110

JAN/FEB 2020 • £6.95 UK $15.99

www.mengafvmodeller.com

MENG’S KILLER NEW SHERMAN

 CONTENTS
2 Sherman-ator
Dan Moore builds Meng’s killer new M4A3 Sherman

12 D2 Series One
Thomas Morgan re-works the Azimut Renault

22 Big Bang Theory

The Editor plays with the new Pig Model 1:1 88’ shell

28 Day of the Jackel

Rubén González Hernández builds the Airfix 1:48 Supacat

38 Panzerkampfwagen IV Part 28
The Editor continues detailing Trumpeter’s 1:16 kit.

48 Keeping Track
New releases.

56 Roofless Recce
Fabio Sacchi lifts the lid on AFV Club’s M3A3

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2
By early 1944 the U.S Military had successfully
reconfigured and up gunned their standard medium
tank, the M4 Sherman. Manufacturers Chrysler and
Fisher had previously both submitted several vehicle
design feature changes which together would
contribute to becoming the M4A3 (76) W. Using the
76mm M1 Tank gun (also to be incorporated into the
M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer design) the new
Sherman variant featured a new turret, a redesigned
front glacis and other numerous features. The “W”
designation in the title of the new vehicle was due to
the new ammo storage design, with rounds stored in
the hull below the turret in racks that were
surrounded by liquid filled chambers, with the
mindset being if the ammo storage was affected by
fire the escaping crew would gain precious seconds
due to the presence of the liquid. By March 1944
manufacture of the new vehicle had commenced and
by June ‘44 Chrysler had started rolling out the new
Sherman, unfortunately slightly too late for the
Normandy invasion. Ultimately Chrysler manufactured
over 4,000 M4A3 (76), with Fisher also manufacturing
vehicles. The M4A3 (76) W saw extensive service in
Europe in 1944/45, also being recalled for service in
1950 in the Korean conflict due to a lack of available
newer design vehicles.

e n g ’s
M n e w
d
bran 6 ) W
( 7
M4A3
E L L E D BY
MOD
N M OORE
D A

3
 Above left. Bogie assemblies. Note the
missing bolt detail which can be added
using the bolt heads moulded onto the
nearby sprue.

Above. A little texture added with

Tamiya Surface Primer enhances the
subtle armour plate surface moulded by
Meng.

Left. The rear idler arms must be left

unglued to tension the workable tracks.
Note the excellent weld detail of the
sand-screen mounting strips.

4
Meng’s new Sherman
Meng has released a totally new
tooled M4A3 variant of the Sherman,
with the parts layout perhaps hinting at
further variants to come. At the time of
writing Meng had just announced a new
“Jumbo” version to be released shortly. The
parts count is claimed by Meng as 1190
pieces – I can assure you a majority of this
is track parts, with quite a lot of leftovers
too. A small photoetch fret is included, with
a jig for folding the delicate headlight brush
guards. The major components of the
lower and upper hulls plus the turret halves
all possess subtle casting and weld
textures. Workable springs are included in
a neatly packaged little box to add to the
VVSS bogie suspension units, with these
being fully articulating once installed. Don’t
throw the spring box out! On the rear are
printed boxes of whiskey and cigarettes
that can be made up for a little fun extra
detail. Bound soft metal wire is supplied for
the tow cable, with brass wire also
included for the fully workable track links.
Parts for the numerous periscopes are
provided on a clear sprue, which some
modellers prefer. A metal gun barrel will be
included on the initial release of the kit,
with a 2 piece plastic version also on the
complete set of the solid type roadwheels
are also included as an option, which can
be used rather than the common Chrysler
pressed-metal type. Some small bolt
details have been left off the workable
upper arms of the suspension units,
sprues
however Meng has indeed included the
if required.
detail on a nearby sprue that can be
A typically well laid out instruction sheet is
carefully sliced off and glued onto the
included, with marking options for 4 U.S
arms. The 4 holes which are prominent on
vehicles all based in Europe in 1944/45.
the blank end of the Bogie stations are
The modeller must be careful to select the
missing which appears to be a common
build option before commencing, as the
flaw with most Sherman kits due to
parts for the various options differ
moulding limitations, but which can be
somewhat throughout the instruction
easily rectified by drilling out the missing
sequence. All in all it gives the modeller a
holes in the correct location on each
very impressive (or daunting) parts count
station. Take care which bogie unit halves
and provides excellent value for money in
are used – there is a complete set of
my opinion.
another style of bogie included.
Steps 2 to 5 builds up the lower hull, which
Onto the build
can be very quickly assembled. The fit is
Due to first appearances of a very full box
excellent, with no filler required. Once the
of sprues I was expecting the building
hull is built up the bogie stations can be
stage to be somewhat torturous, but I am
added, and the rest of the driveline
happy to report it was definitely not the
installed. Be careful to leave the rear idler
case.
arms unglued (C55) as these will tension
Step 1 involves the construction of the
the workable tracks later on.
VVSS suspension units. The units can be
quickly constructed with the workable
metal springs added and the roadwheels
left loose to aid painting later on. A
5
 Steps 6 to 7 involve the track construction. Ah individual
tracks…this is the part of an armour build I loathe every time
due to the sheer repetition! 79 links per side must be
constructed of 3 pieces per link, which if cut off the sprue
neatly only require a quick clean up. Meng have handily
added a jig to assemble the track sections, which would be
nearly impossible to do otherwise (see pic 2). After each link
is assembled and added to the jig the brass wire is passed
through and glued with cyanoacrylate or similar, which is then
snipped off & filed. Although time consuming, the assembled
track sections are surprisingly robust. A link was left loose on
both sides to facilitate the painting process later on. I decided
in this build to add the track “duck bill” end connectors to
each link, as I prefer the look of the wider track.

Assembling the track sections requires the appropriate

tools (and patience!)

The fully articulating suspension

bogies using the metal springs

Steps 8 through to 18 build up the rest of
the upper and lower hulls, with no major
problems encountered. The two front
towing shackle mount support brackets
appeared to be missing, with no mention in
the kit instructions. However, I did find out
later that they are actually located on the C
sprue (parts 49/50). A choice of rear engine
decks is provided, as well as other optional
details depending on the particular vehicle
build the modeller has chosen. Meng has
included a jig for bending the delicate P.E
headlight brush guards, which are then
carefully added to the front glacis with
cyanoacrylate). Plastic brush guards are
also provided as an option if the modeller
so wishes. I was impressed with the
numerous fine casting numbers presented
on various components, as well as the
subtle casting texture that Meng has
imposed on the hull sections however to
blend in the P.E brush guards and to add a
little more texture a stippled-on coat of
Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer was added
to the front glacis section. The kit supplied
onboard tools are very nicely detailed, and
didn’t require any further detailing.
Steps 19 to 25 involve construction of the
turret, which is made up of 2 main halves
following the natural horizontal casting line.
To blend in the two halves however
required a little sanding and once again a
more heavily applied stippling of the
Tamiya primer to obtain a nice rough cast
finish. With care the gun breech and
mantlet (see pic 6) could in theory be left in
separate components to aid interior
painting, however care needs to be taken
with the two small trunnion pins as they are
quite a tight fit. The nicely detailed .50 Cal
MG can be fitted as stored or on its mount
ready for action, with a choice of barrel
types provided.

The turret broken down into sub-

sections, note small trunnion
pins

6
Steps 26 & 27 finish off what is not an overly taxing
build, with the modeller provided several options of
barrel muzzle depending on the timeframe of the
vehicle modelled. Some basic stores and two crew
figures from Tamiya’s U.S Tank Crew set (No.35347)
were test-fitted at this stage including the jerrycans
and solid-type roadwheels included with Meng’s
Sherman. A rear tarp and vehicle I.D sheet were
made up from epoxy putty to drape over the stores
on the rear of the vehicle.

Priming & Painting
After breaking down the build into several
sub-sections the turret and hull received a
coat of Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer,
thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinners
applied with an airbrush. A coat of Tamiya
XF-69 NATO Black was sprayed in selected
areas as a pre-shade for the overlaying
olive drab. I decided to try a new Tamiya
shade from their lacquer paints range for
the main camo colour, namely LP-28 Olive
Drab which thinned with own lacquer
thinners sprayed beautifully and provided a
durable finish. The main coat was sealed in
with Tamiya X-22 clear. Early on in the build
I had decided to depict a vehicle with a
worn winter whitewash finish, after seeing
a colorized image of an M4A3 (76)
attached to the 12th Armoured Division in
1944/45. The basic divisional markings
were hand painted on using Vallejo white
and the U.S stars sprayed on using an old
metal mask template and Tamiya XF-2
White. I find that the easiest way to
achieve a worn whitewash effect is via the
“hairspray technique”. As per my usual
method hairspray was applied through the
airbrush over the turret and hull, then set
aside to dry for an half an hour or so.
Tamiya XF-2 Matt white heavily thinned
with lacquer thinners was
applied over certain areas
as per the worn finish
seen in the reference
image. After this settled for a little while it
was time to attack the winter finish using
tap water, sharpened toothpicks and a
worn paintbrush, as these can all be used
to create different wear effects on the
winter camo. After I was happy with the
level of camo damage the finish was again
sealed with X-22 Clear, and then the
hairspray process repeated again using a
dirtier winter camo mix of the white and a
few drops of XF-57 Buff.

