1945 GB

Yes, it looks good indeed and has been added to the front page!

Doug - super great job on the Ford! 

I like how you've repeated the burgundy and grey colours into the base, looks really sharp that.

regards,

Jack

Thanks Jack... My wife and I  were in a thrift staro the other day, and she saw the picture frame on a shelf andpointed out that it was the same color as the car, so for a buck... why not. I took the glass out and sprayed it with model master stainless steel metalizing paint, then flipped it overso the unpainted side was up, and glued the glass to the outside of the frame. It kinda surprised me as to how closely matched. Thanks again for the kind words.

Doug

I agree with all of the above, it looks great, esp how the base shows it off. I just watched "Back to the Future" the other day, and was surprised. I had forgotten Biff's car was a "46" Ford. Yours looks better though.

Got a nice anecdote for cars of that era. My paternal grandfather had a very well run farm on excellent land in northwest Minnesota down the road from Fargo. He kept an even keel during the depression and did very nicely during WWII. But his car was getting very tired and after VJ day everyone knew there were going to be cars for sale pretty soon. But they weren't there. So grampa Sam went to the local GM dealer and got on the list. About four months later he got a call from the dealer - "We got a black Chevrolet - want it?" Sam wanted it indeed as was part of what must have been a car dealer's dreamworld. Test drive? Out of the question. Options? It was black. Haggle for a lower price? You must be joking. Deal made in in probably under a minute. He told my father that it was the greatest car he ever had - because it was something new. America didn't suffer the damages of war like other countries, but it was an odd world. Millions of people were making good money - but because of rationing there was precious little to buy. So they saved for another day. So did a very high % of the servicemen - what's there to buy in New Guinea? Pent up demand, sky high savings rate - the raw material for the greatest sustained economic boom in the history of capitalism.  

Question for wiser heads concerning tanks. Getting pretty close to a wrap on the PJ IV. Word must be getting out that it's a splendid kit because since I started several build logs have appeared, mostly in Europe. First, Tamiya doesn't provide a tow cable with the kit.  That one had me scratching my head. Just happen to have a spare one and could use it. But I haven't seen a tow cable on any of the Tamiya or DML models online (a good number counting the DML), nor on museum vehicles and if any wartime photo shows a PZ IV carrying a cable it's tough to see. There's a lot of stowage on the vehicle - possible one could be in a box?

Not real sure what to do with the spare tracks. There's a good size run of them stuck on the rear of the tank. One of Rinaldi's books claims that spare tracks mounted on a tank's body would be rusty because they're open to the elements and wouldn't have the grinding given to the working tracks to remove most of the rust. That makes sense - if the crew rarely used spare tracks. If they used them often, I'd guess that a dark metallic color - which Tamiya calls for - (hit with a proper treatment of pigments appropriate for anything large on the rear of a tank) would be a lot closer. A lot of modellers do rust them up pretty well.  

Any advice?

Eric

Wow, Doug, that is gorgeous!  Beautiful finish, and I love that burgundy.  I am amazed at your work with the metal foil too.  A stunning finish, and I am in awe of your skill on that one!

EB, my two cents on the spare tracks. If they are new when mounted on the vehicle, they are covered in a preservative. More of a tar like substance than a paint, but black in color. If they are previously used, yes they are subject to oxidation, but German track steel had a very high manganese content, so tended to be more brownish anyways. At least according to what I have read. A third option is for them to be camouflaged by any painting overspray done by the crews. I have seen that in photos as well.

I'll second Stik on the spare tracks. From my experience, they certainly would not be covered in rust if they were new. The only reason I can think of to put used spare tracks on would be for extra armour.

Yup, Stick has it covered concerning spare tracks.  The very first vehicles had them on the front hull, but was found to be too nose heavy even with the shorter L/48 barrel - so it was factory  standard to have them on the rear.

