AFVModellerIssue69.pdf

AFV

Mo

deller

Ma

rch

/ A

pri

l 2013

69March / April 2013

£6.50 UK $14.95www.afvmodeller.com

THE VERY BEST IN SCALE ARMOUR MODELLING

Don Steppe

GULLYAlexander Zelenkov’s

NEW

INTER

ACTIVE O

NLIN

E FEATURE

VIE

WS

Issue 69 cover_Issue 26 cover 13/02/2013 16:40 Page 1

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:15 Page 1

2 Don Steppe GullyAlexander Zelenkov describes his Eastern Front diorama

12 Berlin 1945The second part of Aitor Azkue’s stunning riverside diorama

20 New Zealand Special Air Service HumveeMark Neville describes his fully loaded Tamiya Humvee with AC Models conversion

26 Afghan HumveesPatrick Winnepenninckx presents some modelling inspirtation and reference of Humvees operating with Afghan forces

34 Sturer EmilJoão Carrasco-Guerra builds Trumpeter’s 12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61

44 Keeping TrackMore new releases

56 Libyan LiberatorMeng Models Pick Up converted into an improvised rocket launcher by Kamil Sztarbala

CONTENTS

AFV Modeller welcomes contributions from interested parties, but cannot accept any

responsibility for unsolicited material.

The contents of this publication including all articles, drawings and photographs

originated by AFV Modeller ltd become the publishers copyright under copyright law.

Reproduction in any form requires the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every

care is taken to avoid mistakes AFV Modeller ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors

or ommissions.

AFV Modeller is published Bimonthly byAFV Modeller ltdOld StablesEast Moor StanningtonNorthumberlandNE61 6ESTel: 01670 823648Fax: 01670 820274email: [email protected] and Designer: David ParkerDeputy Editor: Donald CampbellSales Director: Keith Smith

ISSN 1747-4183

1

We are now on Facebook, ‘Like’ us tofollow what we are doing and follow ourbuild projects.

T A K E I T F O R A S P I N . . .

( M O R E I N F O O N P A G E 2 1 )

W W W . A F V M O D E L L E R . C O M / D I G I T A L

I N T E R A C T I V EF E A T U R E

AFV-69 March-April 2013_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 14/02/2013 13:07 Page 1

2

AFV-69 March-April 2013:AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 14/02/2013 12:48 Page 32

3

Don Steppe

The Idea for this diorama did not come to me

right away. Usually I am inspired to work after

seeing archive photos or films, and

sometimes after reading veteran’s memoirs

but with this diorama it was different. I did not

have any single source of inspiration for this

diorama idea. I wanted make something

about the fighting in Southern sector of

Eastern Front in Summer-Autumn of 1942. At

this time the German offensive against the

Caucasus and Stalingrad had the Red Army

engaged in heavy defensive battles. After

seeing many dioramas and figures I felt there

were omissions. Many modellers make

dioramas, but what we can see there?

Typically Germans near a burned out tank,

Germans briefing with pointing figures, Soviet

troops walking, Americans shooting, German

repairing a tank… and this is all. Are these

scenes really representative? Veterans

accounts rarely talk about walking and

shooting solders. Usually veterans remember

very cold and very hot weather, tiredness, and

constant danger from air attacks and artillery

fire. Between 60-80% of deaths on the

Eastern front in WWII were caused by artillery

fire and 56.8% of wounded Russian soldiers

had splinter wounds.

GULLYModelled and described by Alexander Zelenkov


It is no surprise that the Russian Army

Artillery were called “Gods of war”, but

when do we see artillery in dioramas?

Usually modellers make artillery on the

march or Anti-tank guns firing but never

any depiction of the influence of artillery

fire. We rarely see even a simple shell-hole.

I wanted to try and do something on this

theme.

I decided that the main object of the

diorama will be figures. It will depict

soldiers taking cover from artillery fire. The

figures that I wanted were not

manufactured by any firm, and so I decided

to sculpt them myself. At this time I had

some sculpting experience, but the task

would be demanding. Usually I am inspired

to work from wartime photos, but I could

not find any good photos of soldiers under

fire. WWII photographs were not taken in

extremely dangerous situations or the

photos are poor quality with limited view

because soldiers are hiding in narrow

trenches. I thought about a trench diorama,

but trenches usually were deep and narrow,

and you can see only helmets and the

backs of the soldiers, not ideal for a

diorama. A diorama should be piece of art

and should show an artistic interpretation of

reality, and so I decided not to make a

trench but a more spacious covered

environment.4


I sculpted my figures from Apoxie Sculpt A+B material over a copper wire

armature. You also can try making figures from other A+B material like Magic

Sculp, FIXIT, Green Stuff, Milliput etc. I will not go into detail about the sculpting

here as it is a complex and time-consuming procedure which we do not have

space for now. Learning to sculpt or make figure conversion is the way to go if you

want make really interesting and unique dioramas.

I tried to show the fear and psychological effect of the danger in my Soviet

infantrymen. I tried to give individual features to each figure. I did not want to show

my figures as a ‘grey crowd’ of mannequins in different poses. Each person has

their own character. First a young soldier cowers in fear after nearby explosion, a

second soldier feels fear but tries to keep control. A third slumbers in exhaustion

and a fourth older veteran with an MG smokes a Russian “makhorka”. The fifth, an

officer tries to control the situation and speaks with the sixth, a signaler who is

trying to contact their unit by field telephone. I also made a wounded soldier for

more drama and this soldier has received some medical, but may not evacuated

under enemy fire. I made each figure with its own character, but all the figures

should look like soldiers from a common unit of a single army, with the same

uniforms, weapons, and the same uniform colours. These figures are now

available in my resin Stalingrad range.

5


The Figures were painted with artists’

tempera polyvinyl acetate colours. A deep

flat surface is the main feature of this paint

and an important feature for good painting

of figures from hot and dusty Don Steppe. A

slight sheen for faces, hands, boots and

leather belts was made by gently polishing

them with cotton buds.

I want to write few words about “Russian

khaki” WWII Soviet uniform colour. Russian

khaki has no exact shade. Soviet uniform

has very many variations, from a saturated

grey-green to yellow and from beige to off-

white. Soviet uniform were made in very

many different factories. Not evey factory

had a standard dye or consistent quality.

Therefore even new Soviet uniforms and

equipment had various shades of khaki.

Along with the influence of sun, dust and

washing the colours changed again. In the

Red Army very often soldiers used old

second-hand uniforms after mending, so

we should not paint Soviet soldiers in a

gaudy green colour. Try to show pale

shades for older items and a bit brighter

shades for newer items. Remember that

equipment (gasmask bags, for example)

would be issued to soldiers at the same

time so would probably fade uniformly. It is

a small detail that will show that our

soldiers are from one unit.

It is especially interesting to show uniform

details from the USA and UK with lend-

lease supply. 6


7

Characteristic features of American

supplies were brown leather boots (Soviet

soldier’s boots were only made from black

leather), green plastic buttons with the

Soviet star (Soviet buttons are made from

metal) and wide leather belts with big

buckles. I set my diorama in the summer of

1942 and American supplies were not very

evident in the Red Army in this period, but I

painted brown leather shoes on two

soldiers.

The next step was to finalise the diorama

composition. The soldiers should situated in

shelter. A trench is unacceptable as I

discussed earlier. Roadside ditches is not

good solution – soldiers would need to lie in

shallow cover. Cover behind railway

embankment perhaps? Maybe, but then I

should make part of railway. An empty

railway? No, that wont be interesting.

Maybe a burned out T-34 on railroad and

signal nearby? Yes, it would be interesting,

but eight small crouched figures would be

lost on this big diorama. No, I should

contrive another compositional solution. But

a tank should be included anyway. I was

painting the figures already, but work on

the base had not advanced. I cannot find a

composition solution yet. Then I

remembered a photo of a KV-1 tank that

had got stuck in a gully. I even found two

photos of this tank from different

viewpoints. The Tank in the photo had

tipped into the gully called a “balka” and

become stuck. It was a great idea for the

diorama! The KV is a big brutal tank, but in

this situation the tank will not overwhelm

the small figures. Furthermore the slope of

the gully and position of the tank make a

good composition with dynamic changes in

height. I chose the opposite slope of the

gully as my foreground as It would show

the shape of gully and show the sheltering

figures. I found the best composition finally

after many sketches and test fitting.

I checked my stock of plastic kits and found

Trumpeter’s KV-1 model 1942 No. 00360.

This kit was not entirely satisfactory as it

had the late simplified rear hull, and the

tank in the photo had the early bent rear

hull. I hesitated but decided that I could

easily make new bent stern from heated


plastic and A+B putty. I added ABER

photoetch and made a new front applique

armour panel from styrene sheet (the kit

armour has insufficient height). Weld beads

were added with A+B putty and rough cut

edges around the armour plate were

added. I enhanced the rough cast texture

of the turret with white Tamiya putty and

solvent. I added casting numbers on the

turret using sprue numbers from old plastic

kits. On the engine deck I added new bolts

with Masterclub resin bolts and opened the

pistol port on left side of turret. Good

reference for work on the model were

photos of the KV-1 from Aberdeen Proving

Ground which is a similar variant to my

model.

Also I made some interior for the turret and

driver’s position from styrene rod, sheets,

aluminium foil and a gun breech from

Dragon’s T-34. The Interior was kept quite

primitive because you can’t see much

through the open hatches. I painted the

interior before finishing the build and

because the illumination of the interior is

very specific I first painted all the interior in

deep flat black. Next I painted in lighter

tints the peripheral details and more light

shades the details under the open hatches

(and light source). The effect is like that of a

Rembrandt painting – light picks out only

some important details from the dark and

you can’t see the full interior.

Track links are from the kit, but modified.

The Tank in the wartime photo had tried to

get out of the gully, so the upper run of the

tracks is stretched taught. The kit upper

tracks are sagged so I made them straight

with hair dryer and steel rulers. Also using

the hair dryer I made damage to the left

fender like in the archive photos. I made a

paper mask for the tank (with a small

window) so that the Hot air from hair dryer

would not damage other parts of the tank.

