251 Halftracks GB 1 October '08 - 8 June '09

Going to get a new camera tomorrow I think.  But I will show you what I am doing as far as scratching the side stowage bins on this particular 251. I first thought it was a converted /7 but the bins are just wooden add ons.  Almost ready to paint her up and decal her!

 I got this new kit I am excited about but it's an airplane!

sfcmac wrote:

Going to get a new camera tomorrow I think.  But I will show you what I am doing as far as scratching the side stowage bins on this particular 251. I first thought it was a converted /7 but the bins are just wooden add ons.  Almost ready to paint her up and decal her!  I got this new kit I am excited about but it's an airplane!

I'm sure you have checked your ref's, so i hope you don't mind me asking. Are you sure those side supports, which do look like those off a /7, are meant to be there. I've never seen thsoe on a /10 before.

some assembly required wrote:

sfcmac,no disrespect,but you should look at doogs /17 in the armor section.its finish is way to cool for words.i plan on using some if not all of his tech. soon

Offense ? Me? Heck I musta been gone to long!  Are we still using the term Fupes!?!?  I had a very bad bought with my teeth, Knocked me out for the count too long. Then I had to play catch up on my GB addiction!

No offense! Karl fears me and my military clippers! I do respect that fellows talent though with the guitar and the Styrene!  Haven't found that thread yet have to go back and search for it!  251/17 huh? 

 Ok let me regroup a bit. I am an absolute DAK ga ga freak. Think it is from all the time on tanks I spent in various deserts. What ever. Anyways I jumped at this GB to try to recreate this particular vehicle which is my fav 251 pic!

If you blow it up and zoom in, highlight it and turn it sideways you can tell the side bins are not from a /7. The location is wrong. (They are too big) and the supports on the sides of them look more like a truck seat or raised wooden side.

Here is a /7 to compare.

Now another interesting thing or two about this particular vehicle is the markings.  Clearly an Army plate with the WH prefix but look at that Luftwaffe bird right on the nose. Best that I have been able to figure is it is a laison vehicle with an attached Luftwaffe radio operator to do some front line air to ground coordination.  One of the very advanced concepts of Blitzkreig which is still used today under the title of Combined Arms Warfare.

If anyone wants to offer any different info I am all ears and never offended by questions or offers of help and info to get to the real story! Or Improve on my skills.

Gosh I hope we are still using Fupes!

sfcmac wrote:

some assembly required wrote: sfcmac,no disrespect,but you should look at doogs /17 in the armor section.its finish is way to cool for words.i plan on using some if not all of his tech. soon Offense ? Me? Heck I musta been gone to long!  Are we still using the term Fupes!?!?  I had a very bad bought with my teeth, Knocked me out for the count too long. Then I had to play catch up on my GB addiction! No offense! Karl fears me and my military clippers! I do respect that fellows talent though with the guitar and the Styrene!  Haven't found that thread yet have to go back and search for it!  251/17 huh?   Ok let me regroup a bit. I am an absolute DAK ga ga freak. Think it is from all the time on tanks I spent in various deserts. What ever. Anyways I jumped at this GB to try to recreate this particular vehicle which is my fav 251 pic! If you blow it up and zoom in, highlight it and turn it sideways you can tell the side bins are not from a /7. The location is wrong. (They are too big) and the supports on the sides of them look more like a truck seat or raised wooden side. Here is a /7 to compare. Now another interesting thing or two about this particular vehicle is the markings.  Clearly an Army plate with the WH prefix but look at that Luftwaffe bird right on the nose. Best that I have been able to figure is it is a laison vehicle with an attached Luftwaffe radio operator to do some front line air to ground coordination.  One of the very advanced concepts of Blitzkreig which is still used today under the title of Combined Arms Warfare. If anyone wants to offer any different info I am all ears and never offended by questions or offers of help and info to get to the real story! Or Improve on my skills. Gosh I hope we are still using Fupes!

Ye, you can certainly see the difference. I have seen /7's with wooden planks in the bridge supports, but your's is clearly not inside the supports and it does look more like an add on stowage bin.

I was always under the impression that Luftwaffe FAC's used a /6. Is it possible the one in the pic belongs to the Ramcke brigade.

sfcmac wrote:

Sfcmac - looks GREAT!  I like the scratched wooden bin additions...and shooting for a specific vehicle from a period pic is always very cool. Good eye on the markings as well.

lewbud wrote:

SMJmodeler wrote: Anyone know of a good source for indi-links for my 251 Stuka Zu Fuss?  ALSO, I found the "251 in Action" book on Amazon.com for $7 +$4 S&H...can anyone beat that? I'd like to have the tracks and book in my arsenal soon! SMJ, If you want, you can have the EZ-links from my /16.  Just pm me your info

lewbud: Shot you a PM last week lewbud, any chance you sent those tracks yet?...thanks again!

