Alpha Omega Beginning and the End

[DennisM]

I am pretty sure somebody said that before...

Anyway, I have had this idea for a while now of building and showing side by side the first and last design of a particular line of vehicles. I think it would be interesting to see how they progressed over time. I chose a Panzerjager I and this particular Waffentrager because they were both vehicles that had existing gun platforms mounted on existing chassis. They were both open topped and very lightly armored. The Waffentrager has a turret that rotates while the Panzerjager does not but can't have everything right? Oh, and one other thing, both of these kits were on sale for about $22 each. That pretty much decided the subjects of my first attempt at this .

Here are the box tops and I will show the insides in the next post.

[DennisM]

I have decided to start with the more complicated and involved kit first and that would be the Panzerjager I. The box opens up to a typical Dragon kit, stuffed to the point of bursting with other kits sprues. You can never get the box packed again without the top bulging. The detail and crispness of the parts are staggering, especially compared to the older Sdkfz 250 that I am also building. I am going to try to keep the two kits at the same stage of construction to keep the comparison better.

Here is an overall pic of the contents.


Look they even give you a bag of grey pigment powder for weathering! Oh wait those are the track links. _Small
Minimal PE which after the Sdkfz 250 I appreciate.


Some more...


and the last bit

[DennisM]

I am not a big fan of PE only options. I like having plastic since I really struggle with PE. Especially really long pieces with a very small area for gluing like in the picture below. I got the first one after a short battle, but the war is not over yet.





There is PE for the front and back of every wheel. Thank God that this is not a Panzer IV.
I am having pretty good luck so far.

[tigrazor]

Jan 11, 2014 12:01:59 GMT -5 DennisM said:

Look they even give you a bag of grey pigment powder for weathering! Oh wait those are the track links. _Small

Small indeed - good luck with those.

[robbo]

Two blogs for the price of one eh? you know what I mean, yes?

[deafpanzer]

SO MANY PARTS just for a little panzer! Have same kit in stash... pulling my chair in! Looking good and good luck!

[Deleted]

looks like an interesting couple of builds I'm in!

[Deleted]

I have this kit waiting it's turn.

Take care with the indy links. They are so small you must use minute amounts of glue otherwise the detail can melt. Don't ask how I know this, but, well, I built the DML Pz I with the very same tracks.

I ordered Fruils for my Panzerjaeger.....................

G

[bbd468]

Great start Dennis, im totally in for this!

[wbill76]

Nice 'bookend' project, looking forward to seeing the two come together!

[DennisM]

Jan 12, 2014 12:03:17 GMT -5 @agentg said:

I have this kit waiting it's turn.

Take care with the indy links. They are so small you must use minute amounts of glue otherwise the detail can melt. Don't ask how I know this, but, well, I built the DML Pz I with the very same tracks.

I ordered Fruils for my Panzerjaeger.....................

G

I have thought about the glue destroying the links but the only aftermarket links I could find were Fruils and I cant justify spending 2x the cost of the kit on tracks. I will just be very careful while gluing. Wish me luck.

I was looking for some reference photos and came across one with swimsuits!!!

Needless to say I was not pleasantly suprised

Panzerjager swimsuit photo

[remarc777]

Hi there Dennis,

$22,00 each? Man, you are some lucky modeller. Us too, due to the fact we can share your fun in these updates for free ...

I will follow!

greetings, Richard.

[Deleted]

Masterbox sells a set for cheap. They are a bit on the "flat" side but can be built to look acceptable. See my Panzerbefehlswagen I thread.

G

[DennisM]

Sorry but it has been awhile since any updates. I had to finish my 1:1 scale AR-15 build and get the Florida winter garden planted. All of that is finished and I am thoroughly fed up with World of Tanks at the moment. I have been trying to keep up with all of the builds here but you guys build too quickly!

I finished up the running gear and decided to take the plunge and try a set of tracks. Much to my pleasant surprise the tracks really went together nice and I had zero problems with them. Just watch the other side be the set from hell.

Anyway here is a progress pic.

[wbill76]

Good to see you back at this one Dennis! Nice progress on the Pzjager.

[deafpanzer]

Florida?!?! It sounds tempting for me to get out of here... we have seen so much snow for last 4-6 weeks. LOL

Little PzJager is looking sharp!

[ceresvesta.]

Lookin mighty fine Denis!! Nice crisp start, track sag looks just right.

[bbd468]

Nice update Dennis, ill be around for the next!

[reserve]

Now, here I figured careful research and study for weeks were the contributing factors in your choice of vehicles to represent not the chance to save a few measaley bucks

Great job on the tracks, couldn't have been easy

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

yes indeed nice work on the running gear looks mighty fine

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2014 17:25:27 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

"....Look they even give you a bag of grey pigment powder for weathering! Oh wait those are the track links...."



Nice project Dennis, cool idea, what you want now is a few dozen sprues packed solid with hundredes of teeny bits.....oh wait..............

That once removed from the box, will never ever fit back in the box, well not without the lid being just a little bit too firkin high anyway, god damn those Dragon kits, lol

 

[Deleted]

Feb 12, 2014 15:49:37 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

I have THREE Dragon kits and yer right Kharki, the lids are all about 2" higher than when they started - would've been ok if I'd known what the ferk it was I was seein' when I DID take the lid orfe......

I hear that 'Black Label' is in fact company code for - "If it don't all fit in lads,..just stamp on the box...", lol

That's a little harsh on Dragon I think, lol, I'm going to hell for that one...ah sod it who cares.

Nice build log idea btw, and those wheels with the PE rims look fantastic, worth the hassle, I'm a sucker for shiny sparkly things in build logs, I gotta be honest.