Gulaschkanone

The German field kitchen or Feldküche was developed by Karl Rudolf Fissler in 1892. The Hf.11/Hf.13 Große Feldküche used in WWI was essentially the same field kitchen used later in WWII.

The Hf.11 and Hf.13 had different arrangements for the two compartments to the right of the cooking pot. It is also claimed that the limber (or Vorderwagen) was made of wood for the former, and steel for the later.

Riich 1/35 Hf.11

Verlinden 1/15 Hf.13

In 1/72 scale, the only field kitchens that I know of are made by Sgts' Mess. They have a Hf.13 with wooden wheels which they call a WWI Field Kitchen (GV1), and one with pneumatic tires which they call a WWII Field Kitchen (GV1A).

Both of course can be used as WWII kitchens, with the pneumatic tire version being truck-drawn, and the wooden wheel version being horse-drawn. Unfortunately however, no limber exists for the horse-drawn kitchen.

I bought one of the WWI Field Kitchens because the horse-drawn version seemed to be more commonly used even in WWII. The model is made of white metal with pretty high lead content. It consists of 8 parts for the kitchen, and three accessory items.

After cleaning up some flash and mold lines, I drilled a hole through the undercarriage for the axle (I replaced the one from the kit with a section of paperclip). I also drilled out some material from the top of the stovepipe.

I assembled the model in about 10 minutes, with a majority of the time spent adjusting the length of the support rod so that the kitchen would sit level. Unfortunately, the model is really back heavy and tips over at the drop of a pin. I'm not sure if shortening the support rod can make the kitchen tilt to the front and be more stable, so maybe the only solution is to base the model to ensure it stays upright.

The cooking pot of the Sgts' Mess model is not raised up as much as it should be, and the proportions of the containers to the right of the pot are a bit off, but otherwise the kit is quite decent. Before I paint the model, I'll form a rim around the join at the base of the stovepipe with Kneadatite, and add a rack that is supposed to be on the rear of the model.

Tamiya 1/35 Hf.13

Additional details about the Hf.13 can be found at the Landships site (although many of the pictures used in the article seem to actually be of the Hf.14 Kleine Feldküche).

Le Crabe

The M29C was was nicknamed the "Crabe" by the French, and used extensively in the wetlands of the Tonkin and Mekong deltas with varying success during their conflict with the Viet Minh.

From what I understand, these vehicles were obtained from American surplus in Manilla, and given some modifications for use in Indo-China.

Crabes were given a machine gun mount which typically carried a .30 M1919A4, but could sometimes carry a .30 M1919A6, Bren Gun, FM24/29, or even an M20 recoilless rifle.

Vehicles carrying radios may have had the machine gun mounted to the driver's side. After 1953 they were supposed to carry two machine guns, but I don't think I've seen a picture of how the second weapon was mounted.

Some other common characteristics were that the wiper motor and windowpanes were removed from the windshield, and the surfguard was usually in a raised position. You'll see the surfguard dented in, I assume to accommodate people sitting on it.

Extratech makes an Indo-China version of the M29C, but it is essentially the same kit as the one produced by Hauler, except with some additional parts.

The resin is a light gray, and comes with additional parts for the machine gun, and an expanded photoetch fret including more parts for the mount.

Decals are for American vehicles used in WWII, and French vehicles used in Indo-China

While the kit is certainly nice, I think that the price tag makes it prohibitive to the average modeler or wargamer, so below are some comparisons of the Extratech kit with the more affordable model from Sgts Mess.

The level of detail is certainly better on the resin model, and I think that the shape of the bow is also more accurate, but those are minor details I could probably live with for a model that is a quarter of the price of the resin kit.

Dimensionally, the metal model is actually 3mm longer than the resin model, but about 0.5mm less in width. If you were to model the Sgts Mess kit with a raised surfguard, that difference would probably be less apparent.

M5A1 Stuart

For whatever reason, the M5 Light Tank has not proved a popular subject for 1/72 scale kit manufacturers despite the not insignificant number that were produced during WWII.

Below are the four different models of this tank that I am aware of  in 1/72 scale. From left to right, the manufacturers are RAFM, Plastic Soldier Company, Hobby Master, and Altaya.