I fixed the tank hull with two screws onto a

wooden bar to handle it during painting.

The tank was painted with Tamiya acrylic.

Russian tank ‘4BO colour’ which I mixed

approximately and a bit lighter for future

weathering. I used artists’ tempera polyvinyl

acetate colour for filters (blue, yellow,

brown and green). 8


Chips and scratches (not many as the tank

is almost new) made with acrylic paint and

a graphite pencil. Mapping with oil paint.

Washing and pigments from MIG

Productions. I used Mr.Metal Color metallic

paint for the fresh metal surface on rollers

and track links - a very good and realistic

paint! You can add more shine afterwards

by polishing with cotton buds. Thicker dirt is

made from pigments, plaster, acrylic resin,

sand and water for a very realistic result.

I cut out the outline of the sole of boots

from a rubber eraser as a stamp to imitate

footprints on the tank. I paint exhaust with

mix of pigments and tempera color. A deep

matt surface is obligatory for the exhausts.

The round tactical symbol I painted with a

mask (made with a puncher). On the

photos I could see the tactical number on

left side of turret painted pretty neatly (may

be with stencil), but number on right side of

turret painted pretty crudely. I painted the

turret numbers by hand with acrylic colour.

I began the base work. I made test fittings

and decided on a standard A4 size for my

base. The size of the base should not be

large (because tank and figures will be lost

in a big space) and not too small (it should

show the landscape and the scene should

not be crowded). I bought a standard A4

photo frame and the fit was ideal.

I made the sides of the base from styrene

and to keep down the weight I using

expanding building foam to infill the volume

of the groundwork. I cut out the relief of the

base with knife after foam had cured and it

cuts easily. After this I applied an aerosol

primer using an acrylic primer, as an

enamel primer can damage the foam

base.

I made the final fitting of the tank and

figures. The end of the work is near, but for

the final positions of the figures I needed

additional fitting and sketches. I painted the

sides of the base with Tamiya acrylic and

applied a lacquer. I protected side of base

with masking tape. The KV tank was

fastened onto base with strong

construction glue. The surface of the earth

inside the gully was made like the built up

earth on the tank – a mix of pigments,

acrylic resin, plaster, small stone, sand and

water. The main pigment I used was MIG

P234 “Rubble Dust”, but I used other

pigments for variations in the shades of the

surface also. Obviously these will differ in

different areas. The topsoil for example,

and freshly disturbed earth around the tank.

But I kept all these tints within a tight colour

range so that the dust on the vehicle and

figures was the same. 9


10

I added accumulated dirt to the tank and

base with care. I added mud in all the

recesses, inside the sprockets, below the

fenders, between track links and hull etc.

using a small brush. This is essential to

make the model believable, taking care to

consider mobile parts of the chassis where

mud would be dislodged. Next I added

small stones, pigments and grass. The

grass made from natural flax, the coarse

bristles from large paint brushes and spikes

of feather-grass. I added a few modest

wildflowers made from paper. I fastened

these things with white glue. White glue is

very useful for diorama building with a long

working time, good adhesion it dries flat

and transparent. Pigments were applied

with MIG Pigment fixer. Figures were fixed

to the base with CA glue.

After this I was working on the smaller

details. It is very careful and tiring work. I

made weapon belts (from lead foil), some

scattered uniforms and equipment (from

paper and A+B putty), ammo belts and an

ammo box (from photoetch), used

bandages and dressing packs (from paper),

the signal cable reel (wire and plastic). I

made the telephone line from copper wire.

The tank tow cable is from the kit. I tore it

apart as if it had snapped in the attempt to

recover the vehicle. I made log on right

fender from old wooden handle of a brush

and A+B putty. I added small dark washes

near the figures and small items. I believe

what this wash is necessary to seat them

into the landscape.


Well, the diorama is finished! I removed the

masking tape, fastened the diorama’s

name plate and copies of the wartime

photos. I also carefully turned over and

shook the diorama and blew the diorama

with an air brush to dislodge any loose

debris. This final test guarantees long life

for your work and you will not find loose

elements dislodged on your way to a model

show!

A couple of words about the photos to end.

I took my photos with two simple table

fluorescent lamps. I used a textile

background. I recommended shooting

dioramas with a wide-angle zoom lens. The

18 mm position of 18-55 mm kit DSLR lens

is very useful and the wide-angle lens adds

perspective and brings life to the photos of

your diorama.

11


12

Berlin45:Layout 1 14/02/2013 11:56 Page 9

BERLIN1 9 4 5

PART TWO • AITOR AZKUE’S

13


Tiger II

I used an old Tamiya kit to which I added the barrel and

the corresponding photoetch from ABER. Likewise the

incredible Fruilmodel tracks are an indispensable

accessory for this kit and any kit for that matter.

I have also applied a slight texture to the surface of the

tank using liquid glue, which softened the plastic surface

before I gently stippled the surface with an old stiff bristle

brush. Once dry, I used fine sandpaper dampened well

with water to smooth the entire surface which gives an

excellent texture to the armour plate.

The painting process began with the base colours which

are applied with an airbrush and Model Air brand. For the

different effects of weathering I used several different

products from AK Interactive and some pigments from

MIG Productions.

VEHICLES

14


15

Stug III "G"

This vehicle comes from

Dragon and belongs to their

‘smart kit’ range which lives

up to its name as it really

does not require any other

aftermarket upgrades or

details.

It has excellent detail and

goes together really well.

The only thing extra which I

added were the tracks, with

Modelkasten ones which I

had to hand although this

model comes with

individual link "Magic tracks"


"Ostwind"

At the time I built this diorama there was very

little reference on this vehicle and no state of the

art kits! I had to build my Ostwind using parts

from different kits. For the hull I used a Tamiya Pz

IV J with wheels replaced with ones from Tristar.

Tracks are Fruilmodel and the radio operator's

hatch are by New Connection Models, as are the

turret and internal gun mount details. The flak is

by Italeri with some Eduard photoetch. I almost

forgot, the gun barrel is from Aber! I also had to

modify the position of the radio operator hatch to

make accurate for the Ostwind The late style

engine exhausts are made from plastic tube.

For painting I had very little information to work

from. I had not yet seen the magnificent " Nuts

and Bolts" book, for this vehicle, so it was more

myth than something real. I painted it with a

recovered chassis to which the factory had

mounted an unpainted turret and installed a gun

from another vehicle, a typical late war

improvisation. In the new references, we have

discovered several operating units with this

vehicle and a hard-edged three colour

camouflage schemes.

16


Railcar

The railcar comes from Trumpeter

and is of very good quality with

great details such like the wood

grain texture. The railcar was both

easy to assemble and paint.

I wanted to represent a wagon

featuring a search light,

improvised at the last minute for

the defence of the city, located at

an important point, as was the

bridge serving the metro and

anti-aircraft support, and also

abandoned.

The light is from AFV Club and is

of high quality, but not all that

easy to assemble, due to its

many small parts. Still, worth a

purchase. As for the search light

power supply generator, this was

built from scratch using plastic

card, although there are resin

versions available on the market.

17


FIGURESThe figures are predominantly

from ‘Alpine’ (I used 4 of their

figures), 2 are from ‘Platoon’ and

the radio operator is by ‘Royal

Model’. The two dead figures in

the centre of the diorama are

from ‘Verlinden’.

The quality of all 9 figures is

excellent.

18


19


20

NEW ZEALAND SPECIAL AIR SERVICE

HUMVEE

Mark Neville loads up Tamiya’s 1:35Humvee with the AC Models conversionNostalgia plays a big part in modelling for

me, remember the feeling of standing in

your local hobby shop clutching that

hard-earned pocket money presented with

a wall of kits and taking what seemed like

hours to choose?...One of the kits I

remember fondly was the Tamiya SAS

Willys jeep, a kind of desert hot-rod loaded

up to the gunnels with all manner of

equipment for those long range missions,

and what of the figures?

Sporting head scarves and long beards

the crew were straight from the pages of a

‘Commando’ comic book.

Fast-forward thirty-odd years and this

conversion from AC Models immediately

struck me as the modern version of that

classic kit, not my usual modelling cup of

tea but what a great looking Hummer with

fantastic figures, it was just begging to be

built!

NZ SAS humvee- Mark (Q8):Layout 1 14/02/2013 13:24 Page 1

21

With selected articles you can now view newinteractive content via our website. For acomplete 360º view of the model simply visitwww.afvmodeller.com/digital to access the‘360° Portal’, select the appropriate article andenter the Username and Pass Code shownbelow.

You can use your PC/Mac to view the featuredmodel from all round, just keep an eye out forthe 360° symbol in future issues!

Username: AFV Pass Code: 36982


22

AC Models of New Zealand may be a familiar name to you if youindulge in figure painting on occasion. Andy Cairns is the sculptorand man behind the business renowned for his large scale busts(stop sniggering) and historical subjects, Andy previouslyreleased the figures in this set as one of his first forays into 1:35.Andy’s sculpting has a very particular style which appeals to meas it suits my style of painting, a kind of ‘sculpted sketch’concentrating on the anatomy and pose which always have avery natural feel. The conversion is packaged in a stoutcorrugated pack which hadn’t suffered from it’s posting from theother side of the World. The presentation is very ‘Old School’ withthe cottage industry feel we were used to in the past with plentyof cleaning up of the grey resin required. The majority of thechunks of resin are the Humvee’s stowage which are a very goodfit to the Tamiya kit with the field modified and built lockers andboxes already complete with items attached. The nature of thevehicle sort-of suits the hand-crafted feel of the masters, no CADrendering or rapid prototyping here which means the softstowage has a very convincing look to it but some of the itemssuch as the grenade launcher ring mount, ammo boxes and theGPMG and mount are poorly defined in places and the detail soft- requiring some old fashioned clean-up. Another negative arethe assembly instructions which consist of a few photos of thecomplete unpainted model and some shots of the actual vehicle,not adequate in my opinion resulting in lots of dry-fits and headscratching especially for a novice in modern equipment likemyself.

