Flak 88 FINISHED *UPDATED PICS*

That is a very nice looking build Brandon Diorama base is very well done too. I like it.

Julian

Oh yeah. The 88 has a clear line of site across the steppes to take out the neighbors dog! Well from the photos, it looks like a nicely conceived dio, though the area around the 88 looks a little too deliberately cleared out. Just my take, but nicely done. Hope it took out the dog! Sorry Doog. LOL

Thanks for taking the time to look guys!

Julian- I am happy that you like the 88 as well as the diorama. It was not my first attempt at a diorama but it was the first completed one.

Tigerman- Since this is my first diorama, I am more than happy to take any advice and critique. Not sure if there is a diorama planned for the future but I will definitely use your advice to improve it. Oh yeah... There's four dogs within range so well see how accurate this thing is

looks really nice, kudos to you for painting the tamiya figgies those are nicely done

Thanks for noticing the figures FF! These are also my first set of figures completed. I was about to lose interest in those guys but I stuck with it because i thought the 88 would look sort of lonely. Thanks for looking!

 

Congrats on getting this one done and entering the world of dioramas! While Eric thinks this one's aimed at the dogs, my first thought was the playhouse/dog shed was the principle target. Would hate to be the fuse setter guy though...he looks awfully uncomfortable.

Lookin' good buddy! I think the whole dio looks pretty sweet, two-fold since it's your 1st completed dio. The foggy pics look like the smoke of battle, and the paint looks really nice. Can't wait to see what you build next.

Thanks guys!

wbill76- That play house is a nice and colorful target! Also, I agree about that poor fuse setter... I dont think he fits very well in the seat with that shield. Thanks for welcoming me to the dioramas and hopefully I can try and get more dios done.

bullet21- I was thinking the same thing with the fogged lense on the camera! It's still very humid here and we just got some more rain. On top of that, it's going to storm tomorrow so I will take some better pics later in the week. Thanks for the comment on the dio! This had been brewing in my head for a while and I was finally able to build it.

I built this kit when it was first released in the mid 70s, I was 14 and more than a little intimidated by it, still I spent a whopping $19.00 on it so I had to build it or forget asking Mom for another kit(For awhile.)  Painted it with a $12.00 non adjustable Badger and bloody Propel cans(Now thats dedication.) Came out o.k.,even the figures.    This model was something of a paradigm shift for mil kits, up till then you had armoured cars and tanks, most were little more than toys.  I like your 88 modelfreak, as stated earliar by Tigerman the dio base is very nice, the only improvent I'd suggest is some dullcote on those figures, a small gripe but it would really help sell it.  On a personel note, my father John Showe lost most of his hearing to a 88 while fighting with the 45th inf Div in Italy, when a shell dropped near his foxhole.  The 88 was a much feared weapon and the allies tended to blame this bogeyman for any misfortune wrought by artillary, so maybe it was a haubitze of more ordinary repute. All I can say is, my pop told me it was an 88, so to me it was an 88. Again very nice 1st time build. 

Nice build overall, but your pictures are a little-blurred, I think you need more sunlight. It's not correct to call the gun "Flak 88". Yours is an old kit from Tamiya and Tamiya call it "88mm Gun Flak36/37":

 

the haze really does look as if the gun is firing.one thing to nte is the lack of empty shell casings.also as tigerman pointed out its a little to clean.but good for that first time around.

Model Maniac wrote:

Nice build overall, but your pictures are a little-blurred, I think you need more sunlight. It's not correct to call the gun "Flak 88". Yours is an old kit from Tamiya and Tamiya call it "88mm Gun Flak36/37":

Actually Model Maniac he would be correct in calling it the Flak 88 as alot of people don't know is that there are 2 Flak 36/37's 1 8.8cm the other 3.7 cm as well as there are 2 Flak 18's also 8.8cm and 3.7 cm. While calling the 8.8 cm gun Flak 88 may be somewhat incorrect it also serves to avoid confusion between the 2 different guns.

Thanks for all the input everyone!

rabbit- Sounds like a very hard way of finishing this kit! I was surprised that for a Tamiya kit, it was actually very complex. And your father being a WWII vet is awesome! I can imagine you may have heard a lot of stories. I also noticed that the figures are very glossy. I'm not sure why, but i'll have to go over them with some dullcoat.

