Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Le.IG18
The ubiquitous German
light gun
Tarawa Sherman
Welcome to a new contributor
T-54-3
A dark arts work
St. Chamond
WWI French tank
Sponsored by
Is published by Coronel Caramel S.l.
CIF B54483052
Editorial oce & administration
Club de ftbol Hercules 6
03008 Alicante
Spain
Te: 965112833
Email: fcmodeltips@gmail.com
Editorial
Im quite happy to welcome a new friend from Poland, this issue includes the article the
Cobra from Tarawa a model by ukasz Bk. Many other friends are preparing articles for
Blitzscales covering different subjects and I really hope you find them interesting.
It seems that lately modellers have polarized their preferences around some manufacturers
depending not only on their kits qualities but also the easiness of their building process having
easy, medium or hard kits to choose from; for example, if comparing different T54/55 kits
you can have some low quality/easy building old Esci and Trumpeter kits, medium quality
and easy building Tamiya choice, then some medium quality/medium diculty kits like the
Takom ones and finally the top quality/long time building Miniart option. Each one of us make
our own decisions considering the time we can dedicate to the hobby, the abilities required
to build each model and even the sympathies we can have for each producer, I know many
excellent modellers who still prefer buying the Tamiya kit and then spending a lot of money
in upgrades to give it the quality level of a Bronco, AFV or Miniart kit, and this is just because
they love the brand that produced the best available kits 30 years ago when they started in
the hobby. In my humble opinion each kit is adequate for different modellers; novel, average
and experienced, but not just this, some modellers simply dont start a model if they dont feel
the challenge in the project. If asked I couldnt easily decide where among these tendencies I
am, I always prefer good kits and long time building processes dont discourage me at all, but
form time to time I also enjoy some weekend projects that I can see finished in a few hours.
I guess the best of all this is that, unlike 30 years ago, we now have all kind of options for all
kind of modellers.
Federico Collada
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Index Page 6
Page 26
Page 32
Page 42
Page 39
6 - Street base
8 - Blitzscales previews
26 - Aufklarngspanzer 38(t)
39 - Build and paint a 1/72 scale building
42 - LeFH 18
49 - The Cobra from Tarawa
52 - WWI French propaganda posters 1/35 scale
54 - Saint Chamond
66 - Empty shell
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Page 49
Page 52
Page 54
Page 66
5
Cut & paste
1- Print the opposite page, resize if you need to t your wood base
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Scale; 1/35
Producer; Dragon
In 1943 the Panzer 38(t) had been withdrawn form all front duties due to its obsolescence but its
chassis was still valuable for many kind of specialized vehicles, from jagdpanzers to recce or flak
carriers.
The Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) mit 2cm KwK 38 was one of these recce special vehicles that was
intended to replace the halftracks and armoured vehicles that shown its limitations on the eastern
front poor conditions, the new fully tracked vehicle would show better all terrain qualities so some 70
units were built making use of the chassis of the remaining Czech built tanks.
The tank turret was replaced for the one already used with the Sd.Kfz.222, Sd.Kfz.234/1 and the
Sd.Kfz.250/9, the Hangelafette turret armed with a 2 cm (0.79 in) KwK 38 gun and a single 7.92 mm
(0.31 in) MG 42 machine gun. A new box like structure supported the new turret which covered the
opened top with anti grenade grilles for urban combat protection.
The main disadvantage of the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) was the casemate that located the turret
which was formed by riveted plates, a technique that was abandoned in favour of the welded ones,
less dangerous for the crew when the vehicle was hit. The 2 cm Kw.K.38 gun and the single 7.92
mm M.G.42 machine gun were only designed for self defence against infantry, artillery, soft skinned
and lightly armoured vehicles so the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) had really little offensive power. The
Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) entered service in 1944 with the PzGr-Div. Grossdeutschland and 3rd
Panzer div. none survived the war.