There is a very generous selection of equipment, much of which Ihaven’t had room to add, and a choice of ammo cans to suit thegrenade launcher or a .50cal. The spare wheel supplied matchesthe Tamiya kit parts for tread pattern (by the way, AC Modelsstate that this conversion would fit Academy’s Humvees also)and is designed to fit in front of the mass of fuel and water cans.The cans are cast all together which certainly speeds-upassembly, individual cans are also supplied. The crew’s hugebergens are designed to fit on the modified tail-gate and arebeautifully rendered. You can find a few photographs of trail bikestied down to these tail-gates which would make an interestingfeature as a few are available in 1:35.

The clean-up time of the resin parts is compensated for by thespeed of which the Tamiya kit goes together, I’ve used theM1025 kit but as the upper structures are largely unused anyversion would be suitable. This is really one of those Tamiyaclassics, great detail and fit makeing assembly a breeze, and asalready mentioned, the conversion fits very well which allowedme to drop in many of the larger ‘chunks’ after painting themseparately.

The figures are undoubtedly for me the focal point of the finishedmodel, excellent figures with very little preparation they fit intoplace with a natural look and feel not often seen with vehiclecrews. These guys ooze character and although are sculpted asNZ SAS could easily pass for several nations’ special forces intheir generic modern gear.

THE CONVERSION

Be prepared for some clean-upof the resin parts although thefit is very good throughout.

01

Because of all of the intricateshapes I would recommend ablack or very dark base-coat

02

TAMIYA WITH AC MODELS CONVERSIONNEW ZEALAND SPECIAL AIR SERVICE


With the figures and the rest of the resinparts dry-fitted in place the Humveetakes on an organic appearance, with somany intricate shapes I decided to give aprimer coat of flat black (from Lifecolor)to act as a pre-shade which suits boththe interior green and overspayed sandcolour of the exterior. With the pressureset low on the Iwata I was able to get inclose to all the nooks and crannies withthe black, I didn’t thin the Lifecolor asmuch as usual allowing goodcoverage quickly and goodadhesion to the plastic andresin.

The figures, jerry cans, ammoboxes and some stowagewere all given the blackbase-coat treatment.These parts were drilledand fitted with cocktail stickswhich in turn are pushed into a block ofpolystyrene to allow easy handlingthroughout painting. I allowed the blackto dry for a couple of days whichprovided me a very tough base to workon.

PRE-PAINTING

23

Applying the sand colour with theairbrush in a constant direction fromabove creates shadows and depth.

03The interior green is applied as washesover the sand and black which havealready created the highlights and shadows

05

04 AK Interactive filters add further depth and toneto the sand colour. Dark ready to use washes,also from AK Interactive, pick out surface details.

The figures can be added aftereverything else is in place (with theexception of the steering wheel)

06

HUMVEE


24

THE PAINTING TAMIYA WITH AC MODELS CONVERSIONNEW ZEALAND SPECIAL AIR SERVICE

The conversion comes with a couple ofprints of the subject vehicle in Afghanistan,a quick internet search found these verysame shots which allowed me to enlargethem on screen for colour reference.Flicking through my available paint Idecided on a colour from AK Interactive’sDAK set, RAL 7027 Grau- which is in realitya sandy-brown. The base colour wasn’t toocritical as I tend to use lots of washes andfilters which in turn change the base coloursomewhat. Using the airbrush at aconstant angle the sand colour wasgradually applied concentrating thestrongest coverage on the upper surfacesletting the black show through asshadowed areas. This technique workswell if done gradually, I also used thismethod on the stowage and the figurespainted separately, letting the sand colourdouble-up as a light source for the

highlights adding a good start to theshading and contrasts of further colours.

The stowage lockers and boxes on theHumvee appear to have been built fromheavy plywood or MDF with a randomover-spray of red-brown (probably from anaerosol) which I re-created with some fineairbrushing. The interior metalworkappears to be in it’s factory dark green,with the black shadow already in place andthe sand colour catching the highlights allthat was needed were some washes ofdilute ‘Russian Green’ acrylic followed bysome subtle dry brushing of the dash andradio details. A coat of Vallejo Black-greywas left to dry on the tyres and the filtersand washes could be started. I’ve becomea bit of a convert to the ready to use magicpotions such as filters and washes, for onewe’re sent samples to review so it’s only

fair to put them to the test and they’re alsovery convenient and consistant. Themajority of these products are enamelbased and perform pretty much the same,AK Interactive and MIG Productions are theones I’ve tried with excellent results butyou must frequently shake the bottles tosuspend the pigment, before and duringuse.

I’ve found the washes work best if the areabeing worked on is dampened first withclean thinner (as you would with oil paint oran enamel wash) details such as the rivetson the side panels were individually pickedout with a fine spotter brush loaded withAK’s ’Dark Brown Wash’. I’ve also foundmixing some of the pigment residue fromthe cap or neck of the bottle allowsvariation in the strength of the wash.

Detail painting and the stowage was doneentirely with acrylics from Lifecolour mixedreferring to the colour shots to hand, withmany of the colours so similar I found ithelped to keep strong contrasts betweenthe shading and highlights. Weapons wereundercoated with a wash of Vallejo AirBlack which has a subtle sheen followed bya rub of pencil graphite. Many parts of thegrenade launcher appear to be in theHumvee’s original green finish and theGPMG on the side mount has crudelyapplied cammo paint in the photographs.The conversion supplies a length of ammocast in white metal and an array of ammocontainers.

AK Interactive’s ‘European Earth’ pigmentpowder looked a favourable match to thephotographs to provide the ingrained dirtof the tyres. The powder was laded onheavy in a dry state then removed from thehigh spots with a stiff bristled brush. Aquick and easy method which matched thereference shots.

A little sparkle was added with the frontheadlamps from SKP Model, these arefrom another modern US vehicle set butproved a good fit. SKP have the edge overmany of the available lamps as the lensesare moulded to a photoetched nickelreflector adding that extra touch of realism.

The figures were painted in the same wayas the stowage with a black base-coat andthe sand colour sprayed in a way toprovide ‘directional light’ giving a greatguide as to where to place highlights andshade. From the little reference (as you’dexpect due to the nature of theiroperations) on the NZ SAS in Afghanistanyou can still see a large variety of uniformsand equipment. A desert DPM camouniform very similar to the British versionseemed commonly used, and moreimportantly the easiest to replicate!With colour print-outs taped to my deskthe colours were mixed by eye fromLifecolor acrylics following the strongcontrasts applied elsewhere.


25

CONCLUSION

This conversion set initially appears to have a fewweak spots, mainly with the vehicle ‘hard’ parts intheir rendering and casting. Lately we’ve seenCAD produced masters cast with the latestindustrial techniques resulting in resin parts thatrequire minimal preparation with incredible finedetail. This kit is ‘old school’, some seam lines toremove and flash on some parts but this time isrepayed with the simple assembly of plug-in‘chunks’ and the easy build of the Tamiya kit.Once all the components start to come together you just can’t wait to start painting, it’s not often you get figures that look so naturalin a vehicle-and what a vehicle!

CONVERSION SETWITH FIGURES:www.acmodels.co.nz(SK Miniatures are a UK distributor)

PHOTO REFERENCE:http://www.hfmodeling.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=185475&page=1

Thanks to Hobby Link Japan for theTamiya kit 35263 M1025 Humvee

HUMVEE


26

HUMVEESPatrick Winnepenninckx presentssome modelling inspiration andreference of Humvees operating withAfghan forces.

More or less 7550 Humvees have been delivered to theANA of which at least 2500 are of the M1151 & M1152type. ANA Humvees come in several versions; it’s forceis mainly composed of the M1114 weapons carrier, theM1114 & M1151 road clearance vehicle, the M1151Enhanced Capacity Vehicle (ECV) weapons carrier, theM1152 ECV troop carrier & guntruck and the M11134-litter ambulance. Afghan Humvees appear in twopossible colours: a plain desert yellow or a 4-tonecamouflage pattern composed of desert yellow whichhas been applied over the ‘standard’ US colours(olive-green, dark-brown and black).

Since mid 2010 the Afghan National Police (ANP) andthe Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) alsostarted to receive armoured Humvees. The ANPHumvees are painted in a distinctive dark green colour,the ANCOP vehicles are plain desert yellow.

The newly formed Afghan National Army or ANAconsists of more than 160,000 men incorporated in lessthan 10 years. The army is being structured according toUS / Western doctrine and at this point mainly consistsof Light Infantry Kandak’s (Battalion’s). These unit’s arealmost exclusively equipped with American vehicles:Ford Ranger pick-up’s and Humvees.

A M1151 weapons carrier & aM1152 Guntruck. Note thedifferent colour schemes inuse in the Afghan army

An ANA M1114 securing the entrance of an army camp with agreen (with US camo pattern) engine hood. Also note the homemade sun screen made of Hesco Bastions and a poncho.

AFGHANAfghan Humvees article (Q8):Layout 1 14/02/2013 12:33 Page 1

M1113 based Humvee ambulance. Note the HHC (HouseHoldCompany) and 1-2-209 (1st Kandak – 2nd brigade – 209th Corps)unit markings on the vehicle.

Above Overview of the engine of a M1152 cargo Humvee. Below Afghan National Police (ANP) M1114 Humvee in the distinctive darkgreen colour. Note the picture of Massoud on the windshield and the ANPsymbol on the side rear.

27

Afghan Humvees article (Q8):Layout 1 14/02/2013 12:33 Page 2

4

An Afghan army M1114 with some unusual features. The Humveehas the US army colour pattern and some markings. Does thismean this Humvee was in US service first?! Note the green enginehood and the desert yellow armour package.

Left An Afghan army M1114 with some crudelyapplied lettering.

Right A close-up of impact damage on theprotective glass, both would be nice touches on amodel.

An ANA M1151 on an Afghan FOB. Note the sun screen madeof Hesco Bastions and a poncho.Take a look at the range of 1:35 weapon stations from LiveResin we featured last issue, superb upgrades for your project.

28


Top view of an ANA M11151. Note theaccumulated dust on top of the vehicle.

