Hasegawa 1/72nd Sd.Kfz.7/1 Flak 38 *FINISHED*

[B4en]

The base is from the Monty's Caravan set and was sent to me a while ago (not specifically for this build) by a member who is sadly no longer with us and that makes me a little more nervous about sanding bits off it than I would be had the base had come out of my own spares. That said though, I like to think that he would have been more likely to have encouraged me to make alterations than to have tried to put me off.

Excellent chioce there Shaun. it's one of the classiest MB bases. Really sorry to hear about the donor, but I'm sure he'd be happy for you to use the base in any way you see fit.

[ShaunW]

Well, hopefully so, Ben, as I've started now and there's no going back!

Here's what I began with, the standard Matchbox base from the Monty's Caravan set:





The base is technically in the wrong scale for the vehicle being in 1/76th as opposed to the vehicle's 1/72nd, but the difference is not worth worrying about IMHO. I set to firstly by removing the pavement section, which I had only lightly tacked on with a minimum of glue to check the fit, to allow easier access to the roadway and then used sanding blocks and wet and dry paper of various grades to remove some of the rubble and arm of the statue together with a razor saw to remove the head, with a view to creating a little more space on the base for displaying a range of vehicles - the base is not intended for use solely with this build and I hope to be able to use it as a photographic prop for various builds. The cobbles were restored using a dental pick and Olfa P-cutter as re-scribing tools:



A word of warning to anyone who may wish to try altering this base in a similar fashion; taking the head off the statue leaves a hole in the road as the head is hollow:



I was going to use filler and then re-scribe but I have a cunning plan. Back in the 90's I bought a plastic sheet of embossed cobbles from my local model shop that also stocked model railway things (now long closed unfortunately) and this sheet was aimed primarily at railway modellers. I originally intended to use it to create street scene bases for small scale armour and it might still get used in that way but for the moment I am going to nick bits off it to patch up my roadway here:



Here is a closer view and of course the cobbles look mahoosive under the macro lens but in reality are pretty much the same size as those on the MB base:



With a bit of care selecting cobbles from the sheet, I reckon I can get a decent match to the MB cobbles or certainly a match that will look better than my hamfisted re-scribing efforts!

The removal work has resulted in a few scratches and what have you on the base, which will receive further remedial treatment, but at the end of the day it is supposed to depict a war torn street so I am not unduly worried. The remainder of the statue needs more work and I want to remove the rubble blocks from the pavement section, but I don't think I'm a million miles away from being able to apply a base coat.

Thanks for looking.

[B4en]

Nice going Shaun. Now I have cobble embossed plasticard envy.

[Cardinal]

Noticed MB bases are really commonly used for 76 and 72nd scale. Are there not many other options? I know Nitto offered some dioramas as special kits to accompany a tank.

[ShaunW]

Many thanks for your interest, chaps. I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of embossed plastic card is still available, Ben.

Noticed MB bases are really commonly used for 76 and 72nd scale. Are there not many other options? I know Nitto offered some dioramas as special kits to accompany a tank.

I think the use of MB bases is down to their ready availability, both in original Matchbox kits and later Revell reissues and the fact that, for the most part, they look good under paint, Cardinal. To be honest, I've never thought to cast about for other ready made solutions but there are probably options out there.

[ShaunW]

Well, my cunning plan with the embossed cobble sheet didn't work out, on closer and more considered inspection it became clear that I wouldn't be able to get a satisfactory match twixt the sheet cobbles and those moulded onto the base. Plan B was better, using cut sections of plastic card, which were then carefully sanded to match the height of the moulded cobbles and I think the replacements will look OK under paint. In addition, I've started to build up more rubble using off cuts of thickish plastic card, which was textured with a round profile needle file. I'm not overly keen on the moulded rubble as it looks a bit "soft" and, once painted, I think the plastic card replacement will have a better and more 3-D appearance - I will also add some other bits to the rubble to give some variation instead of just having masonry. I am going to give consideration to extending the rubble mound to cover those two odd rings - anybody know what they are meant to be? - next to the statue plinth. Talking of the statue, I have once again used a round profile needle file to add texture to the sides of the figure, which were smooth and I have now filled the hole left by removing the head and that will also receive more texturing. One good thing is that none of this work calls for any great precision as we are talking wrecked buildings and statues.



