OFF TO THE THEATER! - African Operations of World War II - 2021 GB

John 3:16 KJV

What paint are you using for the sandy color?

Vallejo German yellow and Iraqi sand about 60:40 mix. By the time I put a wash on it, it'll darken up some.

Thank you, keavdog! I also read that the Wildcats in Operation Torch had the unique position of fighting against other American fighter planes which were under Vichy French usage. 

Good work, modelcrazy! What paint are you using for the sandy color?

Pz IV looking good Steve - making great progress.

I don't know much about operation Torch so I was suprised to see wildcats in North Africa.  Arma has a great writeup here: http://armahobbynews.pl/en/blog/2021/06/18/f4f-4-wildcats-from-vgf-29-in-operation-torch/

Pretty ill fated depolyment for the poor guys.  Your Wildcat looks great - great subject with the yellow outlines.

More work to the Pz IV

I'm pretty sure it's the former and like you said, frustration. I dislike rubber band tracks.

That is funny! Is it that your feelings will increase, or does the model have feelings?! 
In case of the former, let me know if you have an increase of feeling when you assemble the track...frustration maybe? In case, of the latter, we've got a lot more questions! Lol

I started the Pz IV. The typical Hase 1/72 armor build. Starting with the turret, road wheels and hull. I skipped the road wheel step to complete the hull.

As I was looking through the instructions, this struck me funny.

What?

Thanks, Eric!

It's good about the email; maybe it'll be fixed?

I like the Wildcat.

Finescale actually sent me a message from this GB. Wonder if they'll do it again.

Eric

I'll give it some thought.

Duplicate

Thx, modelcrazy! I'll keep an eye out for updates on your build!
You know, doing a 1/72 tank, maybe you should throw in a 1/72 plane--either crashed or attacking the tank? 

OK KJV, it's time I jumped in here with my entry.

The Pz IV not the 88, although cool, I'll keep it for a later time. I might also knock out Rommel as well.

Nice Wildcat BTW.

Another update:

The 1/72 Wildcat is almost finished! 

Forget decent. One of the yellow-bordered star decals got all torn up.  I posted elsewhere on the forum in hopes that someone can help with a decal from their spares box, but if that doesn't pan out, I'll be forced to buy another decal set. So is life. 
 
Either way, I promised pictures, and pictures you will get!

First, the carrier deck:

Then the good side of my 1/48 cat:

The dark side of my 1/48 cat:

And my 1/72 cat:

So, decaling the Wildcats was a bit challenging. The decals wouldn't separate from the decal paper easily, and the decals tore pretty easily, too. But they are on the planes and the result is decent. 

The carrier deck for my 1/48 cat is also much farther along--perhaps even done if I don't do anything else to it. I could use some chocks for the plane, though....How would one build those? 

I'll post pics later.

Will do! Have fun with that ship! 

Good verse!

Comin' along, Glamdring! Keep it up! 

EB--Kudos on the completion! Looks good! Do you have a photo preference for the roster?

(...don't leave us!!!.... ;)

1/35 Zvezda M-40 Semovente Italian Assault Gun

Golden paints

Assorted oils and pigments

Hi

Sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with the list. Finescale has decided they care nothing for my money and refuse to restore my access to the list. I think this will be my last post on a Finescale forum, after ten years or so of usually faultless performance. I'll miss it.

But I promised a Mediterranean vehicle and here it is. The M-40 Semovente was a purpose built assault gun intended for Italian infantry support. However, it was given a 75mm gun which made it a dangerous opponent in the desert. And, there were days when Semoventes were very useful, especially in defense. (After 1943 the Germans expropriated several for their own use.) However, there were never very many of them, so the Italians soldiered on with tanks like the M13/40. Not that the Semovente was a game changer. You can clearly see a load of bolts keeping the thing together. Italy did not belong in WWII. (One of those "what ifs" - what if Mussolini would have stayed neutral? He might have stuck around as long as Franco.)

The Zvezda rebox is of a very old Italeri kit from the mid-70s. I believe Tamiya made one around the same time - no doubt better. This was basic modeling gents. There were no part numbers - just a diagram of where the parts were. There were precious few pins and holes. By and large, your eyeball gets a good work out. The tracks were poor, but I wasn't going to go overboard on this kit, so I lived with them. Actually, the fit wasn't that bad - although the very scanty instructions made the build longer than needed. Here's the kit assembled.

inprogr2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

I mised up a desert tan using Golden High Flow yellow oxide, buff and a bit of black. It was a good match I think.

