Good Luck
The Germans went into the Battle of the Bulge suffering from a chronic shortage of petrol. So, when they stumble upon an abandoned US Army tanker truck, full of that valuable commodity it was like striking gold.
The diorama shows a Panther working their way through the Ardennes forest, on some lesser track, when they stumble upon an abandoned US Army vehicle.
The Landser on top of the tanker truck, dips in a pole and then tells the commander: “It’s full Herr Hauptsturmführer!”
What great luck for that thirsty panzer unit!
It was the fuel tanker that inspired me to build this scene. Developing an interesting story to tell, centered on that cool truck was a challenge.
Of course, everybody needs fuel…
I attempted, with I think mixed results (you know me), to show an early snow scene. I didn’t want to paint the Panther as wearing a white-wash.
I also didn’t want to build an entire forest, by hand, so I resorted to a collection of model RR trees, and added the light snowfall myself.
I always enjoy comparing black & white versions of the photos with period photos, to check the realism.
When I began assembling the photos for this BLOG, I noticed to my horror that I had missed painting the chin strap on the trooper running off with a couple of cans of looted gasoline. I did go back and correct my oversight, but didn’t retake all the photographs.
The Studebaker US6-U3 tanker truck Is from ICM – not a wonderful kit. The main sprue (“A”) didn’t come with molded, part numbers, so you have to use the sprue map to ID the individual parts called out in the instructions. ARG! It took twice as long to assemble the main body of the truck. The other sprues did include the numbers…
It is nice that ICM provides YouTube videos that walk through the construction process. They helped with some of the more complex assemblies.
The Panther G is the old Dragon kit, pulled from my stash of Panthers. (I’m an avowed Panther addict.)
The Figures are mostly from Alpine. The guy with the cans, was slightly modified.
Comments are welcome. Thanks, Ralph (Bravo36)
Bonus Material:
As I’m sure we all do, I spend a lot of time sanding various parts. Here’s a trick I now employ.
I bought a roll of 320 grit sandpaper, sticky backed, from the woodworking shop. It’s a little expensive, but you get a lifetime supply.
My worktable has a Formica surface (as in home-store, kitchen counter). I cut a 4” square from the roll, and glue it to the surface, off to the side. When I need a flat surface sanded, it’s always there, ready and waiting.
When it becomes worn-out, I scrape it off with a flat blade, and reapply a new patch.
Other favorite sanding tools, from Amazon:
“Makartt Nail File, 120 240 Grit Emery Boards for Nails, 10pcs” - $10
“Bona Fide Beauty Glass Nail File with Case, Aqua Cobalt Czech Glass” .-. $10
Another Amazon find: “150 Pack Disposable Eyeliner Brushes Eye Liner Wands for Makeup Applicator”
These are ultrafine brushes, for dotting an eye. As in, 00000 size. But they’re so cheap at $9 for the entire package, they’re basically, ‘use once and throw away.’