7
 Top left. Primer on using Tamiya’s Liquid Surface Primer
Top right. Pre shading, in hindsight probably not required due to the
overlying Olive Drab.
Above. Tamiya LP38 give good contrast to the worn whitewash.
Above right. Main colour and markings on

Above and left. The ‘Hairspray’

technique is now pretty well
known and ideal for a worn winter
whitewash; a layer (or layers) of
hairspray forms an unstable
barrier between coats of paint
allowing acrylic top-coats to be
removed with warm water using
old paintbrushes or scratching
with wooden cocktail sticks. The
effect is very random and
detailed.

8
Weathering the Sherman
After the second layer of hairspray process
was complete a coat of X-22 Clear was
again used to seal in the paintwork prior to
weathering. The tail lamps were touched in
with Tamiya X-27 Clear Red, with the front
mirrored headlight reflectors being picked
out using a chrome Molotow pen. The
roadwheels and spare track pads on the
rear were brush painted with Vallejo’s
Rubber Black. Weathering commenced
with an overall pinwash using Mig AMMO’s
Africa Korps Wash (A.MIG-1001), this is a
darkish shade to make the raised and
recessed details pop. A variety of oil
shades were applied to simulate scuffs and
scratches, with the winter camo blemished
and mapping effects created with white
oils and thinned Vallejo acrylic white.
The tracks received a coat of Tamiya’s X-
18 Semi-Gloss Black mixed with XF-64 Red
Brown, with the track pads oversprayed in
XF-1 Flat Black. Mig AMMO’s Heavy Mud
products (Thick Soil and Moist Ground)
were applied to the tracks and lower hull
for a filthy mud effect. Combined with a
hint of light garden dirt and the odd tuft of
Modelscene dried grass thrown in it
provided a varied effect in the mud and
dirt. Some of the mix was carefully flicked
onto the hull sides and rear using a
toothpick and an old paintbrush.
After the mud effects had dried ground
graphite was applied to the track wearing
surfaces and sprocket/idler using a finger
and pencil. After I was happy with the
overall look Testor’s Dullcote was applied
sparingly to knock off the sheen of the
Tamiya Clear.
Finishing Details
The onboard tools were painted with
Vallejo acrylics, and received weathering
with thinned oils. The hull and turret MG’s
were finished in semi-gloss black, and
received a dark reddish oil wash. Ground
graphite was applied to selected areas of
the weapons for a metallic sheen. The
crew figures were quickly assembled with
Vallejo acrylics airbrushed onto the figure
for the base colours. Thinned Vallejos were
then brush applied to accentuate uniform
folds and add some variation to the facial
flesh tones. The vehicle stores were
painted in Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and
were weathered to suit.
The very last item to add was the turret-
mounted aerial, which was surprisingly not
mentioned in the instructions or included
with the kit? Meng does give the modeller
the option of a straight or bent aerial base,
so perhaps in future kits it may be an
addition. A section of guitar string was
used to simulate the 3-piece style aerial
seen on these vehicles, with blobs of PVA
glue for the connectors.
9
 Final Thoughts
Meng’s new Sherman is an impressive kit. Apart from the
tracks (which although impressive are time-consuming) the
rest of the build is relatively trouble-free, with excellent
parts fit and little cleanup required. I was certainly
impressed with Meng’s effort.
If this is a sign of things to come in a
new range of Sherman variants the fans
should certainly be rejoicing.
Highly Recommended.

10
 ( 7 6 ) W
M 4A3
M A N
S HER

11
D2

Thomas Morgan
12
Renault D2
1 Series
I have a passion for strange or elaborate
camouflages; and I like to build vehicles
that are less popular with many modellers.
This explains my attraction to French
amour of the late 1930’s. Amongst the
“oddest of the odd” schemes were those
applied by the Renault factory to their char
D2. One hundred were delivered in two
batches by 1937. The crew consisted of
st
commander, driver and radio operator; this
being the first French tank to all be
equipped with a wireless. The first series
had an APX-1 turret with a short 47 mm
SA34 gun. The second batch mounted a
longer barreled 47 mm, and many of the
earlier series were up-gunned by the time
of the invasion.
13
 I have long wanted to build a D2, but the absence of a surviving
example appears to have inhibited the main stream
manufacturers from issuing a styrene kit. I did find three resin kits,
by Azimut, Blitz and Commander Models. None was perfect (what
kit is?) but I chose to start with Azimut’s. I preferred its overall
dimensions and it had the best representation of the prominent
engine deck grills. But in fact, but the time I finished the only parts
left of the original kit were the idlers, engine grills, exhaust shield
and denuded hull slab.
The lack of a survivor also means that there are no museum “walk
around” albums nor close ups photos. The few published plans
are scant on detail and I could locate only a couple of component
drawings. My primary references were contemporary photos taken
by either the French or Germans, and none from a modeller’s
perspective. At least half of my time was consumed trying to
determine size, proportion and position by “photo interpretation”.

None of the three turrets had the

amount of 1st series detail that I wanted.
But the turret from Tamiya’s Char B1 bis
was a close match to the APX 1, so I
use it. I began by altering the contour of
the front and reducing the size of the
rear hatch. The vision covers were
flattened and repositioned, as was the
base for the cupola.

The turret ring also had to be

repositioned and reworked. It was
quite tall, more like a pedestal or
barbette, and in three sections. I
roughed out circles in thick card,
clamped them onto a bolt and “turned”
them to the correct diameter.

14
The protruding vision “diascope” devices were unique to the 1st
series, the later ones being flat “episcopes”. I fashioned them from
tube and strip, gradually building up the curved bases with dilute
Tamiya putty. The large hatch spring is 0.5 mm brass tube,
annealed and wrapped around a drill bit. It should have 13 coils,
not 12. The resin nuts are from Master Club. The subtle casting
texture was replicated with Mr. Surfacer 500 thinned with Mr. Color
Leveling Thinner and dabbed on with a soft brush.

The cupola was also modified from Tamiya’s B1. It was flattened and
extended to encompass a large diascope. Lift hooks were added and
the lateral U-shutter replaced with curved .020" card. The bottom collar
was thinned and detailed with Master Club bolts and a rain shield of
005" card. That’s a signal port on the turret roof.

The biggest task in converting the turret was fabricating

the two guns - the 47 mm and the 7.5 mm machine gun.
The main gun’s mantle was built up on the base of the
Tamiya Char B1 part using tube, card, Aber PE screws
and a lot of putty. The barrel itself was turned in my
hand tool from rod. The mantlet for the MG was a real
chore. The Germans are mocked for over-engineering
things but this was a circus of asymmetrical compound
curves, angles and openings. It too started with the
Tamiya piece. The brass flash suppressor if from the RB
barrel set.

15
 Even without an exhaust the stern was an involved
re-construction. I began by shaving off a layer of resin
and replacing it with a sheet of .015" card. This
made it much easier to attach the styrene additions.
The rear hinges were replaced with rod and strip, the
18 identical lengths made with my RP Toolz Mitre
Cutter - highly recommended. These hinges did not
have prominent rivets; they were attached with
recessed screws puttied over to appear smooth. The
tow pintle is from Tamiya’s Somua S35 kit, modified
and detailed with Master Club nuts. The elaborate
chain rack and jack bracket was built up from card,
strip, copper wire and Hauler PE chain. The shackles
are heated and bent .030" rod - surprisingly
frustrating as I broke many in the process. For the
shackle mounts I tacked three layers of .040" card
together with acrylic glue, carved them to shape as
one to obtain a consistent shape, and then dissolved
the cement with water. I cheated with the large pins
- they are only end pieces.

I could find no photos showing the large wooden jack in its entirety. I fabricated mine
by combining the partial features seen in contemporary D2 photos with those of
similar jacks used on other French tanks. (The tools on the engine deck are modified
Tamiya pieces.) The grills and hinges on the engine deck are some of the few kit
components that were not replaced. I did have to repair some warpage and mould
defects. Separation lines were scribed between the hatches and handles of .015"
brass wire added. Master Club rivets improved the hinges. The tool rack is the best
interpretation I could coble together based on various photos.