An army Humvee conducting guard duties in an Afghancity. Note the unit marking on the door and the Afghansoldier is still wearing the older US style camo uniform.

Side view of a M1151. ANA vehicles have a lot of problems with theirbatteries, especially in winter time.

ANA M1152 guntruck on the move

ANA M1154s showing the interior of the rear storagearea and details of the tail-gate and spare wheel carrier

29


6

The detached roller device viewed from the rear The rear of one of the banks of lamps fitted

Close up of the Humvee’s mount for the mine roller.Note the missing headlamp and subsequent wiringconectors left behind.

Each ANA Brigade has a Road Clearance Company (RCC) equipped with Humvees fitted with mine-rollers and jammers.Both the M1114 and the M1151 weapons carrier can be equipped with the road clearance device.

30


7The M1152 cargo / troop carrier versionNote the bow fitted for a canvasscover and the exhaust stack

ANA M1151 of Road Clearance Coy/ 2nd Brigade / 209th Corps seenduring LOC clearing operations.

This front view gives an impression of thesize of the roller set-up. Note the black IRlamps fitted along with floodlamps.

Close-up of thejammer mast. Both E.T.Model and Voyagerproduce a greatselection of upgradesand accessories forHumvees in 1:35 but Idon’t recall seeing thisexact one?

31


Overview of the cargo areashowing a heavy covering of dust

On patrol, M1152 guntruck belonging tothe Afghan Civil Order Police (ANCOP).

M1152 guntruck in thethree-tone scheme

Tarpaulin (almost!) fitted on this cargo truck.Note the Afghan flag mounted

An excellent overview of the guntruck interior, again,note how heavy the dust lies inside the vehicle

32


RCC M1151 Humvee and HMT trailer drivingon Highway 1 between Kabul and Kunduz.

Close up of the weapon mount andprotective shields. Note how the positionof the shields can be adjusted by hand

Front bulkhead of the guntruck

Underside of the weapons stationshowing the pivot mount. Note thebunjee cords and ammo box holder

Rear door latch and handles on the guntruck

33


12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61

Modelled by João Carrasco-Guerra

Recently a friend offered meTrumpeter’s 1:35 kit of German12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61"Sturer Emil”. Although mypassion is for WWII AFVs, I mustconfess I wasn’t familiar with thevehicle, so before I startedworking on the model I did someresearch, looking for all theavailable information and imagesof the real vehicle and also ofreviews of this kit.

34

After consulting several sources on theinternet and technical libraries, I gatheredall the information I needed concerning thereal “Sturer Emil”, namely from:Panzer Tracts nr. 7-3 - Panzerjaeger, byThomas Jentz and Hillary Doyle and AFVModeller nr. 25, issue of

November-December 2005, article “SturerEmil”, by Thomas Anderson, which containsan enlightening history of this tank-killer andseveral priceless photos of the real vehiclein trials and in action, as well as awalkaround of the surviving one displayedin the Kubinka Tank Museum, in Moscow.

Stu Emil article (Q8):Layout 1 14/02/2013 12:05 Page 1

35

Trumpeter 1:35

To sum up, the 12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette auf VK3001(H)"Sturer Emil" (Stubborn Emil) was an experimentalGerman self-propelled anti-tank gun projected to dealwith the new generation of Russian T-34 and KV seriestanks. Its base was the chassis of the experimentalHenschel VK3001. This chassis was then extended toreceive the huge and powerful Rheinmetall 12.8cm KL/61 gun (based on the 12.8cm FlaK 40). Two vehicles (named Max and Moritz) were built, bothof which served - not for long - on the Eastern Front inthe 3rd company 521st sPA and the 2nd PanzerDivision.

Even though, there were several problems due to slowspeed and lack of compatibility with other armouredand mechanical equipment, during action the two“Sturer Emils” engaged effectively targets at rangesthat the Russians could only dream of at that time. Inopen ground the Sturer was a supreme tank buster.Fortunately for the Russians, one vehicle was destroyed(there is not much data on this), and the other wasabandoned by its crew and captured intact atStalingrad, in January 1943, with 22 kill marks paintedon its barrel. This is the one presently displayed andwell preserved in the Kubinka Tank Museum.


In 2005, Trumpeter released the kit nr. 00350, German 12.8cmSelbstfahrlafette L/61 "Sturer Emil”. The kit consists of a total of 278parts in light grey plastic and a set of full length rubber tracks. Itcomes with a small decal sheet providing markings for trial andoperational versions of Sturer Emil and very clear instructions witha separate coloured sheet, showing the overall Panzer Greypainting scheme used as well as the position of the decals.The kit is characterized by very good quality injection mouldedplastic, accurate dimensions and details with some cast texture oncertain parts and nice bolt head and weld seam details on the hullpanels and wheels with precise fitting. This kit provides any

modeller with a straight forward build without any major problems.In fact, one can build an impressive model just out of the boxwithout any aftermarket sets. Moreover, it is not expensive.

Not withstanding the above, I opted to replace the rubber trackswith the excellent ATL-86 set from Friulmodelismo, Eduard’sphotoetched set nr. 35819 and the turned metal barrel from JordiRubio. I also added a tow cable from RMG Models, an antennaand metal ammunitions from RB Model and two jerrycans and ajack from my spare box.

Trumpeter’s Kit

The jerrycans support container was made usingcopper foil. The jerrycans are from the Tamiya set.

Those jerrycans are seen in lots of photos of theSturer Emil. So, it is strange that they are missing

from the kit. Tool clips are PEs from Eduard.

The driver’s bay hatch mechanism (spring andarticulation), which was visible when open,was scratchbuilt with copper materials.

The canvas hull cover which was fixed on the rearhull superstructure, according to several photos,was not a part of this kit. I made it using greyMilliput and the fixation belts using copper wire andfoil. The jack came from the spares box.

36


Decals were applied withMicroscales’ Micro Set andsealed with Matt Varnish.

As mentioned before, this was a straightforward build, without any problems. Noputty was needed to fit parts. I just addedweld seams, using stretched sprue, tosome panels, namely in the front and rearhull, drivers compartment and uppersuperstructure.

I constructed the model in sections: thewheel’s set, hull, hull superstructure,interior, gun structure and tracks. Thesesub-assemblies would only be joined oncethe overall painting was completed (easierthis way).

The full length rubber tracks provided withthe kit are excellent, with details on bothsides, end pin details and open guide hornson all links and free of flash. Nevertheless, Iopted to use the track links set fromFriulmodelismo, since this permits toreplicate the tracks sag over the returnrollers, so evident in the vehicle.

Some smaller details were also added: thejerrycans support, the tow cable, theantenna, the hull canvas cover and thejack. These were either scratchbuilt orcame from the spare box.

The radio antenna wire and its smallprotection plate, made with copper cableand foil. Eduard’s photoetched set servedto upgrade interior detail, tools clips, andso on.

The wheels set sub-assembly wassomehow time consuming and boring (24wheels plus idlers, return rollers, etc!) but itall went well too, and in the end it looksgreat.

Black Red acrylic mixed with a little bit ofBrown Iron Oxide pigment, both from Vallejo,replicate the German red primer in thechassis plate and fenders.

A wash of diluted oils was applied by brush, enhancing several details. Asthe surfaces were painted with acrylics there is no need to seal it with acoat of varnish or future, since there is no risk of reaction with the wash.

The many old black and white photos of the realvehicle leave us with doubts regarding its truepainting scheme during operations in Russia. It issupposed that Sturer Emil was overall painted inGerman grey. However, some photos give the ideathat it had some spots of red brown over grey. Thereare also some photos suggesting that during winterit received a white paint wash. However, the lack ofclarity of these photos, including the effects of dustand other natural elements over the vehicle, don’tallow a definative conclusion on this. So, I choosethe safer way: the German grey scheme.Vallejo’s acrylic polyurethane Grey Primer was usedfor better adhesion of the acrylics. This primer is verygood: dries fast, it’s resilient, gives a smooth anduniform matt finish. The model was painted inGerman Grey mixed with white. The center of theplates was airbrushed with a lighter tone.

Aftermarket turned metal german hand grenades and Sturer’s ammo from RB Model.Small upgrades or just personal choice, these make quite a difference.

Weights were added to the breech to counter-ballance the metalbarrel. Although good quality, I chose Fruil tracks over the kit parts.

Painting the Monster

37


More washes were usedto represent grease and

oil staining.

Brown Earth Paste from Vallejo and European Dust, Russian Earthand Beach Sand pigments from MIG, simulate mud and otherresidues resulting from the all-terrain action.

Tracks were painted with a matte black primer in spray and then scrubbedwith graphite powder. Then these received the same treatment of thewheels and chassis plate. I finished the model by joining alldifferent sub-assemblies andairbrushing a very transparent mix ofmatt varnish with some drops of dark yellow, more intensely in the lowerparts, giving a subtle dusty look to this huge anti-tank vehicle.

This is not a rule, but in this step I usually apply a wash, followedby some chipping (if required), oils and finally the pigments. The wash was made using a mix of black and burnt sienna oilssignificantly diluted in turpentine and a drop of liquid soap. Iprefer to make my own wash mixture, allthough thepre-prepared washes available on the market are very helpful.The wash was brushed on every corner and detail before theexcess was removed with white spirit applied where applicable.

Next, I added some chipping using a sponge and a very thinbrush with black grey or very dark brown acrylics. Theweathering effects, resulting from moisture, rain, dust, oil, fuelstains and all bad treatment of an operational vehicle in combat,were made using oils (black, burnt sienna, natural sienna, blueand titanium white). These effects were obtained by dragging orrubbing small oil dots with a thin brush wet in turpentine oncertain surfaces. The lower hull and wheel set were scrubbedwith a hard brush in areas with an appropriate Brown EarthPaste from Vallejo and European Dust, Russian Earth and BeachSand pigments from MIG, simulating mud and other residuesresulting from the all-terrain action.

Special attention was given to the exhaustunit, which was painted with Oily Steelacrylic, washed and brushed with the sameMIG pigments used in the lower parts.