26
The kit
This is a kit that Dragon released back in 2006
among other panzer 38(t) based kits, as with
the real vehicle most of the parts are common
with that tank and a few new ones are provided
for this particular version including the interior,
casemate and turret. The links are the magic
track type, surely one of the best Dragons
ideas, and three photoetched frets are included
with many fine details. Although some finer
detail would have been welcome at the interior
little is seen when the finished model is closed
so maybe this is not really that important, in
fact the kit it is representative of an era when
the company kits were better considered by
the modelling community. The only upgrade
I added to the kit was a Tasca star antenna,
better detailed than the kit one.
27
I got the kit 10 years ago when it was
released and built part of it immediately but
the same I rushed into it I lost the interest so I
left it forgotten for a decade with the building
process nearly finished awaiting for some
inspiration for the painting. Some months
ago I found some interesting pictures from
some other Wehrmacht recce vehicles of the
WWII last years and I found some of them
really interesting showing a big green patches
painting scheme over the dunkelgelb base, I
remembered the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) and
thought that this scheme would fit very well in
my kit.
28
I painted the hull interior in a more or less
summary way as I didnt expect it to be seen
through the turret. Although I usually paint the
tools, tracks and other elements separately I
decided to fix them prior to painting them this
time so soon I had the model completely built
and closed to prime it with the Vallejo 604
Dunkelgelb paint. In order to highlight the base
I used the special German dark yellow colours
set that provides different lighter tones that can
be used as filters to emphasize details and
volumes, I proceeded as I always do, applying
the first lighter filter with the airbrush at the
centre of the bigger surfaces and later using an
even lighter tone with a zenithal approach all
over the model to imitate this lightening.
Once finished this part of the painting I
proceeded to mask large parts of the vehicle
with adhesive paper tape to paint the hard
edges green patches, for this I used a 71093
Field green colour and later highlighted with
71106 Ivory. Once dry I peeled off the masks
and prepared for the next stage.
29
Before going on to the weathering stage
I painted the details with a fine pointed brush
and acrylic colours, to add some texture to the
exhaust I used the Vallejo special rust effect
paint. With that done the model was ready to
start with the chipping. I didnt want the vehicle
to look aged or heavily worn so I didnt insist
much on this stage, just applied some rust
colour paints cursory with a sponge and some
dry brushing at the edges and most exposed to
friction zones.
I used acrylic washes of dark brown
and black colour to shadow a bit both the
exterior and turret interior for an even more
detail emphasizing. Here I stopped to place
the decals, just some Balkencreuz at the
superstructure front and sides, to ease this
task I first varnished the model with gloss and
once dry used the decal medium and decal fix
products for a perfect adapting and avoid any
silvering.
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The magic tracks are certainly one of the
best Dragon ideas of the recent years, Its a
pity that theyre not included in every kit when
mostly every modellers prefers them to the
infamous DS tracks that theyre using in many
of their recent tracked models. Building them is
rather easy as they dont have to be prepared,
just make lengths and place before theyre
completely cured. Following this system I
made four sections for each side, two covering
the idler and sprocket wheels, one for the
superior length and another one for the lower
part connecting the wheels. I primed them with
black paint and later applied some rust tones
paint washes.
To imitate a slightly dirty look I recurred to the
pigments wash technique, mixing the selected
tones with some paints thinner and applied with
a big brush. I insisted more at the lower part of
the hull, tracks, wheels, etc and less at the hull
upper part and turret.
31
Scale; 1/35
U.S. truck, British AA gun, French Producer; HOBBYBOSS
combo
The French 22e Groupe colonial de Forces
Terrestres Antiariennes was part of the 2e
Division Blinde deployed at Morocco in 1943
and commanded by General Leclerc. By the
end of that year the unit started considering
mounting their 40mm Bofors guns on their U.S.
built GMC 6x6 2,5ton. The first AA truck was
completed in December at a local factory. After
some trials, in January 1944 it was decided
to convert 16 GMC into the AA role, 3 months
later 14 SPG were in service with the 1st and
2nd batteries.
