Mobelwagen Flak 43 3.7cm Complete 09-01-08

Dupes,

All yours, just pm or email me with your details.

the doog wrote:

Paint looks great, Bill! I can't wait to see you rust it, chip it, Oil Dot it, filter, wash and uber-weather it now.... Another one of my favorite kits--coming along very nicely!

Thanks doog, always love your sense of humor.

Squeakie, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if these towed ammo trailers or not as a routine practice. I can't recall seeing any in reference photos but then there aren't all that many out there in circulation of the Mobelwagen to begin with, so I wouldn't take that as definitive per se. Definitely sounds like something that could be used in a diorama setting though since the on-board ammo storage is somewhat limited to the side bins and I imagine some additional ammo carrier/provisioning would be necessary to keep it firing any length of time.  

wbill76 wrote:

Dupes, All yours, just pm or email me with your details.

Ahhh, you're the best Bill. I owe you one.

   Bill just catching up on this and that cammo came out great. What type of air brush do you use by the way?   

wbill76 wrote:

Dupes, All yours, just pm or email me with your details.  the doog wrote: Paint looks great, Bill! I can't wait to see you rust it, chip it, Oil Dot it, filter, wash and uber-weather it now.... Another one of my favorite kits--coming along very nicely! Thanks doog, always love your sense of humor. Squeakie, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if these towed ammo trailers or not as a routine practice. I can't recall seeing any in reference photos but then there aren't all that many out there in circulation of the Mobelwagen to begin with, so I wouldn't take that as definitive per se. Definitely sounds like something that could be used in a diorama setting though since the on-board ammo storage is somewhat limited to the side bins and I imagine some additional ammo carrier/provisioning would be necessary to keep it firing any length of time.

Just found out Lion Roar came out with ammo for the Flak43.

panzerguy wrote:

Bill just catching up on this and that cammo came out great. What type of air brush do you use by the way?

Thanks panzerguy, I use an Aztek A470 double-action brush hooked up to a 1/4hp hobby compressor with a regulator/moisture trap. I have the full range of interchangeable tips for the Aztek line and use the yellow tip for the primer coat and base coat and the gray tip for the fine line camo work. For high volume work I use the siphon feed and for the detail/small volume work, the gravity feed.

Mike,

Makes sense for LR to provide it...although as a separate item just means they're milking the marketing aspect to the fullest!

wbill76 wrote:

panzerguy wrote: Bill just catching up on this and that cammo came out great. What type of air brush do you use by the way?    Thanks panzerguy, I use an Aztek A470 double-action brush hooked up to a 1/4hp hobby compressor with a regulator/moisture trap. I have the full range of interchangeable tips for the Aztek line and use the yellow tip for the primer coat and base coat and the gray tip for the fine line camo work. For high volume work I use the siphon feed and for the detail/small volume work, the gravity feed. Mike, Makes sense for LR to provide it...although as a separate item just means they're milking the marketing aspect to the fullest!

yeah especially since it would be nice to see the PE Ammo tray that comes with it built up though a resin tray would be easier to mass produce. So you can say have two loaded trays in the ammo hopper and several others in the ready area with a few of the empty ones near the shell catcher.

wbill76 wrote:

Dupes, All yours, just pm or email me with your details.  the doog wrote: Paint looks great, Bill! I can't wait to see you rust it, chip it, Oil Dot it, filter, wash and uber-weather it now.... Another one of my favorite kits--coming along very nicely! Thanks doog, always love your sense of humor. Squeakie, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if these towed ammo trailers or not as a routine practice. I can't recall seeing any in reference photos but then there aren't all that many out there in circulation of the Mobelwagen to begin with, so I wouldn't take that as definitive per se. Definitely sounds like something that could be used in a diorama setting though since the on-board ammo storage is somewhat limited to the side bins and I imagine some additional ammo carrier/provisioning would be necessary to keep it firing any length of time.

I remember once seeing pics of tanks actually pulling fuel tank trailers behind them once, and there is a hook at the rear. I've also seen at least one photo of a STUG III being loaded from an ammo trailer being pulled by a half track. So who knows what is right.

gary

Gary,

Anything's possible and I'm not ruling it out 100%, just haven't seen any photos showing that or with trailers nearby for deployed units. Without going into the "prove the negative" quagmire, it's plausible but situations where AFVs towed trailers are not common for a variety of reasons. The Flakpanzer I for example often towed an ammo trailer because of the lack of any stowage space on such a small vehicle as did halftracks mounting Flaks like the Flak 38 or Flak 38 Vierling (very high rate of fire meant high ammo consumption). Very common for halftracks to tow trailers and they were included in the order of battle for panzer units as a routine thing, so that would be my guess as to how Mobelwagens were kept supplied with ammo, but it's only conjecture.

I got that Ostwind I ask you about the otherday. I bought the CMK version (I hope it's a good kit<g>), and it looks more like a conversion to a Tamayia Panzer IV with a completely different turret assembly. The parts for the hull are even marked Tamayia! With this in mind I have some questions to run by the masses:

* the gun is not anything to brag about, and was sorta wondering is I could kinda adapt the 37mm from another kit with an aftermarket barrel?

