Bronco Seehund U-Boat Type XXVIIB

Neat kit of Kriegsmarine midget submarine Type XXVIIB.  Simple to assemble, but detailed.  An oversized box that resulted in some parts breaking loose from the sprues and some slight damage at the break points.

 

Generally very nice kit.  Two problems – one in design, one in execution.

Design problem – the photo-etch front propellers for the torpedoes are extremely finicky – maybe best solution is to score fixing points. 

Execution problem – in my version, at least, it looks like part of the mold for the top of one of the hull halves was not filled in completely so parts are missing – at first thought it wouldn’t be a big deal because would be covered by conning tower, but the missing areas can be seen from the top view so these had to be roughly recreated with plastic card.  Not hard to fix, but kind of a weird thing for what should be a first-rate kit – only comparable have experienced was where ark models (former Alan) zis-5 had one sprue half molded in the wrong direction (!)  dirt cheap price of ark models made that lack of quality control a little easier to understand even if the result was worse.

 

What color to paint Seehund and torpedoes?  (G7e torpedoes?)

 

Per Dougie Martindale’s article on Kriegsmarine U-Boat Colours and Markings, the Kriegsmarine used a dark grey anti-fouling paint below the waterline known as schiffsbodenfarbe III grau.  This suggests that the two medium or light grey colour schemes in the Bronco instructions are apocrycphal.  In fact, upon seeing the apparent reference for the first scheme (#17), it looks like the submarine was completely repainted from the original.  No reason to know whether the owners thereof were or were not historically accurate, but it seems odd that schiffsbodenfarbe III grau would not be used – particularly as Martindale also notes greater predominance of darker greys in the later years of the war.

 

Therefore, schiffsbodenfarbe III grau will be the primary colour, for which I will use Tamiya Dark Sea Gray (XF-54) – mainly because I have some, but also because it seems to match the Martindale’s colour same of schiffsbodenfarbe III grau the best (although monitor colors, etc. make matching somewhat imprecise).

 

There may be some basis for a lighter color on the “coning tower” but for now it will be left schiffsbodenfarbe III grau.  According to the Martindate, the lighter grey was more for aesthetics, but there do appear to be some reference photos showing a lighter conning tower, and that would consistent with bigger boats.

 

Torpedo color seems to be a mystery.  Bronco’s first scheme (#17) shows a red warhead with a blue body.  The source Seehund has these in fairly bright shades, which seems unrealistic.  While the historical accuracy seems questionable, for aesthetic reasons, I went with the red warhead, blue body and steel tail, for which Tamiya Hull Red, Field Blue and Gun Metal were used.  Hull Red and Field Grey are somewhat more subdued and therefore perhaps a little more plausible that the bright red blue of the source.

 



Trumpeter Komintern WIP

And now for something different  . . . the Trumpeter Komintern.  Quality seems much improved over the Trumpeter Marder I (H39), although the cab interior apparently is wrong.

 

Test fit of the cab, doors, hood.  Touch-up painting required.  Overall color used is Tamiya Olive Green.  Perhaps a more yellow hue would be appropriate.  The kit went together fairly readily with generally good fit, although getting the proper alignment on some of road wheels can be a little tricky because the attachment points could have been more robust.  Overall, however, it was a nice straight-forward build with good detail but not an excessive number of parts.  Without readily available references, not sure about accuracy issues other than the cab interior.  The bench layout in the  cargo bed might be suspect as well, but I can't tell - maybe ignorance makes for an easier build because you don't have to worry about correcting minute details.  Need to figure out driver and something to tow . . .

 

ICM 7.62 Pak 36(r)

 

 

Overall this kit was pretty straight-forward to assemble, although some locating holes need more depth and some of the detail may be a little soft compared to the Bronco kit (from pix of the same).  The instructions aren't the clearest, esp. as to what is required for travel mode.  The biggest issue I found is that the gun doesn't elevate sufficiently for the rear of it to fit within the cross bar for travel mode.  Probably some improper assembly on my part.

T-34/76 WIP

Starting beute T-34/76 based on the DML T-34 German Army. Generally OOB but with a few minor modifications as follows:  added wiring for front notek and rear convoy light, swapped out front headlights for smaller German headlights, replaced antenna mast and base with German antenna mast and base (spare from StuG III F/8, although a bit thick), added S-hooks and fire extinguisher per Tankograd reference pix (a treasure trove of references), added jack block (no reference, but gotta be somewhere, right?), added engine louvers (or at least enough to hopefully look like louvers through the mesh screen), added two jerry cans to rack.  Balkenkruz from Archer Fine Transfers. Crew is modified miniart german tank crew figure with replacement head and leg, and Archer Fine Transfer decals.  Initially added full legs but tightness of turret meant that lower legs had to be removed to fit.  Can see why larger turret was needed.  Feldgrau/black uniform color combo based on Tankograd ref.  The kit generally went together pretty well.  The engine deck screen was a little fiddly, esp. when one of the cross straps was eternally lost via a tweezer fling.  The tracks also turned out to be more difficult than anticipated.  Given their width, thought they would hold together well, but turned out to be a bit fragile.  Also, because fenders are molded onto to hull getting them to sit nicely was more work than expected - in part because of the tall track teeth.  The idler is not glued in and should be rotated higher than it is in the pictures.