Captain Blood's Western Desert: P.125 - SdKfz10 half-track with 2cm Flak 30

[Captain Blood]

Thanks all 

Richard, what colours did you go with on this A/C?

Helen, basically it's Vallejo Desert Yellow and Vallejo Russian Uniform Green, lightened somewhat for the highlights with white in the case of the yellow/sand, and with a lighter, leafy green n the case of the Russian green. The main shading etc is done using AK Interactive 'Wash for DAK vehicles'.

What's next?

Well, I have a Rubicon Tiger... And Hammers is kindly sending me his unwanted Tilly for the Brits...
Add the commission job that Brent will be sending back to me in the New Year, that'll give me 15 assorted vehicles, British and German - which is probably more than enough for a game which is basically a platoon plus some support on each side! Although I do still fancy a Vickers light tank... 

Bloody hell Richard, that was quick

Well the great thing about the Christmas holidays - having done all my family and other duties - is that I actually get a few days to indulge myself and do whatever the hell I want with my time. Hurrah! 

[Phil Robinson]

I have a Vickers on order from Warlord, took advantage of the free postage offer, fingers crossed it will be a decent kit, their WWI mKIVs I have are.

[Helen]

Helen, basically it's Vallejo Desert Yellow and Vallejo Russian Uniform Green, lightened somewhat for the highlights with white in the case of the yellow/sand, and with a lighter, leafy green n the case of the Russian green. The main shading etc is done using AK Interactive 'Wash for DAK vehicles'.

Thanks Richard for your colour palette. Going by your lighting I can see why I asked and then looked at my own. All good! As an example, I do use Desert Yellow, adding dark sand and sand yellow. This is further highlighted with Pale Sand. I don't weather at all, only the wash once the main colours are applied. Thanks for the green tip!

[Queeg]

Hey Richard, wow you have been busy !!! 

Great work on the 8rad. Mine wasn't moulded as badly as yours although it did have a hole in the front spaced armour plate and the turret sat with a gap like yours. I think the plug and hole were cast at an angle because when you grind it down, when rotated it picks up the lean in another place. I just machined it on the bench grinder till it sat flat and mounted the turret with brass rod.

Can't wait to see your work on the Tiger!

cheers
Brent

[Captain Blood]

Thanks Brent.
I think I'm on a roll. Unfortunately, like most of us I suspect, I get bursts of enthusiasm for particular projects, then lose it just as rapidly 
So I'm cracking on with my newfound passion for making/painting my own 1/56 scale AFVs (rather than pestering you ) while the Force is still with me...
(I don't think it'll last too long, to be honest - just wanted to give it a try... I might have a couple or three more vehicles in me, then I daresay I'll drift back to the Wars of The Roses...  )

I have just ordered a shitload of Pegasus palm trees though, and a box of 600mm square, 40mm deep foam boards, so desert terrain is most definitely on the agenda for 2017 

[Hammers]

Wonderful, Richard.

As a beside: I always disliked that vehicle. It looks all wrong.

[Queeg]

So I'm cracking on with my newfound passion for making/painting my own 1/56 scale AFVs (rather than pestering you ) while the Force is still with me...
(I don't think it'll last too long, to be honest - just wanted to give it a try... I might have a couple or three more vehicles in me, then I daresay I'll drift back to the Wars of The Roses...  )

Yeah you've got a good base of vehicles to work from. If you ever want to expand I think you'll find it easy to add a vehicle here or there so it won't be a major. You also might find another period or theatre might peak the interest in WWII (Scily/Italy would allow Perry GParas and Brit conversions if your pref is Perry figs) rather than an ongoing Desert thing once this starting lot is all finished ....

Looking fwd to seeing how you tackle the terrain too as I'm hoping to get into our city board in '17 which should be an interesting diversion.

[Captain Blood]

Can't wait to see your work on the Tiger!

Very kind of you to say so, Brent. Everything I'm doing, I've learned from you 
Here you go...

I've put together the Rubicon Tiger kit - goes together beautifully, although compared to the Crusader, it's a bit more fiddly, especially with lost of very small components around the exhaust and air filtration systems at the rear. But overall - lovely.

My only slight criticism is that some of the moulded-on surface detail of tools, tow cables etc, is VERY shallow and looks a little bit fake. I'm sure it's all perfectly in scale, but I think they could have exaggerated these details just slightly to make them stand out a bit more. Going to be an interesting painting challenge to bring these very low relief items to life...

