Kit Build/Review: 1/72 PSC German Trucks

Although they're very basic, I do really like these PSC kits. Sure, they're not exhibition quality. But that's not the idea. They're simple, robust wargame models. And they do the job superbly, in my view. I already plundered this box to help me finish my Zebrano Einheitsdiesel, covered in the previous post. 

Now, with the remainder of the contents of the box sitting about getting in my way, I figured why not start building them? Well, one argument against would be the enormous backlog of unfinished models that's accumulating on my workbench. But, ah, the feck wi' it, as they might say on Craggy Island. 

Painting the interior of the cab, and the figures.

I've decided to make the first one up as a Mercedes, as I already have a few Opel Blitz models built. I'm really loving working on rear-echelon materiel. Today I've put most of the truck together, and painted the inside of the cab and the two figures, albeit the latter is a quite basic paint job.

Teresa watched a godawful sci-if movie as I beavered away. I then watched another, sort of, whilst working on my models. The one Teresa watched was called The Predator, or poss Predator II, but didn't seem all that related to the original Arnie movie. I didn't find out what my one was till the very end, Extinction. Although I didn't pay it close attention, it seemed alright to me. Certainly a lot better than the Predator one.

Tigger's not interested or impressed!

Tiggy remained unmoved by Sci-Fi horror, or my modelmaking efforts! Now I'm chilling with snooker on YouTube, and getting ready to climb the wooden hill to Bedfordshire. Tomorrow we visit Patrick on his boat. But I hope to get some modelling in as well.

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The next day...

I have three German trucks at present: Airfix, Zebrano and PSC.

Sunday evening we got back from visiting our pal Patrick, on his narrowboat. I assembled the painted interior and figures for the cab of the PSC Opel Blitz truck, at right in the above picture. At left is an Airfix Opel Blitz, from the set that also includes a Pak-40 gun and crew. And in the middle is my recent Einheitsdiesel with Flak-37.

I have two more unbuilt PSC trucks, and numerous others in the pending pile, including several ambulances, a fuel tanker, and a whole heap of various staff cars. I also harbour a strong desire to scratch-build a few trucks (some partially, using the PSC left-overs, etc, some completely), using resources like the Nuts And Bolts [1] title, issue 32, on German 6-ton lorries, and other reference materials.

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NOTES:

[1] You can find the complete inventory of Nuts & Bolts titles here.

Kit Review: 1/72 Einheitsdiesel & 37mm Flak, Zebrano

I bought this kit from TAS Models at On Track in Folkestone, earlier this year. I chose to use it as the kit I take to the Wisbech IPMS, on their fortnightly get together. Progress has been painfully slow. Chiefly on account of the appalling almost illegible instructions, and the missing or damaged parts.

Such issues can actually make a build quite fun, in a perverse sado-masochistic way, by creating challenges to be overcome. And that's really been the best thing about this kit; overcoming the arseache of each new problem, as it arose.

The kit itself looks like it's one that's been issued by other companies in the past. And it also looks like it's one of those Eastern European short-run jobbies, in the Ace Models type line. For example, moulding is a little coarse, with plenty o' flash, malformed parts, and several different colours of styrene.

Making mudguards from plastic card.

I put little 'tabs' on the cab wheel arches, for attaching the mudguards.

Early in the build I had to fabricate part of a malformed suspension element. I discovered fairly late in the build that one rather major/essential component, a section that includes both front mudguards, was missing entirely. I tried to fabricate my own from plastic card, but they looked pretty shite, and weren't quite large enough. So I pillaged some from a PSC set of German trucks (a Mercedes variant). 

Amongst the many issues that plagued this build were problems getting the final three major components of the truck properly aligned. By this point the model as a whole really doesn't look too bad, in fairness. I'm not sure how the flak gun is supposed to be mounted, as it won't sit in the rear as supplied; the two-footed part of the guns' tripod sits up on the benches, whilst the single leg wants to rest on the floor... Hmmm!?

Ok, so my scratch-built mudguards were a bit crap.

So I cut some off a PSC Mercedes truck.

I guess they're a bit high. But they do look better.

Pretty much everything in place. Looking quite good.

Totally unpainted. Why the black rear wheels!?

Sitting on the couch watching Lethal Weapon 2. The model is more or less finished, assembly wise. The 37mm AA gun is done as well. But I don't know how I'm young to combine the two models. In fact I might not bother, and simply use this as a truck. I've ended up enjoying the build, overall. And it's a decent enough looking model of a great vehicle.

But I couldn't really recommend this kit as it came to me in such a ooor state. There were damaged and missing pieces, and the instructions are utter rubbish, printed almost illegibly and nigh on impossible to decipher.

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I'm thinking I'll paint this in early/mid-war grey, and try my hand at improving my  shading/weathering, etc.