As a result of the show, this update tonight is going to be just a little short and there will not be an update Thursday night unless there is wireless at the hotel. I wouldn't plan on anything until Sunday night actually. Those of you that are going to make it to the show. I will see you all there. Those of you that can't make it, well... I will take lots of pictures. Until next time, have a good one!
Well, here we are on the eve of the Ft. Thomas show. I can hardly believe it is finally here. I started preparing back in July. It started very slowly, putting together publicity, working on a variety of related projects, trying to get together an exhibit that would be meaningful visually as well as educationally. It remains to be seen as to whether I will have achieved all of my own personal goals for the show, but I have given it my best shot. Everyone else involved has done the same thing though, so hopefully it will translate into a successful show. The most exciting thing for me is actually having the Easy Eight Sherman at the show. This thing is a monster and should draw a lot of people. There is a lot of great stuff planned over the next few days.
As a result of the show, this update tonight is going to be just a little short and there will not be an update Thursday night unless there is wireless at the hotel. I wouldn't plan on anything until Sunday night actually. Those of you that are going to make it to the show. I will see you all there. Those of you that can't make it, well... I will take lots of pictures. Until next time, have a good one!
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This is going to be kind of a quick blog this evening. It was a busy weekend. Saturday I attended the Militaria Show at Robert's Center with Hammer Six. He had a table and was able to sell some figures as well as talk to some folks and pass out some card for the Ft. Thomas show. Me...well, I mostly walked around and spent money. There was a lot of interesting stuff for sale there and I picked up a couple of pieces. It was a really great time. Special thanks to Hammer Six for inviting me. The rest of the weekend was spent getting ready for the show at Ft. Thomas. I finished off the items for my display and got everything packed up. Firebase Cooper is already in one of the cars. We are going to have to bring two cars to carry everything, there is just way too much stuff for one. I also got all my sales merchandise priced and packed up. What a pain that was, I am glad to have it done. With everything done I will not be spending the next two evenings trying to get stuff finished and that is a huge relief. I had imagined that I would still be trying to get stuff together Tuesday night, but all I have left to do is packing it into the other car. Can't wait till Wednesday evening. It is going to be great to get everything set up, knowing that I don't have to touch it again until Sunday afternoon. I know that Hammer six has got a big German setup planned for the show, so I thought we would focus on one of his vehicles tonight. I don't really know much about this particular vehicle, so maybe he can Illuminate us with a little information about the vehicle. I will just take the easy way out and show some pictures of it. HORCH Above is the real thing, pulling what appears to be a Pak 37 in 1941. Below are several shots of Hammer Six's vehicle, finished in early war Panzer Gray with a nice selection of details. I will let the pictures speak for themselves and then maybe Hammer Six can fill us in on the details. What a great looking vehicle, I'll take two, thank you. Really sharp looking my friend. I can envision that Horch in all sorts of dioramas. Well, that is all for tonight campers, until next time, have a good one!
As I continue to think about that Dragon Panzer, I decided to reflect for a few moments on what my current German motor pool looks like. It is neither particularly great modeling, nor is there a whole lot of it and it is definitely "late war". First up is my Kubelwagen. It started out as a 21st Century Toys vehicle. I raised the body about a half inch so that it looked a little more correct with my schwimmwagen (probably should have lowered the schwimmer actually). I added quite few details, but it is still not in the same league as the Dragon version. This is my schwimmwagen. It is your basic 21st Century vehicle. I made a few basic modifications to it, but nothing radical. I didn't cut it apart and radically change it, it was just small stuff; extra details, a scratchbuilt radio. I based it on a vehicle that was featured in modeling magazine. Certainly not up to the quality of a Dragon schwimmer, but it is a good basic vehicle and it works well with my 6th SS troops. This is my Hetzer. CK2 is always giving me a hard time about not finishing it (standing joke we have). Actually, it is "finished", about as finished as any vehicle ever is. There are quite a lot of mods I would like to do to this one. I just need some solid time to put in on it. This is an old Mardon Callenta vehicle, so it's pretty well crafted, but it is fairly basic and it could use some serious detailing to become a really great looking vehicle. This is of course my pride and joy; my sd.kfz 250/3, finished as an SS vehicle. This baby has been heavily modified and it is all done with what I had on hand. There are no after-market parts on this half-track. I probably have about two hundred hours in this model and of course when I look at it, I see a lot of flaws, but I am still fairly proud of it.
