Ooh this is going from strength to strength
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On With the Figures
Starting with the Germans...
First we have the driver of the Schwimmwagen.
The putty creases make him look a bit of a mess, but, like all of my figures, here he awaits a coating of Mr Surfacer to unite the finish before I hit him with paint.
He’s a kitbash of Tamiya torso, arms and legs (they look rather small but they won’t when he’s in the vehicle - and most importantly he fits), Alpine head and one Hornet hand (I used any old hand for inside the glove!)
He is based partly on the driver of this Schwimm, glimpsed in a still from the well-known propoganda film showing elements of Kampfgruppe Knittel passing the Kaiserbaracke crossroads early in the offensive. The officer for whom he was acting as chauffeur is, I believe, SS-Standartenführer Goltz (not SS-Obersturmführer Leidreiter as some sources claim).
Note the sidecap and the thick gloves… he also looks very young! The foliage on the vehicle is also interesting.
He makes an change from the usual suspect - another driver from the same convoy. WIth his Luftwaffe flying helmet and cigar this guy certainly looks cool, but he has also become a bit of a cliche (there are at least two figures available in 1/35).
The remaining figures come from a variety of sources…
Next we have the MG42 gunner. He is a light modification of a figure from the Dragon Ambush at Poteau set. The MG is from E.T. Model (the strap still needs to be clipped in place), the head from Hornet.
Next we have two figures based on this excellent Dragon set Armored Reconnaissance, Wiking Division (Hungary 1945):
First up is this guy
He is partly based on these two characters from the Kampfgruppe Knittel Kaiserbaracke footage:
They have been named in some sources as Oberscharfuhrer Persin (left) and Unterscharfuhrer Ochsner (right). What I find particularly interesting about the appearance of these SS units in the Ardennes offensive is how ‘relaxed’ they look - and especially the un-gaitered trousers. It’s also worth noting how NCOs (like these two) often wore visor caps (making them look more like officers) while the actual officers (like Goltz in the Schwimm above and Leidreiter and Knittel below) were wearing field caps. One suspects that the officers were trying to dress down to make themselves less of a target…
Anyway, whether this is an NCO or an officer, in an obvious nod to my title I posed him looking up anxiously after consulting his watch… and ironically I went for the visor cap because I thought that this would make it more obvious he’s the guy in charge!
The figure is a beautiful sculpt out of the box, but I had to change his right arm and hand then add a watch (from Aber). The head is from Alpine and putty was used to lenghten the trousers and fill out parts of his uniform.
The next figure is hardly modified at all… There’s an Alpine head (with added balaclava) and some extra equipment. but that’s pretty much it. The MG44 pouches were scored at the rear and bent to hug his waist slightly better. The left hand is not attached and the strap still needs to be angled correctly…
As you will see, I changed his pose again before I started the painting.
Last of all we have this beautiful Alpine figure…
I added a balaclava to give him a more obvious Winter look (and a slightly rounder face - Alpine faces tend to be a little lean). The only other addition was the MP40 strap and extended stock from a Royal Models PE set (the one that came in the set looks OK, but there are limits to what can be achieved with resin or plastic).
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Lovely work on the figures, looking forward to your paintwork, cheersComment
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Tim, excellent work.Comment
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wonderful stuff Tim!Comment
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