Miscellaneous May Modelling Madness

Perhaps the heat (hah, right!) is getting to me? Anyway, yesterday I decided to embark on two fairly random bits of model making madness. 

The first was to take a leaf from a fellow modeller's book*, and drill lots of tiny holes in the side panels of my Revell Sdkfz 7/1. 0.5mm is the appropriate diameter, but my preferred micro drill bit (mit ein grosser shank) is broken. So I used a bit from another set. And it wasn't long before I'd broken that as well! Dang nab it, I must gets me some more 0.5 bits! Perhaps a whole bunch?

So, that particular bit of rod for my own back lunacy is now on hold.

The second undertaking was some drastic Frankenstein style limb swapping, on the 54mm French Nap Hussar I recently bought/built. I realised, some time after cementing the dashing beau sabreur, that I had mismatched the arms; his left arm was dolman, his right pelisse (avec le furry wrist trim). 

I tried to gingerly pry his whole arm off, but it looked like it'd simply snap orff in the wrong area. So I got a spare arm with the right apparel, chopped out the appropriate part (forearm to wrist) - flying by eye and seat of pants - and repeated this process on monsieur le sabreur. 

I'm no Baron Larrey, but, almost miraculously, esp. so given my impulsive manner of going about this, without bothering to measure, etc., the 'new' arm slotted in pretty much ferpectly. My little bit of plastic surgery was a success!

I've subsequently base-coated the rider and his mount, ready for painting.

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* I forget where I saw it, but he'd done exactly what I'd decided to. And very well to!

1/72 Hasegawa Tiger I Ausf E

This was the other kit I bought at the recent Partizan. I built it today, in just a few hours, which is my fastest build to date. I love this kit! Why? Because it was so easy to build. All the parts fitted like so many fairy-tale glass slippers on Cinderelly's little feet.

I can't judge how well this model represents the tank it portrays, as I'm not sufficiently au fait with Tigers (nor any materiel of this sort, to be ferpectly honest). And it is rather basic in some respects; just take a butchers at those blank-disc wheels above!

But the finished model, and the road to getting there, are - in my opinion - tickety-boo. There are a load of excellent little touches in the design and construction of this model that make it a real pleasure to build. 

For example, the axles for certain sets of wheels (and the corresponding holes in the appropriate wheels) are of differing diameters. Perhaps not authentic re the vehicle itself, but brilliant in terms of ease of construction. And the missing detail is, frankly, superfluous anyway, as it's invisible.

Anyway, backtracking a bit; this tank kit is unusual in that it starts with construction of the gun and turret, followed by the chassis/casemate, etc., leaving the running-gear till later. Every single component of this kit reeked of tidy-minded and well thought out design. I was particularly struck by this when assembling the hull.

Admittedly this is neither the most complex nor most detailed kit out there. But neither is it in the Roco Minitanks or Armour Fast camp, having sufficient parts to really merit the term 'build'. Pictured below are the completed turret and hull, with all road-wheels attached, with just the hull detail - front and rear - plus 'mudguards' (if such they are?) remaining to be glued in place.

Even the old rubber-band tracks in this kit are decent, being easy to construct and affix. I finished this just after midnight, and decided to put up a post pronto. I'll give it a base coast tomorrow (well, later today, I guess!).

But my immediate conclusion? This was a very well-spent fiver! A great little kit, fast and fun to build, and looks good once made. In contrast to the Itaeri Hetzer, posted recently (and also acquired at the recent Partizan), the two crew in this kit fit in the tank perfectly.

Definitely recommended.

Book Review: The Illustrious Dead - Stephen Talty

The Grande Armée, defeated by... a Microbe!?

According to this fascinating book it wasn't the Russians that defeated the largest army ever assembled, when Napoleon and HUS allies invaded Arissia in 1812. Nor even was it 'General Winter', as the tale is usually told. Sure, they played their parts. But, according to Stephen Talty, it was the Typhus microbe that really defeated Napoleon's forces in 1812.

