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Post by wouter on Jul 15, 2014 10:12:54 GMT -5
A while ago, when the GB plans were unveiled, I started to do some research. I always wanted to depict armor which got something to do with my homecountry. Basically, Belgium consists out of two regions: the Dutch or Flemish speaking northern part which is called Flanders, and the southern Frenchspeaking part Wallonia. During WWII lots of Belgian volunteers served within German Heer and SS units. Percentage wise, of all the conquered nations, we delivered most of the volunteers for the German cause in the East. These young idealists wheren't generally speaking nazi's or even antisemites. Most of them signed up to fight against the threat of Bolsjewism. In many villages the Catholic priest preached against communism and rallied the young men to sign up. Also, after WWI there were some harsh feelings towards the French speaking elite in Belgium. During WWI many Flemish men, fighting in the Belgian Army were commanded by French speaking officers who didn't speak Flemish. This caused a lot of difficulties during and after the War. Separatist movements rised after the war and these movements would form a firm base for the later Flemish Volunteers during WWII. When Germany invaded Belgium, these movements saw their chances to dismantle Belgium and continue with Flanders as a separate region-movement. The Germans made good use of this making use of false promises. Anywhoo, many young Flemish volunteered and were divided in the newly formed NordWest Division, a mixed division consisting out of Flemish, Dutch and Danish men. But, with so many volunteers out of these countries, the NordWest was soon split up in different Legions: the Legion Niederlände, the Freiwillen Legion Flandern etc. Generally these men were amongst the finest and soon received lots of credit amongst the Germans for their bravery on the Eastern Front. Many casualties were sustained. Since the Flemish were to be considered as 'Germanic' people, these Legions fell under the command of the Waffen-SS. Needless to say that many of them, if not all faced heavy sentences after the war. So, transferring my StuG build for the GB: Later on during the war at the end of 1943, the Freiwilligen Legion Flandern was reformed into a fully motorized Brigade, and the name changed into the 6th. SS Sturmbrigade 'Langemarck'. And this is were the StuG III comes into play: this Brigade consisted out of 10 Companies, and the 7th Company was a Sturmgeschütz Company, consisting out of 7 or 8 StuG III's. Now, it was very hard to find any photos or info on this, but some people on the internet helped me out, sending me a chapter of a book written by an ex-Eastern Front Flemish soldier. The StuG III's of the Langemarck first saw action in January 1944 in Ukraine. The reformed Das Reich division was fighting near Zhitomor in the form of a Kampfgruppe (KG Lammerding). They fought well but suffered many losses and were going to be swamped by the Red Army. They were going to be trapped in a cauldron or pocket, and the first task of the Langemarck was to hold of the Russians in order to prevent the Das Reich being encircled. They did so with succes, but again with many losses. It's in this period I want to depict my StuG III. I'll be using the Dragon early G for this purpose, together with some goodies. Here's a shot of a Langemarck StuG III Ausf G (only for discussion purposes!)  ok, I know it's a long text, but I though it could be interesting  continued... |
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Post by wouter on Jul 15, 2014 10:14:05 GMT -5
Basekit is Dragon's StuG III ausf G 'early' (early, mid and late weren't terms which the Germans used, generally modelling companies tend to use them to make things easier, some modifications added in a certain period would be referred to as early, mid and late...reality was far from this simple though...sometimes, because of existing stock or lack of newer features these would be installed in overlapping periods. So could it happen for instance that late war JagdPanthers were still equipped with the early single piece 88 barrel in stead of the two piece later one, because of shortages). It's a great piece of kit which I bought from our own Bill last year. He even painted some of the wheels already :mrgreen: )  I will be using some goodies, like Atak zimmerit, a Panzer Art gun mantlet with canvas cover and metal tracks. First of all, the metal tracks ain't by Friul this time. One of my favourite AM track companies (MasterClub) have gotten into the metal track business as well (before they were in resin and have a particular way of assembly) but still have to try them. The ones I used for this build are manufactured by a Swiss company under the brand 'Easy Metal Links'. The only shop where you can order them is my regular German online shop 'Der Sockelshop'. These tracks have a completely different way of assembly in comparison to Friul tracks. You can get a complete trackrun assembled in about 15 minutes: Since pictures can say more than words I'll show you gents      as you can see a very nifty system. I chose the broader winter version of the 40cm tracks called 'Winterketten' (not be confused with the later 'Ostketten') because they give a mean look to your panzer. Other than that, construction of the lower hull was straight forward. The wheels - as always with Dragon - have the 'Continentau' logo on them in stead of 'Continental'...this is easily adjusted by cutting the right leg of the U, thus obtaining an L in stead. The Atak aftermarket resin zimmerit is very well done and fits great, here and there you have to adjust but in general it fits more than ok. I put the zimmerit sheet in place, touch the edges with a brush loaded with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and capillary action does the rest. Gently push the resin zimmerit against the plastic and it stays well in place  The frontal bolted on armor plate comes as a resin replacement in the Atak set, as well as the rear plate with zimmerit.  