Weathering effects were achieved with oils applied bybrush and worked with turpentine. Subtle variationsare achieved giving life to the monotone grey.

Weathering Effects

38


39

This model was very well appreciatedin recent contests in Portugal by theIPMS-Portugal and the MontijoModelling Association.

For this model I have produced adisplay stand using a scenic carpetfrom the Czech brand Modelscene, cutand glued on a MDF plate and a frameof slats of balsa wood, painted black.The track trails were cut out from thecarpet and filled with Vallejo’s EarthBrown Paste, marked with the tracks.The simplicity of this carpet is anadded value allowing any modeller todraw up a realistic-looking base.


40


41


69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:15 Page 2

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:16 Page 5

KEEPING TRACK new releases

44

Italeri 1:35 Land Rover 109' LWBA welcome re-release from Italeri of this version of the iconic LandRover seen the World over during the 1970s and 80s. The kitremains unchanged from it's previous release now in a pleasingpale grey styrene along with a clear sprue of glazing and lamplenses. A typically 'Italeri' dated tooling provides a decent level ofdetail although not up to the standards of some more recentproductions (like the Hobby Boss Defender). The series III iscertainly ripe for conversion and served well by aftermarket parts,as usual wheels are first in line for replacement if you're looking toimprove the detail on some older tooled kits. In the tradition of the

Land Rover itself the kit is simple but still provides an option ofopen cab doors and tailgate. A full rear canvas covering the cargoarea is included which is passable but easily improved with a littlework to add some finer creasing and texture with your favouriteputty. A couple of options of British markings (IFOR and a medicalvehicle) are new but hardly extensive. As a re-release this kit isgood value making it ripe for some aftermarket upgrades andconversion and a worthwhile addition to any 1970s to present daydiorama in civilian colours even?

Our first look at some items in the range available from Reality InScale starting with a real centrepiece to a scene 'North AfricanHousefront'. This resin-cast building facia is very lightweight due tothe resin including micro-balloons with excellent fine surface detailand subtle textures. The set comes packaged in a sturdy box andincludes detailed instructions and photo reference. Along with theresin parts are some extra details such as brass door fittings and apiece of material for a curtain (a little overscale in my opinion) Theset also includes carpets which are printed on a flock material fora realistic look. The texture and print detail are very fine with thedesigns lending themselves to various scales and eras. Assemblyis very simple leaving you to focus on painting to bring this facade

to life. Highly recommended. A nice compliment to the buildingwould be 35164 'Food Supplies', cleanly cast in cream resin thisset is a finely detailed selection of vegetables in wooden crates(with some decals supplied for the crates) bread and meats. Someprinted accessories now with 35190 WWII era maps which arefinely detailed and output on very thin stock featuring thirtyEuropean and Russian battle grounds. Judging by these samplesthe large and varied range is very much worth investigation. Set35005 is a set of German WWII air recognition flags which areprinted directly onto a very fine fabric which means they can bedraped realistically. Thanks to UK stockists Historex Agents for oursamples.

Reality In Scale Diorama Accessories


Italeri 1:35 U.S. Gun Truck

45

Meng are certainly one of the most high profile manufacturers tohit the market in recent years with strong marketing and agenuine interest in what modellers want. At the Scale ModelWorld show in November they announced this kit (and had thedecency to display the actual vehicle from the Tank Museum ontheir stand!) certainly a surprise release met with enthusiasm frompost-war armour modellers. Meng's presentation of their kits issecond to none, quality packaging is always a nice starting pointand you certainly feel you've got value for money with a quick flickthrough the contents. Dark green individually bagged spruesmake up the bulk of the kit along with five brown sprues holdingthe track parts, a small photoetched fret of mainly perforatedmesh for the exhaust mufflers, an excellent thin flexible rubbermantlet cover, clear parts for vision blocks and lenses, some poly-caps for the road wheels and a small decal sheet. Mouldingquality is excellent with some incredibly fine parts which willrequire care when removing from the sprues. A single piece hull

'tub' provides a solid basis to add the running gear to withindividual suspension arms and a superb level of detail. The trackis assembled from two parts per link for ultimate detail and thelaborious task should be speeded up by the assembly jigsupplied. Meng's assembly instructions are very clear andproduced in a friendly small format which doesn't cover your workspace! The AMX follows the usual build process finishing with theturret. One goodie we're not given is a single piece metal barrel,this is probably due to the ventilation holes running the length ofit's underside represented very sharply but resulting in a seam toclean up either side of the barrel. Meng's obvious effort andattention to detail with their kits really shows and they're quicklybecoming very highly regarded as a major player in our hobby. Ifyou're into post-war armour you've probably ordered one, if you'reinto French armour you've probably ordered two, if you fancy anice out-of-the-box build of something different this kit is highlyrecommended. Bravo!

Meng 1:35 AMX30B

I suspect modellers of modern U.S. hardware would have beenquite excited to see Italeri's news some time back about therelease of an OIF guntruck depicting a well photographed M-923'Iron Horse' with extensive armour ad-ons. Unfortunately this isn'tthe truck which has actually been released and we're served amuch watered down version which is pretty much the originalrelease with some tagged-on sections of sprue. The newelements are attached to the sprue carrying the wheel parts 'goodnews' I thought presuming the tyres had been modified fromprevious releases, unfortunately not and many modellers will look

to aftermarket parts to dress-up this kit (Real Model, Legend andD.E.F. spring to mind including excellent wheel replacements inresin). The Hardox armour parts to create the rear 'box' and cabdoors are new but over-scale and there's also a pedestal mount.50 Cal. So basically, if you have the 'standard' truck kit you'd bebetter off making your own armour from plastic card andspending your cash on some upgrade parts, this is an inexpensiveItaleri kit which is close to twenty years old and needs some workto bring it up to standards we're used to today.


new releases

We have of course already seen the Dragon Wirbelwind in twodifferent versions and I think we are all agreed that it is the currentstate of the art kit and default choice for this subject. In this thirdrelease there are a few differences and the biggest one is theprovision of a zimmerit finish. Dragon have mastered thereproduction of the textured finish with considerable skill and if it issomething that you hate to have to do then this will be verywelcome. The kit draws on zimmerit parts from previous releaseslike the Brummbar to provide some of the parts and there are alsonew pieces like the bolted on glacis armour panels. Even thoughwe have seen it before we are still impressed by the two-pieceturret moulding with its ultra-thin edges and superb weld detailalong both internal and external panels. This version of the kit has

ditched the individual link Magic Tracks and replaced them withDS Styrene rubber band tracks which may not be to everyone’staste. The quad 20mm Flak is well detailed and the muzzles of theguns have been pushed about as far as is possible in injectionmoulding, and there being plenty of aftermarket replacements ifyou wish to go that bit further. The kit includes a photoetched fretwith intake covers, track guard brackets, ring sight and othersmall fittings and comes with metal tow rope and clear mouldedvision blocks. A handful of individual track links are provided to fitout the spare track racks too. Impressive stuff again from Dragonand the pain-free zimmerit will be welcomed by many its just ashame that the original magic tracks did not make it into the mixin this version.

Dragon 1:35 Flakpanzer IV Ausf.G ‘Wirbelwind’

Dragon 1:35 Leichte (Funk) Pz.Kpfw.1 Ausf ADML present another Panzer I 'Smart Kit' here in the form of theAusf.A radio vehicle. The busy box presents a huge amount ofparts for such a diminutive little tank, many parts are destined forthe spares box as you'd expect, we've a mix of sprues fromprevious Pz.Is along with specific parts for this variant the mainone being the fixed turret. The moulding and detail are Dragon attheir best, absolutely crisp with minimal seams to clean acrossthe grey sprues. A clear sprue is also present providing visionblocks and lamp lenses with suitable etched brass parts which willfurther enhance the delicate detail. The weld beads and recessed

screw heads are so beautifully fine a thin coat of paint will berequired to get the most from the kit's detail. Magic Track is readyde-sprued with fantastic finesse but may prove a challenge toassemble due to the tiny links. A very comprehensive interior isprovided with a fully detailed radio installation and transmissionallowing the large hatches to be modelled open should you wish.Being a pre-war vehicle there's a choice of two or three tonecamo patterns and also the easier finishing option of overalldunkelgrau. Dragon are to be praised for these recent Panzer Is,beautifully detailed models straight from the box.

46


Revell 1:35 Leopard 2A4/A4NLBuilders of more modern machines will be pleased to see Revellusing their base A6/A6M kit to produce the classic A4, this oneboxed as the 'NL' as originally supplied to the Dutch army but alsoused in this form by many armies including Greece and Spain. Aswell as the hull from the A6 kit the main new parts are housed ona new sprue housing the slab sided turret. Revell's dark greenstyrene is no doubt a help when it comes to applying the paint butdoesn't show the nice detail off at it's best, some very finemoulding is present with anti-slip textures and an excellent effecton the rear intake grilles. When we first looked at this kit in it's A6guise the upper hull looked decidedly warped, it has no sidepanels as these are moulded to the lower hull sides. I've nippedsome of the larger parts off the sprues and can report that a dryfit looks promising with the Leopard having a definite kicked-up

angle to the rear deck. The lower hull being of a multi-plateassembly is very well detailed with separate torsion arms and welldetailed wheels. Tracks are two-part vinyl with good detailalthough a few ejector pin marks will be hard to remove, many ofyou will look to the wide choice of aftermarket track available.Seven versions of markings are included and call-outs for thevarious countries specific fittings are throughout the instructions tokeep you on your toes. This is a really nice new tooling from Revelland I'm sure we'll see other A4 versions released giving us budgetpriced kits with the option to add aftermarket photoetch, tracksetc should you wish without blowing your modelling budget.www.revell.eu has more details and good toy and model shopsusually stock Revell kits.

