Beobachtungswagen SdKfz 135 UPDATED

[ForbesHutton]

From a company called out of Poland.



The painting options (both Normandy)



Mine:







To get a feel for the size (yes, it's 1/35 and I checked the measurements, and it's correct)





Now I'm waiting on the Ultimate shipment to get some washes on it.

The kit:
Instructions: Polish only. Some parts are not show in the instructions. The placement of parts is not clear (I had to use lots of reference photos).
The plastic: More flash than the Kodak factory. Parts fit was bad, huge amounts of sanding where needed to get major components to fit. Almost no indications (marks or holes) on where parts should mount, which combined with the bad instruction made this a challenge.
Tracks: bad rubber bands. The detail is poor with flash (but the tracks are so small it's not worth trying to clean up). And short too, about 3mm short of a proper fit. The good news is there are so many supports under the tracks there is no need for sag.

[LocoFeldwebel]

What a wicked looking little vehicle. Imagine a 75 or 88mm mounted on that.

[Switcher]

Well you re-coined the phrase "You can make a silk purse out of a pigs ear" Well done mate.

[Nige99]

What a strange kit!! Really like it.

[Panzermeister36]

What a wicked looking little vehicle. Imagine a 75 or 88mm mounted on that.

Same chassis with a 75 was the Marder I I think...

Nice build man I love the camo masking..... the aerials are great too did you have to add those?

[ForbesHutton]

What a wicked looking little vehicle. Imagine a 75 or 88mm mounted on that.

Same chassis with a 75 was the Marder I I think...

Nice build man I love the camo masking..... the aerials are great too did you have to add those?

It's a captured and converted French Lorraine 37L.



The Germans used some stock, some got a box on the back to become ambulances, a munitions hauler, the Marder 1 and a SPG.

The camo is the easiest I've done, just carve up the masking tape and slap it on. I've never seen anything like that camo, so why not, adds interest to the shelf and starts the conversations that allow me to use all the old French jokes and add in some new ones.

The front two antennas are steel rod that I added (I have yet to successfully stretch sprue and have give up trying, the smoke alarm and local FD have both remained silent since). The rear one is aftermarket PE from ebay.

RPM seems to make a few of the different versions of the 37L, this kit is basically their 37L kit with 5 panels and a couple of hatches added on in the same way the Germans did (I guess this makes it more authentic).

[ForbesHutton]

Washes done, figure in, stowage, MP38, grenade, folded map and panzerfaust added.

[Coen]

OH COOL!!!! WOW!!!
Now that's a neat little creeper! I love that camo Nick. That's some slick Sh!t dude!!!
You chose the perfect figure for it too. Where did you get that grass mat from? That's awesome!

[ForbesHutton]

OH COOL!!!! WOW!!!
Now that's a neat little creeper! I love that camo Nick. That's some slick Sh!t dude!!!
You chose the perfect figure for it too. Where did you get that grass mat from? That's awesome!

Thanks!
The figure is from the Tamiya "observation group" kit.
The mat is from Build-a-Rama, it's actually 12-24", it's folded over in the pics, only a 3rd of it is showing, http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-32-Diorama-Ma ... 1c2f56e684
The stowage is all from Value-gear, http://www.valuegeardetails.com/ -recommended, big sets for the money and no flash or pour-plugs to deal with, they go straight onto the model!
Paint is all Tamiya, washes are Ultimate.

Can't wait to you your version!

[Andyman23]

Fantastic work bud! I agree with Coen - that camo scheme is out of this world awesome!

[Coen]

OH COOL!!!! WOW!!!
Now that's a neat little creeper! I love that camo Nick. That's some slick Sh!t dude!!!
You chose the perfect figure for it too. Where did you get that grass mat from? That's awesome!

Thanks!
The figure is from the Tamiya "observation group" kit.
The mat is from Build-a-Rama, it's actually 12-24", it's folded over in the pics, only a 3rd of it is showing, http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-32-Diorama-Ma ... 1c2f56e684
The stowage is all from Value-gear, http://www.valuegeardetails.com/ -recommended, big sets for the money and no flash or pour-plugs to deal with, they go straight onto the model!
Paint is all Tamiya, washes are Ultimate.

Can't wait to you your version!

It may make an appearance sometime over the summer my friend.
After seeing what you just did with it I was inspired. She certainly looks cool when done, the trouble is how hard is the fight? haha.
I already have a D-Day build planed for May for the forum, I won't have time for two.
We'll see... it may be a just cause I felt like it build.

That mat really goes the distance though.
I just checked it out on ebay, it's a bit expensive with that forced import charges plus shipping.
I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere that doesn't have the import charges tacked on.
It's worth trying to find though.

[ForbesHutton]

Fantastic work bud! I agree with Coen - that camo scheme is out of this world awesome!

It's really easy to mask, just have a spasm while cutting random chunks out of masking tape and slap it on at random. There was about 6cm of 18mm masking tape used, nothing needs to be wasted, just put the next piece on the other side or turn it 180 degrees so you don't notice the male-female edges.

[ForbesHutton]

OH COOL!!!! WOW!!!
Now that's a neat little creeper! I love that camo Nick. That's some slick Sh!t dude!!!
You chose the perfect figure for it too. Where did you get that grass mat from? That's awesome!

Thanks!
The figure is from the Tamiya "observation group" kit.
The mat is from Build-a-Rama, it's actually 12-24", it's folded over in the pics, only a 3rd of it is showing, http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-32-Diorama-Ma ... 1c2f56e684
The stowage is all from Value-gear, http://www.valuegeardetails.com/ -recommended, big sets for the money and no flash or pour-plugs to deal with, they go straight onto the model!
Paint is all Tamiya, washes are Ultimate.

Can't wait to you your version!

It may make an appearance sometime over the summer my friend.
After seeing what you just did with it I was inspired. She certainly looks cool when done, the trouble is how hard is the fight? haha.
I already have a D-Day build planed for May for the forum, I won't have time for two.
We'll see... it may be a just cause I felt like it build.

That mat really goes the distance though.
I just checked it out on ebay, it's a bit expensive with that forced import charges plus shipping.
I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere that doesn't have the import charges tacked on.
It's worth trying to find though.

It's a real fight alright, you'll have seen the plastic (almost as much flash as model). But the extra flash makes up for the missing instruction steps.

The mat is a bit pricey, but there is no way I could make something like that now or for the foreseeable future with my skill set.

[Coen]

Me neither!!! That's why it got my attention right away.
Flash and no instructions are just skill sharpeners... didn't you know that? hahaha
I expect some hair pulling... and I'll blame you for the bald spot.

[longlance67]

wonderful work,

its a very cool looking vehicle



Shane

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

To shelf work mate

[gustavlekstal]

Great work!