Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Completed GBs => Group and Themed Builds => Treadhead/Armour GB => Topic started by: Claymore on October 12, 2016, 05:53:11 AM
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Having started the M3 Stonewall FSV early and pushed it through to the painting stage, I've been thinking of perhaps doing a second build for the GB.
This is another design I have had kicking around for some time and although I've had a Sd.Kfz. 234/2 Puma hull lying around since I built the little 'Otter' air-portable panzer, it was only today that I picked up a Sd.Kfz. 251/1 in a clearance sale for £10 - bargain!
The plan would be to smash the two kits together to create a wheeled APC something like...
(http://i.imgur.com/6ZzEvQi.png)
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Snap !
been down the same path, would love to see your take though
(http://www.modelblokez.org.au/bthpix/whatif/AFV/sdkfz238_7.jpg)
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Doh! :icon_surprised:
Nice looking job there. Hopefully, my design will be different enough not to count as plagiarism! ;)
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Have to say, I think Buzzbomb's layout, with the longer mudguard forward, is better looking. It matches the line and angle of the bonnet (hood) better.
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Hmmm, each to their own. Although, I might do a bit of redesign work on the rear part of the mudguard as there is a lot of wasted space that could be used for stowage as per the later models of the Sd.Kfz. 251/1. Standby to standby... ;)
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And he's off with build #2! :D
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What can I say, I'm like butter... I'm on a roll! ;)
OK a little bit of redesign and I think it looks a lot better for it and would be more practical. Well I think so anyway! :P
(http://i.imgur.com/5YadwrB.png)
Now to see if I can build the damned thing!
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I like it! :)
Vehicle tools & supplies, & the troops' non-combat equipment could be stashed in the bins & keep the interior less cluttered, whilst allowing it to be more independent of a fixed base.
Jerry can racks at the rear might be useful, too.
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Agreed, you can't have too many Jerry cans - especially if you are a Jerry! ;)
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Agreed, you can't have too many Jerry cans - especially if you are a Jerry! ;)
That's shocking...show yourself to the door...and don't forget your hat and coat!
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Agreed, you can't have too many Jerry cans - especially if you are a Jerry! ;)
That's shocking...show yourself to the door...and don't forget your hat and coat!
*greatcoat
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Taxi! ;)
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<...>OK a little bit of redesign and I think it looks a lot better for it and would be more practical. Well I think so anyway! :P
([url]http://i.imgur.com/5YadwrB.png[/url])
Now to see if I can build the damned thing!
That looks rather convincing. :)
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Cheers Jeff. :)
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I like the refined design, it has all the practicality needed.
there is a challenging difference in chassis width
(http://www.modelblokez.org.au/bthpix/whatif/AFV/sdkfz238_5.jpg)
Which I am pretty sure you will solve better than my Saracenesque cop out solution
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People don't realize just how small the SdKfz 251 really was. The interior of the M3 halftrack was really roomy by comparison.
Cheers,
Logan
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I say just do it!!
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Early days as yet but starting to take shape. I have decided that the Sd.Kfz. 234/5 will be called the 'Mammoth'
(https://i.imgur.com/JUXam8Y.jpg)
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It looks a bit like a GTX Boxer base vehicle with its rear removed in that pic.
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I guess it does but then again both vehicles are designed for the same task so...
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I've been doing a little bit more on the Sd.Kfz. 234/5 Mammut (Mammoth) and things are definitely taking shape...
(https://i.imgur.com/gCJ11iK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Wuj1Xks.jpg)
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Nice job!! Looking very natural
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And a little bit Russian! ;)
Carry on!!
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Thanks guys.
So far so good - everything seems to be fitting together nicely. Moving the Sd.Kfz 234 engine deck to the front certainly gives the Mammoth a square-jawed powerful look.
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:)
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I think this is going to be another stunner. Looking forward to future updates.
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Just too cool nailed it already
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Thanks chaps. It almost seems a shame to add the fenders and lose that beach buggy on steroids look... :))
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But didn't the 234/5 have six stud wheels not five? ;)
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Now don't start that again!! >:D
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But didn't the 234/5 have six stud wheels not five? ;)
Now don't start that again!! >:D
Doh! :o
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Sd.Kfz. 234/5 Mammut (Mammoth) Update
A minor advance on the build front but a major rethink on where it is going and a good example of where sometimes a great idea in 2D doesn't match expectations in 3D.
