Thanks Sam! Your kudos really means a lot. This project has taxed me to my absolute limit in terms of scratch building, PE, putty and sanding. One of the major upsides is that it has forced me to better myself in these areas. I’ve learned a lot.
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Finally got a primer coat on! I used MiG’s One Shot, which I really like.
My Badger Sotar 2020 is acting up (almost always a dirty or deformed tip) and I have 2 fine tips on order, so I’ll have to wait to apply the camouflage.
I did however, have a rattle can of Tamiya dark yellow which allowed me to lay down a base over the primer and see the problem areas.
This kit has been endless repairs on the fragile 3D printed plastic, pitting and uneven areas needing to be fixed with putty and sanding.
After the base coat was on, there was quite a bit of unevenness that had to be repaired.
It’s in a place that I’m happy with until my Sotar parts arrive.
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Wow! Very impressive scratch building on this, it looks great!
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Thanks Colin!
I really appreciate the kind words. It has tested me to my limit, that’s for sure.
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I really like these (crude?) Baustab Becker vehicles. They are indicative of Germany’s ultimate failure to ‘take on the world’ in their Nazi obsession. The contrast with their over-engineered (but flawed) home-produced vehicles is the fascination. Great research and work.
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Actual model building! Very impressive sir.
J
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Thanks Ken!
I’ve always loved everything 21st Panzer Division. A fascinating unit.
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Thanks Jerry!
Over Christmas I have some time off and will be able to work on the figures more.
Just ordered 2 sets of hands from Royal Model. I have more ARTO heads coming too.
Between they and the PE Y-straps and field gear, I should be able to create a pretty solid Kampfgruppe Von Luck Zur Besonderehn Vewendung element.
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Hey all. It’s been very slow going. Between work and the holidays, I’ve had almost no serious work time on this model.
I did get into building the crew. Like all my figures, they look absolutely terrible at first, because it’s just about getting the poses correct for the fighting compartment and driver seat. Lots of test fitting, cutting, filling, molding and positioning.
Because of the KM chassis and hull being very much on the larger side of 1:35 scale, I’ve had to modify my already bash modded figures to match the size. It’s been a challenge, but doable.
They’ll look much better once I’ve decided on final poses, can fill and clean them up properly and apply a primer coat.
I think it’s important for us to document the whole process no matter how rough it looks initially.
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Hey all! Still slow going. I wasn’t happy with my commander and gunner figures, so I modified them.
The commander now looks more to my liking. His left arm is now holding the binoculars instead of awkwardly hanging to the side. I also added putty and used a dremel to sand out and form the shoulders a bit different. This gives him a more hunched appearance with a different head, and I really like it. As if he’s scanning for targets while aware of the occasional cracking long range British Mk IV shots. Thats what I was going for.
The Pak 40 gunner has been really hard. The Pak 40 is a notoriously awkward gun for a gunner to fire. You have to shape and squeeze into the gap between the carriage mount and gun shield. This is hard to depict realistically with a traditional split trail Pak 40 carriage hut more so with this custom mount, odd seat/bench and the entire ammunition stowage on the floor and in the way of the gunner’s legs.
I did have a gunner sort of sitting/laying across the bench at a major angle (see previous posts), but this just, never felt right to me. It’s taken me a month to figure out a better alternative and work the putty and leg parts to both fit, and look somewhat realistic.
I’ve provided some new photos of how the crew will be positioned in the completed model down the road.
As I’ve said before, this scratch/bashing figure business is really slow going for me.
Lastly, I was able to work in some time on one of the panzergrenadiers. This WH grenadier is a part of PzGrRegt 192, like the others but instead of a Sumpfmuster/Marsh pattern hooded smock, or a Splinter Zeltbahn, this one will be wearing a WH hoodless splinter smock.
I got the inspiration for the pose from this screenshot from Saving Private Ryan. While the uniform/equipment details are different, I used it as a base for figuring out a pose for a similar scenario.
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Well worth the mods, your figs are looking totally convincing 
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Thanks Martin!
I get so caught up in the back-and-forth test fitting that I worry about slowly sliding into unnatural poses, which is the entire basis for my making custom figures lol.
With work being so crazy, and having limited time, I am able to grab an afternoon or 2 about twice a month and slowly am filling out the diorama composition.
Comments like yours really help motivate me.
Cheers.
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It’s coming along great. I think it’s worth it to get the pose you want no matter how long it takes.
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Thanks Barney!
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