Kit Build/Review: B&P Sturmtiger, pt 2

The image above conveys how much larger the 1/72 Build & Play Sturmtiger is than the 1/72 ICM model. Not a deal-breaker for me. But it's almost the same degree of difference as you get between 1/76 and 1/72. I've decided to detail the B&P kit a bit. And I've started with zimmerit, the transportation hooks on the casemate, and a little judicious filling here and there.

I need to find a better way of doing zimm than my current m.o. Which is fiddly and frustrating. I'm using superfine Milliput. In this instance I even sanded the super smpoth styrene surface a bit, to try and improve adhesion. But it's a real bugger getting the Milliput both thin enough and covering all the required areas. As you'll see here, I've left a good deal of 'oh, the zimm's been knocked off' areas. Especially on the sides; working round the imtergrated tool detailing was just too much of a headache!

I used the Milliput to fill in the welding lines on the slopes of the casemate front, where the way it's been rendered by B&P is wrong. I'll be going back in to score crevices at the correct angles soon. I also scratched in some weld/plate irregularities, such as you see on these behemoths in museums. I'm hoping all this white Milliput stuff is going to look much better when the monster gets painted.

I also intend to remove the current wedge like grab handles and replace them all with wire, so they look a bit less clunky. The ammo crane, I'm undecided about. An orgy of poring over the actual vehicles, via reference photos, is definitely in order. What I'd love above all else, is for a cache of factory assembly photos to be unearthed and made available. I'd love to see these monsters being build! If anyone knows of such a resource, please direct me to it!

Misc: Detailing my 88s...

My collection of scratch-built bits for resin casting nears completion....

Here's where I was at around midday today, having added a three shell wicker ammo-box (inc. lid), a single shell metal canister, and a spent round. These are in addition to the carriage mounts, erdpfahl (the trefoil perforated stakes), a winding handle, and a linkage for the folding legs, that I'd already made earlier.

Making the live shell - the only new element in the second pic, below - took ages. First I tried sculpting sprue using a Dremel style hobby tool. But this span too fast, even wound down to its slowest speed, causing the sprue to overheat and snap. I then tried working with brass. Not having any brass rod, I hacksawed a strip off a piece of brass sheet. I then span that in the drill to round it down. This also overheated and snapped off, long before it had gotten properly shell-shaped.

And bingo... all the sundry elements I'm intending to cast.

So, after numerous failed attempts, I reverted to searching out bits of sprue of roughly the right diameter, that might be viable for the different segments: base, propellant case and warhead. I wound up gluing three different diameter bits of sprue together, which, with some minimal profile shaping, finally gave me a shell I was happy-ish with. 

I think I'll make an initial mould and cast several sets, and then perhaps I'll make a second mould with a proper complement of items; two carriage mounts, four stakes, x ammo boxes and shells, etc. Or maybe the first mould will suffice? I guess I'll see which way the wind blows when the time comes...

Misc: Scratch-Building Details for 88mm Guns

Making fins for the erdpfahl.

I'm really enjoying learning about the 88mm guns of Germany's WWII arsenal, and building a few models of them. I've decided to take my first steps into casting resin parts. Today I started making several small bits and bobs with a view to moulding them. First, my beloved erdpfahl, and then the carriage-hooks that support the gun between the two bogies. 

As can be seen, above, I tried two sets of erdpfahl, or stakes. The first, on the left, were pretty poor. The second, at right, were more satisfactory. I used the wire mesh to space a series of five pin-prick locator marks, made with my DIY pointy tool. I then drilled through these with a 0.5mm drill bit. Despite it being pretty poor, I put the first one together anyway, as pictured below. This revealed that the 'wings', or fins, needed trimming down, which I've started to do to the second set, as yet unassembled.

Refining the second set of stakes.

