SCRATCH BUILT 15cm sIG 33

Took advantage of the very hot weather here in Sydney last weekend as an excuse to stay indoors,not venture into the sun and work on a number of  wargaming projects, this being one of them, a Scratch Built 15cm sIG33. 

It costs 7 support points, AP value of 8, HE value of 13 and it also decreases Cover level by 1 Level, a useful gun to deal with armour or enemy troops bunching up together.😏 

The gun in action.

The scratch build starts with cutting off a piece of an old paint brush handle seen in red and threading a plastic tubing around it this is the barrel of the gun, I also used some scrap MDF for the carriage frame as can by seen top left. 

The wheels are carved from left over Perry miniature bases  and I used lots of plastic odds and ends to build the rest of the gun. 

Its not a reproduction but I am happy it will pass as a
15cm siG 33.

Gun primed with black undercoat.

Its mounted on a thin sheet of metal contoured around the gun.

I used Vallejo model colour Middlestone for the base of the gun and highlighted with further coats by adding VMC Iquai sand.  

The spade is a left over from another kit.

Back at CANCON 2018 I constructed a Brecourt Manor gaming table, the need for leFH 18/40 10.5cm howitzers, saw me purchase one  from Warlord games to use as a basis to  scratch build 3  more (as it would be costly buying 4 guns, which would only to be used on once ).

As I did not use the crew figures,I left them on the unpainted pile of lead but with the construction of the siG 33 I retrieved them and painted and flocked them ready to man the siG33.

The gun actually needs one Junior Leader and a crew of five, so I will make up the extra crew needed from another crew served gun in my Late war support.

CHEERS JOHN 

SCRATCH BUILT MDF EARLY WAR FRENCH GARAGE Part 2

Part 2 of my Scratch built MDF Early War French Garage, applied paint and final details to finish this project.

Completed Building

Here is the Garage prior to painting follow the link for PART 1.

French Resistance member applying  French Resistance sign on the wall of the garage.

Cheers John

SCATTER TERRAIN: LAMP POSTS, ROAD SIGNS, WATER WELL, BIKES, CANAL BOATS and WHARF

On this post I have instructions on how to make Lamp posts, Road signs, a Water well, bikes, Canal boats and Wharf.

LAMP POSTS

The completed Lamp posts, I flocked some of the bases while leaving the majority bare for streets.

Material that are needed are plastic tubing, washers, metal nuts, matches (larger ones), cheap wire and rivets.

Super glue the nut to the washer.

Cut the rivet with a pair of wire cutters leaving a short tail.

Super glue the rivet as shown into the plastic tube.

View of the inner portion of the plastic tube showing how much space the rivet takes up in the plastic tube 

Place super glue into the tubing and insert the match. 

Rap some very flexible thin wire at the base of the plastic tubing and seal in place with superglue.( I used some copper wire) 

Drill a hole into the match stick.

Place super glue into the hole and insert wire.

Nip off the end to match the length of wire on the other side.

At the other end of the match place a drop of superglue.

Insert the tubing but leave a portion of the match exposed, this will be glued into the nut/washer.

The last step is to apply a thin layer of super on the surface of the match and allow to dry.

I also lightly scrap the edge of the match to make it look a bit more rounded. (I recommend doing this step prior to applying the layer of superglue on the surface on match and prior to undercoating.)

Prime with black surface primer and apply a couple of layers on the plastic tubbing using Vallejo Model colour Flat Flesh.

• Next paint black strips over the flesh colour and creating a rounded edge on the bottom portion of the flesh colour that borders the pole portion of the lamp.
• Apply thin layers of Vallejo Model colour Ivory as shown on the middle lamp.
• Last, paint the middle portion of the light with the Ivory but don't it with perfect edges.

Completed lamp with 28mm figure for scale.

I also made a number of lamp post that did not have a base but had a tiny magnet glued with in the nut.

Lamps with the magnets inserted. 

Image showing the magnets in place.

On some of my buildings I wanted lamp posts 

Lamp posts removed and you can see the anchoring point on the footpath.

A thin sheet of metal was glued onto the pathway and painted to match the surroundings.

I also did the same with a stretch of these canal banks I made for CANCON this year.

Once I had completed the banks of the canal I embedded another magnet into the ground and covered it with a very thin layer of green stuff and applied flock.(Important to place the correct polarity of the magnet other wise it will not adhere together)

ROAD SIGNS  

Completed signs with a variation of shapes and post heights.

As I make my own bases from metal sheets for my figures I tend to have a lot of  Plastic bases lying around.

First step chamfer the edges of the bases with box cutters.

Drill a hole in the middle of the plastic base to match (these matches are the longer thicker ones used for BBQ) the diameter of the match that will be used as the post.

Use the point of a hobby knife to scribe into the match to create texture.

Cut matches to desired length.

A couple of the bases have 2 holes to accommodate 2 posts for a bit of variety.

Glue in place with superglue.

Cardboard is used to create the actual sign.

Before gluing them onto the post use a hobby knife to mimic wood grain and panels.

Last step is to add some rocks on the base and apply a thin layer of superglue over the signs and the post, once dry this step will stiffen and strengthen the sign posts. The last steps where the painting of the signs and flocking the base.

BEF moving up to the front line.

BIKES 

I used thin wire, bend into shape of a bicycle and soldered them to together, the seat is made with Milliput.

Finished bikes painted. 

 WATER WELL

I used Perry bases for 28mm figures, carve a hole in the middle of one of the bases, this will be the top portion of the well, prep a piece of wood as the main body of the well.

Glue the washer to the intact plastic base.

Glue the washer to the underside of the wood - the addition of the washer aids into providing a bit of weight and stability to the well.

Scribe panels onto of the plastic base.

Fix onto the wood with superglue.

Cut a piece of cardboard into oblong shaped pieces.

Glue in place covering the wood portion of the well.

I use a piece of MDF for the base and used a piece of left of plastic, bend some wire around the plastic. 

Bend some wire in the shape of a handle, drilled a hole in the plastic sprue to accommodate the handle and glued in place. Two holes where drilled into the top portion of the well and glued in place.

I made a bucket from plastic sprue and used some thread to mimic rope, I also placed a thin layer of super glue over the thread to stiffen it.

The well was painted and flock added.

CANAL BOATS

Completed canal boats both are scratched built.

Both boats are made from MDF, the first step was to cut out the outline of the boats and then use box cutters, hobby knife and wood file to hollow out the inner portions of the hull of the boat.

I used the resin barrels as a guide for the width of the inner hull.

I also used odd thin pieces of MDF to add to the structure of the boats.

Also scratched built a row boats.

The start of the wharf.

The completed larger boat, added a stirring apparatus on the stern (modified paper clip) the barrels are resin and the green cloth over the front portion of the cargo is just a piece of white cloth covered in a layer of superglue and pushed into place around the cargo till it set.

The smaller boat.

The completed wharf, the top surface was made with cardboard cut outs glued in place and painted. A plastic  drawing pin in placed towards the end of the wharf to act as the anchoring point for the boats.

These items where made for the early war event at CANCON 2020 back in January.

Cheers John