16
I wasn’t satisfied with the shapes of the kit’s
storage bins and decided it was easier to replace
than correct them. This seemed simple enough
until I stumbled over the front angles, particularly on
the left side where all that Tamiya putty is witness
to my struggle. The right side was complicated by
the armoured conduit protecting the antenna
cables, running to the front of the hull. It appears
that the antenna was originally intended to sit there,
where a shallow pot remained, covered by an
inelegant sheet metal lid. I made this from .005"
card, the “turret” from tube and the conduit from
brass U channel.
The D2’s were the first French tanks to all be
equipped with radios. The standard rubber
accordion antenna boot was comprised of ten discs
with a conical cap and was usually “floppy”,
especially at the top. I reproduced the effect by
shaping punched discs of different thicknesses and
stacking them, followed by a few layers of putty.
The aerial is .9 mm copper tube. The cast antenna
pot, mounted at the rear of the storage bin, is
Evergreen tube and card with Master Club bolts. It
is textured with Mr. Surfacer 500 thinned with Mr.
Color Leveling Thinner and dabbed on with a soft
brush.

The four quadrant lights were

made of .093" tube chucked in
my hand tool, thinned, sliced
into rings and mounted on .005"
card. The lenses will be punched
discs of coloured foil. The
circular screen of the horn is
Aber photoetch stock sanded
slightly thinner and punched,
topped with a spare PE ring.

The kit’s idler adjustment

mechanisms at the bow were
replaced with ones fashioned from
card, strip and Master Club’s
exquisite slotted hex nuts. Other
nuts were chucked in my hand
motor tool, carefully drilled out and
slipped over a .020" rod.

The bow required an extensive

rebuild and is arguably the most
interesting feature of the model. The
casting was warped, pitted and
lacking in detail. I was forced to
denude it and start afresh after filling
the defects with styrene and putty.
The various components: radio
operator’s hatch, hull MG shield,
driver’s station and periscope, and
headlight were built up from card, rod
and tube. The shackles and mounts
were fashioned as per those on the
stern. The antiskid photoetch on the
footplates is by Lion Roar and the
retractable step is brass stock. The
hinge screws were usually puttied
over except for the right lower one...
why? The prominent screws on the
headlight and driver’s shield are
Verlinden PE, simply pressed into
shallow holes.They were indeed
aligned and also sometimes puttied 17
over.
 The exhaust was replaced with a more accurate
representation built up with tube, card and brackets
of .005" strip. The texture of the elbow casting is Mr.
Surfacer 500 thinned with Mr. Color Leveling
Thinner and stippled on with a soft brush. The
Azimut photoetch jacket is correct in size and has
the proper 24 louvers, but the outer edge should be
round not square. To make the smooth curve I
annealed the brass and ground it “wafer thin” from
the inside, then bent it over a rod. The louvers were
embossed with a metal burnishing tool on a soft
cardboard surface.

I was dissatisfied with the running gear. The

details were soft and the road wheels not of the
pattern seen on the first series. The most
prominent feature of the undercarriage was the
uniquely shaped rear drive sprocket. I refined the
contours of an Azimut sprocket and added Master
The idler wheels should have only six For the safety wires on the sprockets I
Club nuts. I also made masters for the wheels,
spokes, not eight. But as they are largely drilled holes through Master Club hex nuts
bogie cheeks and return rollers from Evergreen
obscured by the side shields I got lazy and and glued them in place, maintaining their
stock. I sent these to Mike West of Lone Star
just replaced the nuts. orientation with small pieces of wire. I ran
Models who cast multiple copies for me.
.004" copper wire through the holes to
mimic the commonest pattern seen in
The inner surfaces of the road wheels at the front and rear were visible, so I cut period photos. Note - the pink staining is
several wheels in half and grafted the parts together. Mounting the road wheels
the residual of marking pen ink that I used
was fairly straight forward, apart from having to grind away large amounts of the
thick resin hull. I built the bogies and fixed them to rigid beams, to detect surface defects.
which simplified spacing and alignment,
and epoxied the assemblies to the hull.

The Blitz kit’s link and length tracks looked better than Azimut’s so I used them. They still
required a lot of cleanup and were thicker than I would like. I used a razor saw to separate
the edges and the cleats. I prefer to paint tracks before fixing them in place, so to facilitate
this each run was made up of two sections, a top and a bottom. The curves and contours
were formed by bending just a few links at a time after dripping boiling water on them, and
with strategically placed individual links.

18
 During the 1930’s French tank designers were obsessed with mud chutes. Those on the D2 were
built into the tops of the side shields. I refined the shape of the kit troughs and moved the rear
ones closer to the stern; a chore hacking through solid resin. Along the entire upper edge of the
side shield is a lip that hangs over the vertical panels. Short sections of .010" square strip were
tediously wrapped around the curves of the chutes. A mud scraper was fashioned for the
sprocket wheel. The kit shields were too thick and simplified. Moreover I destroyed them as I
ground away much of the hull replacing the suspension.

Also along the tops of

the shields are caps for
the vertical bogie
springs, nine per side.
The kit’s are inaccurate.
The replacements were
fashioned with .188 tube,
card and lead foil. The
difficult task was aligning
them all vertically and in
parallel on the slope.

The new skirt panels are .010" card. Again the mud troughs
proved aggravating as the shields had to be carved to fit them.
The retaining linchpins are a unique feature of the D2. Mine are
discs punched from .030" card, glued to .015" rod. Clamped in a
pin vice made it easier to drill them and fit the thin copper wire
loops. The chain is fine Hauler photoetch. It is only 2-dimensional
but I could find no real chain as small. Annealing the chain over a
“cool” candle flame made it easier to manipulate, but an attempt
to chemical blackening caused the delicate metal to dissolve!
The chains are anchored to the shields with parts from a
Verlinden photoetch clasp set. In their exposed position the pins
were often jarred loose and even torn off. Note, I used the same
chain to detail the front and rear shackle pins.

I am inept at soldering brass sheet. Instead I make my fenders tops of

.010" card to which I glue sides of oversized .005" strip that are sanded
to the correct contours once cured. Despite being plastic this produces
a robust result. The other advantage of using plastic is that attaching
other parts to the fenders is simpler than with brass. The brackets are
also .005" card which can be folded like brass, in a photoetch bending
tool. The rivets were punched from .010" card.
 After a coat of Tamiya primer the basic camo of the colour
patches shown here BEFORE the dark grey border lines.

completed camo WITH border lines, over coated with Tamiya’s After the muting the bright colours with an overall misting
Semi Gloss Clear. The border lines were brush painted using a of highly dilute Cockpit Green, and adding the random
very dark grey enamel. mottling experiment with the airbrush masks from Artool.

20
Renault D2
1st Series

21
 BIG BANG
THEORY
88mm Pzgr.39 (APCBC) L/56
1:1Scale
Owning your own lifesize example of the
iconic 88mm tank shell remains something
of a dream for many of us until now with
the release of this 1:1 scale replica of a
Pzgr.39 L/56 from a new name, Pig Model,
based in Taiwan. The kit consists of just
four parts, the grenade and body of the
cartridge case moulded in polypropylene
and base plate with separate fuse both
moulded in a harder plastic. The grenade is
designed to click into the top of the
cartridge but I would recommend leaving
them separate to make the shell easier to
handle during painting as it is something of
a handful. The kit comes with a set of die-
running over the tip of the grenade and
down the side of the ballistic cap. Nothing
out of the ordinary for a modeller and I set
about cleaning up the seam and fixing the
gap with my usual modelmaking products.
My experience now tells me that this is not
a good idea when working with
polypropylene, and instead I would
recommend switching to automotive
products. I bought a large aerosol can of
Halfords (yellow) Filler Primer and Grey
Primer. The worst of the raised mould
seam can be cut away with a sharp scalpel
blade but the polypropylene does not sand
well, tending to scuff up. This is where the
Primer Filler comes to the rescue, allowing
you to coat the surface and then sand it
back to achieve a seam-free surface. In
22
88
modelled by David Parker
cut card masks for the markings and a
simple assembly and painting guide.
As you can see, assembly is unlikely to be
a challenge but bringing the black plastic to
life will be so I thought it would be fun to try
to make it look as real as I could. The
immediate challenge of cleaning up the
mould seams from the grenade and
cartridge case was something which I
thought would be simple enough but in fact
took up a large amount of time. There was
a fine raised seam down the cartridge and
grenade but towards the tip of the grenade
on my example there was a recessed gully
order to be able to handle the 56cm long
cartridge case when spraying and sanding
I made an improvised mounting by
inserting two discs of cardboard into each
end of the tube. these were punctured to
permit me to insert a broom handle down
the axis of the cartridge case. This would
permit me to manipulate the cartridge
case without needing to hold it.
I applied layers of the Yellow coloured
Primer Filler which was sanded down and
then reapplied and the sanding process
repeated. On the case I was aiming to get
a good polished surface finish as this
would be important in getting a good
metallic finish eventually. The grenade
presented a different set of problems with
My initial attempts to clean up the mould seams using Mr Surfacer Cardboard discs are push fitted into each end of the cartridge.
and sanding sponges were not entirely successful

the varying diameters of it with its rings of grey primer that were then also sanded
and undercut cap all requiring a lot of and polished using increasingly fine grades
cleaning up and repeated priming to finally of sanding sponges to develop a polished
eradicate the seam lines. For something surface. This is essential to create a
so simple there were many hours of realistic metallic finish.
priming, sanding and polishing put into
getting a seamless finish in preparation for
the painting. Once I was happy that the
parts were seam-free I applied top coats

Above A broom handle allowed me to handle the

casing while spraying.