Zvezda 1:35 Tiger 1 Ausf.E Early ProductionIts is always a brave manufacturer who tackles the iconic Tiger 1in 1:35 and with the intimate details of the Tiger familiar to mostmodellers now, there is little or no room for error. So how haveZvezda done with their new kit? Well first impressions aregenerally very favourable. The quality of moulding is excellent andthe kit provides a well detailed turret interior and comes withsome excellent rubber band tracks with open teeth equivalent tothe Dragon DS versions. Roadwheels are excellent with nice welddetail and Continental logos on the tires, no complaints here!Moving to the hull we have individual swing arm suspension andsome basic radiator fan detail for the engine bay. However the lefthand side of the hull has a distinct quilted appearance with sinkmarks between the side skirt fitting lugs along the side plate. Thiseffect is not present on the right hand side on our sample. Moving

to the hull deck plate and the headlamp brackets and cables areclearly wrong. Also incorrect are the rearmost engine deck grilleswhere the interconnecting webs are far more curved than on thereal thing. The Tiger is provided with the full Feifel system andZvezda have made a good attempt at the twisted ribbed hosesthat run across the deck but the hoses look undersized and thepattern needs to be more defined. The kit provides S mines butthey are solid tubes. A choice of two sets of markings areprovided on the simple decal sheet and there is a clear sprue forthe periscopes. Overall then not perfect but pretty good and at abudget price. The most tricky things to correct will be thoseengine deck grilles but don’t dismiss this one out of hand as it hasa lot of positive points.

47


new releases

I am really pleased to see Blitz releasing a model of the LafflyW15 TCC as the old Alby kit has long been out of production andthis is one of those ungainly but inherently attractive vehicles andit is a welcome addition to Blitz's growing range of resin kits.Quality is as usual with Blitz, excellent with clean bubble-freecastings and only minimal wispy bits of flash. A detailed ladderframe chassis is supplied with all the drivetrain components andyou have the option of articulating the suspension on the rearaxels like the real vehicle. Tires and wheel hubs are mouldedseparately which does almost inevitably mean a gap between thetwo which will have to be filled. The louvered bonnet is crisplydetailed and the cab provides all the pedals, levers and

instrument panel. The flexible joint between the bonnet and cabhas to be made from your epoxy putty of choice. The headlampsare cleverly moulded as hollowed out reflectors with a bulb leavingthe modeller to add the glass lens. The 1939 model 47mm gunalso looks good with a great scale thickness to the gun shieldsand the kit also provides the FM 24/29 machine gun with a choiceof roof top or gun shield mounting. A simple decal sheet providesroundels and registration plate cockades and numbers but noinstrument dials sadly. The kit is designed to be easy to buildwithout hundreds of parts but without compromising detail. Its abig thumbs up from us for this one and no doubt from otherFrench armour fans.

Blitz 1:35 Laffly W15 TCC

Something of a treat now with the delightful diminutive Frenchreconnaissance tank which is already in the Blitz 1:35 cataloguereleased in 1:16 and the companies first release in this scale. Thekit comprises separate hull sides, chunky upper hull casting, bowand rear panels and solid turret. Big location strips mean that thebasic hull plates all locate together with confidence and themodeller will have to fabricate his own hull floor. You can have thebasic shape of the vehicle assembled within a couple of hours!Rivet detail across the kit is excellent and very consistent. Theturret has a large hatch-shaped cut out but I would have preferreda true hollow turret in this scale. The running gear is a simpledesign and beautifully replicated right down to the slotted rims onthe idlers wheels. The bogie frames are well detailed too with

castellated nuts and delicate lip detail around their edges whichhas proved susceptible to damage in one or two places on ourexample. Tracks are individual link which means something of aslog to clean them up and assemble them but is the only effectiveway to handle them in this scale. The intake grilles for the enginehave been moulded as separate parts which is a great help incleaning them up. The kit is available in 3 different versionsdepending on your choice of turret and our sample is the ZT1 withthe 13.2mm cannon which has its ribbed barrel perfectlyreplicated. No decals were included in our sample but at thisscale that’s not too much of a problem. This is a great lookingmodel and with a choice of colourful camouflage schemes totempt us we cant help but recommend this!

Blitz 1:16 AMR 35

48


Stalingrad 1:35 figures

49

Some of our favourite figure releases come from the hugelytalented Russian sculptor and modeller Alexander Zelenkov thecreator of our KV-1 diorama featured in this issue, under his'Stalingrad' brand. The anatomy, sculpting, detail and casting ofthese figures is second to none. The three Red Army officerswould work as a group or individually, S-3575 points holding amap, S-3574 stands holding binoculars and S-3573 stands hand

on hip in a greatcoat. Russian civilians available here which wouldenhance any Eastern front vignette or diorama S-3543 'Russiangirl with buckets' and S-3544 'Refugee children' are beautifullysculpted with great finesse. Pretty much as good as it gets forfigures in this scale, populate your diorama or enjoy painting allthat crisp detail as stand alone figures. Details of these and thefull range at www.stalingrad.diorama.ru.

Model Scene grass and groundwork

MIG Productions

As used in our Sturer Emil feature this issue this is a veryimpressive range of ready-made groundwork from Czechmanufacturer 'Model Scene'. The wide range covers variousseasons in suitable colours with variations on the themesuch as 'Forest Floor' and 'Stoney Steppe' as our samplepictured. The mix of grass, foliage and stones has a realmodeller's touch - so much so that nobody would knowyou've 'cheated'. The mat can be formed across contoursand is easily cut down from it's A4 size. Certainly one of themost impressive instant groundwork we've seen. HistorexAgents kindly provided our sample from stock.

More new releases to expand the vast MIG Productions range offinishing products starting with three new ready to use filters.These heavily diluted colours work straight from the jar to givesubtle colour variations and effects such as fading paint. P-423 isDark Green Grey, P-424 Japan Navy Blue (handy for some of therecent Dragon subjects) and P-425 Green For Allied Tanks.Three new colours also in the famous MIG Pigments range P-053Old Brick Red, P-054 Alkaline Dust (very light which will providegood contrast) and P-055 Cream Rust which looks very suitablefor exhaust mufflers.

A new trio of metallic oil colours join the 502 Abteilung rangeunder the ‘Metal Power’ banner. ABT 200 is a rich gold, ABT 205is a bright silver, and ABT 210 copper. With a thick pasteconsistency and strong pigment these tubes should last manyyears, as oil colours do, if sealed correctly after use. In all casesthe metallic pigment is a little grainy for our liking, certainly forsmaller scales. www.migproductions.com is the place to visit formore details and Worldwide stockists.


It is our pleasure to announce some new releases from the fathersof photoetch, Aber. Quiet for some time now Aber are back with abrass bang reminding us of the very high standards they setoffering the ultimate detail upgrades. Starting with some genericitems, 35A119 is a sheet of Marston Mat planks (surely suitable for1:32 aircraft also) and 35A121 which is a very useful set of wiperarms and rear view mirrors for 1930/40s cars and soft-skins. IfRussian armour is your thing R-33 will provide you with three aerialbases and masts for T-34s to T72s. On to barrels with 35 L-80 forthe M2 .50cal comprising of the barrel and perforated collar withammo box holder and a few rounds of ammo, 35 L-89 is for anyGerman Flak 38 L/65 equipped piece providing a spare barrel boxand two barrels. Still on a German theme, 35 L-106 will add finesseto your Pz II with the Kw.K 30 and MG 34. Turning their attentions

to recent Tamiya releases 35 247 is a basic set for the BT-42providing tool boxes, numerous brackets and small fittings andturned brass fire extinguishers, pistol port plugs and barrel cleaningrods. 35 248 gives you a full set of fenders / mud guards for theFinnish assault gun. A couple of Tamiya kits that look so muchbetter with some detail upgrades are the Israeli Shermans. 35 250is for the M1 including toolboxes, engine deck mesh, periscopesand a whole load of fine detail. The M51 Super Sherman gets thetreatment with 35 251 providing all of the fine brackets, lightguards and extra detail you could want and 35 252 takes things astep further with all of the tool boxes and fenders along with somebrass tube and rod to create various fittings including the barrelclamp frame. www.aber.net.pl will give an insight to the huge rangeand if you're in the UK, Historex Agents are the distributor.

ABER

35 L-106

35 251

35 252

35 247

35 248

35 250

35 A121

35 A119

R35

35 L-89 35 L-80

50


We've been very impressed by the previous releases from authorCraig Ellis featuring his '8-wheels good' collection of periodphotographs of Panzer Ivs and variants. This latest release willcertainly be of interest if you have the volumes 1-5 of the series asthe book is split into chapters updating information and usingnewly obtained photographs for each volume. Some of the shotsinclude new angles of vehicles previously featured in the usuallarge format. The rare nature of the photographs means thatquality varies from 'very good' to 'excellent' but the real beauty is

the subjects, fantastic modelling inspiration with very detailedcaptions. As well as being a must to anyone with the previousreleases in their collection, this Update volume serves as anexcellent taster of the series as it covers early to late vehicles andvariants.Indispensible reference on the PzKpfw IV with a great mixof interesting un-seen photographs and well researched detailedcaptions. The titles can be ordered from the Blurb websitewww.blurb.com, go to ‘bookstore’ and put ‘8wheels-good’ into thesearch box to see all of the titles available.

Where do they keep finding them? Another exciting edition of thePanzerwrecks series gathers another stunning collection ofarchive images covering knocked out or abandoned Axisequipment from the Eastern front. This volume features fold outgatefold covers for a panoramic view of Pz.Beob.Wg.III dwarfed bythe ISU-152 parked next to it and the back cover shows a burnedout SS Pz.Abt.503 King Tiger. This is a familiar image but I havenot seen it reproduced at this size or quality. Tiger fans will findmore material inside and the book begins with three differentTiger 1 subjects before moving onto the Stug III includinginteresting examples with spaced armour modifications andanother concrete encased example without a cupola but splithatches instead! There are several all around views of this vehicleproviding plenty of modelling reference. The Stug fest continueswith several other sad looking examples including a rarer partlysubmerged Stug IV. Next are pictures of both Hummel and Wespe

and then several pictures of Panther Ausf.Ds abandoned in Narva.More Panthers follow with a whitewashed Ausf.A, and late modelAusf.G. A finnish BT42 makes a rare appearance along with theformer French Panhard armoured car. Another rarity is a French7.5cm gun mounted on a captured Russian T-26 chassis featuredin a series of pictures. The RSO/01 is featured in several differentpictures and there is a series of pictures of the same intactlooking Panther A. The SdKfz.251is next including a rare Flamm251/16 example. Hungarian armour is covered with the Nimrodand Turan and then we have more Panthers and Tigers and somePanzer IVs including Bulgarian examples. Nashorn and Marder IIfeature next along with Jagdpanzer IV, Mobelwagen and anotherlate model Panther complete with IR stowage box. Quality all theway as usual from Panzerwrecks and essential reference for Axisarmour fans.

