


the first color i used is white
i paint in the eyes and then dry brush the rest of the heads and hands to mark the highlights and it is a base for the next colors


next is a second dry brushing
but this time with the basecolor of the flesh tones
i mixed Vallejo Sunny skin tone and salmon rose in a 1:1 mix


i then added a wash made from English uniform ,flat brown , vermillion and the basecolor in a 2:2:1:5 mixing ratio
this was then thinned with some Ultimate thinner and applied on the figures
this layer is to make the edges between the shadows and the flesh color a bit softer


i then added some highlights to the faces


i decided i could color in the eyes for a change
this looks bad at the moment but i will paint over a part of the eyes to make the eyelids and to make them eye into a regular size


here they look a bit better
i also add a layer of candy apple brown patina wash
this is used in ceramic painting as a weathering agent
but it gives a natural sheen to flesh tones so i am using it for a number of years now as a finishing touch


it is this stuff
as you can see the bottle is being used for quite a while now



i then painted the hair
but i can't tell you wich colors i have used as i forgot to write it down and i have no clue as to wich ones i used


the uniforms where painted with a 2:1 mix of Vallejo german camo dark green and field grey


the highlights on the uniforms where made with Vallejo german uniform
it is a good color for highlighting the uniforms but personally i think it is too bright as a basecolor for this


there where 2 guys that had this kind of jacket
i painted it with English uniform and added a drop of white for the highlight color


the uniform shirts where painted with Vallejo field grey
i also added this to the figures where you cn see the collar sticking out of the jacket


the shoes and boots where painted with Vallejo black


and small things like the shoulder patches where painted


and with the addition of a little bit of mig prod. dry mud pigment i called them ready for the diorama

and that was it for now
i will make a final update tomorrow where i will cover the building of the base and how i made the dragons teeth tank obstacles
untill next time
cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so this is the final update for this build
this time i will try to explaint what i did with the base and the home made dragons teeth

so why not start with those dargons teeth tank obstacles


i went only to find more about these things and then i added scale model to the search
i thought i would get a link to a webshop that sells kits of these things
but the very first link was to a modelling blog (forgot wich one)
there is a complete explanation on how he made them using plaster and cardboard paper
it has a picture on there that has these drawings wich are the size and shape for a mold of these obstacles
just copy and paste it and print them
i used the program "paint" to get them printed


i transfered the drawings to a sheet of styrere and cut them into individual sheets to make the cutting easier
please note that i use styrene sheet instead of the recomended cardboard paper


they where cut out
not the most enjoyable bit as i worn out 2 blades of my knife making 20 of these
i kept 1 of each size as a template for future builds


i then made a shallow cut along the folding point of each mold


carefull bending of the mold sides
make sure you don't move them too much but they do have to get close enough to get them glued


here is one finished mold
i used ca glue to speed up the proces but regular modelling glues and cement would work just as good


a overview of the steps


i filled the molds with plaster
when i mixed the plaster i used water and some Vallejo black primer to give the plaster a grey color
this one is already popped out of the mold and to give it a little bit of texture i pulled a sanding stick over the surface


all of them together
i dry brushed them with Vallejo modelcolor sky grey as it still was too smooth for the next steps


here i have 1 dry brushed block and the other has a wash on it
i used Ultimate concrete wash for it
it also helps to get more color variation on them allthough at this point it was still wet


once it dried it looked like this
you can see the wash changed the look


i then did more dry brushing with the sky frey as pigments still didn't stick to the surface


and finlly with mig prod. concrete pigments on them
i think they are ready for use at this point

so at this point everything i want to use is ready
that is usually the point that i start working on the base


i have the lower part that is pre made by me
i made 10 a few years ago and i still used but because i was in a rush back then i used nails to add the wooden strips
so i had to use some filler to get them smooth
the upper half is just a square box made with balsa wood of 5mm in thickness


i then painted the outside with black paint and used some sheets of foamcore plate to raise the inside
i do this so i don't have to use a massive amount of sand to fill it all up
and the raised part actuall makes things look better
if you keep everything low it doesn't catch your eye that fast


i then made a test setup to see if everything will fit
i don't think i mentionned this before but the trees i will be using are from Model scene
they actually look very good and they are not overly expensive


this is what i use to make the soil
birdcage sand , water , white glue , a small bucket and some spatula's to mix and apply the sand


once the sand mix was made and poured in to the diorama i add a second layer of sand
this time i used the same mix of sand ,glue and water but i also add some acrylic paint to it
i used raw umber and vandyke brown paints to give the sand some color
then i used the actula models to make some track and wheels marks in the soil
and the trees and figures where put in place


i used this kind of stuff for the small plants that are growing on the forrest floor
i simly cut of the smaller branches and use those


i the background you can see those branches that i use to make the underbrush near the trees


here i added some pigments to the soil
i used mig productions dry and dark mud to make this color
i didn't mix them but used them seperate and work over the previous layer
they kind of mix that way but you still keep some different tones throughout the entire groundwork


i used some autumn leaves from Joefix studios to scatter around on the ground
as it should be a forrest there should be some trees nearby that have leaver and loose them during fall


i then put the vehicles back in place and called this build finished

and that is about all i have for this build
i hope you like it and that i was able to explain everything but if not let me know and i will give it another try
thanks for stpping by
cheers , Mark

[demarcation]

Looks fantastic mate, brilliant work!!!

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much
Glad you like it
It is over at the reveal section aswell in case you want to have a look
Those pics are a bit better then the indoors pics i used here

[hansolo]

Damn Mark!

How come I haven't seen this thread before!!??

It's very late now, but still; Awesome work mate!! Great thread and lots of brilliant creative ideas!

Cheers

[MarkVerploeg]

Tuank you very much Han
Well you have seen the dio in real life
Too vad it didn't win anything at the SMC but then again i had no chance with the entries there