Service&Supply GB 6/15/08-1/15/09

  Mobious you just keep posting away I'm really interested in this. I've only seen one of these built and that was a pic from a show somewere. And seeing you'r build from start to finish is a joy to watch.

 Thanks for your comments, panzerguy.  The Bronco kit is a very nicely molded kit with loads of detail. A lot of the rivets on the hull aren't really visible. I hope to bring most of that out during paint/weathering. Currently working on the cabin interior. It's gotta a cool shift lever tower with gates. I'll post some more pics when I get alittle further along. When this kit was first released it didn't really draw my attention. Now that I've good start on it Bronco has done a fine job of it.

 Mobious

Heres a couple more of the trailer for you Mobious.

...Guy

Hey Luftwoller,

 Those are great shots. Doesn't look to be alot of rivets on the sides, whew! That had me worried. If it would have been built like the LWS there has to be several hundred rivets on the hull alone. Thanks for the pics.

 Mobious

Luftwoller wrote:

It doesnt look it but that trailer is huge. Just compare the size to te famo, which in itself, is longer than a Tiger II.

...Guy

 Hello,

 A little up date on the LWS.

 Step 11: Brings us into the cabin adding driver controls. The steering brake levers are subassemblies 4 & 5. Each with 3 pieces. The transmission shift lever tower is worth mentioning too, because of the gate pattern. I thought this was a cool detail not seen in most kits.

 Step 12: Topside with subassemblies 6 & 7 which construct the lights out of 5 pieces w/ options for black out lenses or clear. Hmm, I wonder why one would need blackout lenses while operating a tracked boat on land at night , so no one will see you? Continuing with this step also attaches cleats and what looks to be lifting hooks/rings. Also note worthy in this step is subassembly 8 which is the gun rack w/ nicely detail K98's. Haven't attached the rifles/racks will wait until the cabin has been painted.

 Haven't decided which lenses to go with, but I'm favoring the Blackout lenses. Here's why

 Big Schwimmer/Little Schwimmer.

 Luftwoller, was thinking that the Sd.Ah116 trailer would have most of the needed parts for a scratch build, but it utilizes single tire axles. DarnIt!

 Mobious

 I would have to agree that the trailer is huge. the LWS is also huge here is a better comparison shot based on the TII.

 Hello,

 Another update on the LWS...

 Step 13 is what G. Armstrong said "One GIANT leap" with no less than 4 subassemblies.

 Subassembly 9: Construtcs what looks to be the winch operations station, w/ 18 pcs.

 Subassembly 10: builds the dash and 2 of the 3 crew seats while subassembly 11 assembles the 3rd. I guess because the seat backs for the 3rd seat are from another sprue tree. Each one of the 3 seats are 6 pieces. The dash has been put on hold awaiting instruments.

 Subassembly 12: This subassembly was a bit tricky for me and my limited abilities. The instrutions were not very clear on part locations. And trial fits were nearly impossible because of the pieces that are located on the inside of the intake stack, which is 2 halves. The locating pin and socket for the whole assembly is rather tight. The insrtuction sequence was altered abit so the tower would fit easily into location. Also in this step is the PE floor and rear wall for the "observation deck", a neat PE MP40 holder is also attached to the starboard side of the intake tower. 

 After all the subassemblies are complete, Step 13 begins with attachment of subassemblies 9 thru 12. After the winch staion and the intake tower were installed a double check of clearance and alignment with the cabin roof section was in order...

 As the the LWS begins taking shape, (and because of the size of the trailer) I'm thinking of parking this one next to palm tree.

 Comments and suggestions are always welcome

 Mobious

Mobious wrote:

Wow Mobious, this is really shaping up into a great build. Dubious abilities, my @rse. As for the small room, over here its refered too as the smallest room and if im not mistaken, in the Navy its called the 'Head' if im not very much mistaken.

In my useless opinion, its a toilet. I thank you.

...Guy

  Mobious This is starting to look really sweet.

     It's like the ultimate party boat! you could fish all day and when you'r ready to call it quit's and hit the local pub you just drive right to the front door.

  I take it that you'll be adding the trailer? Will you be scratch building it? 

 Loftwoller, LOL... I was thinking the same thing. HeHe! Wasn't sure if it was a winch engagement pedal or the flusher!

 panzerguy,  Not sure if I want to tackle the trailer just yet. Might be biting off more than I could handle. But I will be looking into the trailer to see if I can find any axles or tire sets for such a build. Haven't really scratchbuilt anything since turning the Tamiya 1/35 Sturmpanzer(Early) into a late(about a decade before DML offered it in kit form) which was more of a kit bash than anything.

