Finnish Army Ba 20 Armored Car 1/35 Alan kit (Pics)

Really cool looking build!!! Outstanding weathering, too (paneling, shade & tint, etc).

 Hello panzerguy,

 The Finnish finish is great! The hand painted markings really turned out well, the skull and cross bones is spot on. Looks just like the pics of the museum piece. Very well done.

 Best Regards,

jthurston wrote:

Really cool looking build!!! Outstanding weathering, too (paneling, shade & tint, etc).

...looks really great, especially for only 'a week's worth of unwinding' time! I love the rag in the tool box...a really nice job 

    waikong Cassius thanks for the look and the comps. I've added the kit make to the title

    JT glad you like it. Did'nt weather it to much except for a few washes and some pastel dust.

    bspeed thank man and your right these armored cars are a very cool subject. I guess I can give myself a pat on the back with the insignias they came out even better than I'd hoped.

   Mobious A special thanks to you. It was your BA20 build that got me going on this.

A truly outstanding piece, superb finishing. An obscure vehicle that makes for a very interesting model subject. Great job on the markings too. I'm really not too fond of Alan kits, fit problems, et al., but you pulled this one together very nicely.

I can't help but think if Hollywood had one of these when they filmed The Munsters, Herman would have drove this vehicle. It has that certain Frankenstein-like look to it...

panzerguy wrote:

Anybody know were to get a fig of a Finnish soldier?

Practically any German figure in the M1940 uniform will do. The Finns were equipped with German WW1 and pre-Nazi gear and rifles almost exclusively.  If you use an M43 cap, you'll have to sand the bill a bit shorter, and if you don't have any German WW1 figures, you can modify the WW2 Stalhelm to an M1916 model with a little work.  If you have any Italeri Germans, their helmets convert nicely on Tamiya figures, since they're a bit over-sized for those heads.

What an obscure subject Steve.  Fantastic build and finish work on a far from perfect kit.  I expect this to be incorporated in one of your awesome vignettes? 

Cheers

Rob

   Hans thanks for the help. I've got just the figs I need in the stash

   Moses Thanks. This will go on a base but nothing fancy just it and one fig standing next to it. If you think this is obscure wait till you see the other kit I picked up when I got this one I cant even find any pics of it

Kykeon wrote:

I can't help but think if Hollywood had one of these when they filmed The Munsters, Herman would have drove this vehicle. It has that certain Frankenstein-like look to it...

    Thanks Kykeon.Yeah this thing is so ugly its kinda cool.  Munsters were good but I was more of an Addams Family guy.

Hello panzerguy,

 Thanks aren't neccesary, I'm just thankful that FSM Forums are here to share ideas and information. Looking forward to the Finnish soldier. Keep posting!

 Best Regards,

Very interesting subject here; and a very good job on those hand painted designations.

I think I saw this posted (the actual one) in a museum recently.

  Thanks Bill always good to hear from you. By the way when can we expect your next wip, inquiring mind's want to know

disastermaster wrote:

Very interesting subject here; and a very good job on those hand painted designations. I think I saw this posted (the actual one) in a museum recently.

  Thanks D man.  I posted a pic in Mobious's BA20 post of the one in the museum. 

The swastika did not orginate from the Nazi's, it was a symbol that dates back centuries from India. Hindu's use it in their religion and so have many other cultures. Finnish airforce adopted the swastika as their official symbol in 1918 - way before the Nazi party was around, hence if you look at any Finnish plane from the period through WWII, that was their official emblem. Finland also used it in armor, decorations, flags, etc...

Ramseur wrote:

Why does the armored car have a swastika on it? Was it a Finnish as well as a Nazi symbol?

It ain't about the Nazis... Even the 45th Infantry Division (Oklahoma National Guard) used it until 1940, when the shoulder patch was changed to the Thunderbird patch.

Kevleerey wrote:

Wasn't the swastika also used as a peace symbol by many Native Americans? Maybe that has something to do with it being used by Ok National Guard, as it was replaced by another native American symbol. Did they(ONG) stop using it because of its Nazi affiliation? I also remember seeing an ad in a Sears catalog from ~1918 for a swastika bracelet. -----Kevin

Indians did indeed use it, and that's why it was the OKARNG's SSI, the Lafayette Escadrille also used it on their Warbonnet insignia, and indeed, it was the Nazi connotation that the 45th ID changed it's patch in 1940 

   First thanks to everyone for the great comps on this build. Acmodeler its styrene.

    Hans, you know it all you

   Now about the symbol if you'd like to know more click on this site

   http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/articles/honorable_swastika/

Panzerguy:

Great build! I really like the color and the weathering, and it's nice to see that there are people out there that are also interested in the - almost forgotten - German allies in the north.

Regarding the conversion of a German figure into a Finnish, you may want to check out a older thread that I posted on the topic, after doing some research on the subject and some own conversions:

 /forums/870621/ShowPost.aspx

/Tony aka bultenibo