has been watching some documentaries lately set in the Western Desert, and was inspired to create this...
I just got these back from our friends in Sri Lanka, Fernando Enterprises, based them up, and thought I'd share them with you.
These days, I've standardized on 1" wide bases for my 1:285 scale models. The smallest models are on 1" square bases, and the size goes up for larger models. These vehicles fit fine on the 1" square bases.
I used 3mm wooden bases from LITKO, with magnetic bottoms from the same source. Base edges were 'painted' with a Sharpie marking pen.
You might be wondering, "Why do you need a communications vehicle? Can it fight on the tabletop?"
The answer is that with some of the rules I play, I need something to represent the headquarters staff of combat units, and this works well for that. If I had been more ambitious, I could have made this more of a mini-diorama…
If I remember correctly, each model is composed of two pieces – the cab and chassis are one piece, and the office is the second piece.
According to my notes, these should be German communication vehicles from GHQ. However, a check of their website shows no such model. Some internet searching verified that these are the Opel Blitz truck variant with the fibreboard body, often used in the Wehrmacht for staff vehicles and ambulances. GHQ does make such a model in their Opel Blitz Variants pack, but it doesn't match this model. So either my models are older, out-of-production models or from a different manufacturer.
The painting is in the style of the painting service, which I'm happy with. I asked for 'panzer gray' though, and this seems more of a gray-green color. I didn't give detailed painting instructions. If I have more of these painted, I'll make sure to ask that the grill and fenders not be bare metal, the wheel hubs should match the body color (or be muddy), the office windows could be more shaded, and the cab interior would be better painted black (to make it less obvious that there is no seat or driver). But then, if these are no longer in production, I won't be getting any more of them! 