Gasmask Couture

The chemical suit and gas mask are an indispensable part of the post-apocalyptic wardrobe, designed to provide protection against contamination by radioactive, biological or chemical substances which would otherwise cause sickness, death, or turning into a zombie.

There are not a large number of gas mask wearing figures in 1/72, but I've assembled a small group of compatible figures for this blog entry.

First up are the Elhiem Soviet NBC troops. The first figure carrying the RPG is wearing the OZK chemical suit, but the others are dressed in what appears to be the L1 chemical protection suit. I painted some of the troops in mint green as shown on the Elhiem website, but after doing a little research, I could only find images of the OZK suit in that color. All the images of L1 suits showed that they are gray. Though there was mention of green L1 suits, what type of green was unclear since I could find no definitive pictures. The figures are very nice, but being 20mm miniatures they are a bit on the short side. However, it's not something that will really be noticed on the tabletop.


Next is a general comparison of gas masked figures. The first figure is Rose from Hasslefree Miniatures (HFA039J). She is intended as a 28mm grade school kid, but passes easily for a 1/72 middle school kid. She wears a school blazer and skirt with her gas mask, though it's unclear why she has the gas mask in the first place. The next pair are two figures from the NATO Pilots and Ground Crew set (ESCI 243), followed by two figures from the NATO Ground Crew set (Airfix 01758). One of the Elhiem figures is next, and last is a 1/76 figure from the much maligned (and rightfully so) German Infantry with Gasmasks set (Fujimi 76028). The plastic figure sets have all been reviewed at PSR.


Some interesting pictures of people in gas masks during the cold war and in general, can be found at Dark Roasted Blend.

Late September Progress (Armor)

Here's where I'm at with several kits that I've started this year:

The Bulgarian Hetzer that I started back in May is almost done. I bought some 1/300 Soviet aircraft decals for the stars on the Hetzer, but they turned out to be too small. What I had to do was use some Archer U.S. stars, and then Soviet armor decals from a PST kit on top to get the red star with white outline for this model. I still need to spray with a flat coat, and weather, but this kit is 90% done.


I have posed the UM Hetzer alongside the Pegasus E-25 and the Fujimi Hetzer. The E-25 is huge compared to its smaller cousins.


For the FSV I started last month, I used Archer Fine Transfers to make the name (Bewitched), and I'll add some Milicast crewmembers. I'm still trying to find some black triangle decals or transfers though.
Next to the FSV is the Heller Somua S-35, which is in the process of being painted, and last in line is the Emhar A7V. I started the A7V about four years ago, and am finally 90% done with it. I only need to spray with a flat coat, and weather. I'm looking forward to do at least two more A7Vs, but will definitely work much faster on them this time.


Another view of the FSV, S-35, and A7V.

Flammpanzer 38(t)

While waiting for some figures to come in for my FSV build, I decided to convert a Fujimi Jagdpanzer 38(t) into a Flammpanzer 38. I'm not quite sure what they were thinking when they designed the UM Flammpanzer 38, but there are a couple of easily corrected problems with it. From what I have seen, Flammpanzer 38s were late model vehicles, while the instructions for the UM kit would have you build it as an early model. The instructions also say not to include the machinegun in front of the loader's hatch, but from what I have read, it should be there. Finally, the gun mounting needs to be modified. But enough of the UM kit, what I built was the Fujimi kit with some UM parts. The Fujimi kit was built pretty much as directed in the instructions.


I added a bit of sprue to allow the UM barrel to be attached, and used a piece of plastic card with a hole drilled in it to wall off the area behind the mantlet. I also used some plastic strip to make the rail over the periscope. It should be curved, rather than angled like the one from the Fujimi kit.


I fixed up the barrel by drilling out the center, and then gluing a bit of plastic rod (also with the center drilled out) inside of it. Some scrap plastic was used as the small protrusion at the end of the barrel. The barrel was kind of flopping around, so I had to add a wad of UHU Tac around the ball joint to firm it up. As mentioned before, the hull of the UM model is longer and wider than the Fujimi jagdpanzer by 2 mm in each dimension.

Bulgarian Jagdpanzer 38(t)

This is my first entry for May, and the month is already almost over. It hasn't been a very productive month as far as hobbies go, but work has been pretty busy. Anyway, I finally decided to start on my UM Flammpanzer 38(t) kit (UM 355), only I will build it as a Late Hetzer. The sprues for both the Flammpanzer 38(t) and the Hetzer (Late Version) are identical, with the only difference being the photoetch parts. I decided to do the build as a Late Hetzer because I wanted to model a Bulgarian Hetzer (pictured below), and the UM kit has link and length tracks and individual side armor plates which is perfect for what I want to do. Actually, I'm not sure why UM decided to make their Flammpanzer an Early Hetzer. The photos of Flammpanzers that I've seen are always of a Late Hetzer.



After assembling the upper and lower hull, I compared the UM Hetzer with my built up Fujimi Hetzer. I'd have to say that by eye, they are very similar in size, though the barrel of the Fujimi Hetzer is much thicker.


The UM Hetzer is much wider, but with the way the armored skirts of the Fujimi Hetzer stick out, the difference in width is not so apparent to the casual observer.


Now that I am looking at the photo of the Bulgarian Hetzer again, I also realize that I used the wrong type of rear idler and headlight. The color profile that I was working from got these wrong. The UM kit actually provides an idler like the one in the photo, but I'm not going to bother correcting it. Oh, well.

First completed models of the year

My building progress has been abysmal the last few years, and I've finally been able to finish assembly of some kits that have more than a dozen pieces.

The Jagdpanzer 38(t) is the 1/76 Fujimi kit, while the LT38 is the 1/72 Attack kit.

The Fujimi kit was a breeze to put together, though I had some problems with the tracks causing the rear return rollers to bend outward. I somehow lost the MG34 for the kit, so used one from a Kubelwagen in its place. The only scratchbuilding I did was to add a saddle drum to the MG34, and a periscope. I tend to build kits mostly OOB since I'd like to finish all of my kits sometime during my lifetime. Unfortunately my rate of accumulation is faster than my rate of completion.

The Attack kit was something I started several years ago, but never got around to finishing because I wanted to give it Slovak markings. I finally found some decals from Aleran for vehicles of Axis Minors, which included the Slovakian cross, and got motivated enough to finish the kit. The turret numbers are Archer Fine Transfers. I did add a few details to this particular kit, since it seemed to be missing a few pieces that appear on the real tank.

While the two kits are supposed to be in different scales, they are actually pretty much the same size when built up. The Jagdpanzer 38(t) is somewhat wider than the LT38, which is how it is in reality. I recently purchased a UM Flammpanzer 38(t) kit, and will have to do a comparison to see how it matches up with the Fujimi kit.

The UM kit is supposed to be the most accurate in terms of dimensions (see Missing Lynx discussion on UM v. ESCI), but I have often heard that the Fujimi kit is very close to 1/72. I'm not a terrible stickler when it comes to scale, but I prefer to keep my models as close to 1/72 as possible for consistency.