Below, the two erdpfahl, along with a wing or fin template. Upper is the less successful of the two. The lower is the better one. The central core is yet to be sized/shaped. I turned the cruciform base upside-down, so as to compare them with the ones integral to the Zvezda 88mm.

Erdpfahl #1 and #2, and the fin template, alongside the Zvezda example.

Next up, I started on a pair of the mounting hooks. The plan will be to make sets of four stakes, and two pairs of these hook mounts, a few other bits and pieces, such as a couple of crank-handles, linkages (for the folding arms or legs, or whatever they are), and numerous ammo boxes and shells, etc. Once I have a full complement of these oddments, I'll make a master mould, so I can cast complete sets in one pass.

Making a pair of scratch-built carriage mount hooks.

I'm keen to find or make some decent crews as well. I'm not too keen on any of the figure sets I've seen so far. I'm thinking crews in overalls/boiler suits, crews in shorts, crews with braces but no shirts, etc. The sort of stuff you see in many wartime photographs. I've wanted to sculpt some wargaming figures pretty much all my life. I've even tried a few times, albeit never very successfully. So this next step is something I'm both excited and anxious about...

Kit Builds/Reviews: Various 1/72 T-34

After enjoying the T-34 Tank Craft book, I decided to try and build a few more, and work towards finishing a batch of Russian armour. The models in question are all T-34s, some are the earlier 76 variants, others the later 85 type. The makes are Trumpeter (one T-34/85), Armourfast (two T-34/76 and two T-34/85), Italeri (two T-34/76), and Zvezda (two T-34/85). I also got a SU-100 tank destroyer, by Zvezda. The Zvezdas are the snap-fit variety, but I'll be gluing them up anyway. 

My tank factory, inc. several T-34s.

So far I've been detailing the kits I've already got in hand. Although I did also build the two Italeri 'fast assembly' kits, which are very well designed, and, as they proclaim themselves, perfect for wargamers. They're better detailed and nicer than the Armourfast models which, whilst robust and easy to assemble, are just too clunky and lacking in detail.

These are great, far superior to Armourfast.

So, first thing for this post, a quick look at building the fast assembly Italeri kits. The colour of the styrene is gorgeous, a near perfect Russian WWII green. If you wanted to go super basic, you could simply apply decals, paint the parts that aren't green and there you have it. But that wouldn't satisfy me, nor, I suspect, most of us modellers/wargamers. In fact I want to use these tanks as practice at weathering and making monochromatic colour schemes look good.

Got to dig that green styrene!

Laying out the kits for cleaning up.

Tank number one cleaned and ready for assembly.

The turret mounting clip is a really great bit of design.

First tank assembled. I'll attach the turret after basic painting.

Adding stowage and little bits of detailing.

As well as detailing the models a little, e.g. with wire handles, lamps, boxes, blankets, and so on, I had to reattach an idler wheel on the Trumpeter T-34, which snapped off when I was supergluing the tracks in position. I'm also drilling out the barrels on a pair of Italeri (old Esci) Nebelwerfers, as they were ludicrously thick. You can see before and after above.

Not a great photo, but I'm pleased with my scratch-built saw and headlamps.

In the photo above you can see, albeit not very well, my scratch-built saw and headlamp, on the left. At right you can see how basic the rear engine-deck of the Armourfast kits are; no grill detail. I've also made a boo-boo with the towing cable, tying it off as if it's just strong, as opposed to steel cable. That's it for tonight. I'll do further detailing tomorrow, and then get them all undercoated and base coated, ready for detailed painting, decals, and weathering, etc.

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And now it's tomorrow... today! Decided I'd try a bit of silk purse from a sow's ear, and replace the Armourfast rear deck grill panels, with some mesh and plastic card. Got the mesh from Ely City Cycle Centre's model department, along with some more Vallejo acrylics and some (new to me) Tamiya liquid cement.

Rear deck grill panel removed.

New wire-mesh replacement fabricated, with added storage.

