"Empire of Ghosts' Treadhead Thread" Topic

To start off, here's Warlord's awesome Nashorn model. More pics and info:
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Nice work!

Second in my series of tanks…Warlord's Pz III J…more pics below:
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The last three models I built specifically for the Bolt Action Tank Wars "Battle of Kursk" event at Adepticon 2016 are three Italeri 1/56 scale Tiger I Es. I needed a full platoon of three similar tanks and these fit the bill quite nicely, as well as cheaply (All 3 cost less than $20 USD each).

This model has been on my workbench for about 6 months or so. I kept picking it up, doing a little bit, and then putting it back for weeks at a time. This was an experiment in doing winter whitewash with oil paints, rather than my usual oil pastels and I can't say I really like the end effect much.

More pics and info below:
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Another amazing AFV from Blitzkrieg Miniatures – the Italian M11/39 light tank. This model is spot-on as far as detail is concerned. I had to do very cleanup and some little additions (only adding the armored viewport on the right side and the tow hooks below the glacis plate). Details are sharp and crisp, with very little flash or excess resin. The MG turret hatch can be modeled open or closed and sits well in either position. I added a tank commander from the Warlord Italian Tank Crew pack.

More pics and info:
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One of the variants of the Panzer IV chassis was the tank destroyer version known as the Jagdpanzer. Initially armed with a short-barreled L/48 7.5cm gun, it was decided in 1944 that it should be up-armed with the long barreled L/70 7.5cm gun whose increased muzzle velocity was believed would be a more effective anti-armor weapon. However, production and refits could not keep up with demand and it was decided that an interim solution was needed – this would be the Alkett version. Alkett was the manufacturer of the venerable StuG and production of this version would be produced in their factories through the simple expedient of welding a large casemate structure unto the Panzer IV chassis. This resulted in an odd, high silhouetted tank hunter that was ungainly and (likely) not very successful in the field, with under 300 produced. Unfortunately, no one makes this version in 1/56, so I set out to convert it myself.

More pics and info:
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Another repaint of old AFV I've had in my collection for a few years, this time the ubiquitous Sdkfz. 222 light reconnaissance vehicle. I had initially painted this up in Panzer Grey with a whitewash, but I never really liked the oil pastel whitewash technique I did and the mid-war German force I had planned never materialized, so I decided to re-do it in Dunkelgelb.

More pics and info:
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Interesting conversion, but I think you are right it does look a bit too tall. Still a nice addition to your games.

A little something different today – the diminutive CV-33 tankette. The Hungarians bought a couple dozen from the Italians at the beginning of the war…and quickly realized the AFV's limitations. All the sources I've found seem to indicate that the few that were left operational after the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 were transferred to the Gendarmerie for use in anti-partisan operations inside Hungary itself.

More pics and info:
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Another Hungarian tank completed, this time the Turan II. The base model is a resin Mad Bob Turan II which, while serviceable enough, missed a few important details and had some casting issues on the rear portion of the tank. Unfortunately, due to the problems with the surface texture on this model, I'm not really pleased with the end result. It looks rather grainy and unrealistic but with a long queue of models following behind it, I just don't have the time or patience to attempt to fix it. Oh well, sometimes that happens in modeling…

More pics and info:
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In May of 1944, the Hungarian 2nd AD received a shipment of 10 Tigers formerly belonging to s.Pz.Abt. 503. As they were direct transfers from the unit itself, they received no modifications or repainting, apart from unit insignia and possibly licensing – many still retained their turret numbering and German Balkenkreuz. Since I wanted to portray this AFV as it was received in the spring of 1944 as the Hungarians were pushed back to the base of the Carpathian Mountains, I painted this exactly as I would a German tank, only applying some additional Hungarian decals.

More pics and info:
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Well, unfortunately, I didn't get the last Hungarian AFV in my queue finished before the end of 2018 but here it is for the first post of 2019. This is a heavily-converted Italeri/Warlord Games 1/56 StuG which I detailed here.

More pics and info:
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I think the Turan looks fine. Not all paint finishes were as smooth as a babies bot! I like the Panther whitewash too. Have you experimented with washable white paint? You can apply the whitewash then use a wet cotton bud or brush to remove the paint to create wear. The CV-33 has little combat value, but it is very cute!

A new camera means no more post-processing! Enjoy my models in all their glory!

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More AFV goodness! This time it's Rubicon Model's exceptional Sdkfz 250 Neu for late war!