Bish wrote:

sfcmac wrote:  Ok let me regroup a bit. I am an absolute DAK ga ga freak. Think it is from all the time on tanks I spent in various deserts. What ever. Anyways I jumped at this GB to try to recreate this particular vehicle which is my fav 251 pic! Gosh I hope we are still using Fupes! Ye, you can certainly see the difference. I have seen /7's with wooden planks in the bridge supports, but your's is clearly not inside the supports and it does look more like an add on stowage bin. I was always under the impression that Luftwaffe FAC's used a /6. Is it possible the one in the pic belongs to the Ramcke brigade.

Hey Bish Glad your home enjoying some well deserved time off.

The picture has the mark of the 21st panzer division and the DAK Palm marking. This vehicle is in service just prior and during the battle of El Alamein.  Since I have been working on it Dragon Released some DAK 1/35 figures representing that battle and even used the photo as box art.

One of the reasons I am such a big fan of the WWII North African theatre is that so many examples of equipment and vehicles go against standard established and accepted standards.

Another cool thing about this one is the Machine gun mount with shield on the rear of the 251.

I have read detailed diarys and War College studies about the Aussie Fighters in Trobuk and the Germans even towed 88mm Pak guns with Panzer II's and III's Really cool details of how close the Germans came to overwhelming them and how they were denied by sheer grit!

Of course the downside is you don't have those cool colorful paint schemes but I have tried to make up for it by adding details that the Military fellows can relate too. Rations ,toilet paper and person items to make it lived in. You know only too well that when deployed the Vehicle is your home.

Ah Fupes!  is the alter ego of our fine host of this GB.  When Dupes dawns the super hero like bicycling attire that is in his avatar, he transforms from mild mannered GB host and becomes the lady killing super hero known as FUPES!  Endowed with special powers from the magic spandex!  ( don't ask about the bulge please)

sfcmac wrote:

Ah Fupes!  is the alter ego of our fine host of this GB.  When Dupes dawns the super hero like bicycling attire that is in his avatar, he transforms from mild mannered GB host and becomes the lady killing super hero known as FUPES!  Endowed with special powers from the magic spandex! (don't ask about the bulge please)

...kinda' sorry I asked...

sfcmac wrote:

Ah Fupes!  is the alter ego of our fine host of this GB.  When Dupes dawns the super hero like bicycling attire that is in his avatar, he transforms from mild mannered GB host and becomes the lady killing super hero known as FUPES!  Endowed with special powers from the magic spandex!  ( don't ask about the bulge please)

Classic! I think I need to put this in my profile somehow!

Interesting about the box art on that DML figure kit...didn't even TRY to manipulate it in any way. Cool photo.

sfcmac wrote:

Bish wrote:  sfcmac wrote:  Ok let me regroup a bit. I am an absolute DAK ga ga freak. Think it is from all the time on tanks I spent in various deserts. What ever. Anyways I jumped at this GB to try to recreate this particular vehicle which is my fav 251 pic! Gosh I hope we are still using Fupes! Ye, you can certainly see the difference. I have seen /7's with wooden planks in the bridge supports, but your's is clearly not inside the supports and it does look more like an add on stowage bin. I was always under the impression that Luftwaffe FAC's used a /6. Is it possible the one in the pic belongs to the Ramcke brigade. Hey Bish Glad your home enjoying some well deserved time off. The picture has the mark of the 21st panzer division and the DAK Palm marking. This vehicle is in service just prior and during the battle of El Alamein.  Since I have been working on it Dragon Released some DAK 1/35 figures representing that battle and even used the photo as box art. One of the reasons I am such a big fan of the WWII North African theatre is that so many examples of equipment and vehicles go against standard established and accepted standards. Another cool thing about this one is the Machine gun mount with shield on the rear of the 251. I have read detailed diarys and War College studies about the Aussie Fighters in Trobuk and the Germans even towed 88mm Pak guns with Panzer II's and III's Really cool details of how close the Germans came to overwhelming them and how they were denied by sheer grit! Of course the downside is you don't have those cool colorful paint schemes but I have tried to make up for it by adding details that the Military fellows can relate too. Rations ,toilet paper and person items to make it lived in. You know only too well that when deployed the Vehicle is your home. Ah Fupes!  is the alter ego of our fine host of this GB.  When Dupes dawns the super hero like bicycling attire that is in his avatar, he transforms from mild mannered GB host and becomes the lady killing super hero known as FUPES!  Endowed with special powers from the magic spandex!  ( don't ask about the bulge please)

O yes, the B, well spotted, i didn't see it hideing there like that. I have seen that bird somewheer before, i am sure its in one of the Panzer colours.

And thanks, its good to be back and will be even better when i get back to building in a day or so.

Steve,

Got your pm.  Have been swamped at work, will try to get them out in the next couple of days.

Hey all,

Just a few quick comments on my /4 build, thus far.  I don't have pics yet, but will try to put some up in a day or so.