Is this overkill on an Armourfast kit? Hmmm!? It certainly improves the tank, in my view. But it also makes me feel the need to do similarly for hand rails, lifting eye-hooks and tracks. Can I be bothered? It remains to be seen. I've already cut out mesh for the other three Armourfast T-34s. But one of them is going to be very difficult to do on account of stowage I've already added. Unless I remove it...

Adding more detailing to the various T-34s...

1/72 Armourfast Shermans

Armourfast themselves sell these kits for £7.50 per box; I recently acquired four of their several different Sherman variants at Euro Miniature Expo, for £6.75 each. Considering you get two tanks per box I think that's pretty good value, in terms of cost per tank.

However, these are most definitely wargaming models; Dragon or Trumpeter they ain't. If you're buying tanks for a wargaming army, as indeed I am, the fact they're cheap, simple to build, and - due to their simplicity and lack of fine detail - robust enough to withstand frequent handling, are all potential pluses.

Simple kits = easy/quick build.

Assembly line in production!

'Finescale' modellers, looking for display-case suitable single vehicles should look elsewhere. For myself, I don't mind - in fact I quite enjoy - the detailing and/or conversion of my models. Fabricating my own detailing for these Armourfast Shermans has been a fun project. 

I started by adding all the 'eyelet' type rings; I think these are for lifting the tanks during transportation, but possibly also they're for mounting cables/stowage, etc. After that I made the 'wire-frame' style doodads that I suppose are for covering/protecting the headlamps. This was harder, and more time consuming. I'm currently pondering how I might add track-tread detail, to the visible fore and aft portions of the tracks.

Wire eyelets added.

At the rear of the turrets I opted to use styrene for the final eyelets.

The models not only lack detail, but come without decals. Armourfast sell some suitable stuff by Black Lion via their website. They also stock/sell numerous add-ons, such as stowage and the like, for detailing their tanks. The extra costs in these areas, plus the time you might choose to spend working on these very basic kits to enhance them, make them more costly in real terms than the box price might suggest. But they'll still come in cheaper per tank than the more high end models.

Headlamp protection, attempts #1 and #2: left, too big/thick; right, too fiddly to mass-produce.

Left, nigh on invisible, right, too big!

Attempt #3, using plastic-card. Much better.

I also recently purchased a box of Plastic Soldier Co. Shermans. These come three to the box (this said, my box - bought at local charity shop for £5 - only had two!), and are slightly more detailed, with more pieces to assemble: of particular note, the Armourfast running gear (wheels and tracks) are one piece castings, lacking tread detail (which can be a nice aspect of the various Sherman types), whereas PSC are three piece, with much better detailed track. But, in the end, the PSC kits end up costing the same per tank, roughly, as Armourfast models.

Tow-cable eyelets added to all six U.S. Shermans [1].

Scrtach-building a pair of sirens.

The sirens in situ.

Rear lamps were also added.

The M4A2 75mm variants got several tools added at rear.

The M4A3 105mm (centre) have less rear detail; M4A3 75mm (right) sport large stowage bins.

So, if you're looking to build quick/cheap larger forces, Armourfast are, economically, a wise choice. If you find the fun of kit building resides in off-the-shelf hyper detail, buy a different brand. If you like detailing stuff yourself, as I do, then the limitations of these models present an interesting challenge. All told, balancing the lack of detail against value per model, I'd rate these at four stars/balkankreuz.

Halfords matt grey undercoat.

Viewed from the rear.

Humbrol acrylic olive Drab aerosol sprayed on.

And from behind...

So, that's how they look at present. The losing of my Images of War reference - I bought a book dedicated to pictures of Shermans in WWII at the recent Expo, specifically to help me detail these kits - is very galling. I'll return to these at some point soon, to add more stowage, populate them with some figures, add decals, and then, finally, weather them, etc.

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NOTES:

[1] I've built the Armourfast Sherman Firefly variant, a British type, but they're not covered in this post.