In May 1944 the 2e Division Blinde moved
to Great Britain where they continued their
training until July when they were finally
embarked to France.
Once in France, the 22e Groupe was in
charge of protecting the Division stationing
points and routes. When the war was over, the
22e Groupe had claimed destroying 17 aircrafts
and 6 more damaged. The last months allied
air superiority caused the group didnt see too
much action and finally it was disbanded in
March 1946.
The 22e Groupe GMC had
a larger cargo bay modified
to accomodate the 40mm
Bofors gun.
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And the Chinese rendition includes the markings of an unidentified
vehicle. As with almost every kit, not everything
This is the first time that we can have this is up to what you can expect of it, in this case
version of the ubiquitous US truck in plastic the con are some roughly reproduced parts
1/35 scale, and I can say that it has been worth that devalues the rest of the kit; some of them
the waiting, the kit is very nicely reproduced, like the front bumper could have been better
with crisp detail and easy building. As many reproduced in PE, same as the screen levers,
Hobbyboss kits, it includes the engine and a some of the wooden parts of the rear cargo area
rather complete suspension and chassis, the have no texture while others do so some extra
wheels are moulded in two halves so some work is needed in that point. Finally the extra
putty and sanding will be required to smooth gun covered with tarpaulins is so rough that is
the tires surface. The photoetched parts provide not worth using it at all.
the more subtle details and the decals sheet
The model was built out of the box, allt he Having a nice paints variety allows you to
photoetched details you see in this picture choose the kind of illumination you want for
are provided in the kit. your model, cool or warm tones can make the
difference .
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The kit painting
instruction shows the
only possible decoration
of an unidentified unit,
something that happens
more often than we
would like.
A weekend project
I built the kit straight from the box without using
any after market and only fixed those parts
that needed some putty and sanding. I left the
wheels aside for a more comfortable painting
and the windshield as it really wasnt necessary
to be fixed to paint the truck.
The building process took just a few hours as
the fitting was smooth and the instructions easy
following. Once I had all the parts prepared I
primed the entire model using Vallejo Olive drab
primer 608 and then the special paints set to
highlight this tone. I applied a first light filter with
the airbrush at the centre of the bigger surfaces
using colour 044 and later another filter, even
a lighter shade of green from a zenithal focus
to reproduce this illumination and highlight the
details.
With that part of the painting ready I
proceeded to apply a layer of gloss varnish to
place the decals, the ones supplied with the
Black, grey, brown and earth tones are all model allows you to make just one vehicle so
you need to make the tires look a bit worn, all no options are provided.
these colours are provided in the new Wheels After placing the decals with the aid of the
& tracks set. I painted the tires with black and Decal fix and medium products I sealed the
then applied sucessive filters using dark grey surface again with another varnish layer, this
and then some brownish tones. time satin.
Every time I start a model I have to decide
the final look I want for it, one of the main
decisions is the amount of stress I want to
show in the paint, sometimes I like to show
highly deteriorated paintworks and other I
prefer to show the vehicles in an almost perfect
maintenance state with just some dust and dirt
over them. Having seen some pictures of these
vehicles in a rather good condition I decided not
to exaggerate the weathering so I went along
with a subtle chipping using both the sponge
and the drybrushing techniques using different
rust tones. After that I applied a multicolour filter A speckled filter using different tones
speckling many dots of diluted paints all over
at the same time creates a subtle worn
the model surface letting them blend together
randomly.
look at the base paint
35
I went through my stowage parts box and I
found some I could use to cover all those empty
spaces around the AA gun so I primed them
and placed with a little white glue, I covered
some of them with a tarpaulin made of a vinyl
glove.