Very enjoyable! There are vast numbers of books on Napoleonic history, and a good number of those are about Napoleon's fatal misadventure into Russia, which, it can be argued, marked both the high tide and the definitive end to his Imperial fortunes. One of the things I like about this situation of super abundance is that authors are frequently forced into choosing ever more specific corners of these epic conflicts, or new and different angles on them, in order to give their contribution to the crowded field any chance of gaining notice.

Squalid open air bivouacs, breeding grounds of death.

In another Faber du Faur illustration the cause of death is less clear, could thus be typhus?

Talty's book on the massive and much-covered 1812 campaign in Russia addresses the role Typhus played in the obliteration (decimation is too weak a term, the ratio of losses being closer 9:10 than 1:10) of the Grande Armée, the largest invasion force assembled since Xerxes legendarily large force.

Talty writes very well, and I love his book. I can imagine the more pedantic of Napoleonic buffs - a numerous species - picking apart some of his specifics, but I think he gets the important stuff, and in particular the bigger picture, exceedingly well. His harping on the theme of typhus could be potentially galling. But one can't deny it's role, nor, as the book goes on, wonder why more attention hasn't been devoted to this aspect of the campaign before.

Early US Army deodorants proved unwieldy! [1]

On first reading, when the jacket blurb suggests that herein Talty 'tells the story of a mighty ruler and a tiny microbe, antagonists whose struggle would shape the modern world', it might appear, to the seasoned reader of Napoleonic and 1812 literature, rather a ridiculous idea. But it isn't.

And for me, as someone who became a fairly avid reader of evolutionary literature, sparked by the fairly recent 200th and 150th anniversaries of Darwin's birth and the publication of On The Origin Of The Species, to suddenly read stuff about the ancient prehistory of the planet in a book about the Napoleonic wars was certainly unprecedented and... well, frankly, wonderful.

Stephen Talty (pic. used with permission).

I think Tolstoy would have applauded Talty's work, as it supports his view, as advanced in his masterwork, War & Peace, that so called 'Great Men' are in fact subject to forces both beyond their control and, as with Napoleon and his generation [2] and Typhus, beyond their comprehension.

Whilst traditional military history buffs might quibble with occasional details of uniform, formation or technology, I think many will find Talty's fluid and exciting narrative skills convincing. His descriptions of the actions at Smolensk and Borodino are amongst the clearest and most enjoyable (if, granted, not the most complete or detailed) I've read.

All in all, an excellent, enjoyable, quick and easy read, and a welcome plugging of a gap in our understanding of this much written about campaign, which succeeds in both finding a new and interesting angle of approach and retelling the familiar story in a vivid compelling manner.

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NOTES:

[1] I jest! Actually this pic shows DDT being used to prevent typhus.

[2] Even the medical expert of the Grande Armée, Baron Larrey, was hopelessly off the mark when it came to pathogenic organisms. The enemy in this case wasn't hiding on the reverse slope, they were simply invisible.

1/72 WWII - Italeri JagdPanzer Hetzer

I'm not exactly sure why, but I've always liked the look of the little Hetzer tank destroyer [1]. This one from Italeri (is this another of their old Esci models, re-released?), has the late-war big exhaust muffler thing, and a remote machine gun on top. As pictured on the box artwork, there are also two crew. More on these guys later!

Three sets of camo and markings are shown on the back of the box [2], with decals included for each variation. 

I built this pretty sharpish, after buying it for £5 at Partizan, in whatever free moments I could grab. And, despite one or two minor niggles, and excepting one or two rather more major gripes, I've enjoyed making this model. Minor niggles include such things as some parts (of the running-gear, in particular) not being sufficiently easy to align correctly, and the bits of spare track mounted on the body requiring their inner 'teeth' removing (a step not mentioned in the instructions), in order that the track retaining parts fit into their holes.

