Pak 37 crew laying an ambush to ruin somebodies day.
Tamiya’s pak 37. I originally had intended for this to be a simple stand alone model. I was going to display it in a setting akin to that famous picture you see of the pak in the middle of the road on a small causeway and they are shootng at a russian tank. Too bad things never work out the way you want them to. So it ended up in a diorama. I was jonesing to do one anyway I suppose.
Base is mdf and then the inside of the building was built up with another piece of mdf. The stairs are the same, just run over a table saw to make the steps, sanded to show some wear and tear.
Building is scratchbuilt from 1/4" luan, covered with spackle then textured. This was sealed and then everything else was built up and painted from there. The flooring is a sheet of balsa wood that was scored and then stained. The upperfloor is built up as planks over joists. The door is a frame and panel construction just like a real one and hinges and door handles were made.
The rubble is plaster poured into a shallow pan to a depth, equal to the width of the wall. Once dry it was textured on both sides with a spatulas and wire brush. When fully dried and cured the whole thing was hit with a hammer and viola! Rubble. Save everything, even the dust and use it. Other parts are bricks formed and then placed, bits of broken wood and wire to represent, wire and plumbing. The broken glass is sugar water cooked and then broken. Larger shards are vu-graph sheets or film positives for those in the graphics industry.
The gun is OOB and weathered with pastel chalks and paint.
Figures are stock with vary minute conversions on some. The rifle straps and slings are tape painted to look like leather.
Thanks, as always your comments are appreciated and any helpful tips quickly used.[;)]
As always a pleasure to see your work Mike. I know of the trials that you went through with this particular build (bad dog !!! … drop the German soldiers now !!!), and I am delighted to say that you have not let us or yourself down. The building itself is most impressive and if you are looking at it from the front, your ambush deception is achieved. Your eye for detail is as always right up there, I especially like of all things the door.
Well done my friend … another build you can display with a big smile.
[bow][bow] Mike, Excellent job on the pak!!! And the dio is great!! I love the guy on the upper floor, the walls look great, everything! Overall…great job!!!
Great stuff Renarts, it takes me forever just to finish a model and yet theres such attention to detail in the groundwork here too.I was going to say my favourite bit is the door but Shermanfreak beat me to it.
Jeff
Hey Mike,
Sweet dio my friend…!!![bow][bow][bow]…ect ect ect. So how long did it take to complete this dio,including the build itself??
BTW my HMMVE build is coming along but w/ working at the border, it has taken my time away so it will be a slow ordeal[:(].
Anywho great build and lookin forward to more to come
Flaps up, Mike
Ricardo,
Its not a bad build, but not the quick weekend I was planning on.
The support struts from the gun to the front plate can be trickey and the elevation wheels are a bit clumsy. But other than that it is nice and cleanly molded.
The figures are a bit awkward but they are an old mold so the detail on them is a little rough.
I do have issues with the sight on this gun as there is almost no detail on it and in a couple of books I have seen 2 or three variants of sights used. I think I will build it again as a stand alone and include one of those sighting apparatus in the new build.