I tried to imitate the worn out paint at the wood
planks using brown pencils to draw the vein at
the most exposed to friction parts. To secure the
Both latex piece and resin rolls were job I varnished with matt.
painted with the same paints as the rest The last touches were to imitate the exposed
of the model. metal using graphite and some subtle pigments
washes for the accumulated dust over the
horizontal surfaces and recessed details. I
placed the previously weathered wheels and
windshield using white glue and that was all.
36
The graphite pigment is a must in
every military modeller stock, its very
easy to apply and provides a very
convincing metallic look when rubbed,
you can use a cloth, a cotton swab or The Hobbyboss kit is
even your finger tip. impressive once built,
and very inexpensive, is
not complicated to build
and although the painting
options are limited you
can give it your own look
with a little stowage and
some personal elements.
The leFH18 105mm leichte feldhaubitze was a German light howitzer used during the WWII
based on the previous leFH16 model, it entered service in 1935 and become the standard artillery
piece in the Wehrmacht.
When compared with the previous leFH16, the new model had a new three-point split trail gun
carriage provided more stability and increased the traverse to 56 degrees, the heavier recoil of the
higher muzzle velocity of 470 m/s was counteracted by a new pneumatic recuperator above the
barrel, a reinforced shield, the new gun could fire a wide shell types variety being the high explosive
the most common. The leFH18 was designed to be towed both by horse or mechanical means;
while the first ones used wood wheels the last ones used pressed steel wheels with solid rubber
tires.
The maximum range of 10725m was insucient when confronted to the Soviet batteries and its
2 ton weight made it too heavy to be suciently mobile and many were abandoned during the
Russian campaign. With 11795 units built, the LeFH18 saw service in all the WWII fronts where the
German army fought and remained in service in many countries before the war.
When first confronted with the T34 and KV tanks, the LeFH18 was the only gun capable of
penetrating their armour when used in direct fire, unlike the rest of the German anti tank guns.
The AFV kit has a lot of
fine details that makes it look
accurate even when it doesnt
include photoetched parts.
The kit
The Taiwanese company AFV Club released
this model back in 2003 being the first time
that we could have this model in plastic in 1/35
scale. The kit is so nicely done that 15 years
Although the kit includes many later is still up to the nowadays best kits quality.
delicate parts the building process In spite of some delicate parts involved, the
is not complicated and the kit is not dicult to build and the turned metal
instructions are easy following. Just gun and recuperator avoid the usual putty and
take care you make you choice sanding work when these parts are provided in
two plastic halves. The building process starts
between a horse or halftrack towed
with the gun and breech following by the cradle
gun and whether you prefer to
where it can slide so you can place it in different
represent it deployed or in a towing positions. After adding the levers, cylinder, etc.
position. you go to the shield where some details and the
necessary bars that attach it to the cradle must
be placed carefully. Next you add the aiming
system and the recuperator.
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When starting building the carriage
you will be asked to select whether Vallejo has a nice primers colours
the horse or half-track moved version range that includes the most usual
each one comprising different parts. military colours, German dark grey,
The spades and other parts can be too dark yellow, U.S. Olive drab, Soviet
placed as if the howitzer is being tower 4B0, etc.
or deployed so you will have to take this
decision too and follow the consequent
instructions. The decals provided
includes the firing range charts to be
located on the inner side of the shield, a
letter that identifies the battery and little
else so you can actually select a generic
piece to paint it with any of the schemes
used by the Wehrmacht during the war.
44
Some subtle chipping using the
good old drybrushing technique,
suitable for all kind of paints, the
key is drying the brush thoroughly
with an adequate cloth.
45
I decided to show the howitzer on one of the
recent FCModeltrend cobblestone base with
the Iron cross medal on it those are designed
on two different sizes to fit small, medium or
large vehicles over them, the medal is supplied
as a separate resin part so it can be located in
any position.
The pigments wash, a very useful trick to
easily represetn shadows, dirt, etc.