IMG_0086 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

I've been watching the Mike Rinaldi weathering videos on YouTube. They're way too long and just beg for a leaner presentation of the kind Adam Wilder did with a KV-1 a couple of years back. But there's still some neat tips. I did use oils for washes and it was ready for fading.

modelpic2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

I decided to build a simple desert base for the model. The more I look at sand in North Africa the less umber and sienna I see and more light gray with a hit of ocher. Kind of like this.

desertcolor by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

You can see most of the base in the pics of the completed kit below. I've put in some details so you can get an idea of the very interesting effects you can get with chipping and then coming in with heavy duty oil fading and then oil dusting.

rtDet by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rear by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Here are rest of the pics. It worked out okay, but next time I'll work harder on the pigments on the tracks - it's harder in my world to do light mud/dust then loading up on it.

left-ft by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

lft-r by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

right2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

rt-rear by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

And one more posing with the Tamiya Valentine I did early this year. The Tamiya is a better kit. I think, however, I might be closer to the right color on the M40. (I'm also using an unfamiliar camera - I'll get it working properly pretty soon.)

Val&M40 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Happy holidays gents. Happy modeling. I'd like to join you, but it just doesn't work for me if I have to check in manually every time.

Best

Eric

That's some nice work on the deck!

I brought the Panzer 2 off the shelf now that we are in the 4th quarter.  The plan was always to include the commander in the hatch, but I will probably skip the rest of the Afrika Korps troops in the kit.  No room for a full sized display of them.  The start of his uniform:

and finished uni:

All that is left is to paint his hair and give a coat of sealer.

Yay! My decals from arrived the other day, so I should have what I need to finish the planes!

So, I have ordered and am now awaiting the decals for my Wildcats. 

I have also worked on a scratchbuilt carrier deck diorama base for the 1/48 Cat.

Come to find out, the carrier decks were blue! So, with stain and sanding...

Still not finished, but it's on its way.

Good work, TJ! 

Almost ready for paint 

Started on my build with a catch. I'm doing two. Same kit one in American markings the other in British

Accurate Miniatures F-6A/ Mk.Ia Mustang

Good job, Eric! I hope the tech works better for you. :)

Hi gents

I'm starting to getting response from this Group Build again after three months of nothing. I can see from looking around that there are some very sweet builds here - do like the dio PJ and the P-40B. So that means that if Kalmbach is serious, I may be back in business.

I am listed as working on a 1/35 Zvezda M-40/75 tank destroyer - better known as the Semovente.

Thinking I was on my own I didn't work much this summer - there were lots of ways to waste time. Now had the Group Build been working, I know I would have done more. So lets hope they don't exile me again.

I'm almost done with construction. Let's put it this way - Zvezda reboxed an Italeri kit that was new tool - in 1973 - when the Russians were on the other side of the Cold War. (I was in West Berlin about that time - the Wall was an extraordinary sight - utterly astounding.) As you might guess this kit is pretty crude. The plastic quality isn't bad - most of the pieces come off the sprues cleanly (attachments are actually quite thin - better than many kits of very recent vintage). The fit is okay. The tracks are ancient and awful - they took a lot of work and a lot of super glue.

A better modeler than I can roll with the punches. I've stumbled into a few dicey kits in the past three years or so - which stand in contrast with some spankikng new tool Tamiya offers - and fighting a kit lowers my morale and interest. So this one will not be a good offering on this build.

Yet the subject is interesting. I think it is going to get together. It has lots of rivets and what we used to call "funk appeal." So, if I put some pedal to the metal, I hope to get this done pretty soon. I've never quit a kit in progress and don't intend to start. Below is a pic of the a real M40 and also of my kit as it stands. Assuming I get it done, I'll give a little background to the vehicle. The Italians made up half the Afrika Korps and in the desert anything carrying a 75mm gun was potentially dangerous. Also is a pic as the kit stands now. Wish me luck

Eric

warpic1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

inprogr2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

 l like it.

Here's a Wildcat (1/48) update:

Another AB session down; and the prop and canopy pieces are done, too. 

I have also gotten some lacquer thinner, so I can try out the gloss coat, decal, flat coat technique!