MM- I mentioned earlier that the pictures were blurred due to the humid weather fogging up the lenses. Thanks for the tip about the sunlight, though.

Deatail freak- I did paint up some empty casings but forgot to use them in the dio. I'll glue them in before I take some more pictures.

 

The built model is an 8.8cm Flak 36.  The 8.8cm Flak 37 is different variant option of the Tamiya kit.  There is no such thing as a "8.8cm Flak 36/37" -- this is packaging labelling from Tamiya.

 

"Flak 88" is a ubiquitous term used by Allied sources but is not very succinct as there were four 8.8cm cailber Flaks fielded by the Germans during WW2.   

As for the diorama: I would have added the footing spikes at the ends of the cruciform mount -- these were essential for securing the Flak.  Also the fuze setter wouldn't be at his station in a ground engagement as AP ammo didn't require fuzes to be set (only AA high explosive shells).  Hope this helps.

T26E4 wrote:

The built model is an 8.8cm Flak 36.  The 8.8cm Flak 37 is different variant option of the Tamiya kit.  There is no such thing as a "8.8cm Flak 36/37" -- this is packaging labelling from Tamiya.   "Flak 88" is a ubiquitous term used by Allied sources but is not very succinct as there were four 8.8cm cailber Flaks fielded by the Germans during WW2.    As for the diorama: I would have added the footing spikes at the ends of the cruciform mount -- these were essential for securing the Flak.  Also the fuze setter wouldn't be at his station in a ground engagement as AP ammo didn't require fuzes to be set (only AA high explosive shells).  Hope this helps.

I do believe that the HEAA rounds were also used as "Airburst" rounds for use against enemy infantry and you would need a fuse setter to set the altitude fuse to the correct altitude for maximum effect.

Thanks for the info about the fuze setter T26E4 and Mikeym_us! I'm not to knowledgable about artillery so it's great to have the input and critique from everyone about these things that I am not aware of. Thanks!

ModelManiac-give the guy a break---EVERYONE calls the thing a Flak88,let it go......

Modelfreaks--dang nice 1st Dio ! I love the over-all feel of action, and putting the kit into some terrain-good job. Also like the look of the groundwork,tuff thing to make convincing(though less of a pattern to the grass tufts may look more real. The foggy photos really do work for this scene, the guys are right there. Also-a little clutter of supplies,ammo/casings/lunch/whatever would go a long way to a completed feel. My only nag(despite the encouragement about the figures--sorry but they need more than dullcoat(a great last step) I can't see them too well in the photos, but I can see a bit more attention needs to be payed to giving then some natural contrast, namely darker versions of the uniform colors in the recesses of the folds,and lighter version on tops of the creases, to put it very simply. they just don't look as finished to me as say the gun, which looks nice and dusty on the bottom- I like that.~~ Find everything you can and read up on painting figures. Putting them into this Dio made the whole Model-but don't be in a big hurry to get it done(I take 3-4 months on each build)

One of nine figures included in my 3rd Dio

Just my $50 worth  (used to be 2 cents-but inflation)

Indy

Overall a great job, you need a few touch-ups, but hey. It's a first. Looks good! Can't wait to see more of your work around here.

 LOL! Nice looking commander *INDY 

Yes, thanks for noticing, hehe                 but really,  I mean thank you Sir!       Ok, lets encourage the guy, but we wanna see some good pictures, of complete work right? Here to help--if you want....

Indy

 

Awesome dio!   I've got one of these kits and I was intimidated by looking at the instructions!

 My modelling skills do not compare, so I have no input  on the build.  However, I am a camera guy, so I have some comments on the fogging. The fogging in humid weather is probably due to the camera going from a cool, dry environment (probably air conditioning) into the humid outdoors.  Next time, take the camera out of the ac maybe an hour before wanting to use it and put it in a bag with desicant (sp?) [i.e. the little packets that come in sneaker boxes or vitamin bottles].  That will draw the condensation away from the camera.  Also, make sure that the fogging is on the outside of the lens and not on the inside (inside is a very bad thing for the camera !)