* What hull did the Germans use for these? (I guess I could figure this one out on my own if I were not so lazy)

* Did they Zimmert this things?

gary

squeakie wrote:

I got that Ostwind I ask you about the otherday. I bought the CMK version (I hope it's a good kit<g>), and it looks more like a conversion to a Tamayia Panzer IV with a completely different turret assembly. The parts for the hull are even marked Tamayia! With this in mind I have some questions to run by the masses: * the gun is not anything to brag about, and was sorta wondering is I could kinda adapt the 37mm from another kit with an aftermarket barrel? * What hull did the Germans use for these? (I guess I could figure this one out on my own if I were not so lazy) * Did they Zimmert this things? gary

Gary, the Ostwind mounted a Flak 43 in the turret, so it would depend I guess on how the CMK does this whether or not you could readily adapt a replacement. The only styrene kit available of the Flak 43 as a stand-alone item is the LR kit. The Germans used Pz IV hulls (usually Hs or Js) from vehicles that were returned for repair/refit from the front as opposed to custom-built hulls. If the hull had zimmerit, then the Ostwind also had zimmerit. Most pics I've seen show the zimmerit as present. Zimmerit would be on the hull only, not the turret. 

wbill76 wrote:

squeakie wrote: I got that Ostwind I ask you about the otherday. I bought the CMK version (I hope it's a good kit<g>), and it looks more like a conversion to a Tamayia Panzer IV with a completely different turret assembly. The parts for the hull are even marked Tamayia! With this in mind I have some questions to run by the masses: * the gun is not anything to brag about, and was sorta wondering is I could kinda adapt the 37mm from another kit with an aftermarket barrel? * What hull did the Germans use for these? (I guess I could figure this one out on my own if I were not so lazy) * Did they Zimmert this things? gary Gary, the Ostwind mounted a Flak 43 in the turret, so it would depend I guess on how the CMK does this whether or not you could readily adapt a replacement. The only styrene kit available of the Flak 43 as a stand-alone item is the LR kit. The Germans used Pz IV hulls (usually Hs or Js) from vehicles that were returned for repair/refit from the front as opposed to custom-built hulls. If the hull had zimmerit, then the Ostwind also had zimmerit. Most pics I've seen show the zimmerit as present. Zimmerit would be on the hull only, not the turret.

Thanks a bunch Bill for getting back with me on this. I got the kit for $20, and after looking at it awhile ago I decided that a photo etch set would be a nice addition (if there is one). I have two or three late Panzer IV track sets stashed somewhere in that mess in the front bedroom. There are a couple people that make replacement barrels, but from what I saw the moulding for the reciever just wasn't anything to write home about. A zimmerit coating would be nice, but with a sand blasted look like it was a rebuilt track. So I guess I'd best brush up on my soldering skills (never was anygood at it). Expect a zillion questions about that Lion Roar 37mm cannon!

    Anyway I'm in no real hurry as I'm about to start a Sheridan production line (three or four), and a couple mortar pits (started making sandbags last night as an experiment). I found this air drying clay at Hobby Lobby, and it seems to work very well, and I don't have to bake it.

gary

Bish wrote:

squeakie Not sure if it will help, but Eduard do a PE set for the Italeri Ostwind. Its number 35472 if thats any use.

Now I didn't know that! I was thinking I'd have to dig out two or three tank kits just to actually see what hull CMK used from Tamayia, but then again it's for an Italeri. Imagine it's a pretty close match though.

    I've decided to do the zimmerit the old way with blotches of it here and there along the base of the hull, and maybe a little bit ontop. I want a very used look on the hull. And I guess I'm going with the Lion Roar gun and Model Kasten tracks. I'm finding photos tobe about as easy to find as getting that warm feeling from my ex wife.

gary

Bish wrote:

My Ostwind is deep in my stash and i haven't had a look in ages, so i can't remeber what the gun is like. I was just going to use the kit, but i am now thinking about the LR gun. Though from what i gather it molded on the Tamiya piece so not sure how it will fit.

The CMK kit actually uses a Tamayia hull, and may well be a completely different animal. It looks like it's an "H" model, and is different than the two moblewagons I also have (back end of the hull on one and the whole top is different on the other so it maybe a "J"). Somewhere I have a "J", and need to dig it for a compairison.

gary

Normally I post updates on Sundays but since today was a day of working on the details and then the only thing left is the tracks, I figured I'd go ahead and post today.

The first area of attention were the road wheels, these were assembled from their separate halves and installed onto the vehicle and allowed to dry to provide a solid foundation. Next came the various tools and bits of equipment mounted on the hull. These were detailed individually, with the metal surfaces painted first with non-buffing metalizer Gunmetal and then lightly dry-brushed with Steel. Those with wood handles had them painted with my own custom mix of "wood" color followed by an application of burnt umber artist pastels. The handles on the wire cutters were painted with Italian Dark Brown to recreate the bakelite look since they aren't wood like the rest of the tools.  The spare wheels were also installed and the exhausts base coated with the same metalizer Gunmetal and then given a light wash of Rust for their finish.