I am doing the AFV Club kit, and I have to admit this kit has presented me with some new challenges.  Generally, the detail and molding is very good.  One thing I did notice right away is that, compared to DML and Tamiya, the plastic seems to be harder, making it a little more tricky to work with.  In addition, there seems to be lots and LOTS of the really big, nasty pour stubs (the half moon suckers) that need to be trimmed off.  Getting some of the parts off the sprue is also a bit of a challenge because of the attachment points and their location.  And finally, some of the assembly seems... overly...  I don't know the word.... not complex, but not very well thought out, either.  One thing that is obvious is that this kit is the base kit, in that a lot of the parts are obviously singled out to be removable so they kit can be built up into a different version with the swapping of a couple of sprues.

All that being said, I am generally pleased with the kit so far.  I have the lower hull together and am working on the running gear, which appears precariously fragile, but we'll see when I actually start trimming more that wheels off the frets.

So there it is...  looks like this should be a pretty fun build.  I am planning to do some quick research into the /4's to see if they would have served in N.Africa or Italy (which I am pretty certain of, actually), because I would like to paint this guy up in the two-tone scheme wbill recently used on his Pz IV...

Hay there dupes I have my update as well. I finaly got the hang of making the wire loops for the seat backs. I thought if I can draw the loops than I may be able to make them by hand.

I used a pin-vice to hold a cut off needle to make the loops on.

Heres my first try at it and you can see the loop holes need to be closer to fit the seat backs.

After looking at photos of the real thing I saw that there are 4 rows or lines of loops going across and 4 rows going down and 12 loops in each row. I had a lot of wire brakes and that's what took a lot of my time, but once I got the hang of it I got all the lines done. Now all I need to do is add the straps the the top & sides of the seat backs and then add the wire loop lines to them and then I can get back to work and get this model back on track.

Today I am FINALLY going to start work on my /21 Drillling!  Several events have caused life to get a lot busier than I expected whe I first signed up for the GB, but I should be able to carve out enough time to finish by June.  I will post photos on my progress as time permits.  Hopefully it will turn out as good as what I have seen from the rest of you.  I definately have my work cut out for me!

Russ

White_R34 wrote:

WOW!  That is some hard core work right there.  Hey, wanna make an extra set or two?  I'd throw you a few bucks for 'em - you might have found yourself a little cottage industry there...  How many guys are in this build?  Figure, what, 5 - 10 bucks a set...  man you could do alright...

But seriously, here is a quick update from me:

My AFV Club /4 is going along.  I am finding that this kit hides a bit of frustration to it.  Just about every locating pin is either too big for the hole it is supposed to fit into or it does not really align properly.  There are also some pretty 'fiddly' parts that you need about 3 men and a fat kid to get into place properly.  Ah well...  heres a few progress shots:

First, the lower hull - even the way that went together was a little frustrating.  You have to align three locating tabs (which thankfully actually fit) and sandwich a couple other pieces in between at the same time...  Even if you can accomplish that, getting a nice join between the hull and floor was not possible (I think the rear axle - one of the pieces sandwiched in between - is just a bit too long...)

Next, the front suspension - this is composed of 6 parts, so not too extreme there, but they all required quite a bit of cleaning.  Addtionally, they are all pretty fragile, but the way they are attached to the sprues makes it hard to remove them without damage or distortion...

And finally, the suspension attached to the hull.  The wheels are only slipped on (again - after sanding down the mounting pins to fit).  Those wheels are another story - it is not exceptionally clear in the photo, but the join seam between the halves is nasty - going to require a fair degree of cleanup...

Despite the challenges, I am having a pretty good time with this kit.  It is definately testing my skills...

Well, now...  anyone see up in the armor forum the link to upcoming DML releases?  Here is the link:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/dragon.htm

Check out about half way down the list: SdKfz 251 A 3-in-1...  Oh, dupes, I think you need to add a build to your list...

There is also an 'early production' /9.  Kits 6227 and 6225 respectively, for any of you who'd like to get your orders in quick!

bbrowniii wrote:

Well, now...  anyone see up in the armor forum the link to upcoming DML releases?  Here is the link: http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/dragon.htm Check out about half way down the list: SdKfz 251 A 3-in-1...  Oh, dupes, I think you need to add a build to your list... There is also an 'early production' /9.  Kits 6227 and 6225 respectively, for any of you who'd like to get your orders in quick!

Those two kits have been on the DML list for a few months now, but still no release date. AFV are also supposed to be brining out an Ausf A. I am hopeing the DML Ausf A is going to include the Stuka Zu Fuss.

Fellas - I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but those kits have been listed by DML for a bit longer than a few months. Checked last night, the Ausf. A 3-in-1 first appeared in the 2005 (!) catalog, and the Early /9 showed up the following year in the 2006 catalog. I wouldn't hold your breath - they're in the same boat as the infamous "#6269 Early Production Tiger" and the "#9059 Ersatz Panther" which have yet to materialize.

Trust me, when they DO finally get released, I'll be snapping them up.

Boyd - progress is looking good! Glad to see your /4 is on the bench!

White_R34: You are a master of that fine detail work! 

I printed your Stuka Zu Fuss stuff for as a reference for my build for this GB, GREAT stuff!...thanks for going through the trouble to put all that together.