More pics and info below:
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Recently completed a few more vehicles to round out my DAK force – a Kettenkrad and two AB-41s. More pics and info in the blog post below:
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Nice additions to your portfolio!

I'm back with some new (old) models, this time a repaint of the Italeri 1/56 scale Panther with anti-air armor I completed several years ago. I was never really happy with the paintjob and weathering I did and decided to give it a new lease on life. Full technique walkthrough and more pics below:

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I acquired this Italeri King Tiger as a tournament prize ages ago, promptly built it…..and then it sat in my paint queue for over a year. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what direction to go with this, as I already had a resin "Henschel" King Tiger in my inventory, which is big and terrifying, and two seemed like overkill.

More pics and info:

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I'm still trying to adapt to my new lighting setup, so here's the first test photos featuring the completed Italeri/Warlord 1/56 scale Hetzer mit 2cm flak. Not having much material to go on, I opted for a hard-edged three color camouflage scheme. Unlike many of my previous builds, all the chipping is done with a brush. I wanted the flak gun to look like it had just rolled off the assembly line to be thrown inside the chassis with no painting at the factory, so I painted it a red oxide primer color. The netting is medical gauze, unrolled and lightly misted with green spray paint, before being wetted down with PVA glue and water.

More pics below:
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Despite being only 6 years old, this kit certainly shows its age and how far the 1/56 scale model range has developed in that time. It's not very detailed, there's a lot of molded-on parts, and its incredibly basic. To simulate the ChtZ stamped turret, I removed the incorrect secondary periscope, added grab bars, textured the surface to simulate rough steel, added pistol ports, and added hinges to the rear engine bay hatch (in addition to scribing the hatch correctly).

More pics and info:
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Continuing with the recent cavalcade of AFVs, this is the completed Italeri/WG 1/56 scale FlammHetzer. To date, this was the most rewarding tanks I've assembled from Warlord. The detailing is very accurate (with the exception of the driver's vision slit being a little too big) and the subject matter is really unique. My only gripe was that, normally, small portions of the hull need to be cut away to insert the pins for the side skirts – a process that's laborious and can easily lead to a mistake. To make mine more realistic, each section apart and I cut the pins off the back of each bracket. While this does make the skirts more fragile, it looks better overall.

More pics and info below:
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Here is Italeri Official Account / Warlord Games 1/56 scale Char in German service, otherwise known as the Panzerkampfwagen B1/B2 740(f). Overall, this was a fairly good kit with a lot of options. My only issues were that it seems a little undersized and the large rear fuel tank had fit issues and needed filling and sanding. This is almost entirely out of box, except for the folded tarp and oversized chain (not a great idea to put a lot of external stowage on a flame-throwing AFV!).

It's painted using Tamiya acrylics for the vehicle paint and Vallejo acrylics for any details, then an oil filter was applied overall, followed by a pin wash. Areas of heavy dirt, soot, and the rusty exhaust were done by dry blending oils (as well as an enamel wash for the exhaust). Mud splatter and streaked grime are all acrylics.

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Absolutely stunning work!

What a terrific series of photos. I had never seen these before as I am relatively newly back to WWII from Napoleonics and VN in 28mm both.

Thanks everyone!

This is an Italeri / Warlord Games 1/56 scale Marder III(r) in Afrika Korps colors. This is a pretty nice kit that has a lot of nicely molded detail, as well as a good selection of three multi-part crew. My one big complaint is the tarp/netting poles are INCREDIBLY fragile, both of these broke simply by my handling during painting (one disappearing into my carpet) – not a great feature on a model meant to be handled for gaming.

More pics and info:
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Raised a laugh here.

'er indoors is used to sitting with me in the study and, when bits of resin do not fly off and hit her, she hears me effing and blinding as some tiny piece of brass wire follows the brass and disappears into the carpet. I have tried a brush, I have even found my old auroscope (meant to be for examining ears), I have gone through the vacuum cylinder before now. Odd thing is how the parts turn up months later!

I love your shading/highlighting of the rivets. Whether on the wheels or the armour, it is superb

To finish out my backlog of finished projects, here are two Italeri / Warlord Games 1/56 scale Marder III(r). As I mentioned in my last post, these are very nice kits and the multi-part crew are a nice addition, since this allows part swaps with Warlord's other 28mm German infantry and tank figures.

For more pics and info (including the second model):
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Love them.