I’m planning my next diorama, WWII eastern front in the snow, 1/35th. I have a figure behind a MG42 and I would love to be able to model the muzzel flash…I have no idea how to do this.
Has anybody here done this successfully? How did you do it? pics??? All ideas and suggestions welcome…thanks.
Kevin
Hmmm-- interesting problem. No ideas immediately, but will think about it. That’s a real challenge!
Perhaps a flashing LED or something like that?
I’ve thought about this before but never tried it. How about a cotton ball or a piece of Q-tip pulled out thinly to shape. Then, perhaps strengthened with hairspray and airbrushed?
Unfortunately, the diameter of the machine gun barrel in 1/35th scale would most likely dictate scratch building a newMG42 around a fiber-optic strand.
Probably making a mold of the MG-42 and clamping a fiber optic strand in the center of the mold.
However, the lack of space between the fiber optic strand and mold interior would probably make injecting the casting material necessary.
If that can be accomplished, then the fiber optic can be lit with an ordinary flashing LED circuit hidden below the diorama.
Maybe a metal one?
Though I’d question whether a single fiber strand could put through the requisite brightness.
I guess it depends on whether you want to model a static flash, or an actual flashing light. The first would be a lot easier, but it would be very hard to make something that would be realistic. Someone did try to replicate the Bismarck’s main guns firing, but ship guns and a MG42 are to very different things, but either way, this is the best effort I have seen:
http://www.steelnavy.com/RevellBismarckKKatseas.htm
Now if you want an actual flashing gun, or even just a solid light, then fiber optics would be the way to go, but as it has already been mentioned that would require rebuilding the machine gun barrel, and it would require a power source.
Thanks for the input so far everybody…I want to do a static flash if possible. I don’t think I could pull of something with lights, maybe a static flash if the right idea appears.
The figure I got is firing it from a bipod, so I’m gonna model a clear patch in the snow from the muzzel blast, and spent brass shells next to it, a muzzel flash would be the icing on the cake…if not maybe some smoke coming out from the barrel???
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Take the appropriate colored Lite Brite peg and do the stretched sprue thing. Cut a piece to length, insert it into a predrilled hole in the end of the barrel. Trim to desired length.
you could make the snow a darker color if thats possible then have the snow around the mg a lighter color
Just my 2 cents: The Bismark effort does not work for me. It looks like it has some Autumn foliage snagged on its front guns.
Doesn’t Shep Paine talk about a flash in a flintlock pistol in one of his books? That’s always a good place to start.
Shep used a “grain of wheat” light bulb which, I presume, would be too large in diameter for a 1/35 MG-42 muzzle.
If you make the dio , in a forested area, have the trees shadows come over the mg crew, then in front of the mg have there be light, this will give off the illusion of it firing
That Bismark model also didn’t do it for me, it resembled black and red cotton candy stuck at the ends of the guns.
Tankluver’s idea appeals to me. Placing the gun to rest on an object or peice of fortification and have the fiber optic strand come up through a hole into the base of the dio. Pulsating light would seem to be the best. Would you need to extend the flash greater than just meeting the barrel of the gun? If so the strand would have to be bent, but what effect would that have on the ligting effect? I know that a scale 6 inch flash would be the best from the barrel. Just a thought, I haven’t tried anything like this myself.
Mike T.
Lots of good ideas so far…I started working on this project - a German anti-tank gun crew getting outflanked. It will be awhile before I get to attempt to model a muzzel flash, and when I do I will just try for a static flash. The rate of fire of a MG42 is like 1500 rounds per minute anyway, right? I don’t think I could do anything with lights to pull this off realistically. I’m still very doubtful of pulling off a static flash realistcally, but I want to try.
On a side note…does a MG42 belt have discintergrating links like a M60 or does the belt remain intact like a cloth belt? Thanks guys…
Merry Christmas everybody,
Kevin
MG 42 had 50 ? round belt lengths, if I recall correctly.
that linked together to make longer belts
I would think your problem would be what would look realistic in scale. A muzzle flash is over in milleseconds.
[:)]
Grain of Rice bulb inserted into a bit of spun-glass or fiberglass insulation… The trick is to hide the wires for the bulb…
If you build the diorama into a shadow-box, the wires won’t be a problem though… Shadow-boxes are, IMHO, the best route to take for dioramas featuring any type of lighting, due to the viewer only being able to view it from one angle…
Shep Paine used a GoR bulb for the flash of the pistol in his shadow-box dio of “The Death of Jim Bowie”…
You can find the bulbs in the model railroad section of the LHS…
As for modeling “smokin’ guns”, fuggeddaboutit… Modern weapons fire ammo with smokeless powder, and in 1/35th scale, the tiny amount of muzzle-smoke is invisible… At best, there would be a little smoke from a hot barrel but again, it’s just too small when scaled down… And ANY kind of wind will dissipate any tiny amount of smoke too… The viewer’s brain will “fill-in” the missing “smoke”
One last thing about muzzle-flashes on dioramas… Don’t make them blink… Animation on a diorama just flat takes away the “believability” from the “Snap-shot effect” of the diorama…
IMHO, Hawkeye has the best Idea so far for a static “muzzle flash”! If you don’t have access to Lite-Bright pegs, colored transparent plastic toothbrush handles, especially yellow will work just as well…
Ray
I agree that modeling this effect would be difficult–especially if you’re wanting to capture the snap shot, moment-in-time effect of a vignette or diorama.
I did a search for a video of an MG42 firing, here’s one that I found… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDPW_u4EHuU
As you can see, in the daylight, there really isn’t much visible muzzle flash, most likely a result of the “smokeless” powder used in the cartridges.
Night time, however, is a different story… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15IB5pFrZNA
The light bright peg idea is great if you want to capture a tracer as it exits the barrel–that would be a cool idea!! I think I may try that one sometime!!! (Thanks Hawkeye Hobbies!!! Now to find that try to find that old light bright set…)
Hope this helps!
Have you ever thought of clear plastic wiring and painting a part of it in the flash color you want, then attaching it to the end of the barrel