I have to say btw that the metal tracks come in two bags: one for the left tracks and one for the right. Accidently the bag for the right run contained too few links to construct a complete run. This is probably a packaging mistake, and rather than asking for a replacement, I cut off the extensions of some of the left links. Like this you can depict some damaged links, which creates more interest. The instructions suggest btw that you use 98 links per run...this is waaaay too long...78 links per side are more than enough   Suspension is made moderately moveable The exhausts come predrilled, but can be improved, so with a drill bit I drilled them out a bit more, to get thinner edges  .the kit provides a simple interior, and it looks great, although, I want to show the StuG with open hatches, and the interior is a bit too simplified to leave the hatches open. I don't want to spend money on an AM kit so I'm trying to scratch some thingies which I think would be clearly (or semi clearly :lol: ) visible. The kit provides two sets of radio receivers and transmitters, detail is great and besides connections and cabling it won't need much extra detailing:  I have a Tristar 'Brumbär' with full interior, and I'll be using it's transfos to add to the radio set, more photos on that later on I tried to scratch an ammo rack, it's a heavy simplified version: the sides are made out of cardboard, and I drilled holes in a piece of Evergreen plastic. Quite hard to drill the holes to make them alligned with each other. Not much of it will be seen through the hatches  two hooks for the head gear were made out of leftovers of PE sets and I added a little box made out of Evergreen plastic, some cabling still needs to be added. The thick piece of pipe on the left of the lower sidewall (our right) is made out of a bit of sprue. I think it got something to do with the heating for the fighting compartment  The Atak set comes with some extra bits made out of resin, their fit is great. Here are the transmission hatches visible, I glued them fixed with Tamiya Extra Thin, believe it or not  The gun is a great piece on it's own, great detail. Although the spent shell basket is ommited in the kit...still thinking of scratching it or leaving it behind...not too sure  Initially, for the gun mantlet, I wanted to use a resin piece made by the company Panzer Art, which shows a mantlet with a tarp on top  The annoying bit though, is that it's a cast resin block, so lots of surgery would be needed to make it fit onto the gun :think: :problem: ...so, I guess I'll keep it for another StuG build when I don't want to depict an interior...shame though... :cry:  The Atak zimmerit looks great, the only set back is that some parts fit perfectly and others are too small or too large...so the joints need to be adjusted using putty  Starting to look like a StuG now :tune:  Cheers |
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Post by Deano on Jul 15, 2014 10:15:00 GMT -5
Great to see it here Wouts ! looking the business!!!
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elco
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Post by elco on Jul 15, 2014 11:47:08 GMT -5
The mean looking machine is back, killer build and it is just the begin!
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Post by deafpanzer on Jul 15, 2014 12:22:58 GMT -5
Zimm looks great... I am so weak for anything covered with Zimm!
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Post by wouter on Jul 15, 2014 15:53:43 GMT -5
Deano and Elco, thanks chaps, glad to be back  Andy, errm, does that mean that Laura is covered in zimmerit sometimes? LOL Cheers
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DeafStuG
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Post by DeafStuG on Jul 15, 2014 16:23:51 GMT -5
Good Job, Lovely Zimmerit pattern.
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bbrowniii
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Post by bbrowniii on Jul 15, 2014 21:08:42 GMT -5
I just love a Stug! Looks great Wouter!
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Post by deafpanzer on Jul 15, 2014 21:26:34 GMT -5
Andy, errm, does that mean that Laura is covered in zimmerit sometimes? LOL  |
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Post by TRM on Jul 15, 2014 21:27:19 GMT -5
Outstanding Wouts!! She is looking the part for sure!!
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Post by wbill76 on Jul 16, 2014 13:19:08 GMT -5
Definitely looking forward to more on this one Wouts!
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Post by wouter on Nov 26, 2014 3:03:43 GMT -5
first of all, thanks for the heads up guys second of all: wow, this has been a while ey Watching F1 and playing War Thunder a lot has really helped me progresswise Well, there is some progress though, I added some simple interior bits and started basecoating it. Also, I made a bit of work of the crew, there are few photos of a Langemarck StuG but in total there are three on the net (of which the one I posted has been tagged as Ustuf August Heyerick and his crew of the Langemarck (but I found two more and compared them with the original photo and found that they are taken at the same timeframe) - which makes me hesitate buildwise at the moment. It seems to me that there are brackets apparent for skirts, but not 100% sure. Anywhoo, two of the crew are Alpine figures, I also had two Verlinden figs, but I'm going to ditch them because they are aweful. So, I'll be trying to sculpt my own (which is scary )    I started with a Dragon figure, made him a bit taller and tried to sculpt baggy winter trousers...this is my third try but not very happy with it  very slightly modified Alpine figs, can you see it?  Cheers |
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elco
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Post by elco on Nov 26, 2014 4:18:13 GMT -5
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Post by Leon on Nov 26, 2014 4:59:00 GMT -5
Glad to see this back on the bench Wouts  ! Making good progress,keep up the good work. |
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Post by dupes on Nov 26, 2014 8:08:08 GMT -5
Nice project! Glad you got back on it.