The instructions use photographs of the kit, and are serviceably clear.

To be sung Elvis-style: 'You can do anything you want, just lay offa my two beige sprues!'

The first of the two more major gripes has to do with the extreme difficulty these particular (but perhaps also this style in general?) link'n'length tracks presented. I've tried doing what I did here before - and, as I recall it, with more success previously - whereby I lay the tracks out and glue them together in two segmented lengths, per track, before finally draping them over the running-gear, and adjusting the fit.

It's a pity 1/72 is probably too small a scale for tracks to be supplied as individual links that somehow  clip together, into a fully flexible track, as Dragon's 1/35 'Magic Tracks' do. The closest I've ever seen to such an arrangement is not, perhaps surprisingly, these link'n'length numbers, but the flexible one-part tracks made of normal styrene, thin enough to bend snugly around the running-gear, on Revell's SdKfz 7/1 (the kit with a four-barrelled flak gun on the back, which I posted about here).

As is so often the case, it's the running-gear first.

Then upper and lower chassis/body. Gun cleaned up, barrel drilled-out.

As can be seen in this pic, there's some detail on the gun that will be invisible when the model's completed!

Gluing strips of the link'n'length tracks together, using lolly sticks to prevent them gluing themselves to the work surface, and to keep them properly aligned.

After excruciating agonies - continually dropping individual track links; extreme difficulty in properly aligning the links (on almost every plane/axis!) - the tracks in situ.

At this point I meant to spray the interiors, as I hoped to have hatches open, and crew inside. But, as the crew didn't fit...

Nearing completion of the build.

The second of my bigger gripes is that the two Panzer crew figures supplied don't fit inside the hatch openings. Okay, they're not the greatest figure sculpts, but I would've liked to have used them in this Hetzer model nonetheless. Instead they'll go in the spares box for use elsewhere. I tried to adjust the angle of the binocular holding arm of one of them, but I didn't achieve the result I was after!

I actually really like the crew figures, although, out of the vehicle their poses make them look rather like zombies.

Like all but one or two of my WWII models, this joins the growing armament awaiting proper painting. I finally have a decent dual-action airbrush as well, so it's just a matter of finding the time to get started using it!

My conclusions regarding this particular model? Well, it looks, judging from the figures primarily, like quite an old kit, but it's still pretty cleanly moulded, and - aside from the fiddliness of the tracks - goes together pretty well. 

A nice ref. pic. of the real thing. It'll be fun trying to emulate that rusty patina!

It is a pity the crew don't fit. Although, having said this, it might be possible to assemble them in such a way (stick the torsos through the upper casemate from below, and then glue on the arms!?) as to have them inside the vehicle.

I've docked thus kit one balkenkreuz on account of the tracks, and another 1/2 cross 'cause the figures won't fit inside. But it's still fun to build (tracks apart!), and makes a nice looking addition to my growing fleet of WWII German armour. 

On the workbench, amidst other ongoing stuff, primed in grey.

So, despite the relatively low score 'be given this model, I might well build it again one day. Although if I do I'd prefer to source tracks elsewhere. Oh, and the crew might have to go under the knife, for a bit of waistline weight-reduction surgery! But I think I'll be more likely to try a few from other brands first.

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NOTES:

[1] I suspect the reason is something to do with pics of the vehicle in Panzer Colours, a book that fired my imagination and engaged my enthusiasm on this topic as a kid. 

[2] The black and white instructions include colour and marking info on four vehicles. I haven't checked, but I assume that's the three shown in colour on the back of the box, plus one more!?

Partizan, 2016

I don't know why, but I felt I had to go to Partizan today. Teresa didn't come with me this time, alas. And it was such a nice day for a spin up the A1 with the top down! The sun shining brightly, it felt like a proper little holiday jaunt.

The former Partizan venue, Kelham Hall.

The new venue, the George Stephenson Exhibition Hall, Newark Showground. Outside view.

