A brief dalliance.....Gaslands

I picked up the original Osprey rule book for this post apocalyptical car race game at a Firestorm Bring & Buy some time ago and hadn't thought much of it.

Set Two of Implements of Carnage

However on a recent visit to the shop I saw they had in stock the pre-printed skid templates and both of North Star's sets of "Implements of Carnage" and I couldn't resist.

Four of the finished models - some cost me just 79 pence in B&M!

I showed my 12 year old Grandson some YouTube videos of the game and that was it he was in!

Partially assembled Dune Buggy & Scrambler - there are two of each in set two

He came to stay a couple of week's later armed with a bag full of battered old Hot Wheels cars and we got started.

Tool box and fuel cans in the back of the rusty pickup

So far I've created six vehicles, one of which is one of two Dune Buggies that come with set 2. There are also motorcycles that come with the sets and they are on the bench at the moment.

Finished Dune Buggy less weathering

The special dice and counters you need for the game have been 3D printed and I will create a track on an old GW paper play mat, so next visit we should be able to try out a game.😆

Rubicon 1/56 M5A1 Stuart

 As part of my cut price stash from the IPMS Avon show, I bought a Rubicon M5A1 Stuart for £12.

I decided I’d paint this up as a British vehicle but in its delivered Olive Drab colour.

As with every Rubicon kit I’ve made, it comes with two sprues & decals bagged separately and a very clear and detailed instruction booklet. The parts are moulded flash free in a light grey hard plastic and offer a number of options for the builder.

Turret completed with hatch open and test fit for Warlord figure

There’s early, mid and late production engine deck details, turret MG armour shield, turretless MG armed recce version, mudguards on/off, Cullin hedgerow device, turret hatches open/closed…… plenty of choices.

Track units before assembling inner drive sprocket and suspension details

I built the model more-or-less following the instructions; however I left the track units off to ease painting.

Main lower hull components include a checker-plate floor which you will see if you opt for the turretless recce version

The completed sub-assemblies awaiting primer

There really weren’t any issues during assembly, it took less than 30 minutes including cleaning up the parts! The only small point I’d note was that the front mudguards are moulded as part of the hull, whilst the rear mud flaps form part of the combined side mudguards. I cut these off and attached them individually as this is where divisional and unit markings would be displayed.

Matt White primed sub-assemblies

Parts just clipped together to illustrate the Recce Version. You have the choice to swap turret for MG ring after you've finished the model so you really have two vehicles in one!

Once assembled, I spray primed all the finished sub-assemblies with matt white. I thought I’d try my hand at “pre-shading” so sprayed all the areas of shade with a dark Panzer Grey before giving the whole AFV a spray coat of Vallejo Olive Drab. I’m not convinced this made any real difference though, so I need to experiment more.

Track units carefully sprayed in Olive Drab, to leave tracks dark grey

I was careful to only spray the running gear Olive Drab, leaving the track in Panzer Grey as it is of the rubber pad type.

All the weathering finished prior to pigments and matt varnish

Weathering consisted of firstly dry-brushing the entire model with lightened Olive Drab to give some variation across the AFV’s panels. I then painted the pioneer tools and applied the decals.

What the vehicle looks like in Recce mode there were another two .50" MGs you could add!

Next, I used Army Painter Dark Tone wash around all raised detail and shadow areas. When all was dry a light dry-brush of Vallejo Iraqi Sand was applied overall.

After the first application of pigments

I used Army Painter Rust Wash to treat the track joining pieces and ran a few rust streaks around the tank where I thought they’d naturally occur.

Finished model with re-applied pigments😅

Finally, a new one for me, I used some Vallejo Earth Pigment powder to further weather the vehicle. This looked really good until…..

In the colours of a Guards Division Brigade HQ vehicle. Note the rear mud flaps taken from the side mudguard moulding

Last job was to spray an overall coat of AK Lucky Ultra-Matt varnish which promptly blew off all my pigment powders!!

I waited until all was dry and re-applied the pigments and this time fixed them in place with dilute PVA.

I added a spare commander figure from the Warlord Sherman Firefly and I was done.

Fantastic little model, highly recommended.

Fujimi 1/76 Jagdtiger

Whilst at the MAFVA Nationals in July and fired by the success my dismembered Tiger II model had in the competitions, I purchased an old Fujimi Jagdtiger kit as a future project.

I can remember this kit being reviewed in Military Modelling as a kid, and the (then) excitement it caused as it had a “Full interior”!

The kit with the ammo racks still in place. There were a lot of "Sink" holes in the outer surface - hence the filler. I eventually decided to dispense with them and sawed them off.

I now now that the original moulds belonged to Nitto and the model was released in the early 1970’s. Over the years it has been reboxed several times and “upgraded” with various extras like cast white metal spare track links and link-and-length injection moulded track to replace the vinyl offerings.

The start of the simple fuel tank build

My kit had the latter but not the former and was reduced from £9.99 to £8 from a visiting trader.

Now it’s a long time since I built anything other than a fast build, wargaming type kit and this one presents a few challenges!

The radiator fans simulated here by the addition of a sequin

Kits from the 1970’s were very different to what we get today. The fit of parts was by-and-large pretty good. The moulding was, again, pretty good with hardly any flash. However, the instructions were not the best. Nor was the location of parts. Some of the bigger issues were -

• There were a lot of "Sink" holes and ejector pin marks
• It not being clear that the link-and-length tracks were “Handed” so would only fit on one side or the other.
• There being probably 1 (or maybe 2) too few links each side to properly fit around the running gear
• Many of the smaller parts had location pins moulded on, but no corresponding holes in the hull to locate them.
• Biggest of all, the rudimentary interior detail was far from complete and was also inaccurate.