My motor pool, as you can see, is all late war and of course the Panzer II is an early war vehicle. I really don't have a whole lot of early war stuff. It is going to be a lot fun to put together a small early war unit. I am having a lot of fun thinking about it and planning it. Well, hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite vehicles, until next time, have a good one! I personally cannot get enough of this. I am pretty excited about the DX'10 exclusive - The Panzer II. As far as I know this is the only picture so far of the way the production vehicle is going to be finished and I think it looks really sharp. As a result, I am already thinking about how I might detail it. I began looking for images online and sort of divided my investigation into two categories; actual vehicle photos and models. Thought I would share with you some of the stuff I found. As discussed in a previous post, production was stopped on the Panzer II in 1943 because it had become obsolete in the face of more heavily armed tanks. However, the tank continued to be used throughout the war and as a result was seen in many different paint schemes, such as the winter white application over panzer gray in the photo above. I need to do a lot more research on it, but the photo suggests that we are not just restricted to panzer gray or mustard yellow for painting this baby. I am probably wrong about this, maybe Panzercommander or Hammer Six could set me straight, but I am thinking that these next two pictures are showing a Finnish Panzer II, at least I think that is what the large white cross is indicating. Any answers on that? Can't read the location on this one above, but the date is 1941. This could be a number of locations. Interesting the crewman riding on the back deck of the vehicle. The tank in the back actually looks to be a Panzer I. It looking like there might be a little bit of stowage on that back deck of the lead vehicle as well, but it difficult to tell. Here we get a couple of shots of vehicles in North Africa, I think this could be an interesting way to finish the tank and it is obvious from these shots that there were plenty of them present in that theater. I really like this shot below because there is a lot going on in the pictures. Looks like two Mark IIs and a Mark III, which would indicate that early in the war, they probably even operated in units together. Those of you who know a little more about Panzer units can probably shine a little bit of light on to this. The motorcycles would seem to indicate maybe a recon unit, I don't know. It is a cool scene and one that would be fun to duplicate in 1:6th. Notice that there is some stowage on the Mark II's and the lead one has a flag tied down on the back for identification from the air. A rare color shot, which may be staged for our friends at SIGNAL. Notice that these two Mark II's have a clean rear deck. Below is a Mark II in the "parking lot" at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. I have photographed this particular tank my self and have seen it up close and personal painted like this with that black stripe on the turret. Oddly enough, I have never seen a picture in a book with a similar marking. I thought this was an interesting shot below, not only because there looks to be a little bit of stowage on the vehicle, but the vehicle is also carrying some infantry soldiers. Another interesting shot, check out the cupola on the lead tank. A very interesting variation, I have never seen this one before. Anyone have an idea what that is for? Command tank? Sometimes pictures of other models can be a nice source of information. Who can ever forget this classic for Tamaya back in the 70's. An Afrika Korps version of the Panzer II complete with four infantry soldier figures. I think I build about three of these when I was a teenager. This model below doesn't have any stowage to speak of, but I do like the winter camo job that has been done on it. Looks like it is ready to take on some Russians. I thought this shot was real interesting because it definitely has some after-market pieces added for a cluttered looks. Look at all the stuff on that back deck. I would love to pile that much stuff on this tank. It just has the look of a vehicle on the move. Possibly a little over done, but cool all the same. So here's the challenge, I am looking for detailing ideas, if you see any great pictures out there off Panzer II's send them in. Several of us are getting one of the new Dragon Panzer II's and I know I could sure use some ideas. That's all for this time, until next UPDATE, have a good one!
