Nick: I’ve updated the build roster with your Tiger. Nice choice! Colorful looking critter!
As for the B-24, I’ve built a couple of them from the Academy/Minicraft release, and they certainly have a few issues–not the least of which is attaching the nose to the rest of the fuselage.
And the cockpit canopy–in three pieces!
You’ll also find that the panel lines don’t match up very well on the top of the back fuselage.
Plus the instructions were wrong for the horizontal stabilizers. They’ll be upside down if you follow the directions–at least, they were that way on the kit I had. A kind member called attention to the fact, and I found some extras in the parts box.
Which also tells you that I had a few failures with the kit. I think I went through three of them before I got everything right.
I’d post a photo of the one I built–just to ecourage you, but it’s stuck in my old photobucket account, and I can’t seem to access it.
I am looking forward to seeing that King Tiger build Crown.
I have made a bit of progress on the P-38. I have completed the pit and here was not much to it but I black based to give itsome depth. I dipped the glass in futures and am giving it a few days to rest prior to masking and cutting. I have a few more main parts to add and then I am moving into filling and sanding. The nose called for 5g of weight but I coundt get that much to fit so I am hoping my plan B works. I loaded some extra weight in where the motors would have been.
Good progress, Jack. Nicely constructed. I built one of these way back when and found it was a challenge to align the booms, wings, tail, etc. Looks like you mastered all that really well.
Hi Guys, I will do a Trumpeter 1:700 scale tribal class destroyer HMCS Huron as it was in 1944. Away from home now but will post pictures ASAP Cheers, Jim
I’ve got two of the three hull camo colours on there and will begin priming and painting the rest of the super structure shortly. The hull camo looked a little daunting at first but is actually not bad. I used the portals as guides for where I needed to mask. I’m letting the navy blue dry for a while so it doesn’t come off with the next masking step.
Sorry about the very slow response to your question. My ship is a 1/350 scale Trumpter kit of the WW2 HMS Roberts Monitor class ship. It participated in Africa, Landing in Italy, D-Day, and several more interactions. One of the main guns is now displayed in the front of the Royal Naval Museum.
Very nice, Ben. Looks like a lot of detail parts. Interesting looking vessel. I look forward to seeing it come together, since it’s a type I’m not familiar with.
After a flight with an Airfix C-47 (let’s call it a draw) I’m ready to turn to 1944. Last year I intended to do a Tamiya Panther D (new tool 2015) along with an ICM T-34/76 for a Kursk duo. Reality kicked me in the shins, and only the T-34 saw the light of day.
But I’ve still got the Tamiya Panther and want to build it. For one thing, I haven’t built a Panther for over fifty years (remember one when I was about 12). Second, I was very impressed with recent Tamiya armor kits - I thought their Jagdpanzer IV was a great kit, adn this one looks good too.
I think I can work this “Kursk Panther” kit into the spirit of 1944 without changing history. I have no intention of adding zimmerit. The Panzer D was produced until September 1943 - with some 800 vehicles made. (Zimmerit was introduced in September 43 and I believe was factory applied.) There were 200 at Kursk: only about 40 were destroyed completely, but from what I can gather, most were gone by fall during the hasty German retreat to the Dnieper. That still leaves 600 - and most would have gone East. A few showed up in Italy, but as I understand it, German armor there relied heavily on Stugs and other self-propelled guns. After the failure at Salerno to destroy the allied landing - no real answer to naval artillery - German defense centered on static defenses which suited Stugs nicely and anti-tank guns more. (There was enough armor around to give the allies a real scare at Anzio, but the naval guns saved the day again - and would do once more at Omaha.)
I’m not going to track down a specific unit, but the entire German Wehrmacht was under intense pressure after twin counter blows on both sides of the Kursk salient in mid-July/early August 1943. By year’s end the Germans were west of the Dnieper, hoping (vainly) to make a stable line. What did result in the southern sector was German Army Group South finding itself assailed by two Soviet Fronts under Konev and Vatutin. It’s pretty safe to assume, I think, that Manstein had been getting his share of Panthers. (All of this led to the famous Korsun Pocket where much armor was involved.) But if not in the South, than in AG Center - it too was running. I think it almost certain that many Panthers were still in service in January. Mechanical reliability of the Panther improved steadily - at least the Germans started to understand what might cause breakdown. The heavy armor made Panthers tough to demolish and the Germans were very good at recovering damaged vehicles. I also can’t imagine the Germans sending back damaged tanks unless essential - the Eastern Front was fighting for its life - again.
So we’re going to put a Panther G into the German line somewhere in Russia in January 1944. Obviously that will mean a winter build - I’ve only done a couple of those and had great fun. Winter builds are not exactly rare, but arguably there should be more. When you figure it, at least one third of the year in the Ost was either winter or Rasputitsa. As I understand it, the Ukraine is a little like my Minnesota home: it has two seasons (cold/snow winter: hot/humid summer) seperated by a few week integrenums. Anyway, a very good excuse to do serious weathering - goody.
Zimmerit can be found to have been field applied, but I’ve no idea how widespread it was in terms of every vehicle having it. The photo below is supposedly an SS Panther D:
Reply to Checkmateking02 concerning the movie A Bridge Too Far. (Can’t seem to get my post to attach to his. Guess I still have things to learn).
Me too! I watch that movie every year or two. Also on my repeat list of war movies is The Longest Day, Patton, Sergeant York, Battleground and possibly the best and most watchable war movie ever: The Great Escape. A few typical movie-industry errors, such as creating characters just so they could squeeze in American actors, but, on the whole, a very worthy tribute to the actual participants.
