Well here she is fellow modellers ….. the final showing of the Staghound.
Just to remind everyone of this kit, it is a Staghound Mk.I and is manufactured by S-Models from Poland. To say this kit was a bit of a challenge would be a massive understatement.
The vehicle represented here is a fictitious Armoured Scout Vehicle of the South Alberta Regiment in 1944. The name “Hellhound” was well earned during the building phaze of this kit.
The bulk of the kit is resin, with vacu-formed fenders and 1 fret of Photo-Etched parts. The fit of the resin parts was at best … bad, with just about every part needing some form of adjustment. The carrying racks on the side were scratch-built using sheet plastic cut into strips. Most of the bedrolls were also home-built using a combination of methods; 2 were made by rolling out Das Pronto Clay and rolling them into shape, 1 was made with 2 part epoxy putty and then covered with tissue paper, and the last (and smallest) were made with tissue paper soaked in a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. Camo netting is cheese cloth soaked in the same mixture of glue and water and laid into place. Lifting rings were all made with solid core solder which I find to be far easier to bend than using rod. Grab handles were fashioned from staples. All sacks came are from the spare parts box.
The vehicle was painted with a base coat of Tamiya’s XF-61 Dark Green. Weathering was achieved through dry brushing with Tamiya’s XF-56 Metallic Gray. Followed by an application of graphite brushed heavily into the entire model and finally dusting of pastel chalks (browns & grays).
The mud on the vehicle was created through a mixture of white glue, model railway ballast, Woodland Scenics Turf, and Tamiya Acrylic Brown Paint. The conglomeration was brushed, poked, crammed and stuffed onto the model. When dry it was dusted with pastels.
The groundwork is Celuclay mixed with kitty litter and model railway ballast for textures. The grass is horse hair cut to length and placed into the groundwork in clumps. The groundwork was then sprayed with a 50/50 mix of white glue and water and Woodland Scenics turf was sifted onto the surface. Once dry, the groundwork was brushed and dusted with the same pastels used on the model. He tree stump is ….. well …. a branch from a tree that seems to fit in just perfect.
I hope you enjoy this model. Even through all the building pains, I am very happy to finally have a completed Staghound on my shelf.
All comments and critiques gracefully received.
Happy Modelling and God Bless
Robert