Well, it is kind of cold here in central Ohio this evening (relatively speaking). The heat's running and my feet are cold. A lot of the leaves came down the last couple of days and it is starting to feel like winter. Seemed like a good time to look at a recent release from Soldier Story - 101st Airborne, Bastogne. Now, I don't know about you guys, I like Band of Brothers as much as the next guy, but it sure does seem like the whole paratrooper thing has been done to death. Heck, between the various companies, they have probably released an entire company of 1:6th paratroopers........easy (yes, pun intended). That said, this recent Paratrooper from Soldier Story is pretty nice. Let's start with that great coat. Pretty nicely done, the stitching looks good and the brass buttons are nice. That watch cap is pretty sharp too. It fits on the sculpt in a very realistic manner, not looking oversized for the figure There is nothing wrong with the M43 uniform underneath either. It looks really good and the weight of the cloth looks realistic on the figure. I particularly like the helmet with the netting and helmet band. That band is a pretty much overlooked item on WWII figures, giving the helmet a unique look. The rest of the gear is pretty much standard fair for Soldier Story, in other words...first class, but the pictures pretty much tell the story. The Thompson is real sharp looking. I haven't read anything on this set, but it looks like a real wood stock and fore grip. If it isn't, well... it is a nice paint job. I also like the Bastogne sign that comes with the figure, it would be a great addition to a vignette or small diorama with two or three figures. Add a Major Richard to this figure and you would have a pretty nice scene. A gander above at some of the gear that comes with the set. Cotswold's shows this figure at $90. Which, though out of my price range, seems to be about average for a good figure these days. And this does look to be a nice one. Comments?
That's it for tonight. The modern printables did pretty well for the site by the way, over 600 hits on it. Until next time, have a good one! Well, this project has been a little while in the making. Check out the home page for a link to the Modern Printables page. There are 9 pages of PDFs that include everything from Maps to MRE's. I always liked that set that came with someone's CIA Operative. It had wanted posters and a variety of other items that I just thought were real cool. Well, I didn't get the figure and I missed out on the paper items when it got parted out. I thought, well... why not make our own set. So this set has a lot of stuff; Military ID's, Driver's Licenses, Passports, Wanted Posters, Magazines, Maps, Plane Tickets, Surveillance Photos, MREs and a whole lot more. There should be something there that everyone can use if they do modern military or law enforcement figures. As you can see, the MRE case came out pretty nice. I didn't have quite the right color of cardstock, so I am going to have to hit the scrapbooking store to find something a little closer to Dragon's MRE Case, but it doesn't look too bad. It took like five minutes to cut it out and put it together too. I'll be making more of these. The Dragon MRE box (on Right) is just a little bigger than mine. Unfortunately, to make it on an 8-1/2x11" sheet of paper, it comes in about an 1/8" smaller all around. As long as you don't set the two boxes right next to each other as I have done in this photo, it really isn't that obvious. The price is right in any case and as the old saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.
Anyhow, there is a lot of great stuff there, hope you all can use it. That's all for tonight. Until next time, have a good one! Well, this was a busy weekend for me. I hope everyone has had a good one. I worked on a variety of things related to the Ft. Thomas show, like mounting the signs on cardboard, getting my presentation board painted and oh yeah, finishing the firebase. I filled a lot of sandbags this weekend. So, here's a teaser of what you will see in three weeks in my display... Have yet to put any figures into the scene, hoping it will like a little more lively with soldiers, but man, does it feel good to have this thing done. My list for Ft. Thomas is getting shorted ant that is good. Well, until next time, have a good one!