51

Panzerwrecks 14 Ostfront 2By Lee Archer and William AuerbachPublished by Panzerwrecks landscape softback 96 pagesISBN 978-1-908032-04-1 www.panzerwrecks.com

PzKpfw IV at the front- Update No.1 Vol 1-5Published by 8wheels-goodsoftback, portrait format, 80 pagesISBN 978-0-9563655-8-3http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1102388#author-bookshelf


More bumper brass upgrades from ET Models so much that we arestruggling to fit it all in! For Meng’s Tortoise kit set E35-156 providessuperb new tow ropes, hatch pads, track guard brackets, exhaustmuffler straps and wonderful textured stowage straps. Merkavasnext and set E35-158 is a basic set (with ten frets!) for the MengMerkava 3D. This provides new engine deck grilles, rear stowagebins, mudflaps, replacement ammo racks for the MGs as well asnew lifting loops and placards for the armour panels and all theassorted latches. Very imressive are the tiny shaped springs for theantenna mounts. A superb set! E35-163 provides new side skirts forthe same kit and if you want to go all the way E35-087 is a newturret basket floor and the ball and chains again for the Meng kit.Set E35-094 is a basic set for the Academy Merkava IV. This 8 fretset includes a tow rope and those excellent springs again and hasall the grilles, latches and photoetched chains for the turret basket.Comprehensive is the only word that comes close. Modern Russiannext with S35-012 which is a value package for the Trumpeter T-621972 kit and this 9 fret set covers everything! Track guards,stowage boxes, engine deck panels and grilles, fuel tank bracketsand a huge list of other details. For the BTR-60PB from Trumpeter iscatered for by set E35-152 with a daunting underside grille toassemble from interlocking bars, new instrument panel, exhaustcovers, improved hinge detail, new running boards, gun mount,resin gun barrel, antennas and brass co-ax barrel. The Trumpeter

BRDM-2 gets the same treatment with set E35-157. For the ZvezdaT-90 there are a set of new engine grilles EA35-086. There is also avalue pack for the ASU-85 S35-013. Modern American now and webegin with the staggering M1A2 SEP Tusk II upgrade set for theDragon kit. This 26 fret set is so big it comes in a weighty box. Youhave complete sets of the new hull and turret armour panels, eachindividually assembled this will be tough going even for thephotoetch enthusiast but with undeniably impressive results. Clearplastic sheets are provided to make the additional cupola armourand all the MGs get the usual upgrade treatment. Not your casualcouple of evenings build! For the Hobbyboss M1070 HET with CPKCab set E35-134 gives you all the additional armour panels with1.2mm clear plastic for the glazing panels and great touches likethe perforated crew steps. E35-140 is an Anti IED Device andantennas with the set including resin parts. German WWII seescomprehensive sets for the Dragon King Tiger, E35-102, TamiyaTiger 1, E35-164 and fenders/side skirts for the same kit E35-090.Engine grilles for the Tamiya Tiger 1 are also released separately asEA35-088. E35-166 is designed for the Tamiya German Bicycle. Wewrap up with replacement resin wheels with RSOV weighted wheelsfor the Hobbyboss kit and as usual ET have mixed the positions ofthe lettering on the side walls. Set ER35-044 provides some superbWillys Jeep wheels.

E.T. Model Upgrades

EA35-156

52

EA35-152

EA35-157

EA35-086EA35-088

S35-12

EA35-163EA35-158

EA35-158


EA35-087

53

EA35-094

EA35-134

EA35-161

ER35-044

ER35-046

S35-013

ET35-140

ET35-090

EA35-166

EA35-102

EA35-164


Master Box 1:35 figuresWe'll look at these two sets of Dragon figures together as they're sosimilar in approach. The first set consist of four individual figuresdepicting a wide variety of Waffen SS uniforms from early to midwar and looking like stand alone subjects. Sculpting and moulding isto a good standard all-round and the sprues of Gen2 weapons andequipment are superb but we find we're repeating ourselves yetagain when it comes to these Dragon sets; the poses are just sogeneric! Very good quality but very uninspiring.The second set is an improvement as these four figures interactwith each other to create a typical planning conference scene inNorth Africa. The figures are well designed with multi part great-coats a nice touch. Uniform and insignia detail is very fine andsharp although I would have liked to have seen the facialexpressions with more life as if engaged in conversation. Ideal forAFV Club's imminent release of the Dorchester as depicted on thebox-art.

A perfect complement to Meng's pick-up kits (as featured in this issue) isthis set of figures comprising of a woman walking (wearing to my limitedknowledge an Abaya?) a young girl wearing a hijab carrying a bag, ayoung boy and a para-military looking chap. These figures certainly fill agap in the market for modellers of modern subjects. The glossy finish tothe single grey sprue doesn't do the detail and finesse any favours whichon close inspection is very good, these should paint-up well onceassembled.

Pigment powders have been on the market for some time now and mostmanufacturers of hobby finishing materials have their own range. This newrange by Pinnacle has a wide range of thirty two colours including variousnatural shades such as 'Light Sand' and 'Dark Mud' along with colours applicableto vehicle finishes like 'Faded Olive Drab'. The powders perform pretty much thesame as others available both dry and wet, the main difference here is the largequantity of 50ml packaged in a flat round dish (as you'd see cosmeticscontained in) offering very good value if you use powders frequently.www.model-supplies.org.uk is the place to view the range of colours and order.

Dragon 1:35 'German Elite Infantry' Dragon 1:35 'Rommel and Staff'

Meng 1:35 'Middle Easterners'

Pinnacle Modelling Supplies weathering pigments

Always top marks for originality, MB continue to impress with thesubject and quality of their injection moulded figure sets. Mr.Karaschuk's box art is so nice we can excuse the fact that thefigures sometimes don't match the illustrations exactly (usuallymore figures are included than the artwork shows). This first setwill be most welcome by diorama modellers 'Women of WWII era'are four female figures and a child The styles are period perfectand would suit any Western Europe or American scene from the40's. Moulding is excellent and they should prove a pleasure, andalso a nice change, to paint. Now here's a set and a half, and aready made diorama from MB; 'Friendly Boxing Match' containsnine superbly animated figures of US and British Airborne troopsenjoying an impromptu boxing bout to relieve the boredom pre D-Day. Moulding is precise and detail excellent especially the facialexpressions, so critical when figures are interacting to this degree.This really is a terrific group of figures.

This magic potion allows abetter base colour to yourphotoetch and brass turnedparts. Submerse your de-greased metal parts in thesolution mixed with the sameamount of water and achemical reaction takes placeleaving a black finish to thesurface. The solution can bestored and re-used severaltimes and needs no morespecific handling than yourusual paints and thinners. Thefinish is particularly effective ongun barrels and has a benifitover paint in that no crisp detailis lost. www.uschivdr.com hasmore information and tutorialson this and other finishingproducts in the range.

Uschi Van Der RostenBlackening Agent

54


PRE-ORDER NOW:

WWW.PQUBE.CO.UK/LEGENDSOFWAR@LEGENDS_OF_WAR WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/LEGENDSOFWARGAME

©2012 Slitherine Ltd. All rights reserved. Developed by Enigma Software Productions and Slitherine Ltd. All rights reserved. Legends of War, Slitherine Ltd., Matrix Games Ltd., and their logos are all trademarks of Slitherine Ltd. HISTORY and the “H” logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. PQube is a registered trademark of PQube Ltd. PlayStation 3 and PS3 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Kinect, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft

group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. All rights reserved. PQube is a registered trademark of PQube Ltd.

“WARS MAY BE FOUGHT WITH WEAPONS, BUT THEY ARE WON BY MEN.” GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON

A turn-based strategy game like no other – combining strategy, tactics & RPG elements with exciting

Available on:

INVADING STORES MARCH 8TH 2013

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:16 Page 6

56

Libyan Rebel conversion of the MENG 1:35 kit

Kamil Sztarbala’s

Rocket pick up article (Q8):Layout 1 14/02/2013 13:36 Page 1

57

Firstly, the Chinese manufacturer quite quickly responded to

the market need, secondly, the designers didn’t forget about

spectacular packaging of the product. A nice box with a

decent artwork shouts ‘Buy me!’. Purchasers of the kit will not

be disappointed after opening the box. Inside there are a few

sprues made of black, grey, white, and transparent styrene, a

decal sheet, a small photo-etched fret and a set of rubber

tires. The car body is moulded almost as a one part thanks to

slide-mould technology and secured within a small cardboard

box. The assembly guide is nicely designed, clear, and

legible. However, the most important thing is that the parts on

the sprues look very good.

The details are crisp and subtle, the ejector pin marks are

cleverly arranged, and you won’t find any flash and sink

marks either. Clear parts are thin and perfectly transparent.

The only decals really worth mentioning are the instrument

dials. Generally speaking, the whole kit appears to be very

attractive, even if some design solutions such as rubber tyres

and colourful sprues are more typical of 1:24 civilian car kits,

but then this is a civilian vehicle! There’s also a rigid-looking

figure included in the kit, which is rather a funny feature.

Lastly, I need to mention that there are some errors in the

assembly guide.

Highly mobile and readily available, thepick-up truck is utilized the World over byrebel forces as improvised weaponscarriers and armoured vehicles.

It seems that MENG MODEL make a successful and impressive debut.


58

The start of building stageconfirms the first impressionsof the kit,The use of blackstyrene was not an idealchoice, although thesprues looks nice, it can behard to spot areas requiringcleaning up or reworking andwhere to trim and position parts.