Right A good thick coating of Filler Primer allows the

seam lines to be sanded back and blended in.

Below After considerable work the seam lines on the Below The final coat of primer is sanded and buffed to a polished finish
grenade begin to fade

23
 Panting Moving up to lifesize puts the
size of even my biggest airbrush in
perspective so I stayed with the
automotive products for my base colour -
in this case Halfords Wheel Paint ‘Steel’.
This would act as my base for the
grenade and to a lesser extent for the
cartridge. In reality the case would have
been brass washed steel so it is a
sensible starting point. Focussing on the
cartridge case I needed a sympathetic
base colour over which to work with AK
Interactive True Metal. This is a buffable
paste which will produce some quite
remarkable metal finishes but it is not
entirely opaque so you need a suitable
base beneath it. I chose to airbrush a
light misted coat of Alclad Brass on top
of the wheel paint steel. Once this was
done I moved onto the True Metal using

five different shades, Brass, Old

Bronze, Copper, Steel and Iron which
were randomly mixed in different
proportions. It can be applied with a
brush, your finger tip or a cloth and
you can work in small areas because
it blends together perfectly. As you
work the paste it begins to burnish
and transform. Again a cloth or even a
finger tip will burnish the surface but
obviously you need a smooth surface
to start with so all the sanding and

Above The polished primed grenade and Right The base coated cartridge and the
cartridge were sprayed with Wheel paint ‘Steel’. True Metal pastes used to finish it.

Above True Metal paste is mixed on a Above The stark difference between the Alclad
palette and applied with a cloth. As you base and the patch of polished True Metal is clear
work the paste into the surface it changes and to see.
begins to burnish into an incredible metallic shine.

Above I varied the tones on the cartridge with a

darker more Steel and Iron mix towards the base
of the case. Already the handling of the shell is
developing a realistic patina.

polishing is critical to the end result.
Another excellent feature of the True Metal
is its tendency to tarnish simply by
handling. Grease and oils from your skin
will add the mix of blooms and shading
just like the real thing. To be clear these
are not recognisable as finger prints per se
but an overall patina. These effects can
also be enhanced if you wish by applying
additional paste as I did using a cotton
bud to create some scuffs on the base
24 plate of the cartridge. These were then
buffed into the rest of the finish. At this
stage the base plate and fuse were still
separate pieces and the fuse was finished
in much the same way but using Steel and
Iron True Metal. The recessed sections
each side of the centre strip were stippled
with paste for a rougher less polished
surface. The centre strip was part polished
before adding the paste so that when
burnished it gave a pleasing irregular
finish.
Grenade Moving on now with the
painting of the grenade I masked off
the pair of driving rings at the base of
the grenade and I applied some liquid
mask using a kebab skewer to apply
the mask irregularly around the raised
lips of the ballistic caps. The entire
grenade was then airbrushed with
Mission Models Black Primer with the
tip then masked and oversprayed with
Mission Models White Primer. Once
the masking was removed it
unfortunately stripped off some
of the paint on the driving rings.
I suspect this was caused by
my initial priming attempts
with model primer rather than
automotive. The Liquid mask
was rubbed off to expose
the underlying silver for a

chipped effect on the black areas. The kit supplies card

stencils for the markings but it was clear that
getting these to sit against the curved
surface would not be easy so I cut
my own masks using Frisk
masking film. It
appears that
the real
shell

Above I repaired the damaged paint and Above The larger white markings were masked Above In order to create a stamped effect I used
resprayed the silver. I then applied a coat of True and sprayed. stencils with a mix of sponged and sprayed
25
Metal to the rings, in this image the right hand colour.
ring has been done.
 Above The colour density is built up with more sponging and sprayed colour.
Above Right When the mask is removed I used a wet brush to break up the
borders of the numbers to get rid of the crisp edge created by the mask.

markings were applied with a stamp rather than a stencil meaning

that there are no gaps in the letters associated with stencils. It
also means that the paint coverage is not consistent as it is
squeezed out by the stamp. I used Frisk masks to create the
numbers but rather than spraying a solid colour I tried to give a
more varied finish by sponging and lightly airbrushing the colours.
The smaller numbers were too small to cut masks for so I brush
painted them using strips of tape to define the upper and lower
edges. I left them with the irregular density that brush painting
creates. On the cartridge case the numbers around the body of
the case were also brush painted as were those on the base
plate. The final touch was a very subtle wash applied to the
recesses around the body of the grenade. All that remained was
Above I treated the white letters in a similar way giving them softer edges.
to push fit the grenade into the cartridge so that the driving rings FES denotes Iron driving bands at the base of the grenade, copper ones are
touch the top of the case. designated KPS.

26
Shelling out
We couldn’t resist taking a few shots of the
Editor clowning around with the finished 88
round as it gives an excellent idea of the sheer
size of it. For added realism it could easily be
weighted correctly by adding something like
bags of sand perhaps.

Pig Model have more 1:1 ammunition planned

and we understand that the 88mm L71 used by
the King Tiger and Jagdpanther is in the
pipeline. For more information see:
www.facebook.com/PigModelServices

27
 Rubén González Hernández
has some fun with the Airfix
quarter -scale Jackal

1:48

28
‘Operation Herrick’ was the codename of the military operations
conducted by the United Kingdom in the war against terrorism in
Afghanistan starting in 2002. Herrick is the British contribution to
the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ) in
support of the United States in it’s own ‘Operation Enduring
Freedom’ ( OEF ).
The famous Land Rovers at the time replaced by the MWMIK
( Mobility Weapon-Mounted Installation Kit ) designed by Supacat
(of Devon in the UK) the ‘Jackal’ needed to provide improved
protection against mines and explosive devices.
29
 Straight out the box

This little Airfix kit is a fun build straight from

the box, although you can always add extra
details and do some modifications to the kit
parts. Personally, I’m not such a big fan of
excessive use of photo-etch parts or rebuilding
kit parts, luckily most of the latest generation
of kits are of such a high quality that not much
extra is needed to build a decent well detailed
model. For my Jackal I only opted to replace
the wheels by resin upgrades from MacOne
Models- Set MAC48001 (not shown in the build
images, these are the kit wheels) is especially
designed for this kit by Juan Antionio Parrilla
and Juan Luis Macone, great friends of mine,
who actually designed this set on my request!
The only parts that are really in need of
replacement are the side storage nets and
seatbelts which are, to be honest, quite
horrible! These are easily remade using
masking tape.

The model was divided in sub assemblies to make painting and weathering easier.
When fully assembled and ready to paint the model is still a decent size even considered
it’s only 1/48 scale, It’s quite a bit larger than the Land Rover it replaced at the time.

On with the colour

The base colour is a mixture of Tamiya XF-51
Khaki Drab, XF-60 Dark Yellow, XF-55 Deck Tan
and XF-2 Flat white. It was applied using my
Harder& Steinbeck Infinity airbrush. The colours
are sprayed on using the zenithal lightning
technique with lighter colours on the upper
surfaces.
After the base coat is on a protective layer is
applied with satin varnish from Vallejo. This well
aid decal application and protect from the
weathering processes.
I opted to use the original kit decals and these are
applied with the help of Micro Set & Sol. All decals
are carefully cut out and applied with a pair of
tweezers. When dry another coat of varnish is
applied to also protect the decals.

30
Detail painting is up next. This is done Other small details such as antenna bases, the
exclusively by handpainting with acrylics. Here dashboard and others must be painted before
you see the shadow and highlights applied on continuing with the weathering phase.
the seats which are a highly visible part of the
model.
It’s pretty time
consuming, but this
step changes the
overall look of the
model completely.
A Dark brown wash was applied over the model to
create some depth in and around the details.
Excess paint is removed with a clean brush and
white spirit.
If the contrast is too high it
can be easily toned down
by gently removing some of
the wash with a brush moist
with White Spirit.
31
 Oil change
In this series of photos you can see
the results of the effects made with
oil paints. I applied the lighter oil
colours on the upper surfaces while
the darker ones are applied near the
bottom of the model to strengthen
the effect of the zenithal lighting
technique.

Oil paints are a perfect medium to bring some

subtle changes in the basecoat. Small dots of
502 Abteilung’s 130 Dark mud, 092 German
ochre, 100 Faded grey, 010 Luftwaffe yellow and
001 Snow white are applied and blended in
using a flat brush moistened with White Spirit.

