New build - very old kit - Jagdpanzer IV L48

We (modellers) all have among the boxes of fresh releases, those old kits from the 70's. Back then, when the market was shared between Tamiya and Italeri, these kits were considered state of the art and I remember, that in the late 80's, Tamiya suddenly stopped producing many of these models. Panic set in and these oldies became disputed objects at annual contests and model conventions. The Tamiya Jagdpanzer IV is one of these kits. Until recently it was still the only option on the market (Italeri's kit of the Jagdpanzer IV was actually so terrible, that modellers everywhere ignored it alltogether). But with the years catching up, what to do with such oldtimers?
I couldn't sell it on Ebay as no one wanted it anymore. At the local hobby clubs no one cared either. Only one thing left: Build the darn thing.
And here it is now. The model depicts one of the hundreds of vehicles lost during German "Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen" (operation spring awakening) in Hungary 1945. This was the last large scale offensive aimed at pushing the Soviet forces in Hungary, back to the Danube river and to retake the city of Budapest. Hoplessly outnumbered and fighting in very muddy terrain around lake Balaton , the German struggle lasted merely ten days and collapsed sooner than expected and the remains of the German units quickly withdrew into Austria.
I'm particularly proud of the result on this one, simply because the model was released 40 years ago and was basically a toy! There are too many modifications and extra detailings to list here but the most remarkable features of the model are the Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste texture created with epoxy putty, the side skirts made from 0,3mm plastic plate and an extra detail job on the front fenders.

Old stuff of a young war...

The wounds surrounding the 1990's conflict in former Yugoslavia are finally beginning to heal. But the ghastly sounds and images of  burning Srebrenica and fleeing civilians in exodus will remain for decades.
NATO and UN forces played a vital part in pacifying the region. The Warrior IFV  (Infantry  Fighting Vehicle) was a common sight in the Balkans at the time. Many of these vehicles had been shipped to their destination, painted in a plain white UN scheme. This bright color however, was a perfect way to draw the attention of insurgent snipers and anti-tank teams. It didn't take long before British crews overpainted the white vehicles in the traditional Olive green & Black camo scheme.
The model is made by the Korean manufacturer Academy and was subjected to a lot of "cosmetical surgery" to have more correct looking proportions. A lot of work really, but the end result was worth it. Notice the white paint showing through scratches and chipmarks everywhere.

See? I even do modern armor ;-)

Some soft skinned stuff... old stuff at that!

Lots of oldtimers... good times back in the 90's & early 2000's. Its a long post, so take your time.

This is a scratchbuilt conversion of the very old Tamiya Horch Kfz70.

Next in line is Tamiyas equally old but great Krupp Boxer. Built from the box with only 2 or 3 add-ons:

Third in line is Tamiyas Steyr 1500 Kommandeurs-cabriolet. This is a more recent kit and I built it as a surrendering staff car. I really love this one.

And finally, Tamiya's mighty Sdkfz 9 (this stands for "Sonderkraftfahrzeug"). One of the best kits ever. I turned it into a makeshift field maintenance unit by filling it with literally hundreds of tools, boxes and all that sh...t you see in the pictures. The size of this model alone makes it a centerpiece in any collection. I have another one of these with a tank trailler waiting to be built.

...And now for something completely different... 2

 This is a 1/18^th scale 1953 Chevy pick up from Welly Toys. I stripped it completely of its original gloss red paint job using brake fluid. The cleaned parts were then rid of mould parting lines and casting marks. The metal is quite hard, so a set of good quality watchmaker files were necessary to do the job.

 

 The fenderbender marks and deeper scratches were done with a Dremel motortool . 

 

After priming, I painted it completely in different rust tones. I then applied small droplets of water all around it with a fine brush. Salt was then sprinkled over it. The salt stuck to the water droplets, creating a natural paint mask. I let it dry over night and painted the white and blue paintjob the following day. Then, I just had to wash the salt off and Voilá: Where the salt had been, the rust was now shining through. I just enhanced the rust marks with slight rain marks done with my airbrush. 

 

The Towing rig was done from plastic plate and parts from my spares box. The wooden  parts are again, popsicle sticks, aged with artist oil paints and pastel chalks. Notice the worn down tires. I’m planning to make it a little dirtier and dustier. A scenery of an old gas station is also planned but way back in the pipeline. 

...And now for something completely different...

 

Working in the automotive industry always made people wonder why I build Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV) instead of cars. Well, I love cars but I love tanks better! But just so people won’t say I’m being too anal about my hobby, here it goes…

 

This is a 1/24^th  scale Mustang from the “For Sale” series by  Jada Toys. These die cast cars come already in an aged , weathered and rusted appearance. I added rain streaks and dust, some more rust and grime, greasy hand marks as well as silver duct tape here and there.  

   

To give it a better effect I made a simple scenery using wooden popsicle sticks for a fence on a Styrofoam base covered with gravel and synthetic grass fibres. The poison Ivy groing on the fence was made with dried plant roots and tea leaves. Dry leaves on the car and on the ground complement the atmosphere of abandonment.

Some not so old stuff...

I told you guys that I do some Allied stuff as well. So here’s one for a change: 

This is the 52ton heavy  Kliment Voroshilov 1-C, a typical example of early Russian tank architecture. Very rudimentary, crude and simple, in terms of production quality, a tendency the Russians maintained throughout the entire conflict, everything on it transcends primitiveness. Although they were big, well armored and menacing looking, they were slow and cumbersome, which made them easy prey for the German anti-tank artillery.    

The model is made by the Chinese producer Trumpeter and as you will notice from the WIP picture, it was built with a few improvements, like the cast texture on the turret, homemade stowage lockers & fuel drums and the air intake grills. Enjoy!

Some old stuff... part 3

This is a Panzerjäger Marder III ausf M, a typical german adaptation of an anti-tank gun on an obsolete Czech built 38(t)  chassis. This particular version was the last of its series, the version M (for Mid mounted engine). Its 75mm Pak 40 gun was a feared weapon and could deal with pretty much anything the American or British could field at the time it was issued to the Panzertruppe in early 1944. The model is from japanese manufacturer Tamiya and it unfortunately has tracks that are a little too long. Nobody's perfect but I love that little bugger!

and why not, a picture of the real McCoy ...

Modelling madnessssssssssss!!!

The madness involving our hobby of collecting and building model kits, ends up creating a very peculiar sideshow phenomenon...
Dedicated modellers REALLY WANT their collection complete at all costs. Most of us will probably die, having more than half of our collection stowed away on our shelves still unbuilt.
I am no exception to this, with a current collection of 45 finished models and some 120 still in their boxes.
Taking one single picture of my "to be built" collection was impossible, so I stitched three pictures together, resulting in a bit distorted image, but that will probably give you a notion of what a goooood kit collection  is supposed to look like. And... I AM planning to build them ALL.
More experienced modellers will notice that the majority of my stash are Dragon models. The reason is simple:
- excellence of detail
- building enjoyment
- great choice and diversity of subjects
What else could we want?