I've built it as an early production model (1942) for use in North Africa, but I have cheated slightly by using the mid production (1943) turret top option - mainly because I wanted the swivel-aside commander's hatch cover, and the MG34 and mounting.

I've added stowage from various sources - and am now wondering if I might have gone a little far!    I do like the lived-in look, and this is borne out by a lot of images from the time... I do feel a little bad though, covering up all the lovely moulded-on detailing on the upper rear hull with a load of clutter 
I'm also doubtful that too much stuff would actually get piled on top of the engine vents like this - a/ it would get very hot and b/ risk the engine overheating presumably... Still, for effect, it looks good, so who the hell cares 

I haven't covered the turret sides with spare sections of track though, because I want the decals to leap out when done.

Keith will be pleased to note that I've drilled out the end of the gun barrel! (A bit odd that it comes with a solid end to the muzzle, but I guess it was the best way to fit it onto the sprue... )

I've also drilled out the radio antenna housing, halfway down the r/h upper hull deck (I learned this lesson after the Crusader build... Drill out your holes for housing aerials BEFORE painting - not after everything is finished... Schoolboy error, not to be repeated... )

[pocoloco]

Great work on the big kitty! 

It's great to see so many good armour and vehicle kits on the market, I started with Tamiya 1/48 scale so there's no turning back and switching to smaller scale now for me... Unless I want to build all of them again  Then again if I get to game, there will be only few vehicles per side tops, so big tanks emphasise their size and role on the field, I guess.

Will be nice to see the Tiger get the Captain Blood paint job 

[Phil Robinson]

That's a fine looking kit, look forward to the next stage.

[Westfalia Chris]

Very, very nice. Further convinces me that the Rubicon pieces are the better option right now if one is going for the 1/56 option.

[Captain Blood]

I think that's probably right Chris. Certainly the quality is a step above the Blitzkrieg resin that I have (I appear to have accidentally bought a Blitzkrieg PzII and Vickers light tank too...  ) That said, the Blitzkrieg pieces are very nice looking and solid. On the gaming tabletop, from more than a foot or two away, I doubt anyone would really be able to spot the difference.

The other thing to bear in mind, is that Rubicon (I think they're based in Hong Kong?) are just getting into their stride. The Tiger was one of their early kits a couple of years ago. I suspect if they made it now it would be better still

[Ballardian]

Nice job on giving your Tiger a lived-in look, I look forward to seeing it with paint on.
 As to the WG/Italeri vs Rubicon debate, it's swings & roundabouts (I personally prefer Rubicons offerings but with the Tiger it's a trickier question). Rubicon offer variation (early/middle/late) on their kit & a generally slightly finer level of detail, but the tracks, due to their molding process, don't have much detail on the individual plates (so it depends whether that bugs you or not) - you can partially ameliorate it by applying pigments/mud to the tracks but it's still a visible lack. Also if you want a western front Tiger post-Normandy you'll be applying your own zimmerit (a PE or resin zim kit would be a nice add on, now if only someone did one at this scale...).
 The WG/Italeri offering on the other hand does have better track detail (since the tracks are seperate pieces) but you can only create a zimmeritted late model Tiger so limits itself in terms of period (plus the scarfe-type mg ring mount on the commanders cupola must have been done on a late Friday afternoon given its level of "that'll do").
 Other than that there's not much between them in quality terms - they're both very good kits (though I'd still go for the Rubicon, heave a sigh & reach for the putty).

[Queeg]

Very nice looking build and the stowage is sitting nice and natural and will look great under paint. As for Rubicon vr Warlord I have 4 AFV Club late Tigers to do this year so I've voted

On the differences in the Tigers I think it's been well covered though. As noted the Tiger was a very early release and probably the tracks suffer a bit. They are redoing their earlier ranges (which is great as very few companies re-visit successful releases) but I think the Tiger will be some time away before it gets the makeover. Early-mid probably Rubicon and late/zimm Warlord ......

[carlos marighela]

Rubicon really are going places. In addition to pumping out quality goods they are revisiting their earlier items and making them afresh. Definitely a company that heeds customer feedback. Worth checking out their forum btw. Some very knowledgeable rivet counters there and some lovely previews of goodies to come. Their crew sculpts look superb and they are branching into softskins and AT guns. I reckon if they took the plunge and did infantry then they would wipe the floor with Warlord.

IIRC they mould elsewhere but I think the design team are German.