Wheel mountings are quite strangely designed. Their shape might

suggest that we should have vinyl polycaps to push into the hubs

which is a popular solution in civilian car kits. You won’t find any of

these in the box, even moulded in styrene.

The steering arm connecting the front wheels will not hold the

hooks without a slight modification, a small tab of styrene is

enough to hold the parts and remain moveable.

The assembly of the body had to be started by painting the cab

interior. I only added seat belt buckles made from pieces of

styrene. The interior was airbrushed with various shades of grey,

with Tamiya Masking Tape to mask the colour boundaries. Details

were brush painted with Vallejo acrylics. I also made miniature

windscreen wipers from pieces of black Oramask stencil film.

I applied AK-interactive’s Dark Brown Wash and dry-brushed the

edges with grey acrylic paint to bring out the details.

Next I sprayed the whole interior with Mr.Super Clear satin coat.

When it dried, I followed up by coating the seat upholsteries with

Lifecolor’s matt varnish.

Then I could add some dirt, using Tamiya Weathering Sticks

applied with dampened brush, as well as cardboard boxes, the

indispensable Kalashnikov’s, and some assorted junk for a lived-in

look.

Assembly

To reduce theamount of paintworkin the interior, whichwould not be tooexposed in thefinished kit, I cut offthe a piece of blackadhesive tape in theshape of roof lining.

Another issue appeared during the positioningof the front axle cover. It had to be squeezedand glued with C.A. adhesive. Fortunately, thenext steps were easy and completing thewhole chassis took me a total of two hours.


Painting

Using a motor tool burr and sandpaper, I added numerous dents andother damages into the body. Next I coated it with Tamiya Hull Red.

The body was ready for applying two layers of

AK-interactive’s Worn Effects fluid with some salt

added in places to act as a random mask. When

it dried, I airbrushed it with Vallejo Off-White and

added some shading with a mixture of base paint

and Middlestone. To improve the properties of

these acrylics as well as to get a satin surface, I

diluted the Vallejo paints with Sidolux. Many

modellers favour Johnson's Future floor wax over

dedicated gloss varnishes. In Poland, a product

called Sidolux is often used for the same

modelling purposes. My tests indicate that it also

works very well as a thinner for Vallejo acrylics,

especially when we want to apply them with an

airbrush. However, I’ve never used Future, so I

can’t say if it works for diluting Vallejo paints also.

Then I made the scratches and paint chips according to theinstructions of AK-interactive’s fluid. After dampening the surface Iscratched the paint layer with toothpick and blunt-edged scalpel.

59


Having the cargo bed already assembled, I

could build the rocket launcher mount. I

started by making the main pillar from a

2mm styrene rod which afterwards was

attached to a special mount fixed into the

roll-bar. The construction of launcher mount

was inspired by photos of real vehicles with

the same armament. An ordinary car jack

found in my spare parts stash was

employed as the launcher elevating device!

The UB-32 pod comes from one of my

resin conversion sets. Here it had to be

modified by adding some details.

I also decided to scratch build the ammo

box. The shapes of rocket bodies were built

from styrene rods and supplemented with

pieces of Tamiya Masking Tape which

imitate the plastic covers of the folded fins.

The finished missiles were connected with

imitations of wooden separators. Then I

scratch built two ammo boxes - one

closed, and one open which had to be filled

with rockets.

Next all parts of the

conversion were cast in

resin. Of course, it took

some time to prepare

the silicone moulds and

produce the conversion

set.

When the resin cast

conversion was ready, I

could finally assemble

the vehicle. Before I

attached the roll-bar to

the cargo bed I had to

paint it. First I coated it

with Mr.Color C8 Silver, which worked as a

primer and surfacer as well. Next I

airbrushed a few layers of Mr.Color Super

Metallic Chrome over it. Light and indicator

lenses were coloured with clear paints in

relevant shades and glued to the kit. The

indicator lens located near the dented

wheel arch was accordingly damaged

before painting.

The assembly of rocket launcher and its

mount was easy.

Only the ammo boxes required a little

cleaning. After cutting off their casting

blocks I had to recreate the woodgrain

effect, I rubbed their surfaces with coarse

sandpaper. I also added two handles bent

from copper wire to the rocket pod and its

mount.

Rocket Launcher

My next step was to paint the details such as mouldings and windowseals. Another layer of clear gloss varnish was necessaryto secure the paintwork on the whole body.

I also applied some Vallejo Dark Earth acrylic paste insidethe wheel arches which worked as a base for imitating drymud.

60


To imitate the sprayed white marking I applied afew transparent layers of a mixture of LifecolorTensocrom White, Lifecolor’s thinner, and a littledishwashing liquid.

Next all parts of the conversion were cast in resin. Of course, it tooksome time to prepare the silicone moulds and produce theconversion set.

Then I airbrushed the UB-32 with Tamiya FlatAluminium, while its mount received a metallicgrey finish.

I thought that it would be a nice touch to paint the rocket launcher in the Libyan

national colours, previously used by the Kingdom of Libya between 1951 and 1969

and adopted by the rebel forces. My idea was inspired by photos of similarly

decorated rebel vehicles, which can be easily found while browsing the web.

Again, I started by coating the launcher with AK-interactive’s

Worn Effect fluid and followed up by painting it in

appropriate colours, using Vallejo acrylics.

Next I damaged the acrylic paint layer the

same way as on the ammo boxes.

The wooden ammo boxes were initiallysprayed with Tamiya’s Flat Earth and DarkYellow.

Next I applied two layers of AK-interactive’sWorn Effect fluid. When it dried, I airbrushedthe boxes with two shades of green acrylicpaints, recreating some highlights andshadows. To damage the layers of acrylicpaints and thus recreate the worn appearanceof the boxes, I dampened them with water andthen scratched with a hard brush andtoothpick. Finally, I brought up the details andmade light discolouration, usingAK-interactive’s Dark Brown Wash.

61


Before I attached the rocket pod mount tothe vehicle, I had to paint some damage tothe chromed rollbar with Vallejo GlossyBlack, using a fine brush. Afterwards thelauncher mount was glued to the cargobed with C.A. adhesive and washed withAK-Interactive’s Wash for NATO CamoVehicles.

The streaking and stained rust effects werepainted with AK-interactive’s Rust Streaksenamel. Please note that I was removingthe excess of the paint not with a brushdampened with White Spirit as suggestedby the manufacturer, but with dry brushesand cotton buds. The main reason was theglossy surface of the kit. If I followed theinstructions, I would completely wash offthe enamel liquid.

I decided to recreate some weatheringeffects typical for a vehicle operated inindustrial area. It was mainly a matter ofchoosing colours. First I airbrushedAK-Interactive’s Engine Grime enamel overthe lower surfaces of the vehicle, mostintensively spraying it over the areas onwhich most of dust is deposited in realvehicles. The liquid should be sprayed froma greater distance than other paints andrequires keeping a minimum air pressure.When it dried a bit, I made some scratcheswith a toothpick to expose the clean carpaintwork in some places.The wheels were treated similarly. First Isprayed a mist of Engine Grime over themand made some abrasions on the rims.Next I applied some AK-InteractiveRainmarks for NATO Tanks enamel on the

tire treads. I also rubbed the tires’ contactareas with coarse sandpaper.

Only a few final jobs were required. Thewhole vehicle, including the windows, wasmisted with AK-Interactive’s Rainmarks forNATO Tanks enamel. Next I removed themasks from the windshield, added a fewstreaks to it, and then attached the wipers.

The edges of side windows were alsostained with AK-Interactive enamel fluids.Finally I applied some fuel stains, usingAK-interactive fluid designed for thatpurpose, and the kit was ready for the finalphoto shoot.

Weathering and finishing touches

62


63


Subscribe

Subscription to AFV ModellerUK 6 Months £20.00 1 Year £36.00 2 Year £64.80 3 Year £91.80Europe/ROW 6 Months £26.00 1 Year £48.30 2 Year £91.20 3 Year £128.70USA 6 Months $42.00 1 Year $78.00 2 Year $148.00 3 Year $208.00

Visa

Cardholder’s name

Card No.

Expiry date Security Number

Your details BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE

Name ................................................................................

Address ............................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

Post/Zip Code....................................................................

Country..............................................................................

Phone ...............................................................................

E-mail ...............................................................................

Please return your completed form to: AFV Modeller, Old Stables, East Moor, Stannington, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 6ES

E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)1670 823648 Fax: +44 (0)1670 820274 www.afvmodeller.com

Mastercard Visa Debit

Cheques ( UK & USA only) send to to the address above.All cheques made payable to AFV Modeller Ltd.

To subscribe on the web go to www.afvmodeller.comthen click onto shop and register/login and then go tomagazine subscriptions. (Printed version only)

Get AFV Modeller delivereddirect to your doorstep or

subscribe digitally with theAFV Modeller App*

Maestro

and Save Today!

*Available from theApple app store or

Android market on yoursmartphone or tablet.

(Now also available onKindle Fire HD)

In-App Purchases Purchase individualissues (£5.99), a 3 issue bundle (£12.99) ora 12 months (6 issues) subscription (£23.99).

FREESAMPLE

You can now downloadthe app FREE of

charge, along with asample issue to try

before you buy!

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 16:10 Page 7

£6.75

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:15 Page 4

hobbylink.tv@hobbylinkHobbyLink Japan

Scan this QR code to go directly to a great selection of scale model kits.

hlj.com/afv

TAM32573 1/48 German Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagen (w/Flak 43) by Tamiya

Our greatest service upgrade yet!

Shipping now cheaper than ever!

Private WarehouseComplete control of your orders.

.itstion of t selecearg

o atly teco go dirtodecan this QR cS

scale model k

Our g

pShiipgreatat stest s

w oowg ninpppg

per theaaphcg

vhan e er!

h

com.jlh

afv//am

yLink JapanHobb

j

ylink@hobb v.tylinkhobb

69 Ads:Layout 1 14/02/2013 15:15 Page 3

Documents

AFVModellerIssue69.pdf