My original idea was to have the sides of the crew compartment of the Mammoth boxed in for extra vehicular storage. However, when it came to doing the business it just didn't feel right and made the vehicle look too much like an 8-wheeled shoe box and had entirely lost the feel of either the Sd.Kfz. 234 or the Sd.Kfz 251.
So, in homage to both contributory vehicles, I am going to go with my original design layout which emphasises both the characteristic angular fenders of the Sd.Kfz. 234 and the angled sides of the Sd.Kfz. 251. The end result will also give me a good surface for mounting the various pioneer tools, jacks and ubiquitous jerrycans.
(https://i.imgur.com/bopClOi.jpg)
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Might I suggest an alternative? Keep the horizontal top edge of the new-style mudguard (which makes logical sense) but cut the back edge along the same line as the original back edge, i.e. sloping forwards at quite a steep angle. This way you still get the original visual effect of the V-shaped hull protruding from the rear.
It's hard to explain, so I've done a quick Paint job on your second image:
(https://www.minds.com/archive/thumbnail/636939970623320081/large)
Image stored on www.minds.com (http://www.minds.com)
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Mate, that is an awesome job (what prog did you use?). In the end, however, it only convinces me more that the original fender lines are what I want to go with.
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Mate, that is an awesome job (what prog did you use?). In the end, however, it only convinces me more that the original fender lines are what I want to go with.
LMAO - it's Paint: the simple system that comes with every PC. The only reason it looks good is because the pic's small: if you blew it up to full size then believe me, the cracks would show in full effect.
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LMAO - it's Paint: the simple system that comes with every PC. The only reason it looks good is because the pic's small: if you blew it up to full size then believe me, the cracks would show in full effect.
Really? I use Paint a lot for my line drawings but have never really tried it on manipulating photographs. Even though it is small scale the effect of your work is very good. I will have to experiment for myself... ;)
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It's a slow and painstaking PITA to be honest, but I've learnt some techniques with it and I don't do stuff like this often enough to make it worth crawling up the learning curve of a better program.
The trick with photographs is copying the textures used for shaded colours. Paint has no facility to copy an area of colour, just the individual pixel that you click on, so the only way to copy shaded colours that are made of loads of different coloured pixels is to copy and paste an area of it. Use the irregular area copy tool and then flip it different ways when you paste it to avoid repetetive patterns. Then copy and paste some of what you've already done to mix it up even more. Extending shading into narrow areas is a paint but you can do it.
The other thing is to be methodical and copy EVERYTHING before you change it. Paint has no layers or masks like Photoshop, so once you drop Image A onto Image B, Image B is changed forever unless you've got a backup copy.
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Thanks mate, much appreciated. :)
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Wow Weaver that is nice work
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Looking at the latest photos, the first version with the extended mud guards/sponsons looks good, but a more generic AFV - it could be any nationality, while the second version has a much more German AFV feel to it.
I don't know if that's what you're going for, but that's the impression that I get from looking at the pics.
Either way, it's still an awesome project.
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I think you are absolutely right and it is indeed the German look I am after...
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I would stick with pic 2 also. Much more German look as stated.
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I dunno, the 1st image & Weaver's variant have a wheeled Hanomag SdKfz 251 look about it.
(http://www.britmodeller.com/walkarounds/armour/Hanomag/25101.jpg)
http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235003705-sdkfz-250-sonderkraftfahrzeug-250-german-halftrack/ (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235003705-sdkfz-250-sonderkraftfahrzeug-250-german-halftrack/)
(http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/718048/347552030/stock-photo-a-german-armored-half-tracked-vehicle-in-camouflage-in-a-museum-347552030.jpg)
https://youtu.be/UnG3fw1jgIk (https://youtu.be/UnG3fw1jgIk)
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Sd.Kfz. 234/5 Mammut (Mammoth) Update
All spruced up in her undercoat. Hopefully, I will get both entries finished this weekend.
(https://i.imgur.com/50NBOHU.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/f3K6wez.jpg)
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Looking good! :)
Got a scheme sorted? ???