Again, looking at factory /initial units, there doesn't appear to be provision for tow cable stowage.  The few photos that do show it, have them wrapped around the later style dual muffler.  Early Normandy photos appear to have them loosely draped along the skirt rails.  Not really ideal,  as once this spaced armour gets knocked off, there is risk of the cable getting entangled with the running gear.

regards,

Jack

Eric...Great "Grandpa " story... I've heard (as a little boy) many similar stories from both sides, paternal were from Alabama/Georgia and maternal from Michigan, Both sides side moved to Detroit to work in the war plants of the time and that's how my parents met. I remember my one Granddad telling of having to stop every 1 to 2 hundred miles to replace the packing in the water pump of his old Pontiac. Thank you for sharing your story, Too many of these great stories are being lost to time, and there are many times I wished that I had been able to somehow preserve these stories.

Andrew, you are very kind, and your words are appreciated. I'm kind of getting back into cars, having started but not finished any over the past few years. I intend to finish the ones I've started. The foil is a bit tricky but not as difficult as one might think. Two things to remember when using foil, Use a sharp ( NEW) #11 blade to cut and trim (it tears VERY easily) and have a light touch while working with it. After laid in place, I smooth and burnish with a toothpick (round) to get into creases and such, or a Qtip to smooth out. Both are to me invaluable.

Thanks again guys...

Doug

Well, sorry it's been a little while since my last post, but I have been very busy with Spring yard work and other chores.

Anyway, here is an update. I completed the forward superstructure, and will be moving on to the aft.

I will be drilling out the portholes at some point.

Steve

Lovely work again Steve, good to see you back in from the yard.

Now thats some work there!

Thanks Doug,

Bish,

It also took a little to get back on the horse after that little "mishap"

By the way MC... I just received an entry kit for the Boeing Build when it begins. Looking fwd to it, I found a Monogram B-17 at a great price at a swap meet, and I have the 3 volumn set of the Mighty Eighth Books and am ready to build!

Doug

Doug,

Oh yeah, I love that kit. I must have build that one probably 3 time as a youngun. Did one crashed like Sheperd Paine's 17, or at least tried to.

I'm excited to start that GB. Been waiting for it for a while.

Bish, can I join with Cyberhobby's Sherman M4A4 in 1:35?

You sure can castel. Stik Pusher is running the roster, and I am sure will add you soon. But until then, welcome aboard.

Castel, welcome to the jungle. I will get you and your kit added to the roster this evening when I get home or tomorrow... I need a real computer and not an iPhone for my skill level (not very tech savvy shall we say?)

Hello all,

I have been watching progress on the kits. And with a break over Easter, managed to get a small part of my own kit done too.

Jibber, the Scheinenwolf was coming along very nicely. You were after a well used finish on the wooden boxes - and you did it superbly. You will have to share a few tips there for sure. The claw looks like a really nasty piece of work - and looks really heavy too.

rigidrider, the '45 Ford has come up a treat. The finish is great, and anyone who can do that with bare metal foil has my admiration. And the simple but so effective mount for the finished model complements it beautifully.

Modelcrazy - that is magnificent work. So much of my PE ends in blobs of CA glue. Can't wait to see more of your work.

The Shinden slowly works its way to the end. Managed to prime and then paint the yellow leading edges over a white base. They have been masked off and the grey underside has been shot. Next is masking and painting the hinomarus. That will be a new experience for me...

Thanks Lost, I had a small area on the trunk that dulled for some reason, but have since reglossed and it seems to be ok now.

Man, if the Shinden wasn't one of the coolest looking aircraft of the era... watching with interest,,,

Doug

JP IV coming along - needs a little streaking and pigments.