The RAFM M5 is from their Baker Company line of 20mm WWII products.  The 20mm designation always confuses me because some manufacturers use the term interchangeably with 1/72. Anyway, I had originally bought the tank for use as parts, but as it turned out, most of the dimensions are very similar to those of my other M5A1s. The main difference is that the hull and turret are more squat than that of the others.

All four are fairly comparable in size, though I have heard that the actual dimensions that were referenced for making the models may have been flawed.

From left to right, the tanks are RAFM, PSC (no skirt), PSC  (skirt + hedgerow cutter), Hobby Master, and Altaya.

The Altaya tank has the longest hull, though this is not readily apparent because the length of the fenders is near identical on all of the skirted M5A1s. Another outlier is the PSC M5A1, which is not as wide as the other tanks.

Altaya and PSC

The Altaya tank is decent, but it is let down by poor tracks, and a barrel that is too short. The problem with the tracks is that they are really soft, and buckle in around the sprocket wheels.

To get around this problem, I carved some bits of plastic to fit around the sprocket wheels and give the track some support from underneath.

The PSC model was built pretty much as is, but the hull and turret mounted machine guns were pretty sad, so  I replaced the barrel of the turret mounted gun with a brass Mini World barrel, and the hull gun with a white metal Sgt's Mess barrel. I also carved down the handle of the Browning to something that was a more reasonable size.

The Hobby Master M5A1 represents one of the Bear of Kinmen (金門之熊) tanks involved in the Battle of Guningtou, in which Republic of China forces crushed a PLA attempt to capture Jinmen Island. This version of the tank has pressed steel road wheels which is typical of the later M5A1s, but for some reason it retains the side skirts. This is definitely not accurate for ROC M5A1s.

Hobby Master and PSC

I believe that Mirage had plans to release injection kits of this subject, but who knows how long it will actually take for them to materialize. In the mean time, the PSC M5A1s are a decent alternative for wargaming, but maybe not so much if you are a scale modeler.

Studebaker M29C Weasel

The M29C is the amphibious version of the M29, a tracked cargo carrier for transport across snow. The addition of float tanks that were bolted onto the front and rear of the vehicle gave it enough buoyancy to travel through calm waters while propelled by its tracks.

I have wanted a 1/72 version of the M29C for a long time because one of the first models I built happened to be the 1/35 scale Monogram Amphibious Weasel. Unfortunately, most of the 1/72 versions of the M29C are very expensive – the Hauler kit runs about $40, while the Extratech kit runs about $65.

The only other 1/72 M29C I could find was from Sergeant’s Mess. Their amphibious Weasel (AV13) is priced at £7, which is a bargain compared to the resin models. My only reservation was that they bill their miniatures as "1/72 20mm" which always sends up warning flags for me, because 1/72 ≠ 20mm.

Anyway, I decided to take a chance and order some of their miniatures to see how they scaled out, and included the Weasel in my order. Here's what I got:

The kit comes with 15 parts, some of which are not described by the instruction sheet (headlamp, front and rear tow hooks, windshield, rear panel, and canvas top). The hull is a solid chunk metal, and has quite a bit of heft.

The interior detail is not bad, but the driver's compartment did not have any leg room, so I drilled out some space to give the illusion of there being some space for the driver's legs.

I inscribed some lines to delineate the surf shield on the front, and then assembled most of the model in about 30 minutes.

I couldn't find the length of the Weasel with float tanks installed, but the width of the vehicle is only about 0.5mm off of the expected dimension in 1/72, so I think that the length is probably not far off either. Although I guess it's not saying much, since the difference in width between 1/72 and 1/76 is only a little over 1mm. However, it certainly looks about right compared to pictures of the real thing.

One difference that is very noticeable, is that the model does not have the side skirts that partially cover the wheel well.

The instructions show the rudders installed in the down position, but I placed them in an upright position for travelling on land.

I'll be adding some additional details to the model before painting, but for gaming, it can really be used without any additional modification.

I wonder if anyone makes a 1/72 SCR-508 or SCR-528 radio in resin, or if I have to scratch build one myself?