Thought it would be interesting to look at a 1:6th diorama product tonight. I don't know if any of you are familiar with the offerings of a company called SCALE STORE. I was not, but I am always looking for vignette ideas and found these pictures. It actually is a pretty nice looking product. The level of detail is pretty nice, from the rubble at the base of the wall to the sewer grate in the street. Just enough base to comfortably display a single figure. The section of window frame does a nice just of creating the illusion that there is more of the building ruins than just what is visible to the eye. It really is very nicely done. I particularly like the plaster and brick look that is used, they have done a really nice job of making it look pretty realistic. I am not really sure just how many vignettes they have in their line, but this particular one caught my eye because of it's possible uses with a variety of time periods. The vignette at left is one of their newest ones and it really fits in with modern figures pretty nicely. I really like the combination of metal and concrete elements and it would go a long way for creating a small urban or even Sci-Fi vignette. The crumbling effect along the edge of the barrier is particularly nice. This would look pretty good with that new MODERN MP and DOG set from Very Hot Toys. But, I guess my interest in these pictures is not motivated by an interest in purchasing these items; I simply like collecting shots like this because they serve as inspiration for future products. So far, I haven't really seen anything from any company that couldn't be duplicated with a little foam and joint compound. There have been a number of posts on the OSW recently about making small vignettes, using foam as the basic modeling material. The foam is then covered with one of a number of materials and details are added. If it is something you think you would like to try, I would suggest starting to collect some reference material in the form of shots of stuff that is being produced by manufacturers, or custom pieces by other modelers. When you are ready to try something, look through the pictures for some quick inspiration. Of course, you can also by from the folks at Scale Store if you don't feel like making your own, but most of us get foam packed in a variety of items, so it is not like it really cost anything to keep a supply of it on hand. Scale Store aren't the only folks making vignettes, by the way. Sideshow has created a number of them as well. Below is one of the newest ones they have done and it is really sharp. It would work great for a small middle east vignette. Something like this seems like it would be a fairly easy design to copy and it has a lot of uses. Well, that's all for this week campers. Until next time, have a good one!
Okay, we all know we want to talk about it... Is it for real? Will it get produced? Will they find their way to the United States? How much will it cost? Will I be able to get one (or more)? Will they make it into a kit? Let me just say up front that I don't have the answer to any of those questions. What I do have is a couple more questions... Is this a production sample? Is this a hand built model? Those are two really important questions when trying to determine what Dragon might or might not do. And no, I don't have the answer to either one of those questions either. What I do have is some pictures (and I swiped all of those)... Panzer II was the common name of a German tank used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Designed as a stopgap while other tanks were developed, it played an important role in the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns. By the end of 1942, it was largely removed from frontline service and production of the tank itself ceased by 1943, but its chassis was used for several other armored vehicles. This little tank saw action in all theaters and there were probably a few in service right up through the end of the war. No, you probably would not be painting it up to serve with the Waffen SS, post D-Day, but you could certainly make a case for North Africa, France, Poland and even Russia. If I had one, it would be joining Rommel's Afrika Korps. Well, here's what you really want to see... the pictures from the Tokyo Hobby Show... Suffice to say, I think we all want one, the question is how much will we have to pay and what will it really take to obtain one? I can't say...I am admitting that I am pretty skeptical about the whole thing as we have been down this road before. I remember a Panzer III that 21st was going to do and more recently a Humvee that Dragon was going to do. I just hope that I am dead wrong this time because this is one cool looking little tank. I truly hope the project doesn't end up like this real Pz. II Ausf. B... Ouch... That's all for tonight, until next time...have a good one!
...This POST is coming a day early because I had some time to work on the website today. Announcing ITALIAN WWII PRINTABLES. See the link on the home page. You'll find five pages of pdfs that include everything from cigarettes and rations to propaganda posters. It probably isn't everything that everyone would like to have, but it is a pretty good start. To "celebrate" a new collection of artwork, Panzercommander and I did a little photoshoot with his Italian machine gun team and my Marmon Herrington armored car. If you look real hard, you might even see a couple of the printables in the pictures. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the shots of Panzercommander's Italian soldier
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