Our main chipping colour is AK’s 711 ‘Chipping colour’. This is carried ... where the crew mounts the vehicle and where equipment is mounted or
out in logical places that are subject to wear and tear due to it’s removed regularly.
everyday use by the crew...

32
 To create the earth and dust effects AK 015, 017 and 074 were
mixed with plaster and this mixture is applied with a dabbing
motion on the underside of the model logically were dust and
earth would collect. If you want a stronger, more textured With the same mixture as in the
effect you must work in layers and make sure the previous previous step we apply splatters
layer is dry before you add a new layer. in and around the wheel arches.

For the fuel, oil and other wet effects I used AK014 Winter Streaking Grime, I’d recommended you build up these effects in layers and therefore these
AK 084 Engine oil and AK 025 Fuel stains. These are applied as washes, paints should be thinned otherwise the layers would be too thick and look
stains and splashes. unnatural, in this scale especially.

Wheel-istic

The MacOne wheels are a big improvement over the kit

parts. Here is my painting and weathering procedures to get
the best from this major feature of the vehicle. The jerry cans
are also from MacOne.

33
 A few dashes of colour with some outer-cases of drinks and
cigarettes were fun to add to this fun project. A small base of
dry and dusty earth contrasting against the black wooden
plinth frames the little Jackal nicely.

34
 Panzerkampfwagen
David Parker builds Trumpeter’s 1:16 kit
Part Twenty Eight features my work towards completing the turret
basket, focussed mainly on painting and weathering the basket.
With assembly almost completed (one floor mounted toolbox
remained incomplete as I searched for reference from which to
build it). The big challenge here was to achieve a realistic level of
weathering in this confined space in which 3 crew members
All the turret basket parts were dry fitted together
before painting, only the turret basket legs
remaining largely unmodified from the original kit
parts.
The electrical parts were painted in my own mix of grey to match the colour
on preserved vehicles. Masking the legs lifted the paint so this had to be
repaired.
38
Part Twenty Eight
effectively live. Space is very tight and the crew would be using
any structural parts as foot rests or steps to get in and out of the
vehicle. That said my subject vehicle had a life of approximately 9
months from construction to destruction so extreme chipping and
rusting would not be appropriate.
Above Before moving ahead with the painting I
needed to prepare the mounting of the gas mask
stowage on the Gunner’s seat support. To give the
mount strength I drilled through the plastic bars
and added brass rods. A dab of paint on the pins
allowed me to drill the correct locations on the leg
to fit the gasmasks after painting.
Below The painting gets underway with the red
oxide primer (Vallejo Cavalry Brown) and Ivory
(Mission Models Elfenbein). This was then sealed
with a satin varnish.
On the Commander’s footrest I fitted the MG Zubehör box into the front
frame...
 1

...and the MG Werkzeug box on the reverse face. I had hoped to use the photoetched straps to fit the Zubehör box but they
were too springy to sit naturally so I made my own straps from a lead foil
strip.

The pair of gas masks under the Gunner’s seat were glued in place and the On the front legs the electrical boxes were glued into place after the collar
weld detail added. A light pin wash was added to the seat assembly. details had been painted. Its worth saying that none of the legs were fixed to
the turntable floor at this stage.

Weathering of the floor was done as a whole to try to avoid parts looking dramatically The wash was enhanced with some airbrushing of the same colours
different, beginning with an acylic wash. to show the accumulation of dirt. Notice how the dirt is heavier in the 39
less accessible areas.
 1

I started to add areas of darker staining where oil or moisture might collect. Using a darker tone over the first ones enhances this effect further.
The base bracket 1 for the gun counterbalance would no doubt leak oil during
maintenance.

Fixtures that had not been fitted yet were also weathered in outline in The MG ammunition locker was then weathered and fitted to the floor. I also
anticipation of their eventual installation. started to add some areas of polished metal to the top of the Commander’s
footrest and on the edge of the trunking next to the Co-ax MG foot trigger.

Areas of heavier wear on the tread plates were

dry bushed with a very dark brown/black.

The turntable will receive the heaviest wear from the crew’s boots but there are also areas where Selected areas were then rubbed with Uschi van
40 it is impossible to stand. Here the dark areas of wear have been added to the floor. der Rosten steel pigment using a fingertip to just
pick up the raised detail.
 2

The edge of the floor panel here between the fighting

compartment and the bow would see higher wear.

Right An overall view of the floor at this stage. The shadowed

floorspace 2 is for a toolbox that sits under the Gunner’s seat
but had not yet been constructed.

The ammunition crate supports take some punishment as pictures of

captured Panzer IVs show so I added heavy scuffing to the contact areas.
This was started with the dark black/brown colour with some touches of red
3 oxide added on top.

Areas of heavy wear 3 where the Gunner’s feet rest and the working
floorspace for the Loader were treated with a polished finish to the chevrons.

Above No doubt the top edges of the supports would have served as an
improvised step for the crew so this was given a polished metal finish along
with the areas of heavy chipping.

Right The lip of the Gunner’s bucket seat were also given a similar highly
worn finish, starting again with the dark worn areas and followed by the
touches of red primer.

41
 Very limited areas of polished metal were added to the front edge of the seat Very light acrylic washes were used to bring out the texture of the seat
rim. cushion along with the same dirt colour lightly sprayed around the back edge
of the cushion where dust would collect.

At this point I added this heavier wear to the floor by drybrushing the same Nevertheless I moved ahead adding some metallic shine to the tops of the
metallic powder in between the chevrons. As soon as I had done this I had a gas mask cases.
feeling it was the wrong thing to do.

The Loader’s seat was tackled with a weathering look that was consistent The spare MG barrel case was glued into position allowing the seat assembly
with the rest of the interior. Liquid filler was applied to the tips of the clip at to still be removed.
the top of the MP40 rack and painted black.

42 Time to stow the MP40 which still needed a sling to be added. This was The strap was painted with the weapon glued into the rack and the finished
made using pewter strip which allowed me to get a natural hang to the assembly test fitted in position.
strap.
 I also reworked the top of the MG ammunition locker to represent the wear
caused by the Commander’s feet. The top of the Gas Mask case was also
I resolved to rework the polished areas of the floor by going over the areas
given a heavier worn look.
with washes of my dirt colour which killed the shine. I then repeated my dark
drybrushing and the fingertip rub to create the polished areas.

Another all important check of the appearance and balance of the I started work on weathering the front leg assembly. With cables running
weathering alongside the rest of the interior shows a better overall look. from these boxes up onto the turret ring the assembly sequence will require
careful planning.