 Thanks for the kind words, encouragement, and viewing

 Mobious

 Hello,

 Step 14: Assembles the cabin and installs the glass. Opted not to install the glass at this time. Trimmed out the turn indicators for a type B before assembly of the cabin began, the instructions call out for this to be done in step 16 which is attaching the fully assembled cabin to the hull. Picked that little tip up from a fellow AMPS member, who had just completed an LWS. Still managed to nearly have a major FUBAR. The side walls of the cabin were a little warped, got most of the warp out.

 When I began attaching them to the cabin roof, I had planned on setting them with Tenax 7 for a quick and strong bond as I aligned them. Wrong. The Tenax had seeped under the roof seam and before I could set everything down I had fingerprints on both port and starboard sides that would have made the FBI proud! Fortunately they were between panels and managed to sand them out without losing any rivet detail. But during all the excitement the cabin sides had fixed themsleves pretty good in a bad way. I had to break the starboard side loose to realign it. I think it will be OK. Anyway that whole episode cost me nearly a weeks progress, a countless number of hairs lost and a paycheck in the swear jar.

 The lesson learned. Careful with the solvents when working with different plastics. This plastic is really soft compared to something like Tamiya's compounds. 

 I had planned on building an instrument panel. With the limited view of the interior I felt it would have easily been overlooked. Save the decals for an open top.

 Step 15 finishes the cabin iterior with forward wall braces and misc. small items. Noteworthy in step 15  is the porthole screws...

 and the boogie board. Those Krazy Kriegsmariners. The detail of the wingnut is what caught my attention.

 Did manage to get the interior in paint.

 Planning on leaving the cabin removable until after all painting and weathering is done. Hope I don't forget to install all those little round windows first.

 Mobious

Mobious, that is looking mighty fine fella. Now the inside has some paint on it, it really looks like its taking shape. If it were me, id go chipping crazy on the thing.

Great pics and good save on the fingerprints LOL.

...Guy

 Hey Luftwoller,

 I was working on the supplies for the LWS and had just finished on the washes when I seen your post. The first thing I did was to "Scratch" that white paint all up! That's fun 

 The "FBI" won't be lifting any prints off of this cabin, did lose a few rivets on the panels, but the anchor rope should cover the affected area...

 Having fun on this build, thanks for checking in.

 Mobious

  Mobious she's looking good with some paint down. One thing, you might want to have some wear on the floor showing high traffic areas.

 Hello,

 Panzerguy, I tried drybrushing the high traffic areas with Vallejo panzergray then hit it with a panzer grey oil wash, but it's really light and doesn't show well on this pic. Thought I'd add some pastels to show the wear, maybe graphite would do the trick. Thanks for pointing that one out.

 Finished some of the "Cargo" required by the rules of the GB. Added crates from Greif. Made rope handles for the smaller crates. Painted the crates with Vallejo custom mix wood color, with successive drybrushing adding white after each pass. thinking about going over the larger crates on the bottom, painting them field grey to give more variation to the crates.

 Loftwoller, after seeing your amazing work on the K98's that you did in the 251GB thought I'd better step up a bit and try to improve my rendering of the K98. I didn't add PE slings, just some foil, had to leave it short on top to clear the latches which are attached to the upper cabin.

 Thanks for the comments and taking the time to view.

 Mobious

That is really starting to look sharp Mobious. As for the high traffic areas, the scratching looks sweet but could do with a little extra. I personally would go with a little dirt coloured pastel and drybrush that around a bit. Remember a little goes a long way. The boxes look great. Ill have to look for some of those. You could always give em a wash of light browns if you want to change the colours a little but i personally wouldnt. They look great as they are.

Love the rifles by the way. My slings were made from lead foil not PE btw.

Keep the pics a coming, big boy.

...Guy

 Hello,

 I applied "Panzergrau" pastles with water to the high traffic areas. Loftwoller your right, a little goes a long way. The pastels were diluted to nearly a wash then applied, and even then had to go back and remove some. The pastel wash was allowed to dry before proceeding. Next, a "little" Ebony Jet Black graphite was added dry with a stiff brush to give the areas a steel sheen. Went back over certain areas with a pin wash of burnt umber to redifine the shadows.

