I need a pair of those!!!

stikpusher

tigerman

I'm blind Ernest. That is the main reason I chose not build my Panzerjager I.

Yeah, he's gonna be crosseyed by the time that he finishes just the tracks....

Nah, I just use my 20x power reading glasses!!

waynec

hey jack

thanks. i presume this is the AOS numbering system. i was going to start on this on saturday but workshop got canceled so i am finishing up my UN UNIMOG for UN GB. another 4x4 and many lessons learned.

Yes, those are AOS numbers for 1944.  Note there is no 55 or 71 - I think these two might have originated in the Middle East theater.  There are some publications dealing with these British markings, but for those used in Africa, it is still incomplete, and therefore a minefield.

Another useful reference is here:

http://www.armouredacorn.com/Reference/BAM/Default.htm

regards,

Jack

hey jack

thanks. i presume this is the AOS numbering system. i was going to start on this on saturday but workshop got canceled so i am finishing up my UN UNIMOG for UN GB. another 4x4 and many lessons learned.

Wayne, from what I can see in your link, three options for the Bedford:

A = 1st  Armoured Div.

B = 7th  Amoured Div.

C =  22nd Amoured Brigade

--------------------------------

The AOS numbering system is a bit more difficult to pinpoint as the mid war period, particularly the desert, kept changing ... but here are my best guesses:

77 = RA

55 =  Infantry?

71 = 22nd Amoured Bde. HQ

* note RA is Royal Artillery which includes artillery, AT and AA

regards,

Jack

i did one in black (DANA) but it doesn't show a lot of weathering. my UNIMOG is flat brown with gray oil wash and it's ok. i think the next attempt is engine gray with a raw umber wash. i may just need to mix gray and brown and try that. the outside of the frame that you can see i would paint the base vehicle color but i am open to all suggestions. of course modern trucks have better paints and materials than ww2 stuff.

Thanks for all the kind words and suggestion on my M3A1 Scout build. I'm out of town this week so I won't get any build time in, but I'll definitely try some of the suggestions. Another question - except for a few parts, the instructions don't give a color for the undercarriage. I'm thinking a flat black or worn iron/steel coloring. Any suggestions?

bufflehead

 

Wayne - Quite a large number of parts for a truck!  Just to show you how much I know about softskins.....I assume the Bedford truck is British?

yes it looks like a lot of parts BUT compared to indy links it balances out. the biggest annoyance is most of it won't be seen unless i roll it in a ditch. it's a british truck but not sure what unit. below is the decal placement with 3 unit insignia but not sure what is what. any help will be appreciated. i may try my hannd at tissue canvas for the cargo area and cab.

tigerman

I'm blind Ernest. That is the main reason I chose not build my Panzerjager I.

Yeah, he's gonna be crosseyed by the time that he finishes just the tracks....

Great work guys!

Greysnake: Love that Bishop! I've been playing the wargame Allied Corps and bought a few of those and driving around North Africa and blowing up those poor Italians with them.

Ernest: Those make my head hurt. I started working on a Dragon Panzer I some time back and those teeny-tiny track links kicked my butt. I really need to pull it out of the box and finish the thing... someday...

I'm blind Ernest. That is the main reason I chose not build my Panzerjager I.

Hi Ernest ... I had to look up swannundaze,but yea, looks like the micro tubing  is it's modern day replacement - I'm not exactly sure what fisherman do with either product.

Great start on the little panzer.  You lucked out with the aftermarket idler, even  LionMarc  has been showing out of stock for some time now.

----------------------------------------------------

Dan, thanks for answering the question on the books.

regards,

Jack

We're off to a good start fellas!!

AlanF - I've been thinking about getting that same HB M3A1 White Scout Car kit, so I'm really interested in how it builds up!  I like what you're doing with the engine!!

stik - Dang!  You've got that M13/40 kit almost to the painting stage!  Looking forward to seeing it done and see how the Tamiya kit compares with the Italeri kit I built last year for Eric's "That's Amore" GB.  I'm glad you saved the kit for this GB as we would have missed out on that excellent black Hurricane IIC you built in the WM 2013 GB!