A final dry fit of the turret basket parts provides good motivation for pushing with the project in the next
Issue. The project continues in the next Issue 43
 new releases
KEEPING TRACK
Meng 1:35 MB Military Vehicle ‘WASP’
A most unusual version of the obloquious Jeep is the latest ‘hot’
release in 1:35 from Meng, it would certainly take a certain kind of
chap to climb into and drive behind enemy lines in such a small
vehicle loaded with a large tank of such flammable liquid! The
British special forces group in WWII created by Major Vladimir
Peniakoff known as "Popski's Private Army" caused havoc behind
enemy lines in Africa and Italy in their modified Jeeps in an almost
old-school war comic style, one version of which is depicted with
this kit being armed with the WASP flamethrower. Although this
version of the Willys MB is obviously niche all the pointers are
there on the sprues for a more regular un-modified vehicle to be
48
released in future; be prepared for a little shaving and filling of
certain details to produce this version. Only two sprues and a very
nicely done one piece body are all you need here and there’s
some really nice detail for such a small and simple build, nice
touches like steerable front wheels and full engine detail with
separate bonnet / hood feature and the wheels and tyres look
rather good. One of the sprues contains all of the parts for the
WASP conversion with nicely moulded tanks and canisters, jerry
cans and the modified dashboard and bonnet. A piece of vinyl
tubing is included to replicate the pipework, a small decal sheet
mainly provides dashboard gauges and placards and a small
clear sprue houses light lenses and a windshield which is unused.
This looks like a very simple build of and interesting version of the
Willys straight from the box and it would be nice to see Meng
continue with other Jeep releases.
Tamiya 1:35 Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) Ausf.E/F
If some of the ultra-detailed modern kits with hundreds of parts
are sometimes a little too much to take on, you can rely on
Tamiya to keep on doing things their way with easy to assemble
kits of popular subjects and this new 38(t) is sure to be a hit. The
compact box holds no surprises; dark grey sprues (sharply
moulded in typical Tamiya fashion), a piece of photoetch for the
engine intake mesh, polycaps for attaching the wheels and main
gun and small decal sheet for two dunkelgrau finished vehicles.
The lower hull is the starting point of the build, being designed as
separate plates the detail is nice all-round with separate leaf
springs and nicely rendered wheels. Link and length tracks are a
Copper State Models 1:35 Romfell
This is probably a surprise release to most armour modellers, not
so much the kit but because we’ve never even seen the vehicle
before! Austro-Hungarian armour of the Great War period in kit
form is rather thin on the ground (read as pretty much non-
existent!) so this is really a niche topic from CSM who have built a
good reputation for kits of early aircraft (if you’re also a reader of
AIR modeller we featured their Nieuport recently). This great
looking period design is a fitting follow-on from their first vehicle
release of the Lanchester (cast your mind back to issue 105) and
is presented in a very similar, quality fashion. The sprues are well
housed in heavy protective bags and a stout corrugated inner box.
The moulding quality is very good with very little clean-up required
good comprimise between individual links and ‘rubber bands’ with
ready moulded sag across the upper run. The hull shows some
nice fastener detail and Tamiya have designed the complex
shapes with more builder-friendly construction in mind which
follows through to the turret which features simple gun breech
detail and the various rivet and fastener sizes nicely replicated.
The bonus of a figure finishes off another very ‘Tamiya’ kit, yes
indeed there are plenty very nice 38(t) kits already available (which
of course Tamiya don’t make a penny from) with higher levels of
detail, but for the more leasurly build or more novice modeller you
can’t go far wrong with a Tamiya kit.
and some nice finesse throughout, the chassis and engine are
assembled first followed by the armoured body which features
fully posable doors and hatches. Suspension is well detailed
without being too fussy and the wheels look great with their solid
covers and period rubber tyres. The choice is a really quick build
with all hatches closed or go all-out with painted interior and
engine bay, either way this looks like a very solid build straight
from the box and a great looking vehicle. A final mention must go
to the beautifully produced instruction book with an authentic
period look and packed with information and original images. 49
 Worn Art Collection, Number One
Published by AK Interactive
Softback format, 88 pages
ISBN 8435568306080
www.ak-interactive.com
T-54/5 to IDF Tiran 4/5, The
Birth of a Bastard Tank
Ma’or Levy
Published by AK Interactive
Softback format, 88 pages
ISBN 8435568305946
www.ak-interactive.com
Panzerwaffe Tarnfarben
Camouflage Colours and
Organisation of the German
Armoured Force (1917-1945)
Carlos De Diego Vaquerizo
Published by Abteilung 502
Hardback format, 127 pages
ISBN 9788412093506
50
The start of a new series from AK focusses on topics involving various painting and
weathering techniques in a visual step-by-step presentation, the first edition features
wooden surfaces. Techniques are explained by leading modellers with a wide range
of topics including brushing methods on a new aircraft airframe, old weathered
wooden buildings, painted rail car and crane cab and Russian truck cargo bed. Along
the way there’s plenty of associated modelling tips and tricks to accompany the paint
techniques with plenty for all modellers to learn regardless of ability. Great production
and design quality as we’ve come to expect from AK.
Following Volume one on the T-34 in IDF service the theme continues with the same
author (ex Merkava commander and doctoral student of Israeli military history) telling the
intriguing story of the capture, adaption and service of the ’Tiran’ tanks through in-depth
knowledge and unique period images culminating in the deployment of the 274th
Brigade fielding the Tiran. Images include an interesting series showing amphibious
landing training and some good modelling reference with images from the production
line upgrading the tanks to IDF spec. An attractive book which will be of equal interest to
IDF enthusiasts and lovers of the T-54/5 alike and a great companion if you have any of
the recent MiniArt kits.
Abt.502 are positioning themselves firmly at the ‘luxury / quality’ end of the market with their
finishing products and publications, this is certainly the case here with a visual potted history
of the German forces from WWI to the end of WWII. The presentation is excellent from the
foil-blocked and laminated cover to the weight of paper inside; what you might call a ‘coffee
table’ book. The contents are very visual with a mix of colour profiles (some more interesting
than others) and a selection of some of the best known original colour images from WWII
and good quality black and white shots. The text is light and mostly related to the images,
some of the translation has suffered but is still comprehendible. Organisation of the units is
displayed in easy to understand diagrams of the vehicles and a section of Heer and SS unit
emblem illustrations is good modelling reference. With so many books available on German
armour, if you’re an avid reader there’s probably not a huge amount of new information here
but for anyone seeking a general reference it’s a very good starting point.
Eduard
More 1:35 super-detailed weapon sets are
now available in Eduard’s vast catalogue
starting with the infamous panzerfaust, two
depicted as ‘armed’ and complete with
superb decals- 635016 is the reference.
635015 is a set of the British Sten MkII
complete with coloured photoetch slings
and optional stocks, 635013 provides eight
StG 44s with separate spare magazines
and coloured photoetch slings. 36415 is a
nifty trio of Israeli flags printed on both
sides of the ultra-thin photoetch, these are
often seen on armoured vehicles and very
easily shaped to suit your needs. All top-
quality stuff at www.eduard.com

Sovereign 2000
Many armour modellers we speak to, and ourselves x
included, enjoy the painting challenge (and resting their eyes
a little!) of a large scale figure. A couple of new busts in
S2K’s great range of value-priced 1:9 subjects. Very nicely
sculpted and cast are an SS grenadier of ‘Wiking’ in cold
weather attire (S2KB022) and an officer of
‘Grossdeutschland’ complete with neck scarf and binoculars.
Both come with a display plinth featuring the Divisional
emblem. Check out S2K’s full range of busts, 1:35 figures,
accessories and full vehicle kits; top quality and great value.
www.sovereign2000.uk.com

Panzers Forward With so many ‘WWII German Armour’ overviews out on the market this new release from
Stackpole could be easily overlooked as another generic guide but it’s in fact a great
Robert J. Edwards
collection of images at a bargain price. Some of the period images are familiar but most
Published by Stackpole are rarely or never seen in print and have a theme of the more realistic side to the German
Softback format, 285 pages war machine and not just the PK images of the Panthers and Tigers. Armoured cars feature
ISBN 9780811737708 heavily along with more ‘workhorse’ type vehicles and armour covering all fronts from pre-
war until the end. An interesting chapter contains a great selection of images and
www.casematepublishers.co.uk information on the development of the Trippel amphibious vehicle (essentially a big, fat
Schwimmwagen!) surely one of the only German rare beasts we’ve not had a kit of. Well 51
worth a look whether even you’re an avid collector of books and images.
 Tamiya 1:48 Panther Ausf.D
If you feel the love for forty-eight scale German armour you’re
probably very pleased to see a ‘D’ from Tamiya as their 1:48
Military Miniature series comes close to reaching 100 kits. This
series is perfect for the novice modeller or those of us who are
very short of time and like to finish and display their models in a
reasonable time frame and minimal space. Simplicity is the name
of the game with minimal parts and the return of the unusual
metal die-cast hull, in fact the hull is the only part in common with
the previous released Panthers and probably present as these are
available as finished collectables under the Tamiya ‘Masterworks’
brand. But we’re all about building our own models and this
should take no more than a couple of leisurely evenings to have
ready to paint, of course detail usually suffers with a level of
simplicity which is the case in places but there’s Tamiya’s high
standards of moulding and some nice textures and weld beads to
keep us happy. The key features of this initial production of the
Panther appear present such as fewer bolts around the road
wheels and turret features. Couple of Kursk markings are provided
on the decal sheet. If you want something more than a weekend-
style build there’s plenty of aftermarket available for these 1:48
kits to raise the detail levels.

Stalingrad
A very quaint little scene has been created by the sculpting
talent of Stalingrad with S-3578 ‘Love in Wartime 1943-’45’ with
a male Russian tanker presenting some flowers to a bashful
female soldier. Both figures are beautifully done and designed
to fit on a T-34, a bonus of a couple of cats, also looking a little
affectionate, is included. Fantastic figures always at
www.stalingrad.diorama.ru
D-Day Miniatures
This excellent little ‘instant vignette’ was released at Scale
Model Challenge recently by the talented guys from D-Day. ‘De
Zwarte Duivels’ (Black Devils) depicts the elite Dutch Marines
famous defence of key positions in Rotterdam against German
forces. Beautifully sculpted and cast and available as individual
figures or a full set from www.ddayminiaturestudio.com

Würzburg Radar & Mobile New to the ‘Camera On’ series by Alan Ranger is a fascinating photo-study created by a
24KVA Generator unique collection of images through the eyes of the crews operating these systems day to
Alan Ranger day rather than the usual PK professional shots which would have been published at the
time. These huge radar dishes must have looked somewhat futuristic at the time, along with
Published by MMP Books these various systems and their power generators comes a selection of the more mundane
Softback format, 64 pages. optial sighting equipment and searchlight units. Each image is complete with detailed
52 captions giving an excellent comprehensive reference to the German air defence equipment
ISBN 9788365958532
from development through to service throughout WW2. A very collectable series of rare
www.mmpbooks.biz images and great value.
Resicast 1:35 Simplex 40hp ‘Protected’
It’s great to see Resicast as active as ever with their superb kits,
conversions and accessories with a great selection of subjects for
Great War enthusiasts. A couple of versions of the British trench
tramways narrow gauge engines are now available, this 40hp
armoured version offered crew protection when operating close to
the front lines which was possible without the use of steam
engines giving positions away. The kit is beautifully cast in
Resicast’s usual mid-grey resin with minimal clean-up required,
the large armoured body parts are particularly impressive and
smaller components are neatly bagged and grouped according to
the photographic assembly instructions. A small photoetch fret
adds to the detail and a section of detailed track gives a good
start to some groundwork, Resicast have a great selection of
figures to go with these little engines which would make a very
nice vignette of a trench scene of the ‘Tin Turtle’ in action.
Top quality and interesting subjects as always from Resicast, go
and take a look at their huge range at www.resicast.com.