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Probably just the standard German 3-tone but my airbrush has been acting up of late and getting any sort of fine detail out of it might be a no go. I might therefore go with the standard Dark Yellow base with an angular green pattern on top much like I did for the little Otter tank I did a few months back... :-\
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Not a bad scheme &, in conjunction with the Otter, it would make a good enhanced mobility vehicle for Fallschirmjägers. :)
However,, if you can do it, the 3-colour scheme would blend it into the Griffon, Thor, un-named PzKpfw IV IFV group (although I'm thinking the Otter association may be more suitable). ;)
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I've said it before, but with the primer on it, you'd think this was a standard kit and not a kit-bash. Excellent workmanship on top of a great concept.
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Not a bad scheme &, in conjunction with the Otter, it would make a good enhanced mobility vehicle for Fallschirmjägers. :)
However,, if you can do it, the 3-colour scheme would blend it into the Griffon, Thor, un-named PzKpfw IV IFV group (although I'm thinking the Otter association may be more suitable). ;)
Ah, you're not wrong... decisions, decisions!! :-\
I've said it before, but with the primer on it, you'd think this was a standard kit and not a kit-bash. Excellent workmanship on top of a great concept.
Thank you indeed. :)
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Looks good. It would also look good in a African scheme.
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Gorgeous!
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That looks cool, Nice one
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Sd.Kfz. 234/5 Mammut (Mammoth) Update
Although belonging to the Luftwaffe, the Fallschirmjäger had always been regarded amongst the elite of Germany’s fighting soldiers. None more so than the 1st Parachute Division who’s impressive and extensive combat history records it as the unit that was responsible for all of the early German airborne victories.
Given their elite status, the Fallschirmjäger benefitted from the very best of training and had access to the very best of equipment. That said, paratroopers, by definition and employment are, at best, little more than light infantry and whilst courage, endurance and fighting spirit are without doubt combat multipliers, a lack of heavy equipment has always been a tactical limitation.
Whilst by the summer of 1944 the Fallschirmjäger had, for all intense and purposes, lost their airborne role, they still maintained their fighting spirit and elite status. Wherever the fighting was hardest or at its most desperate, the ‘Green Devils’ could be found. In recognition of their new earth-bound role, the Orbat of the Parachute Divisions was changed to closer reflect that of their line infantry cousins.
However, given the tendency for commanders to use the Fallschirmjäger to bolster the line wherever it was at its weakest, their lack of tactical mobility was a problem. Virtually all of the Army’s Sd. Kfz. 251/1 Hanomag halftracks went to the hard pressed Panzergrenadiers and whilst lorries were available, they were not tactically suited to the needs of the paratroopers. In the end, Hermann Göring himself intervened and so it was that Sd. Kfz. 234/5 Mammut (Mammoth) was born.
Built on the 8-wheeled hull of the Sd. Kfz. 234/1 Armoured Car, the Mammoth was, nevertheless, a somewhat more radical change in design over the other vehicles of the 234 family. With the large 14,825cc, air-cooled Tatra 103 diesel engine mounted in the front, the rear troop compartment could comfortably accommodate a crew of 2 + 10. Although the Mammoth’s off-road capability was slightly less than the Hanomag, its top speed of 80km/h more than made up when compared to the leisurely pace of the halftrack (52km/h).
Even with their bespoke carriers, there were never enough Mammoths in circulation for the Fallschirmjäger to be considered true armoured infantry. Indeed, it was the norm that the Division’s combat Regiments remained as light infantry but were supported by a mobility Regiment of Mammoth APCs.
The model depicts the 3rd vehicle, 3rd platoon, 2nd company of the 1st Parachute Division’s mobility Regiment and is made out of an Italeri Sd. Kfz. 234/2 Puma, a Tamiya Sd. Kfz 251/1, some bits and pieces from the spares box and, of course, our good ol’ friend Mr Plastic Card.
(https://i.imgur.com/LJjH7jB.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yd6bTNT.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/VVHOKy1.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7w7YC7q.jpg)
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Nice finish. It would be cool to see one of these being unloaded from a Me323...
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perfect!! :-*
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Thank you kindly. :)
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Another enviable project completed! I now have inspiration for something similar for the PTO/USMC, maybe as a replacement/alternative to the LVT?
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Looking forward to it! :)
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(http://replygif.net/i/280.gif)
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:)) Thank you. :))