Tony - Wow, you guys are just jetting through your assemblies!!  The Autoblinda is one of my favorite armored cars and yours is looking quite nice!

Wayne - Quite a large number of parts for a truck!  Just to show you how much I know about softskins.....I assume the Bedford truck is British?

Jack - thanks for the tip on the micro tubing!  I used to do quite a bit of flyfishing and flytying, but haven't in the last few years as I'm too busy now gluing plastic!!  I don't remember micro tubing....must be a relatively new innovation.  I remember a material called "swannundaze", which is a translucent, flexible, half round ribbon like material used to simulate the bodies of stonefly nymphs and other aquatic insects.  I wonder if micro tubing is used for the same purpose?

Greg - its looking like a 222!  I really like the look of those vehicles! 

Dan - Holy Moly, thats a lot of books!  But GREAT reference material!  I need to get me some of those!  Good work on the 232!

GreySnake - Nice looking little Bishop!  I'd have to agree with the crews though, I'd HATE to crew that vehicle with all its problems!  Plus its gotta get hotter than HADES inside that box of a turret!

Don - Oooooh!!  I have that kit and it was on my list of kits to build for this GB!  Great work on it so far and I have to say that Dragon kit is looking quite buildable!!  I can't wait to build mine now!

As for me...well, I managed to get a little bit done, but not as much as I'd hoped.  All I managed to complete is the suspension:

The kit's idler wheel is incorrect.  It is depicted with a rubber tire like the roadwheels, but Pz. I Ausf.Bs used a cast metal idler with no rubber.  The LionMarc set corrects this error and is the only AM set available that I know of.

I actually spent a bit of time on the indy links.  Not only are they quite small, each link has FIVE sprue connections!!  GEEZ Dragon, could you have made it a little harder for us!! .  I decided to cut off  only three of the connections and leave the other two connected to the sprue, which I simply snapped off the tree with my fingers.  This allows me to have a better finger grip to clean up the three sprue scars, before cutting off the sprue and cleaning up the remaining two scars. 

I cut off all the links and separated them into two little bins for no reason other than to make counting the necessary links later a bit easier!

That's all for now!  I think I'll work on the links before I tackle the rest of the build.

Happy Modeling all!

Don - Reviewing the Battleline - Workhorse Panzer III in North Africa - it provides a timeline of when vehicles were shipped / deployed to Africa - noted Pz III Ausf. J didn't arrival until late 1941 - early 1942. The first Pz IIIs were Ausf F, G, and later H arrived as replacements. Tanks with 15. Panzer-Division were of the Ausf H version. All had the 5cm L/42 gun. Long barrel Ausf. J's didn't arrival until May 1942. Armor86

Jack - The Battleline - Workhorse Panzer III in N.A. has a few b/w photos of early DAK (Spring - Summer 1941) tanks - the Panzers in the Sand Vol. 1 has several early examples of different vehicles even a Pz I getting painted over its dark german grey. Armor86

OK, scratch the Pz III. I'll be bulding Dragons Bison II w Sig 33. Such a cool looking squat little beast.

Nice start guys.

Jealous of all those reference books Dan.

Going to crack open the box today.

Looks like some great references, Dan.  Found a copy of the "Workhorse" book online; thanks for the recommendation.  Spent a few hours at the bench working on the kit

         Skipped the first step which entails assembling the drive sprocket, return roller and road wheels; this can all be done later.  Concentrated on the suspension and all the fiddly bits that comprise the muffler/exhausts and rear armor plates.  As usual, Dragon's instructions always require one to keep alert.  For example, the instructions indicate that the six torsion bars per side are part A1 (that's the sprue A indicated in gray numbers, as opposed to the other sprue A indicated in blue numbers).  But there are only 4 parts labeled as A1; the other two are parts A2.  Indistinguishable from each other, so go figure...  I did get caught though assembling the towing pintles on the rear plate incorrectly as they are shown in one step relative to the rear plate shown upside down, whereas in the next step the plate is shown in the correct orientation.  Ggrrrr!!!   But mistake caught and corrected before the glue had set.  So this is where I am currently:

Don

I just found that Workhorse book from a UK seller so decided to order it. The Tamiya kit comes with the markings depicted on the cover, along with others using the playing card idea, and I am doing one of those, so hopefully will get some nice info on it.