RPG Scale Model 1:35 SeaRAM and Phalanx close defence systems
Okay, a tenuous link to armoured vehicles but
these new releases from RPG are beautifully
done and too nice not to share! Both Naval
weapons systems share a similar ‘chassis’
with the ‘Phalanx’ sporting a Vulcan multi-
barrel 20mm cannon and the SeaRAM
packing Rolling Airframe Missiles. The kits
come nicely packaged in almost cube-like
boxes with small sprues, beautifully moulded
in mid-grey, flexible black, extensive
photoetch, decals and in the case of the
Phalanx turned brass gun barrels. Due to the
amount of photoetch (some requiring forming
into curves, namely the Ku-band radar cover
section which you can choose to leave open
revealing the interior detail) and the finesse of
detail the kits are more suited to experienced
modellers. The flexible styrene is a nice touch
for the Vulcan ammo belts and weatherproof
gaiters, all very nicely done. A multitude of
finishes are offered with some quirky Naval
markings with full stencilling and technical
placards. Simply great little kits which are
packed with fine detail and offer a change 53
from the usual subjects.
 Live Resin
Some of our favourite figure manufacturers come out of Russia
and you won’t find better than those on offer from Live Resin.
Concentrating on up-to-date U.S. and Russian military subjects
they have a range of over 300 detail upgrade sets and figures all
of which are produced with the latest technology resulting in the
most stunning detail you’ll ever feast your eyes on. A fantastic
new range of tough-looking Russian troops will provide both
seated and standing subjects to use with any of the selection of
vehicles on the market in 1:35, all are beautifully cast in resin with
staggering detail features and assemble very precisely. Seated
troops are all in the modern reversible camo suits and come with
full quotas of equipment; LRM-35042 (machine gunner) and LRM-
35043, LRM-35044, LRM-35045, LRM-35046 are armed with the
54 latest AKs. LRM-35039, LRM-35040 and LRM-35041 are standing
guys in ultra-realistic relaxed poses. All of the figures will interact
beautifully with each other or work equally well on their own. Our
final modern Russian sample is an APC crewman LRM-35047
who could work inside a hatch or stood on or next to the vehicle.
It’s apparent that there’s plenty of armour modellers who like
helicopters (plenty are available in 1:35; we rest our case) and if
you have the Kittyhawk or Academy ‘Hawk’ versions be sure to
take a look at Live Resin’s range of crew, equipment and
armament to enhance these models to another level. We’ve
samples of the two pilot figures (LRM-35024, LRM-35025) who
are looking futuristic in their ‘Air Warrior’ HGU56/P helmets and
selection of hands gripping different versions of Cyclic and
Collective control sticks to suit you chosen ride. Finally a nice
addition to modern Russian vehicles is this ultra realistic RP-
377VM1 Radio Fuze Jammer (LRE-35351). If you demand the
ultimate detail and quality head over to www.live-resin.com and
Facebook.com/LiveResin
Dragon 1:35 StuG.III
Dragon’s sublime StuG. III series has another addition with the
Ausf.B version which draws on the previous releases for the
majority of the parts resulting in a massive amount of sprues
squeezed into the box. Fear not, you’ll only be using around 350
of the parts to create what looks like a very accurate ‘B’ with the
highlights of the kit being the excellent Panzer III based running
gear (including a choice of sprocket wheel), a substantial amount
of interior of the fighting compartment (including the L/24 7.5cm
gun and mount) and superbly detailed upper hull with posable
crew and maintenance hatches. Being a ’Smart Kit’ there’s only
photoetch where it’s really needed and there are some Abteilung-
specific parts highlighted and a few bits of shaving, hole-drilling
and removal of detail to carry out here and there. For such a
beautifully detailed kit the tracks are disappointing, not because
they’re the ‘DS’ single bands (I know the Editor would never use
these but not a problem to me) but because the tooling must be
getting tired and our sample suffers with softened detail and
some flash which could be impossible to remove. The tracks
shouldn’t detract from another wonderful Dragon StuG. III,
certainly a kit for the more seasoned modeller but streets ahead
on detail compared to the vintage Dragon or recent Tamiya
offerings of the ‘B’.

FAMO’s Sd.Kfz.9 18 ton Number 43 in the Nuts & Bolts series is a big one; both the book and the vehicle as the
mighty 18 ton FAMO gets the full treatment resulting in some of the best reference on the
Zugkraftwagen
market aimed directly at modellers. If you’re a collector of this series you already know
Dr Nicolaus Hettler these are comprehensive one-stop references with development and factory information,
Published by Nuts & Bolts technical details, variants, deployment, technical drawings and plans, colour profiles and
Softback format, 233 pages, walk-around colour images of restorations and components. There is also the usual look at
modelling the subject (including the Sd.Kfz 9/2 we featured in one of our early issues!) and a
English / German text superb collection of rare period images. This really is a bumper edition covering all of the 55
www.nuts-bolts.de versions you’d wish for details of, always highly recommended reading from these guys.
 FABIO SACCHI

1:35
ROOFLESS
56
RECCE
 CREATES THE RECONNAISSANCE VERSION OF THE M3A3 STUART
M3 light tank series was developed at beginning of WWII and
rushed in production to fill the huge gap US Army had in armoured
warfare. First M3 were used in action by British forces in North
Africa during operation Crusader.
Tank was so reliable to be renamed by its crew “honey”.
Unfortunately already during his first appearance it was clear that
the 37mm gun was becoming outdated. US industry however kept
in developing the tank and M3A3 was developed in parallel with
M5 version. These new models had a much better shaped and
sloped frontal armour and while M3A3 retained the stellar engine,
M5 introduced a double Cadillac car engined powerplant.
Us Army decided to adopt M5 and left the M3A3 for the lendlease
program.
British forces used M3A3 (renamed Stuart V) in all European
theatres. Its ineffective gun was however becoming more and
more a problem, for this reason it was confined to
reconnaissance roles. To increase speed, a key factor in
reconnaissance roles, its turret was eliminated and a cal. 0,50 and
a cal. 0,30 were installed on pintle. Turret ring was then contoured
by an armoured structure to offer a little more protection to crew.
During the Italian campaign all Commonwealth troops had these
recce vehicles in units and they were even used as ammunition
carriers.
57

