Completed 1/9 BMW R75 & Crew Ardennes 1944

[Warren SMITH]

Great work.. Excellent SBS

 

[Briggsy]

Impressive figure, must be so difficult ensuring so.many good fits on one small vehicle.

Cheers Simon

 

[Nap]

Hi Dave

Very impressive modelling and the joins are invisible

This is one great project and it’s interesting seeing both vehicle and figures

Looking forward to seeing more

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[MalcC]

Looks incredible a this stage, even without paint.

Malc

 

[Dr Force]

Impressive figure, must be so difficult ensuring so.many good fits on one small vehicle.

Cheers Simon

This is really challenging as the figures are solid blocks of resin and the bike is as light as a feather, you have to be really careful and take your time positioning.

Hi Dave

Very impressive modelling and the joins are invisible

This is one great project and it’s interesting seeing both vehicle and figures

Looking forward to seeing more

Happy benchtime

Nap

Thanks buddy

The positioning of the rider figure arms has been tough but just completed, so will post up.

Looks incredible a this stage, even without paint.

Malc

Thank you

 

[Dr Force]

Ok this has been tough and took a lot of fiddling, shaping, moving……constantly backwards and forwards.

I had to dry build the wheels and put it together before attempting anything!

So the first thing was the spring on the riders seat needs to be stretched a bit to lift the figure up to point down very slightly. Once that was done, I checked the position of the arms against the height and distance of the handlebars. They were some way out so I decided to use hot water to bend them up to meet the hands rather than keep messing with the figure height, which was (imo) at the perfect height and posture.

The plastic kit takes a bit longer to respond to boiling water so it’s not a quick dunk in, I left for around 1 minute right next to the cold water tap.
Lift Out, quickly adjust and then hit with the cold water to stabilise the position.

The pegs on the bars that slot in to the hands were now soft so I decided to put pins in, which will be stabbed in to 2 part epoxy sculpt once I’ve finished planning the paint stage.

You can see the pin I used to act as a pivot to allow small steps in positioning before hitting with the 2 part JB Weld. After much careful work, I finally got to complete and thankfully the next figure should be the easiest.

I need to now plug holes, Resculpt the back of the shoulders and completely tidy the figure before spot primer.

 

[Dr Force]

Spent a little time reviewing and I’ve decided to sculpt in this area to fill the gap.

It will probably not be as thick as the red shows but I want to bring it in a bit more.

 

[MalcC]

Wow

Malc

 

[Dr Force]

I’ve also worked out how to get the foot firmly on the floor, he just needs to lean a little after removing the seat spring (thanks Jeff)

 

[Nap]

Wow

Malc

And a WOW !!!! from me as well

Excellent build thinking and actual modelling

Looking forward to seeing more

Have fun at the bench.....we are all having fun following

Nap

 

[Martin64]

Hi All

Can I have your opinion please on the trousers for these two riders.

ive decided on a Oak leaf pattern for the Camo Smocks (A) , I might do autumn and summer just to add some differential, but I’m struggling with the trousers?

Would these be standard field grey or could/should they be oak leaf too?

Any help appreciated as I want to make it as accurate as possible for the Ardennes.

View attachment 482966View attachment 482967

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,

due to job obligations I was not able to check my sources before. Jeff sculpted the trousers without an indication if they are the trousers issued for cold weather or not. You want them to be issued for Operation "Wacht am Rhein" and it is highly probable that they should be therefore the winter version - although at that time shortages of all kind of supplies were evident for the German soldiers. According to the very good research of Werner Palincks published in the book about Waffen SS uniforms by AK the following camo-schemes are possible (pic A: winter - pic B: M 44 / M 37):


Cheers, Martin

 

[Briggsy]

Brilliant how you've tweaked and retweaked to get it all lined up perfectly.

Cheers Simon

 

[Dr Force]

Hi Dave,

due to job obligations I was not able to check my sources before. Jeff sculpted the trousers without an indication if they are the trousers issued for cold weather or not. You want them to be issued for Operation "Wacht am Rhein" and it is highly probable that they should be therefore the winter version - although at that time shortages of all kind of supplies were evident for the German soldiers. According to the very good research of Werner Palincks published in the book about Waffen SS uniforms by AK the following camo-schemes are possible (pic A: winter - pic B: M 44 / M 37):
View attachment 483965View attachment 483967

Cheers, Martin

Thank you so much Martin, this is very helpful. I can see any pockets on the trousers, I think I’ll ask Jeff what they are based on.

Great support, I really appreciate it.

Dave

 

[Steve Ski]

Looking great Dave, and I agree with Adrian, these figures look sharp. Those faces are awesome.

 

[Dr Force]

I have spoken with Jeff and it’s standard grey for the trousers. I must admit to being relieved about that as I prefer the top and bottom contrast and saves quite a bit of work.

 

[Dr Force]

Hi

Can I have your valued opinions on the type of base for this please…..ie round, square or oval…….im not sure what to settle on….at the moment Im thinking a nice round base….but I value thoughts from members.

Thanks
Dave

 

[Briggsy]

Not an expert as I stick most of mine on simple wooden blocks still with the bark on. Round though sounds good to.me but in this case I think I'd opt for oval as it will fit the shape of the combination nicely.

Cheers Simon

 

[Martin64]

Maybe you first figure out how much effort will go into the groundwork. Will it indicate the reason why the crew has their weapons at the ready and seems to be slightly on alert - maybe a warning sign or a discarded piece of equipment on the ground that indicates a combat situation or the chance to pull enemy fire? Then you will know, if a round or oval base is enough to display the model without too many empty spaces around it or if a square base provides the space needed to "tell the story".

 

[Dr Force]

Thanks both

Im really concentrating on the bike and figures as the focus, with a base to cover just the overall length at 280mm. It will be either frozen and slight snow surface or just muddy.

 

[Dr Force]

Rider has first shot of spot primer after sculpting in the gap at the inside of the trouser leg and over the joints. Brakes are plugged in temporarily to be painted separately and for ease with painting the gloves. I’m going to add a couple of 2mm plugs just to raise the handlebars up a touch and once rock solid I will look for the pin holes and obvious defects.