Completed Critique Grossdeutschland Div NCO.

[Alex Lopez]

Ahhh!! Good work my friend.
It's a nice bust.

congrats,


Alex.

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Thanks Chris, you are of course right, we learn every day eh! So from what I am understanding this was a bravery medal ? confusing thing is that it is bang on for the original party member clasp but in different colour format. I'm sure if as a German soldier you were caught in battle wearing a NP badge it would be tickets. I will look into these awards more closely - thanks for the heads up.

Just a couple of things to add:
Rob: It was a bravery award, but could also be awarded for leadership like the Knight's Cross. Came in 2 grades, gold & silver (this refers to the colour of the wreath surrounding the swastika). Gold was for leadership or bravery in action, silver was for leadership in other fields connected with the military, e.g. civil defence or project management. It came in metal pinback or wire-embroidered fabric versions to be stitched directly onto the tunic. An original is about 1.5ins in diameter, making it larger than the golden party badge or NP member's badge you're thinking of. It's quite heavy too, & the presentation box is huge - the boxes can fetch more on the collector's market than the medal, because they're rarer, & citations for the medal can be almost as ornate as a Knight's Cross one.
Ken: Agreed re: Pedro's pic of Scwappacher, it would make a superb sculpt for several reasons. The mosquito net would make the headgear interesting (& difficult to sculpt, I fear), the field-grey AFV crew uniform always looked good, & a couple of small details stand out: the whistle lanyard below the breast eagle, the cloth version of the German Cross as mentioned above, & the fact that on his other lapel he's got an even rarer award - the Army Honour Roll Clasp, the Iron Cross ribbon with gilded swastika. Not many of these were awarded, & many were posthumous. Recipients of this were mentioned in the Honour Roll of the German Army, so their notoriety was assured. Again, originals are expensive & much-faked, & it's not often you see a photo like this of a recipient wearing the award in the field. Bravo, Pedro!

 

[tonydawe]

Superb sculpting Ken. You're making excellent progress.

 

[mil-mart]

Rick, always look for your comments, Cheers

Alex, my friend many thanks.

Chris, ref. Pedro's Scwappacher, stay posted.

Tony, cheers matey, appreciated.

Cheers Ken

 

[pmfs]

Hi Ken,
is a tough job to know the name, but when I back from vacations, I will contact someone in the Bundsarchive I dont give up.

 

[mil-mart]

Pedro, many thanks for your persistance and I hope you enjoy your vacation.
Cheers Ken

 

[mil-mart]

completed

He's finally completed and I wish to thank again all fellow members who helped with the research. All comments are welcome and many thanks for looking.
Cheers Ken

 

[amcairns]

Ken,
He,s looking good.Maybe the ears are a little on the big side as it ages him a bit.I find when working ears that when you make the curves inside it tends to stretch the edge making the ear bigger.
He,s coming on nicely.
Andy

 

[1969]

Ken you have completed this one to a real nice standard mate, great likeness and clean sculpting, look forward to seeing a painted version of this one as it will really bring out the features on him.

Lovely job mate,

Steve

 

[gothicgeek]

Excellent piece Ken!

Mark

 

[mil-mart]

Andy, Steve and Mark. Cheers guys appreciate the comments

Ken

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Ken,
He really looks the business & I feel quite proud of having had a small part in the creation of the bust - great piece of work!
When will this masterpiece be available to buy?
Cheers, & Congratulations,
Chris
P.S. Loving your latest avatar too!!!!!!

 

[mil-mart]

Chris, many thanks again for all your help on this one, appreciated matey. In regards to a release date I't's normally abour 3-4 weeks, so stay tuned.
PM sent.
Cheers Ken

 

[Barke02]

Hiya Ken,

I found this guy in 'God Honor Fatherland' (American book, you have to spell honour as honor! I mean, next they'll be taking the 'u' out of 'colour'!)

There is another photo of him (similar, but smiling more) on page 142, in the section on the 'Feldkampfschule', the GD training school. The caption reads..'One of the veteran instructors who helped the young recruits become useful replacements. This Oberfeldwebel is a holder of the German Cross in Gold as well as both classes of the Iron Cross. The NCO wears a custom made M43 field cap.'

Cheers,
Jon.

 

[pmfs]

I Ken,

awesome work mate, it looks the guy from the photo

 

[mil-mart]

Jon, would like to see the other pic, is the book availiable over here to browse through ( as you would at WHS or another book shop ) or would I have to buy one. cheers Matey and thanks for the info.

Pedro, many thanks again, just replied to your PM.

Cheers Ken

 

[Barke02]

Ken, I'll scan the photo and post it up (I'll have to do it at work, my scanner's a Monty Python parrot).

Cheers,
Jon.

 

[mil-mart]

Jon, Nah mate, you're printers only resting, either that or it's pineing.
Look forward to pic.

Cheers Ken

 

[unknown01]

Hi! Ken.
Amazing sculpting.
A wonderful work!
I felt like painting this figure.
I congratulate completion.

Mitsutaka

 

[Barke02]

Here you go Ken,

Here's the image from 'God, Honor, Fatherland' next to the Bundesarchiv image. Not much of a change in pose! As Pedro pointed out the paint on the swastika is worn and chipped, so it's unlikely to be an award ceremony photo.

Cheers,
Jon.