[MoMo]

At last! The Polish Sherman has turned up here. I got one at The Treasure Bunker. It is the trusty M4A4 and is in the livery of the 1st Motorised Artillery Regiment, Polish 1st Armoured Div., Falaise Gap, 1944. Model No. 60278.

Named " Rokitna ", it has the chassis no : T232412. The decals are minimal and the paint job is pretty basic. Weathering is invisible ( if there at all! ).

Still, a pleasing version of the vehicle in accuracy, if not in character.



Round the corner at Jaimison's Model Shop I finally managed to find one of these :

Although it is not a Dragon model, I thought that those of you who collect Easy Models ( assembled Trumpeter Models ) would like to know that it has appeared in the shops here. Easy Models do not put a slug of metal in their assembled models so the article feels light. Also, they only provide a window display box ( much like the new FOV display boxes ) so it all appears a bit basic to me.

Despite these shortcomings, I felt pleased at finding and buying the model of this very rare vehicle. In combat it seems to have been an effective tank killer, by all accounts, even if it was a bit of a hybrid which was too top heavy. I believe that only a few of them were ever used in combat ( maybe six? )

I like the detail within the fighting compartment. The ready ammunition is well defined and the crew's equipment is all hanging at the rear door: ammo pouches for machine pistol; stick grenades; water bottles. There is also a blob which is meant to be a machine pistol. This is the only real criticism which I can level at this model.

The price is £9.99 in the U.K..

For those of you who collect German armour, this is a must for your 'wants' list. It sits well with the Hornisse and Hummel and Nashorn.

MoMo

[salazar]

Only two were ever built.

I Purchased It and its a very nice model, better detailed than Admiral toys, and it does not owe anything to Dragons models. Anyway easy model has several other kits ready to roll and I hope the will build the famos including the one with a crane...

[A3driver]

Easy Model's "Selbstfahrlafette" is definitely not a bad model - what I do not like are the tracks, which just look like cheap plastic (no wonder, in fact they *are* cheap plastic).

If you want to know more about the real thing, just google for its nickname "Sturer Emil" - some informations in English language can be found under http://www.achtungpanzer.com/heu.htm#128

[djjeffhall]

A3Driver,
Thanks for the link. I picked up one of these a few weeks ago and wondering about her history.

[MoMo]

It seems like ages since I had a good rummage in the city centre for new Dragons.

I think I'll make a quick forray tomorrow to see what has turned up. I'm looking for new versions of the 251 and new Hummels. Let's see what the ship has brought to our shores!

back soon,

MoMo

[MoMo]

At last I found something new in the shops here. I picked up this little number :



It looks very good indeed.

There wasn't much else of note in the shops but, as usual, the word was that they are expecting shipments to arrive at any time. I'm waiting on the 251 C version with rivets+mortar. Also the 251 Pioneer wagon in any camo scheme except Panzer Grey, which I already have.

I also picked up an HMMWV M998 ( no. 60078 ) at a bargain price of £4.00 ( $8.00 ). I don't collect much in the way of modern armour or vehicles, but I liked the look of this one :























Well, that's all for now. Happy hunting!

MoMo

[Gort]

Momo,

Are the splotches of “tan” on that Hummel actually tan, yellow – or a shade in between?

I ask because the “tan” on the #60190 Hummel looks more like streaks of pee. Or butter on popcorn. And I was anything but impressed.

[MoMo]

Re: Today's Dragons in the U.K.

---

Momo,

Are the splotches of “tan” on that Hummel actually tan, yellow – or a shade in between?

I ask because the “tan” on the #60190 Hummel looks more like streaks of pee. Or butter on popcorn. And I was anything but impressed.

Hi Gort.

The camo is quite impressive when you see it in the flesh. The intention is to have a Hummel which has been painted in the normal sand-yellow/green scheme and then to paint over it in whitewash to create a winter camo scheme. The character of the vehicle comes out when you speculate about why the guys who had to do the camo job left little spots of the old camo poking through. One obvious intention was to leave the black crosses intact, and perhaps the other intention was to create a 'dazzle' camo-job on the cheap! Who knows?

The result, I can assure you, is quite acceptable and makes for an unusual vehicle.....rather sexier than the average Hummel.

I like it!

Gort, birana nikto!

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Gort

Momo,

Are the splotches of “tan” on that Hummel actually tan, yellow – or a shade in between?

I ask because the “tan” on the #60190 Hummel looks more like streaks of pee. Or butter on popcorn. And I was anything but impressed.

The camo. on the Hummel posted by MoMo in post #46 is excellent. It's tan and green that has been covered with whitewash and in my opinion is the best of all the Hummels thus far. I saw it and immediately bought it, no hesitation whatsoever. I also have the other white Hummel with the 'yellow stain' streaking effect and it's not that bad once you get used to it . These should be displayed alongside the white Jagdpanzer (with tan camo. streaks) .

[MoMo]

I was in town today. No new Dragons on this side of the pond!

I hope that Dragon and the price of production of the kits and the cost of assembling them allows \Dragon to keep up with their coverage of the 251 family. I've posted what I think is the definitive list :


SdKfz 251 - m.Schutzenpanzerwagen (medium armoured personnel carrier)
Variants :

• Sdkfz 251/1 - m. SPW (sometimes with side-mounted rocket launchers)
• SdKfz 251/2 - 8cm Gr.W-wagen (mortar carrier)
• SdKfz 251/3 - wireless vehicle
• SdKfz 251/4 - ammunition carrier for le.I.G. (light infantry gun)
• SdKfz 251/5 - engineer (troops) vehicle
• SdKfz 251/6 - command vehicle
• SdKfz 251/7 - engineer (equipment) vehicle
• SdKfz 251/8 - armoured ambulance
• SdKfz 251/9 - 7.5cm Stu.K 37 L/24 (Sf.)
• SdKfz 251/10 - 3.7cm Pak (Sf.)
• SdKfz 251/11 - telephone vehicle
• SdKfz 251/12 - survey section instrument vehicle
• SdKfz 251/13 - sound recording vehicle
• SdKfz 251/14 - sound ranging vehicle
• SdKfz 251/15 - flash spotting vehicle
• SdKfz 251/16 - flame throwing vehicle
• SdKfz 251/17 - 2cm Flak (Sf.)
• SdKfz 251/18 - observation post vehicle
• SdKfz 251/19 - telephone exchange vehicle
• SdKfz 251/20 - infra-red searchlight vehicle
• SdKfz 251/21 - 1.5cm or 2cm Flak MG-drilling (Sf.)
• SdKfz 251/22 - 7.5cm Pak 40 (Sf.)

A piece of news I came up with is that Revell are about to release a kit of the 21 CM Morser 18 ' Brumbar '. This kit has already been released by ACE models....I wonder if it's the same kit?

It got me speculating about the possibilities of Dragon or Easy Models releasing a kit of the famous German Heavy in built form. That would be something worth waiting on!

We could do with some of the more distiguished artillery pieces!

Here are some pics of the beast :

The Ace Model Box Art :



A fully built 1.72 model which I got from someone's site :

The rather decrepit/knackered remains of the 21 CM Morser 18 at Aberdeen Proving Grounds :

Happy Hunting,

MoMo