Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Panzer Marsche!

Haaaloooo, Possums!!! So, an old client coaxed me out of my lair to build him a combined arms combat brigade for Hammer's Slammers, and it was all down hill from there…


So here is a step by step visual narrative of the production of this twenty vehicle combat group, done to a Germanic theme in both force mix and finish for your consideration:













Starting with those handy plastic appetizer dishes, I used everything from plastic spoons left over from takeaway meals to the ubiquitous plastic rhinestones, and even a very handy old fashioned multi-wire connector to produce a nasty heavy multiple guided missile launcher AFV. The main guns on the battle tanks were wood nails, while the appliqué armor plates were self adhesive decorative plastic tiles for scrapbooking bought at a fire sale price in bulk from the local Tuesday Morning store. 

Once the assembly had reached a satisfactory level, off to the spraying station for a coat of flat black primer:








And then the camouflage base color is added, a two-shade combination of Americana/DecoArt Wrought Iron followed by Timberline Green…




Once dry, onward to the first pattern color, again Wrought Iron, which is a very dark shade of green:





And so comes the third color, Poly-S German Uniform Grey (aka Field Gray or Feldgrau):




And then the dappling begins to create that classic German "ambush pattern" followed by detailing the point defense laser emitters with Americana/DecoArt Gunmetal Grey:







Next, decals, most prominently the classic German Maltese cross and tactical numbers and markings:









And then comes the weathering, and the point defense lasers get their active look with a dot of Liquitex artist's acrylic bright red paint to give them that "instant of firing" look:















So off to the spray table for a shot of Testor's Dullcote to seal the work and protect the decals from wear due to handling. As they dried, I finished flocking the bases each of these anti grav AFVs would be mounted on, and added reindeer lichen. Once the models had dried, I brought them back to the work table and glued them on to the pushpins I use for just such projects. Plastic pushpins give the right height for an anti grav vehicle, are cheap and readily available, and I can use white craft glue to attach them to the precut wooden bases I pick up for dirt cheap at the local craft store.

So here is the finished anti grav kampfgruppe in all of its menacing glory:















So there you have it, a complete grav panzer kampfgruppe ready for action (just add futuristic panzer grenadiers). This group has now been boxed up and is awaiting shipment to their new owner, who has promised to post photos of their going into action for the first time on his own wargaming newsletter, and I *am* going to hold him to it, youbetcha, Space Possums!

Now, what to do, what to do… Oh, I know… Mwahahahaaa!!! Mark also convinced me to do up a second force, a bunch of civilian paramilitary militia/rebel types, so looked what we gots here:


Technicals with buzz bombs and power guns, anyone? Mwahahahahaaa!!! Stay tuned… 

22 comments:

  1. Sheer brilliance...I could use 3-4 of those Panzers and IFVs myself...

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  2. brilliant just brilliant, nice ideas,nice modeling skills, nice paint i would expand my AFV park soon :D

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    1. By all means you must! If what I do inspires you to engage in your own personal up cycling operation, then I have done my duty… >;)

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    1. That's Wile E. Co-yo-tay, SUPER Genius! Yes, I am a legend in my own mind…. Mwahahahahaaaa!!! >;)

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  4. Amazing... they look incredible.

    I guess I know what i'll be picking up next time I go to the craft store!

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    1. You're going to want some grav tank hulls to go with those bits, Mr. Harold:


      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B9I9TFO/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p328_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1EMNZ423NNDCW2G9CMZ3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200422&pf_rd_i=507846

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  5. I really like your hover tanks, Leland! I don't think I could so easily part with that huge German squadron....I'd still be making " PEW, PEW" noises and gurgling engine noises as I pushed them about the table! ;)

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    1. These make more of a loud electrical humming sound like a big building transformer, oh Dark Lord of the OD Green Sith! >;)

      Part with 'em? Hell, they were made to order, and we'll be seeing IMINT on them in the foreseeable future from their new owner… stay tuned… >;)

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  6. That's an incredible piece of scratch building, I wish I could do something like that!

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  7. Are there any items which could be used to make Grav tanks at the 40K scale 'Heroic' scale (roughly 28mm)

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  8. Brilliant stuff - very clever indeed
    I never seem to have an adequate bits box...or imagination!

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  9. This is great! I'm going to start looking for suitable hulls and such now, thank you for sharing this. :)

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  10. Inventive use of stuff, I'm impressed sir. Well Done

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    1. Thanks! This particular project was in part due to a lucky find at a clearance store, leading me to research sourcing for the basic component:

      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9I9S0U/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IHS3B86THMIVS&colid=24HGHPGN6QTZU&psc=0

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    1. Yup! I interpreted the size as akin to a modern MBT hull, with specialized variants built upon same. If you want to dabble in this specific form of madness, here's the basic hull component:

      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9I9S0U/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IHS3B86THMIVS&colid=24HGHPGN6QTZU&psc=0

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    2. Thanks! They look very cool, I may just take a trip to hobby lobby. Do they make a smaller tray for support vehicles?

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