I also created some light scuffing/scratching in the fighting compartment area where the crew would stand to operate the gun by alternating dry-brushing and stippling of some Burnt Umber. This was then toned down and blended back in with dry-brushing and stippling of some Dunkelgelb. Last but not least, the spare barrels were painted with Gunmetal metalizer and very lightly dry-brushed with Steel and fitted into their clamps.

Next in the detail department was the gun itself. The barrel, ammo feed tray, and the ejector tray were given the same treatment as the spare barrels. The gun sight was detailed with Aircraft Interior Black and the spent shell basket installed. I used the three Tamiya kit-supplied ammo clips and painted up two with yellow heads for HE rounds and one with red heads for incendiary shrapnel. The brass casings were painted with non-buffing metalizer Brass and the fuse caps painted with Steel. The tabs on the ammo clips on the real thing are meant to hook into each other to feed the gun but the Tamiya parts don't allow for that, so only 1 clip was loaded into the gun and the other 2 were set on the ready tray.

I've already started in on 1 of the MK track runs, got about a dozen links assembled before deciding to call it a day. Tomorrow will be a "day of tracks"!

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Wow...cool stuff.  What types of rounds did the different colors represent?

MR,

Thanks for the comments! Yellow-HE, Red-Incendiary Shrapnel, Blue-Shrapnel, Black-AP. Rounds that were tracers would have either a small blue or red band in the middle but I didn't go quite that far give the size of these to begin with. The rate of fire was supposed to be 250 rpm with a trained crew and the pattern of the rounds was supposed to alternate between the 8 round clips, so they'd be chewing through ammo pretty quick and staying busy keeping it fed. The color codes were supposed to aid in this and all the shells in the clip would be the same type.

 Hello wbill76,

 The Metalizer finish on the barrel looks fantasticular! The spent catch bin looks great also. Your work always amazes me. Thanks for pointing out the bakelite compound used on the cutter handles, Info like that comes in useful for future builds. Looking forward to "The Day of Tracks".

 Best Regards,

Mobious wrote:

Hello wbill76,  The Metalizer finish on the barrel looks fantasticular! The spent catch bin looks great also. Your work always amazes me. Thanks for pointing out the bakelite compound used on the cutter handles, Info like that comes in useful for future builds. Looking forward to "The Day of Tracks".  Best Regards,

Mobious, thanks for the comments! Testor's Metalizer line of lacquer-based paints are wonderful stuff, the Gunmetal in particular is one that I use frequently. The bakelite on the cutter handles is something that's often overlooked, many assume that they were just wooden handles like the rest of the tools. My understanding is that the standard practice was to use bakelite (early type of plastic) or resin-impregnated corrugated paper (a heavy-duty cardboard) as the two materials commonly used to serve as insulators for the handles in the event of cutting through electrified wiring/cables. The "Day of Tracks" is underway...going to be a day of patience too!

Looking great, Bill!

A totally off-topic comment here, but for me, that bright blue background makes your Dunklegelb look weird--it reflects off the paint somehow. I've noticed this with my own experiments with background colors. I've tried to use either white or a gray-blue with Dunklegelb.

Have you ever tried a more neutral background? 

the doog wrote:

A totally off-topic comment here, but for me, that bright blue background makes your Dunklegelb look weird--it reflects off the paint somehow. I've noticed this with my own experiments with background colors. I've tried to use either white or a gray-blue with Dunklegelb. Have you ever tried a more neutral background?

Doog,

If it looks wierd, all I can say is that it might be more to your monitor settings than anything else. When displayed on the camera and here on my screen, it's an accurate match. The fact that you describe the background as "bright" blue is an indicator of this, it's actually a light blue background that isn't bright at all, at least in the way I see the photos.  

the doog wrote:

Looking great, Bill! A totally off-topic comment here, but for me, that bright blue background makes your Dunklegelb look weird--it reflects off the paint somehow. I've noticed this with my own experiments with background colors. I've tried to use either white or a gray-blue with Dunklegelb. Have you ever tried a more neutral background?

Karl,

I think maybe you need to calibrate your monitor. Mine has been calibrated, and the color looks very close. It might have an ever so slight greenish tint on the base color (I mean very slightly). But on the otherhand I have the whites slightly darkened on purpose, so that's where the green might be fadeing thru on mine

gary

Hmmmm.........Well, everything else looks fine to me--I don't notice a problem with other posts or even with my own photos. And actually, the blue isn't really that "bright"--it's sort of a medium gray-blue.. I've found a very light gray-blue to be more complimentary....oh well...?

Maybe it's just my own personal bias creeping through? (guess I'll shut up now.....!)

wbill76 wrote:

No worries Doog, appreciate you taking the time to comment about the photo quality...you never know how things look to others on the 'net.