I'm enjoying altering the base but that's it until Friday when I have my next day off.

Thanks for looking.

[Cardinal]

Great work Shawn, even if the cobblestone card didn’t work out. More for the next project, right? And I think the plastic card replacement looks just as nice. As to those two circles, I have three guesses. One is that possibly they are sewage pipes, explaining why they are hollow (or maybe because that’s easier to mold.) My second guess is maybe the rings were apart of a fountain of sorts? They don’t really strike me as pillars at all so I’m not going to throw that around, and it’s also at a street corner. My third guess would be they were industrial smoke pipes from a wrecked factory of sorts.

[B4en]

Looking good Shaun. I'd assumed the rings are meant to be barrel hoops, or part of a shop sign. Covering them up is probably best as whatever they are they aren't very convincing. Don't forget that rubble usually comes with a lot of dust and smaller broken debris, so a pile can get away with looking a bit 'soft' around the edges.

[ShaunW]

Well, whatever the rings are supposed to be is a moot point on my base now as they are covered in rubble! I continued to apply shaped pieces of plastic card, given a battered appearance with the use of fine files, together with some pieces of H section beam to represent girders and some plastic strip bent in various ways to represent damaged structure sticking up out of the masonry. I've had to assume that combat engineers have pushed the debris out of the roadway to enable vehicles to pass as otherwise such a damaged building would have resulted in rubble spilling all over the road, which would rather defeat the object of what I'm trying to achieve here:



Here is a closer picture of the rubble at the front:



And at the rear:



And here is a view of this particular build on the base - I had to be careful placing the half-track as the body, chassis and gun are not cemented together - but I hope this illustrates how removal of the statue head and arm that was across the roadway has made the base more usable. The Sd.Kfz.7 is a sizeable half-track that is as large, if not larger, than many WWII medium tanks:





Ultimately I elected not to remove the rubble blocks at the end of the pavement section as they are hollow and to have done so would have resulted in two slots, which would then have had to be filled, followed by sanding and the hope that I could make good the pavement area once again and instead I added more nicks and damage to the pavement using a round profile needle file. I feel I've done enough on the base now and want to move this build along. Next up will be an undercoat of grey on both the base and the vehicle.

Thanks for looking.

[Tim Reynaga]

This is looking great! I like your diorama composition, too, with its good visual flow; the rubble adds interest, but the converging rail lines immediately lead the eye to the vehicle and then smoothly to the guns which point toward an unseen enemy.

[Bissyboat]

Looking really good Shaun, but how will you propose to paint the tinfoil wrapped around the wind screen, enamel?

[ShaunW]

Many thanks for the interest and very kind words, guys. After an airbrushed base coat of the model in Tamiya acrylics I will just brush paint the foil windscreen protection bag with Tamiya paint followed by a coat of matt varnish, Bissy, I've done similar a number of times in the past with no issues as to anything like paint flaking as the cover won't be handled after painting.

[Cardinal]

Wow, did not anticipate it to look that massive on the base. Good work so far.

[ShaunW]

Wow, did not anticipate it to look that massive on the base. Good work so far.

Many thanks, Cardinal. The heavier German half-tracks like the Sd.Kfz.7 were larger than their US equivalents and were probably the largest half-tracks of the war. I built the old Tamiya 1/35th 88mm prime mover version a few years ago and it is not far short of being as big as a 1/35th Tiger II. Although generally referred to as being half-tracks I think it is safe to say that these vehicles were more like three-quarter tracks as most of the weight was borne by the tracked running gear and the job of the wheels was to principally aid steering, rather than to share the load. I could well be wrong, of course! A vehicle like the US M2/M3 is more a true half-track IMHO.

[Stuart]

Sorry Shaun, I don't pop into the Military Model board that often and I hadn't realised you were posting again! Good news about your reduced hours and it's great to see you back at the bench!

I'm really liking the conversion/detailing work you're adding to this, and the improvements/mods to the base are looking great - It's a cool idea to have a reusable base for photos.