 Here are the results of dabbling in the world of the pastels/graphite...

 Ordered the  Warriors LSW Crew form Squadron. This is my first look at figures from this company. The resin castings look excellent and the pour tabs are located smartly in easy to reach areas for removal. The facial detail is generally what I look at in figures and these did NOT dissapoint. Very well detailed and top notch expressions along with "Bubble" free castings should make for easy work with the crew. Thanks Warriors a job well done!

 The crew went together pretty easily. Used epoxy to glue the torso's together. Sanded the driver and RO's arshes to get them into the seats a little better. The 3P's will be added to the figures. (Putty,Primer and Paint).

 Thanks for the suggestions and your time helping out.

 Mobious 

  Mobious nice job on the floor. Those figs look like they'll add just the right touch to you'r build.  

 Thanks panzerguy, The Warriors figures are really nicely done and I love the goggles the drivers wearing. Thought I'd paint the figures after getting some paint on the outside of the LWS first. January 15 is ever so close and I got involved with the WeekEnd Madness GB.

 Did some rearranging of the "cargo". I haven't done to many tissue paper tarps, but I thought I would give it another go considering the tarps will be under roof. Added a couple DML Gen2 helmets for the crew.

 Also added a crewmember's equipment belt. Thinking about adding a bundle of rope.

 Back to the LWS. Step 16 is attaching the upper cabin to the hull which I plan on skipping until after paint.

 Step: 17 has 4 subassemblies that make up both drivers/RO hatches, the "cargo" hatcth, the 2 piece horn and the really nicely molded spot light. The spot light was flash free with no seam lines and all of the hatches had no pin marks. Nice job Bronco. All the subassemblies are attached along with tools, the anchor, and the anchor rope "reel".

 The OBT's were replaced by items from the spares box, along with adding Griffon tool holders. Had to remove all the moldy holders from the tools. The kit tools are ok, but not that great on the detail considering the level of detail in the kit so far. There were some nasty locating holes for the tools that had to be puttied shut. Thanks Bondo.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

Wow, Mobious. This is seriously shaping up into a quality build, my friend. Your efforts on the floor have reaped benefits for sure. You could if you wanted add some earth colours in there as well. That would give the floor some contrast to the dark colouring. Dont forget in the area where the stowage is you can add some random stains on the floor. This can be done by adding a drop of brown to some Klear or Tamiya clear and then randomly paint a few dots or patches here and there. I did similar with the famo in the rear bed. I liked the results.

The tarps came out very nice. Ive not tried that yet. How did you make them? I think rope is a 'Given'. All boats have coils of rope here and there. Have you thought about the rope fenders around the whole boat? Theres a guy at our local model club who bought some AM fenders for the lws that looked fantastic. They were resin but the mouldings were great.

Great job, keep the piccys coming.

...Guy

 Hello Luftwoller, When I first purchased this kit, I did a search over on Amorama and found an excellent "How To" to build real rope bumpers on the Model Shipwright Forum. I really liked the results the author of the article had achieved, however with my limited abilities I might soon have taken on too much and began floundering? Anyway I attended AMPS Nationals this spring at Auburn,IN and remembered a vendor with a display of cargo nets, rope bumpers, embarkation nets. Techweave Products. Went to their website and really liked the looks of the finished bumpers, so I purchased these. I believe I won't be dissapointed. I've seen several reviews and they look stunning. The LWS set also includes rope to secure the anchor and mooring lines. Really looking forward to seeing these up close.

 I did manage a little today,

 Finished up step 17: replaced the anchor securing brackets with strip styrene w/hexagon styrene for the bolts. Also added cast texture to the anchor with Mr Surfacer.

 Will be adding earth tone pastels to nooks/crannies and to the non travelled floor areas,  a few spills in the cargo area, too. Added a couple of extra cans of fuel in the cargo hold. Always a good idea to have extra fuel for a boat outing,

 Thanks for the comments and suggestions,

 Mobious

  Luftwoller, I sincerely appreciate the suggestions, the suggestion for the spills led to adding the Gerry cans, and they fit right in. I just haven't managed the spills yet. Still working on the rope thing. I started on more of the tools & holders on the roof of the LWS. 

 I'll keep throwing pics at ya if you keep throwing suggestion back! 

 Mobious

   Mobious your LWS is looking fantastic. The work and detail that your putting into this is above and beyond. Nice to see that all the hatches can be opened. It gives a great view into the cabin.