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By ukasz Bk
Scale; 1/35
Producer; Dragon
49
The Building process
The Dragon models are one of my
favourites because of its very good quality
and usually nice fit. Of course there are some
issues with missing equipment like wading
system elements, too thin front armour plates
for driver and radio operator and rear rack for
canisters, wich was symbol of C Company tanks
on Tarawa. After scratchbuilding those lacks the
rest of the build was rather strightforward. I liked
the PE-parts like fenders and clear parts for
headlights. Aluminium towing cable and metal
tool clamps are also a nice addition that makes it
look even more realistic.
50
The weathering process
51
Gift; WWI French
propaganda posters
1/35 scale
1/72 scale
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Scale; 1/35
Producer; Hobby Boss
The
Saint
Chamond
was the second
heavy tank
produced
in France during
the WWI being the
Schneider CA/1 the first
one, designed by rival
companies, both tanks
served within the French
army although the Saint
Chamond was underpowered
and lacked of poor performance
mainly due to its too short tracks.
With 400 units produced, the Saint
Chamond was armed with the 75mm Mle 1897 field gun fixed on the
superstructure front and 4 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns, traversing the 75mm
gun involved moving the whole tank so the driver should face the enemy to open
fire. The 8 men crew consisted in commander/driver, gunner/loader, assistant to
gunner, four machine gun operators and a mechanic. The armour varied form 11
to 19mm and the top speed was of 12km/h. The Saint Chamond was used in 1917
and 1918 but once the war was over it was replaced by the better designed English
tanks.
On the battlefield the Saint Chamond proved completely inadequate for the
trenches war but on the last stages of the war when the trenches were left behind
its 75mm gun was used to engage the German artillery from a safe distance and
acting as an assault gun, a role for which it was conceived. The Saint Chamond
could be easily disabled if hit in any part of the tracks or running gear.
54
WWI modelling
The first company that released the Saint
Chamond kit in plastic 1/35 scale was
Takom, that was in 2013, nearly 2 years
later Hobby boss released their own
rendition, good enough and nearly half
the price. Although I was attracted by the
Takom kit when it was released I decided
to wait for the Hobby Boss kit so I could
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The Solomon camouage
I decided to paint the model with this
iconic scheme as it was one of the
most commonly used during the war.
The multicolour pattern designed by
Solomon Joseph Solomon in the early
years of the war intended to disrupt the
vehicles shapes using large patches
of the surrounding elements colours,
sometimes separated by a thin black
line.
I begun painting the whole model
with a medium grey primer and then
masked the zones that should remain
that colour using adhesive paper tape. Next colour was the 71143 Light stone, airbrushing again
the whole model. After taping some more patches to remain this light sand colour I airbrushed the
green zones, for this I used first the 71250 Bronze green paint and then some highlighting with
71095 Pale green diluted at 75%. After letting the colour dry for some hours I taped for the last
time and airbrushed colours 71029 dark brown, 71041 armour brown and 71043 olive brown with
successive filters to create some variety within the brown patches.
56
I let the model settle for a day and then retired the
masking tape, I decided to use a black felt pen to
paint the irregular black lines that separates the colour
patches, this is a very easy to control tool and the finish
can be sealed with varnish. Happy with the result I
proceeded to apply a layer of satin varnish and let it rest
again some time. At this time I applied some generic
markings on the tank sides that came out from the decals
surplus box.
Next phase was to reproduce some chipping on
the paint, for this I recurred to both the sponge and
drybrushing techniques using dark brown acrylic paint,
alternatively mixed with some black to add some variety.
With that part done I applied some washes using light
earth and dust tones mixing the acrylic paints with water
and using a mid size brush, I have realized that standard
acrylic paints act very well when used as washes,
the pigment precipitates where I want and the small
amount that doesnt act as a subtle filter so the effect of
accumulated dust and dirt is really convincing.
The next wash was made with pigments mixed with
water, this kind of wash is different form the previous one
as it has no binder so once dry you can remove all the
pigment, washing it with water or simply sweeping with a
dry brush, if youre satisfied with the achieved look you
can seal it using special pigment binders or some white
spirit, though this last element doesnt really provide an
enduring fixation.