Dug my kit and AM out and shorted out what figures I am using, so I am all set.

Guys, great start on your respective builds.

Dan, interesting books, I've got the Workhorse publication.  Other than photos taken at the port of Tripoli, are there any early campaign  shots of grey panzers? 

regards,

Jack

Dan, ditto on what everyone else said! I'm jealous of all those books!

I started my Bishop yesterday and took a lot of pictures. But somehow I ended up deleting most them off my camera before uploading them Anyway here's a picture of the box

Odd looking isn't it? This was a rushed design for combat in North Africa, to make a 25pdr self propelled gun. From the research I've done on the Bishop it was hated by its crews. A really high silhouette, something you don't want in the desert. The maximum elevation for the 25pdr was only fifteen degree's! This led to crews usually having to build large ramps out of earth for more elevation. Also to make matters worse since the Bishop was based on the Valentine chassis another unpopular vehicle. It shared it characteristic slow speed 15 MPH. Needless to say once the British started getting M7's and Sextons they quickly got rid of the Bishop.

Anyway on to the build. This is the first Esci armor kit I've build and the hull was made up of panels. Just like the Eastern European kits a real bear to get together. A few gaps but nothing I can't deal with. A lot of the parts had injector pin marks that needed filling. After three hours of building I ended up with this.

I did my best trying to get the boxy superstructure to fit together, but still have some gaps to fix.

Anyway that's where I'm at right now.

Dan, some nice work there. Nice collection of books there as well. I like the look of that last one.

Dan: your 232's looking good, so far

Greg, Alan, Stikpusher, Tony - great start - I'm currently working on another GB - Armorama - Armored Car Campaign - Sd.Kfz. 232 Afrika-Korps Tamiya Kit 1/35. Last of the items for the Panzer IV Ausf. D "DAK" came in the mail. Enclosed some pictures below.

Verlinden Productions - Panzer IV Interior Detail Set

Don - Enclosed some of the reference books. Echelon Decals offers Panzer III & IV DAK Markings of Pz.Rgt. 7 of 10 Pz.Div. & Pz.Rgt. 8 of 15 Pz.Div. Suggested reference book is "Battleline 1 - Workhorse Panzer III in North Africa - Claude Gillono 2011. Armor86

you might try the scale auto forum or the automotive forum here. i went so far as to get a book on diesel technology from the library so i could learn what some of the parts are since many of my mofdern trucks are diesel. radio shack colored wire, really thin solder. i have the a/k interactive on engine weathering which is pricey but very detailed. someone posted that most german and soviet block engine blocks were base metal, i painted my ww2 us halftrack (dragon) OD. here is the engine for my UN UNIMOG.steel and chrome silver and black with oil pin wash of raw umber. the injector lines are on the right side. no one will see this but fun and good practice. my primer came out rougher than i like. i will have to be more careful.

While I watched a couple of flicks (Bounty Killer & Resident Evil), I was able to get a bit of modeling done

Here's the status of the 222....

I added the fenders and attatchments, access hatches, stowage bins, headlights, exhaust pipes and the front/rear tie rods.  I also started on the gun mount. 

Stikpusher, Tony, Alan and Greg. All of you guys are off to a really great start!

Planning to crack open my build today, will post pictures later on today.

David

Tony, you're almost finished. LOL

I went to my LHS for the weekly "nerd night" and managed to get a few parts (vision ports, doors, fuel cap, etc) added to the hull!

the hull top/bottom mated....

that's all for now - gonna see if anything's on NetFlix while I put a few more parts together.

Alan, engine is looking good.  

Myself, I've never detailed one beyond what's provided in the box.  For spark plug wires, try looking at some micro tubing that is sold at fishing shops.  There's a variety of diameters and colours out there.  Very flexible too - I believe fly fisherman use to make their own lures.

regards,

Jack