    I was wondering if any of these ever had a camo type pattern applied? Like the dazzle scheme on the E-boats.

   See you later got to get back to the bench and finish my JS2.

 Hello,

 Panzerguy, I believe the LWS was issued to engineering assault companies. The kit has painting options for 3 camo schemes 1) Afrika Korp (Sand Yellow) 2) Eastern Front (Dark Grey) and 3) Eastern Front Repaint (Hard Edged 3-Tone: Light Grey, Blue Grey, Light Green). I seen one painted in a 2-tone camo that looked really neat over on another website. Was looking for pics of camo for the LWS and ran across this one. Thought it was pretty cool. Never knew the Kriegsmarine had launched this one in 1938. Wonder what type of aircraft were planned to fly of her decks?

 The hatches look like they could be made to open and close if I would have planned ahead.  


 Thanks for the comments and suggestions and will be looking forward to the JS2 update.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

Mobious wrote:

Hello,  Panzerguy, I believe the LWS was issued to engineering assault companies. The kit has painting options for 3 camo schemes 1) Afrika Korp (Sand Yellow) 2) Eastern Front (Dark Grey) and 3) Eastern Front Repaint (Hard Edged 3-Tone: Light Grey, Blue Grey, Light Green). I seen one painted in a 2-tone camo that looked really neat over on another website. Was looking for pics of camo for the LWS and ran across this one. Thought it was pretty cool. Never knew the Kriegsmarine had launched this one in 1938. Wonder what type of aircraft were planned to fly of her decks?  The hatches look like they could be made to open and close if I would have planned ahead.    Thanks for the comments and suggestions and will be looking forward to the JS2 update.  Best Regards,  Mobious

Mobius,

There were plans for a navalized version of the 109 (the T model if memory serves) and the Stuka.  As far as I know, only the 109T made it into production.

 Hey lewbud, that's interesting considering the 109 I thought was critiqued for it's landing gear. The stuka I kinda figured would be there. but the 109 is surprising. I thought it would be cool to add a couple of catapults to the flight deck of the Graf Zepplin load her up with ME 262 and WOW!

 Was working on the tool layout of the LWS. Most of tools on the roof are pretty standard on German equipment. Griffon Models tool latches replaced the molded on clasp.

 Everything went well, but the grappling hook had me stumped. The kit details on the hook and extensions were above average in detail but the mounts were just plain lacking any detail.

 I thought of the Tiger I cleaning rod and tow cable hold downs as an alternative, and almost busted open a set to get them. The only problem was the size of holder vs. the size of the grappling hook. I've tried making the hold downs with plastic before on a Tiger and they just didn't work. The holes need to be drilled close together and the plastic is just not strong enough to accomplish this. I was puzzled, until I remembered a discussion here on FSM Scratchbuilding forum about building with aluminum. Aluminum was the answer for the hold downs. I started by drilling the 3 holes needed in .016" sheet aluminum...

 Next using my most favored tool of all, My trusty Snap-on true flush cuts I trimmed them to the needed width, then in half. I further trimmed them down to the desired size, then sanded them with 400 grit and finished with 1000.

 Attached them to the roof with CA. I still have to clean the grappling hook, drill holes for the extensions and add straps and buckles. Overall, I'm happy with how they turned out. Thanks FSM Forums!

 Loftwoller, still haven't added the fuel spills, or accumulated dirt to the floor. 

 Thanks for the comments, suggestions and for the time spent viewing.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious 

 Hello,

 finished up step 18 and moved onto 19: OMG...The track insallation and grab rail (IMO looks like a mini-van luggage rack). The front railing has the smallest plastic pices I've ever seen. There are 6 short risers that connect to the railing, then get attached to the roof. I decided an alternate route was in order at this point, I choose to attach the risers to the roof then the railing to the risers. Makes for less hit and miss than the other way. The aft port and starboard railings are both one piece each. Close trimming with cutters and sanding with 1000 paper shaped them up. Ran into a small problem with the cargo hatches and the location of the shovel/grappling hook on the aft port railing. The hatches would have been better installed in this step after the railings are installed. The equipment on the port side need moved forward in order to clear the railing. The tracks look like PzII tracks. They are nicely molded with no pin marks and are labeled L & R. All 294 of them. 147 for the port and 147 for the starboard. The tracks will be assembled after paint.

 Here is where the LWS is at...

  did manage to get the fuel spills, but haven't added the dirt to the floor, yet. 

 Best Regards,

 Mobious