I can't even paint figures worth beans much less SCULPT them!
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afvfan
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Bob
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Dec 10, 2012 17:32:38 GMT -5
Dec 10, 2012 17:32:38 GMT -5
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Post by afvfan on Nov 26, 2014 12:06:18 GMT -5
Looking really good Wouts!
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Post by tobias5555 on Nov 26, 2014 12:47:50 GMT -5
Great work, especially on the figures.
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Post by deafpanzer on Nov 26, 2014 14:21:12 GMT -5
It is great having you back believe me!!! StuG looking sharp... have fun with those figures! You know how much I love using figures...
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Post by wouter on Nov 26, 2014 17:08:31 GMT -5
funny that you mention it Elco, Luc Klinkers' site is one of my reference sites ^^, but too little info though, pitty he doesn't go deeper into detail. I found some great videos on youtube where Bill Horan sculpts, as well as a vid by Radek Pituch. They make it look easy  Leon and Mark, thanks guys, painting is as with every part of the hobby practice...and a bit of luck Bob, Tobias and Andy, thanks. And I agree, figures add a sense of drama ey. The guy with the MC Hammer trousers needs to be redone though before he is allowed to stand next to his Alpine buddies Cheers |
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Post by deafpanzer on Nov 26, 2014 21:05:05 GMT -5
 Man, I used to love him... now I am embarrassed. LOL |
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Post by wouter on Nov 27, 2014 3:13:06 GMT -5
don't be, I still think it's funny. When my daughter was a baby, and now little Julien, I make them dance like the Hammer when I hold them Cheers |
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pantherf..-Email Not Valid
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Post by pantherf..-Email Not Valid on Nov 27, 2014 9:21:39 GMT -5
I'm weak.  Seeing this makes me want to stay home and crack open one of my StuG kits and start cementing away! BTW... I have NEVER seen zimm on the welded mantlet for a StuG. Got any reference pics of such? Love your work and I'm camping out here to see it finished! Jeff |
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Post by wouter on Nov 27, 2014 13:55:28 GMT -5
give in then weak Master, and build us a StuG  good point of that zimm on the mantlet...I didn't realize I never saw pics of it, not even the Langemarck StuG photos show it. I just glued it on since it was in the Atak set...mmm...might remove that now Thanks for the heads up btw, glad to have you on board mate (after all the StuG GB build idea came from you originally, innit? Cheers |
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Post by wouter on Dec 1, 2014 10:35:49 GMT -5
Hi Bob, glad to see you here and thanks for that. Photos of Langemarck StuGs which I found didn't show any wearing the winterketten, but since not all of them are photographed it's well possible some had them. I used the winterketten on both sides, but there are photos known of some StuGs featuring Ostketten, but for some reason only one side.
And indeed, they fought along 'Das Reich'. The Sturmbrigade was deployed late December 1943, beginning 1944 in the Ukraine, near Zhitomir. They were part of the Army Group South. Heavy fighting was part of their experience their, losing lots of soldiers and material.
Cheers
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Post by wbill76 on Dec 1, 2014 18:22:56 GMT -5
Nice to see this one back on deck Elco! Looking forward to more.
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afvfan
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Bob
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Post by afvfan on Dec 2, 2014 3:52:23 GMT -5
BTW... I have NEVER seen zimm on the welded mantlet for a StuG. Got any reference pics of such? That doesn't bother me as much as why they would only do the front and leave that large flat top undone. |
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pantherf..-Email Not Valid
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Post by pantherf..-Email Not Valid on Dec 2, 2014 4:53:57 GMT -5
BTW... I have NEVER seen zimm on the welded mantlet for a StuG. Got any reference pics of such? That doesn't bother me as much as why they would only do the front and leave that large flat top undone. I really don't believe that it would stay with all that gun firing, the vibrations and recoil. Besides... whos gonna climb up on it to place the magnetic bomb anyway? Jeff |
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afvfan
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Bob
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Post by afvfan on Dec 2, 2014 11:18:21 GMT -5
[/quote]... Besides... whos gonna climb up on it to place the magnetic bomb anyway?[/quote] It's not that hard to believe. I remember my younger days quite well. Pour half a quart of cheap vodka in me and I was Superman! |
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Post by wouter on Dec 2, 2014 12:09:18 GMT -5
Bob, thanks for checking that out again (I should start call you guys Bob 1 and Bob 2 since afvfan is a Bob too Bill, thanks a lot mate, but you should stop drinking . You just called a Belgian dude a Dutch guy  ... Besides... whos gonna climb up on it to place the magnetic bomb anyway?[/quote] It's not that hard to believe. I remember my younger days quite well. Pour half a quart of cheap vodka in me and I was Superman! [/quote]  Cheers
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elco
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Post by elco on Dec 2, 2014 12:45:48 GMT -5
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Seeing this makes me want to stay home and crack open one of my StuG kits and start cementing away! BTW... I have NEVER seen zimm on the welded mantlet for a StuG. Got any reference pics of such?