Front curved armour plate is very good, it is
however missing transmission retaining bolts,
AFV Club left five holes instead, so with four
bolt made out a punch e die set: job done.
Note that the hole in the middle is …a hole, no
bolt to be added there.
It was the time to add the interior from
Accurate Armour. As said before attention is
needed to detach pieces from casting blocks.
If you do it, assembly will be pretty
straightforward. The only pieces that will need
some tweak are the firewall and hull interior,
this latter is cast as a unique piece. It requires
some patience in sanding away the bottom
casting base and it was a little bit warped (too
many years on the shelf). A little attention and
several dry fits will make it then be coupled
with plastic tub. To facilitate I add two 0.25mm
58
plastic sheets on the side walls as it seems
BEST LAYED PLANS...
I always wanted to make a recce Stuart from the Italian campaign, in
Archives of Italian cities there is abundance of recce photos, especially of
New Zealand and South African vehicles. An AFV Club M3A3 and
Accurate Armour recce conversion I bought many years ago made a
perfect combo for this project. Unfortunately (as happen to us modellers,
initial idea faded away as new projects hit workbench, and these kits
stayed in storage for many years. Last year I wanted a relaxing project
for “summer holidays” so I decided to give it a go.
AFV Club M3A3 Stuart kit, even if it was released more than 15 years ago,
remains a great model with some nice details. Some tweaks may be
needed if you want to improve final result but they are easy and frankly
not too many. It can be an ideal weekend project out of the box.
Accurate Armour conversion is also pretty nice. It is a true “cottage
industry in the eighties style” resin but once you give right attention in
separating parts from casting blocks it comes together pretty well.
I started assembling running gear. I still consider AFV parts superior even
to new Tamiya in terms of detail and finesse. Only point that can be
improved are the connectors of rocking arms. AFV Club depict them as a
solid part while they were two parts, one on each part of rocking arm.
With a sharp blade I carved inner part and replaced it with a piece of 0.25
x 1mm ministrip This is actually the only needed improvement. Rest of
running gear parts went on pretty fast and well. Lower hull is molded as a
complete piece where you need to add rear engine wall and front curved
armour. Rear engine wall need some attention and a pair of dry fit: my hull
tub was slightly warped (probably after being stored for so long) but with a
little patience it fits well. Only a little touch of Mr Dissolved Putty may be
needed under towing pintles supports. Kit offers rear exhaust deflector,
however from photos this part is rarely seen on recces. I therefore applied
a protected mesh under rear armour wall, it comes from the Aber
selection and it is very well concieved.
the resin piece was fractionally smaller than
plastic part. Rear wall was then added and to
ensure future strength I glued on the upper
rear a 2 x 4.8mm ministrip.
When glue was set I then added all rest of
interior, including parts that go on upper hull
front. As I said before putting together this set
was like a 80s flashback: lots of details but you
could see all the manual work of master
pattern maker. So rare in todays perfection
standard of 3D…
The wireless set no.19 protection grills are
obtained from heat curved 0.25mm styrene
rod. At this point I had to paint interior before
closing up hull. I started with a coat of Lifecolor
Flat White with a drop of Dark Sand. Then
weathering started. These vehicles had a
rather long operational service.
They were used in training in Egypt and then transferred to
Italy, sand abrasions and later Italian weather conditions shall
have taken quite a toll on interior conditions. I decided
therefore to go for a very worn out interior. First I used a piece
of sponge to tap scuffs and later I added layers of dust/dirt
and grime using Lifecolor Liquid Pigments and their oil
and grease effects. As stand alone it looked a tad
overdone but once completed it was ok (at least to
my eyes). With interiors finished it was time to close
hull and continue the build.
A minor problem on AFV Club happens on front
sloped part of hull. Once applied it has a noticeable
gap on both sides, fortunately it can be filled with a
welding line which I obtained with a 0.4 mm rod,
worked with TAMIYA Green cap cement and a sharp
blade.
The bow 0.30 barrel was substituted with Passion Model
metal part and lights brushguards were made out of 0.25 x
0.75mm heat formed ministrip. With same ministrip I also
replaced front climbing step. The Driver’s foldable windscreen
guides are on the thick side. I therefore thin them down with
sand paper and added some small details with 0.25 x 0.5mm
ministrip.
Accurate Armour offers in the kit a very nice photoetched
rendition of grousers holders, actually in both “early” and “late”
positioning. Photos of vehicle I wanted to depict showed an
early configuration, that’s means on front armour. As
these photoetched parts were then completely
hidden by grousers I preferred to make
new ones from ministrip and
save them for another
project.

59
THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS...
The upper hull part requires the installation of the armoured walls
around the turret ring. AA supply it in a single piece, its a nice
piece but I did not like the base welding too much. I therefore
removed it with a sharp blade and once glued to hull I replicated it
with a thin strip of Tamiya epoxy putty worked with a scalpel tip. I
like Tamiya epoxy a lot, it dries in less than 24 hours and can be
smoothed with water. Just avoid working with it it as soon as you
mix it, just let it settle down for 10 minutes.
Other details were photoetched tool straps and chains for fuel
caps pins. Rear hull was built as per instruction. I however
changed supplied spare tracks with Model Kasten parts and
scratchbuilt holders. The Left Hand Side track holder was left
empty. In most photos it was evident the presence of two
Jerrycans holders probably for water. I therefore scratchbuilt
holders and used two Asuka Jerrycans. To storage space crews
used to weld empty artillery cases to the hull, I did this too and
they come from AA range of accessories.
Some rear deck stowage was also added and covered with a tarp
made out of Tamiya epoxy putty. These vehicles were initially
equipped with sand shields and in photos were the were removed,
60
4 fixing points on hull sides and 6 holes on fenders side are
evident. Fixing points were obtained from some photoetched
spares and fenders holes were drilled with a 0.30mm drill.
AA resin weapons are ok. They have some nice points, such as an
open ammo tray with nice cartridges but I preferred to change
both of them with Tasca/Asuka parts.
I left to last my choice of tracks. I discarded since the beginning
AFV’s supplied rubber band tracks. They are good, I simply prefer
link by link tracks. I had available both AFV Club, Model Kasten
and Bronco link by link tracks. AFV are much easier to put
together, definitely, but they lacks some finesse, Bronco are also
ok but Model Kasten are the most detailed even if the most
tedious to build as every track pack consists of 8 pieces!
Some hours (days) later the tracks were finished.
I then noticed a missing element: wireless set no.19 Headphones
and speakers. You have it on figures but you don’t find them as
separate items, for that reason I scratchbuilt mine with some
styrene and some photoetch leftovers.
PAINTED FOR PRINCE ALFRED...

My least preferred part of modelling finally arrived.

During model construction Lifecolor was preparing
SET 2 for British vehicles, which included “dark
mud” and “blue black” Italian theatre typical
colours. So I decided to give them a go. What I
discovered was that most of the Stuart V recce in
Italy were NOT in such a scheme! Only South
Africans had them painted in this scheme and
actually vehicles came from Egypt already painted
like that.
I therefore opted for a Vehicle of Prince Alfred’s
Guards (PAG) in the Po valley from a photo caption
were was also possible to recognise registration
numbers.
Base painting was pretty straightforward I started
with dark mud and after that I applied blue black
camo. To facilitate camo application, I made
masking “templates” with silly putty. Very old
modelling style but quite effective to render a mild
colour blend.
I then painted all gear and applied tracks.
Weathering such contrasting camo can be tricky
because you risk making it flat or too dark
depending on which base you start. I went for a
traditional and simple technique.
I started with a pin wash of a mix of Payne Grey
and Sepia. Payne Grey bluish shade was a nice
touch to the base colours as both dark mud and
Blue Black have a cold hue.
Before keeping on with weathering I focussed on
hull behind running gears. Here I used an heavier
treatment: Humbrol wash “dust” with some plaster
for recreating caked mud texture. You need to build
it up in a couple of layers, leaving it dry at least
overnight.
The last touch were some darker areas of fresher
earth done with 502Abt Dark Mud oil wash.
Once running gear and tracks were assembled I
started with overall weathering.

61
 TURN TO DUST...
Again I went the “traditional” way: enamels
and oils. Two sand tones of Humbrol
enamels were airbrushed on sides and
corners, let it dry for a couple of minutes and
then with a flat brush moisted in Enamel
thinner it was removed with vertical strokes,
on the flat surfaces I used a pointed brush
and “moved” somehow the enamel pigments
to create some accumulations. I then let it dry
for a couple of days. At the point it looks quite
flat as you applied sandy colour on a sandy
base so to recreate a little bit of contrast I
apply very sparingly spot of Abt.502 oil dark
mud on sandy areas that were blended with a
pointed brush moistened in Enamel thinner.
That’s rendered a more pleasant contrast.
Actually you may have noticed how dust tend
to be of light shade on dark cars and the very
same dust look much dark shade on a white
car parked just nearby!

I then touched some reddish tone around fuel

caps and added some rust points where
empty shell cases were point welded to hull.
This was done with Lifecolor Liquid Pigments.
With Liquid pigments I then weathered Model
Kasten tracks, I prefer water based products
on them as they have the nasty tendency to
fall apart if enamel thinners are used.

62
PAVE THE WAY...
I wanted something that could place the
vehicle in Italy and more precisely North
Italy (near Po Valley). I ha some photos of
PAG vehicles entering Mantova so I made
some research to find a nice spot in
Mantova city back those days..
Some city roads were paved with large
stones and to making them I use Balsa
Foam
I then made with some pieces of balsa
foam also a wall piece. Bricks were actually
just impressed with a punch done with a
piece of square brass tube.
To seal and give some strength to balsa
foam, it is enough to paint it with two layers
of a mix 50% white glue and 50% water,
letting dry were well between the two layers.
Finally everything was covered with Lefranc
& Bourgeois acrylic gesso. I like the
consistency and texture of the brand,
however there are so many other brands
with different consistency and texture.

A nice touch was then the addition of street

accessories from HD Models 3D printed
catalog
The Street name plate, North Italy well and the
water manhole is a nice set and so good to
locate the model in a precise Italian area.
Painting was done with Lifecolor “white stone”
set, very handy thanks to the nice base
stones shades, Brick wall was painted with
two rust tones. Initially it seems too bright and
punchy but after weathering it tones down well
and keep a nice hue.
Weathering of the base was entirely made
with Liquid Pigments, they are pretty handy as
you can wipe them off with their remover if you
make a mistake or you do not like the effect.
Paving received also a layer of pigments and
for doing that I found Jose Brito turtorials very
helpful.

63
 As usual a figure was needed and as usual my
friend Giuseppe Ortolani painted masterfully an
Alpine offering, depicting a South African
soldier in an already warm Italian springtime.

Truly a fun project. Few issues and really a

unique subject!

64
65