Again really great work and the other modells here have given some good input!

It's very fine...:)

Thanks for the comments everyone! Sorry I haven't checked on my post in a while... I've been pretty busy lately.

Indy- The reason for the figures looking unfinished is because I honestly don't have the patience to paint individual figures. Plus, they're my first set and I thought they would prevent the 88 from looking lonely and empty. Thank you for the tips though and I really like your commander! You can sure do a great job on figures.

PontiacRich- The gun really isn't very difficult to build. It's just A LOT of construction (but im sure it doesn't beat a dragon kit in number of parts). Also, you have to make sure you get the paint in all the nooks and crannies- that was also a difficult part. Other than that it's pretty straight forward. Good luck whenever you start on yours!

Updated Pics!

modelfreaks wrote:

Thanks for the comments everyone! Sorry I haven't checked on my post in a while... I've been pretty busy lately. Indy- The reason for the figures looking unfinished is because I honestly don't have the patience to paint individual figures. Plus, they're my first set and I thought they would prevent the 88 from looking lonely and empty. Thank you for the tips though and I really like your commander! You can sure do a great job on figures. PontiacRich- The gun really isn't very difficult to build. It's just A LOT of construction (but im sure it doesn't beat a dragon kit in number of parts). Also, you have to make sure you get the paint in all the nooks and crannies- that was also a difficult part. Other than that it's pretty straight forward. Good luck whenever you start on yours! Updated Pics!

Oh if you do another Tamiya Flak88 with crew get a hold of the Eduard Wehrmacht Artillary Rank insignia PE set it will dress the figures up nicely.

Nice Flak 88 Modelfreak, I put the same kit together a few years ago.  I painted my dark yellow for the Eastern Front.

Thanks for the tip mikeym_us! I've heard of rank decals you can buy but I've never bought them before. They sound like they're great for detailing figures.

FeldMarSchall Model- I thought of painting mine in dark yellow with camo but too much of my shelf is dark yellow with camo. So I thought of gray to make something interesting. But a plain dark yellow sounds cool also!

modelfreaks wrote:

Thanks for the tip mikeym_us! I've heard of rank decals you can buy but I've never bought them before. They sound like they're great for detailing figures. FeldMarSchall Model- I thought of painting mine in dark yellow with camo but too much of my shelf is dark yellow with camo. So I thought of gray to make something interesting. But a plain dark yellow sounds cool also!

LOL the Eduard stuff isn't decals they are actually PhotoEtch I got the Wehrmacht Infantry and DAK sets. But the plain DunkelGelb paint scheme isn't such a bad idea since that was basically the color used in the Africa Theater.

Nice Dio MM - very cool - and (your 1st set of figures ?) geat job.  Pretty logical placement. It looks like they are working hard to run that gun !

As far as patience goes--i don't know if I know how to teach that. My Mom always called me a hermit (up in my room with my hobbies) now my wife does  !! My job takes mind-boggling concentration for hours on end too( for more about what I do see my recent reply to Manstien's Revenges' Post--What's Next ? also here -under Armor )I will tell you that I work on 3-6 figures at once, each set on a pin, glued to a small block of wood, so I can pick one up, touch a little color to it, set it back down, go to next one, mix next color....and so on. For days/weeeks of spare time till they look how I want. Its all relative though--I just read an article from a mind-blowing-good figure painter that spent over 60 hours on just (the knights)surcoat !! But it looks amazing-like real woven linen) For me-that kind of time is just not realistic to spend--but thankfully--were not all the same-right? here's how I mount those figures for easy prolonged engagements

The running figure I didn't even use ! It is not a big pain to me to paint and extra man alongside my subject though--the brush is already dirty !!  Look for more pictures of this vignette in a post in Dioramas very soon.....and happy modeling.....

Mikeym_us- Whoops! I read over the obvious PE that was written there. Wouldn't PE insignias be hard to bend to the wrinkles and folds in the uniforms? Maybe I might be wrong since you guys said it works pretty well.

INDY- I'm thinking I might want to try out your techniques but with a small amount of figs. Maybe 1 or 2 in a small and simple vignette. Thanks for all your help!