However, I persevered and the model itself build into an overall impressive AFV. I didn't take enough pictures though. Most of the pictures are from the finishing stages, so I apologise.

Addition of some left-over 88mm round from the 1/56 Tiger II

As there was just an engine block for the rear, I scratch built the partitions and fuel tanks etc. so I could display the hull with the upper armour separated. I also choose to remove the ammunition racks that came moulded to the lower hull sides as they would block the view if the interior. At this point I realized that at best, I would only be able to present an impression of what the interior should look like, so I added some surplus 1/56 88mm rounds left over from the Rubicon Tiger II to simulate the Jagdtiger’s ammo storage. Not strictly correct as they were single piece round whereas the real thing should be two pieces. However, they look the part.

The Gunner’s seat was missing, but easily recreated using spare parts from one of the sprues that clearly was intended for both the Jagdtiger and Tiger II. Also missing was the drive shaft running to the front differentials. This was easily replaced with a length of sprue.

Additional crew seats and drive shaft added to the hull floor

The kit came with two basic standing crew figures. One I reconfigured into a seated position to act as gunner. The other, the commander, is stood on his seat as if looking out of his cupola.

The driver, co-driver and loader were cast metal figures I found at the show from Wee Friends (The manufacturing side of Friendship Models). This consisted of a set of two full German tank crew figures (one standing, one seated) and a half figure. All had one separate arm to be attached. Not the finest of sculpts, but serviceable and as if by magic, the seated and half figures fitted the driver & co-driver’s positions perfectly!! The other figure would stand in the fighting compartment as the loader – I need to find another figure as I’ve just found out the real crew was 6!!

The upper hull was really well detailed. Better than many 1/56^th examples! All the stowage was separately moulded and all the hatches could be open or closed.

I decided to give the model an Ambush Scheme finish so started by spraying it overall in Dunkelgelb. This was shaded with a coat of brown wash followed by a heavy dry-brush of Dunkelgelb + White.

When dry this was over-sprayed with Olivegrun and Rotbrun patches. Then the darker patches received Dunkelgelb dots and the Dunkelgelb areas, Olivegrun & Rotbrun dots.

The decals were applied before, the shadows were picked out using Dark Tone wash. Then, when dry, everything was dry brushed with Iraqi Sand before a final matt varnish.

The extreme left-hand figure was reconfigured into a seated pose to act as the gunner.

The interior was mostly painted white with shading from Dark Tone Wash. The figures were painted using GW Contrast paints.

The display base was to be similar to that used on my Tiger II. A simple two-layer design was drawn up in 3D Builder and printed out on my printer. This was assembled with super glue and then sprayed gloss black before adding the ground texture. The name plate was printed out and laminated before being added with double-sided tape.

So, there you go. A troublesome little model, but one that, I think, has built into a really nice representation of the real thing. If I’ve learnt anything it is that older kits can still deliver good, finished models, but don’t expect them to go together as easily as something manufactured today!

Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen - Part Three

 

Another business trip to Remagen presented me with an opportunity to take a further look into the battle for the bridge and finally getting to see the eastern bank across from Remagen itself.

Apollinaris Church

Following the Battle of the Bulge the US Army advanced westwards at pace. The remaining German divisions falling back towards the Rhine as they went.

The view from the Apollinaris Church. The Eastern bridge towers can be seen in the upper centre of the picture

German strategy was to form a defensive line behind the natural barrier of the river Rhine so as troops retreated across the remaining bridges they were demolished. In fact, at that time the US Airforce were trying to destroy the bridges as well, to trap the Germans on the Western side of the river.

The Apollinaris Church viewed looking back from the Eastern end of the bridge

US spotter planes saw the Ludendorff bridge at Remagen was still intact when Operation Lumberjack (III Corps advance on Remagen) began on 1^st March 1945, but there was little expectation it would still be standing when they got there.

The Eastern towers with battle damage to the stonework

Combat Command B of the 9^th Armoured Division were given the task of capturing Remagen. Task Force Engeman, part of CCB, 9^th Armoured Division, reached the heights overlooking Remagen on the 7^th March 1945 and from the Apollinaris Church could see the bridge was still standing.

The Eastern towers with the  Erpeler Ley behind

The bridge was captured later that day by Company A of the 27^th Armoured Infantry Battalion lead by Lt. Karl Timmermann before a successful demolition could be carried out. Though the damage done in the explosion ultimately led to the bridge’s collapse ten days later.

Looking back across the river Rhine to the Western towers

Memorials on the Eastern bank

The tunnel through the Erpeler Ley that is immediately reached by the Ludendorff bridge on the eastern bank was used to shelter the troops defending the bridge as well as local civilians. Today it is blocked off with no public access. The twin towers on the eastern bank remain, with their battle damaged façade bearing witness to the battle for the bridge. They are currently closed off and abandoned unlike those on the Western side housing the museum.

The  Erpeler Ley tunnel entrance as it is today

A piece of the original bridge

After the battle, Hitler was unsurprisingly incensed that the bridge had been captured more or less intact. He directed one of his most faithful fanatical Nazis to court martial and execute those found to be responsible for failing to demolish the bridge. Four officers were made scapegoats (3 for failing to demolish the bridge, one for allowing an experimental Henschel Hs 297 anti-aircraft rocket system to fall into allied hands) and executed by a shot to the back of the head. They were buried where they fell but three of the four were reburied in the cemetery at Birnbach which contains a plot with 52 German war graves from the Second World War.

Maj. August Kraft

Maj. Johan Scheller

Oblt. Karl-Heinz Peters - whose Henschel Hs 297 rocket system was captured intact by the US army

German WW2 Cemetery at Birnbach

Plaque commemorating the 4 Officers executed by the Nazis

There is a small plaque in the ground remembering them and their fourth comrade.