Do have a quandary and maybe some wiser armor fans can give me an educated opinion. I made the kit "buttoned up" because there is almost zero interior to be seen. I'm going to make a simple base that will evoke a kind of ambush theme. I had always intended to put on some foliage (that comes regardless) and throw on some extra gear on the back. Here's the rub. The lines of the vehicle are really pretty simple - no fenders for instance. That means that from the modelling point of view, the rear is much the most interesting - lots of panel lines, places begging for some oil stains, spare road wheels and almost all the tools laid out. I can stick some webbing back there - or even on the side - and a backpack, but if I do put on boxes, jerry cans etc it would basically hide a almost of the detail. I think that it's probably for that reason that no other modeller of this kit (the pics are growing daily - this is a very sweet kit) has stuck anything back there. Photos tell a somewhat different story. As noted before for some reason this vehicle did seem to attract Goebbel's people the way other AFVs did and I'm not overwhelmed with wartime pics. But there are a few of the vehicle in convoy and they're carrying a boatload of stuff. (One had a big oil can.) Looking at the kit, it may well be that protect the rear hull (installed individually) could have been opened up to protect a lorryload of equipment. There are some photos that appear to show the JP carrying very little - not always clear. I wonder if the junk being carried belonged to accompanied infantry. Now if the vehicle knew enemy armor was near, would it be possible that the infantry would pull their stuff off? If you were carrying a big load it would have to harm vision to the rear. At minimum I wouldn't think that a tank would want flammable or explosive items stowed outside where they would be vulnerable to small arms fire. Anyway if a crew thought combat was near anyone think it would be likely that they'd clear as much flotsam as possible?

There is no turret to worry about fouling the traverse, so the engine deck can be packed with as much or as little great as the crew sees fit to carry. Now, normally armor is not gonna carry  gear for accompanying infantry. 1) they are separate units, 2) and as such they will likely be together only for short periods of time and traditionally foot soldiers don't like to be separated from their few worldly possessions, and lastly 3) German infantry units were not lavishly equipped as their US counterparts and tended to have a much shorter tail.

As far as vehicular equipment such as ammo and fuel goes. That stuff was is short supply by the end of the war when the Jagdpanzer IV was in service and basic loads were often the best they could manage, let alone getting extra. And as you mentioned already, you don't want explosive or flammable items un protected by armor on your engine deck at any time. marauding Jabos will end that vehicle's combat life real quick at any time. Water, rations, and tarps would be your best bets for stuff back there.

Also to consider,  on paper a German motorized AT company would have supply vehicles assigned, including a 3 ton baggage vehicle.  This was prescribed by the KStN 1149 file, issued very early 1944.

http://www.niehorster.org/011_germany/44_organ/kstn_1149_01-02-44.html

regards,

Jack

I could certainly seeing them carrying a load of junk - even things that they wouldn't normally care to have on board. The Wehrmacht's logistic system was in real tatters by March 45. (The only book I found specifically about the JP IV was a small but very technical study on German reactions to the T-34, KV-1 shock in both 41 and 42. If you like tech stuff, check on Amazon "Building Guderian's Duck" 100 page study written by the Army Command College at Leavenworth. Lots of tech data and doctrine. And .99 on Kindle. No photos.) The JP IV was the first of these vehicles to be developed more or less from the ground up to be a tank destroyer. (The Stugs were originally viewed as infantry support.) It had slopping armor and the Panther's gun - scary package. Ironically Guderian didn't want it built - he thought tank destroyers were so crippled during a counterattack that more PZ IVs were a better trade off. Anyway, because of the vehicle's disadvantage in a close range shoot-out (a lot of those), doctrine called for it to have infantry with it at all times to guard the flanks/rear from any allied tank or even bazooka. And I'd guess that they'd carry anything they could with no guarantee of logistic vehicles on the org chart being there. The question is whether they'd clear stuff off if they thought that there was a good chance of an imminent engagement. Sure wish there were more wartime pics. Probably flip a coin.

Eric

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A little more progress, mostly on the cab. I tried not to match the inner walls with the cab floor but I gave it to much of a varnished look. I'm going to tone that down a bit to make it not quite as used as the floor but a little softer. The interior cab is almost complete and I'me very close to final assembly. 

Heres the pic I was supposed to post.

That's looking really nice Terry, great work.

Since I've been home, I've started picking away at the Stuka again, in between other projects such as fixing the stove and the hot water tank.  The Stuka was much more fun than those jobs.

I've laid in decals, and a light layer of mud as I've seen in photos of Rudel's craft.  I've stripped the old paint off of my replacement canopy and repainted.  Some black and brown oils lightly streaked gave me a little bit of oil staining from the engine cowling.

I've got my wheels a day or two from being attached, then it's all fiddly bits such as exhaust and antenna.

I'm not really too thrilled with having used the Eduard etch to mount the cannons, as of course the hold is a rather tentative, but for the time being I've not knocked them off.