The George Stephenson Exhibition Hall. Inside view.

I was intrigued to see what the change from Kelham Hall would feel like (I never went to the show when they had it in tents!), and was unsurprised to find that - despite the worthy invocation of a Victorian giant - the George Stephenson Exhibition Hall was just another characterless marketing shed. But, on t'other hand, it is a more practical and better lit space. What a pity we can't have both character and adequate lighting! Surely it must be possible?

I got there early enough to enjoy queuing for about 15 mins, and to bag the commemorative figure - a miniature steampunk (that theme again!) Stephenson. Frankly I'd have preferred him without the steampunk overlay. 

The show seemed well attended, and there were plenty of traders and games. I must confess I didn't think the games were all up to the old aesthetic standards of some previous Partizans. 

And there weren't enough Napoleonic games for this old grognard. I think I saw just three: one naval, one very small skirmish game (Sharp - or is it Sharpe? - Practice), and one in which Austrians troops were, rather unusually, fighting their old allies, the Rooshians. 

Austrians vs. Russians on the teddy-bear-fur Steppes.

It was nice to see these two reliably recurrent antagonists of the French slugging it out with each other for a change, in what I assumed must be a Russia 1812 scenario. 

I assumed this for two reasons: the only time this happened, I believe, was when Schwarzenberg's Austrians formed the Grand Armée's southern flank, and had some run-ins with the Russians in their sector; oh, and there was one of those onion-domed Russian Orthodox churches.

Exquisite miniature fleets - Dutch foreground, English background - afloat on what looks like a blue faux-leather sea!

There were some other interesting looking games, but I didn't get as snap-happy at this show as I usually do. One of my favourite tables, from a purely visual point of view, was probably the 1666 Anglo-Dutch naval battle. The 'scenery' element was perhaps a little too basic for my tastes, but the sheer quantity of miniature fighting ships was a delightful sight.

As an aside, with reference to the above six pics: By and large I try and avoid getting sucked into new areas of wargaming interest. Potentially every book or film or whatever it might be can spark a desire to buy another army in another era. 

At present I'm confining myself to Napoleonics and WWII (with the ACW lurking in the background!). But I have to say that when I recently listened to an audiobook of extracts from Samuel Pepys' diaries I found it hard to resist the idea of getting all marine and 17th Century. Nautical but nice, as I like to say!

Above and below, SS cavalry, 1/72 by Britannia Miniatures [1]. I love these guys!

Due to limited funds figure purchases were severely restricted. There's another figure in this set, toting a panzerschreck. But they didn't have any (unpainted), alas.

I had second thoughts about going along to Partizan all, both 'cause I'd be on me lonesome, and 'cause our attempts to buy a home mean funds are severely limited.

In the end I only bought two 1/72 WWII German tank kits (an Italeri Hetzer and a Fujimi Tiger I), a nice little group of mounted SS WWII German Cavalry (both these lots from Grubby Tanks/Britannia Miniatures), a magnifying-visor for painting (Barwell Bodyworks), and a biography of Baron Larrey from David Lanchester.

The Baron bandages a biffed bonce, in a detail from Lejeune's fab Borodino painting.

Despite only stopping at the show for a measly two hours, I had fun - except for the moment when I nearly fainted! [2] - and came away with stuff that's both useful and enjoyable.

I had wondered if any bloggers might meet up at the show, as they do at Salute, but I only got wind of such a meeting when I got home afterwards and googled the subject... Doh!

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NOTES:

[1] I realise now that some of the WWII Germans of unknown manufacturer origin in my recent previous posts - the rather dynamically posed if somewhat chunky and oddly proportioned white metal nebelwerfer crew, to be precise - are Britannia figures.

[2] It was the price of ... no, I can't lie... it was purely and simply that I'm apparently inexorably evolving into the archetypical overweight unfit wargamer! The fare they served up at the Bistro didn't exactly help me wage war on my waistline. Oh no, it was more like reinforcements!