The dust colours pigments
applied this way created
a more thick dirt
deposit I wanted for the superior part of the tank so I
sealed it and proceeded to create some mud for the
lower part of the hull and running gear.
57
Aside the noise, hot environment, smells
and toxic poisoning problem, the long hull
vasculating over the holt tracks caused the
crew sea sickness. The design of the Saint
Chamond was disastrous.
For those like me that have a preference for the WWI and inter wars military vehicles its certainly
an exiting moment, the centennial of the Great War has made the producer look this way and
provide the modellers with a bunch of very good quality kits for the first time, I hope this trend wont
change and we can have many other tanks and armoured vehicles still unreleased.
58
The Saint Chamond saw their
first action at Laffaux Mill on May,
5, 1917. Several were stuck in
various trenches, but three of
them succeeded crossing the
battlefield.
Just
two years
after started
being
produced, the
Saint Chamond
was considered
obsolete; the only
surviving vehicle is now
displayed at the Saumur
museum together with its
competitor the Schneider CA-1.
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www.fcmodeltrend.com
Scale; 1/35
Producer; Miniart
67
Having
decided
the reason
why the tank
would have been
scrapped I started
building the model
considering that I would
like to show it as emptied
as possible. I used many of the
interior parts in the kit but left aside
all that could have been destroyed in the
internal explosion or eventually taken off as
useful spare parts. The construction in this first
phase was easy and amusing, and I just made
a few parts in scratch that should be seen
inside the engine compartment once emptied.
I also replaced the seat for some scraps made
with metal wire and bent some tubes on the
floor made with solder tin wire.
I added the axes designed by myself and 3D
printed in high quality resin to the suspension
arms with ciano glue and moved to the turret.
Same as with the hull I disregarded everything
that could be taken off and destroyed the gun
barrel using the power tool and pliers bending
the leftovers by hand carefully.
69
The forbidden wash is a very exciting
technique, though its not easy to control
as it requires some test and training time to
achieve nice results, the effort is worthwhile
as it provides a kind of stains that very hard to
achieve otherwise.
I started by priming the interior with white
paint and some hours later I applied a rust
wash an AK pigment wash mixed with a Vallejo
dark orange tone, knowing that they wouldnt
blend I shook the mix vigorously in order to
break down the acrylic paint in tiny little dots in
the AK wash, they key is acting fast in order not
to give the cohesive properties to agglutinate
the paint molecules again before painting.
This first wash dried fast leaving the first rust
traces everywhere more or less randomly,
whereas I didnt like the pigment and paint
concentration I simply washed away part of it
using turpentine, water and alcohol.
I repeated this process three more times using
different wash and paint tones accumulating the
effect until I got the desired aspect.
For the last wash I added black pigment to
imitate the burnt aspect, mostly at the crew
compartment where the tank received the shot.
I closed the hull and prepared to paint the
exterior part of the tank, for this I decided to
start with a much lighter shade of green than
the standard 4B0 as I would later lighten up As with many other painting techniques, you
this base to nearly yellowish tones. I picked can obtain better results if applying in several
the Vallejo primer 71610 Parched grass and layers changing colours and covering the same
covered the whole model with it. zone once and again creating a multicolour
filter.
70
The black pigment
applied alone or
mixed with a wash
creates the burnt
look that hasnt
been washed away
by the rain on the
inner side of the
tank. The pity is that
little is seen once
the turret is closed
and in place.
71
I prepared a simple base on a small size
wood piece representing an irregular and rocky
terrain where the tank would have been slowly
sinking with the pass of the years as the rains
would have blended the ground under the tank
once and again.
To finish the job I applied a general and much
diluted filter with an earth tone acrylic paint
airbrushed generously all over the scene to
provide a chromatic coherence between the
tank and the terrain.
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