SdKfz. 251/7 Ausf. C two times at the crossroads

[Gary Boxall]

you just keep adding more and more stuff to the build

But when is he going to actually add the parts to each other

Gary

[Raoul Kunz]

I already put then in a box together!

Seriously though, I'm almost done with the BT, I'd say next week will see the start of this project .



Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz

[Philipp Gross]

Everyone has unfinished blogs. Unstarted blogs are the next big thing

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

Everyone has unfinished blogs. Unstarted blogs are the next big thing

Philipp

Guilty here

Vincent

[Raoul Kunz]

All right, 'ere we go!
(meaning that this should be regarded as upgrading from the "unstarted blogs" category into the [as of yet]"unfinished blogs" one )

Starting with...*drum-roll* ...the Dragon Sd.Kfz. 251/7 (modified command version, normally the 251/7 didn't come with a Pak36 but the Pak was added to many company command vehicles instead of the MG34 or 42) Ausführung C.


Let's start with the good things:

This is a Dragon 251, meaning it has
a) a ton of options (3 theoretically, actually 4: 251/1, 251/7, 251/10, [~251/5-ish version of the 251/7])
b) a figure set (Sturmpioniere)
c) a DS driver figure
d) a nice set of DS pioneer equipment
e) discarded DS greatcoat and boots
d) a horrible set of instructions....






It also has a ton of items, parts and whatnot that will be leftovers for the big box of stuff.


Having already more or less finished it in one fell swoop of several hours build I have to say that it went together...okay-ish .

I started by dividing the build into smaller sections and ended up with this =>


And after only ~45 minutes of cursing, dremeling, cutting, glueing with several kinds of glue, screaming, wishing damnation upon the designer, calling on the Old Gods and the New, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, Cthulhu and sacrificing what felt like litres of blood to whatever god took me through this sub-assembly of the build I ended up with this =>


But this was nothing compared to the Pak36..... it has 30 parts...okay... small ones... fine by me...small ones that EITHER DON'T FIT AT ALL OR DON'T FIT THE WAY THE INSTRUCTIONS UNHELPFULLY MOSTLY DON'T SHOW . . . . . . .*calming down* . . . . . . okay I'll try to illustrate this: if you have read "Focault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco you know that it is essentially about the invention of a history of the world working from a mysterious text that may very well have been a discarded medieval shopping list. It's like trying to use this text to build the model.... The instructions visible on the photograph only suggest the level of annoyance this sub-assembly caused... I don't want to bash Dragon but I'm really happy that my other 251/7 Ausf. C is a AFV Club offering...

At least it came with a turned barrel that I could use to hold the misconceived contraption at some point that could not disintegrate at the next breath....


Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz

[Steve Hutchinson]

Hi Raoul

So sorry I haven't posted on this yet

So glad you are building the Dragon 251, a trail blazer for us all

DS everything??, perhaps they used the wrong mix when they poured the moulds

Great speed build too Raoul

Great start

Steve H

[Rob Matthews]

Well - I should say that despite all the grief and anguish the end result was worth it
Great looking gun and nice build. Mating the hull and superstructure does need some whittling

And I also have Foucault's pendulum , your description has made me want to read it. It's sat there for years - sounds intriguing

Drama, Literature, Art - What more can this blog offer

Keep it coming

Rob

[Raoul Kunz]

So sorry I haven't posted on this yet

There was really nothing to post here before, no build until yesterday night when I was doped up on Vanilla Coke and could not sleep ....

Mating the hull and superstructure does need some whittling

Almost certainly but right now it's dry fitted otherwise I wouldn't get to the interior with the AB .

Oh and read Focault's Pendulum by all means if a plot based on academic tomfoolery that gets out of hand sounds intriguing to you. Contrary to what some some reviews claim it flows quite beautifully in spite of having a ton of (real life) information about esoteric ideas and occult conceptions and how and why these have believers in spite of delivering no actual facts whatsoever.
It also features the occult mysteries of a kiosk and the best way to set up a vanity press ever imagined...that was copied in real life .


Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz

[Raoul Kunz]

Yellow!...yay!

I sprayed the interior with some fairly dark Dunkelgelb to suggest it being in the shadow. I didn't shade it because there will be one or two figures blocking lines of sight anyway.
The "stuff" lying on the ground and seats is currently subject to change.. I imagine a "high paranoia level" of equipment (ready accessible hand-grenades within immediate reach for someone who man's the MG-34 in the back, a PPSH, tons of ammo for the MG and a P38 just in case ) because it's unclear where the front-line is running at the moment. Initially I had a P08 lying around on top of the ammo, but since it hasn't been in production for quite some time it's more of a anomaly (remember the sub-plot in Band of Brothers about getting one?) and the P38 proved to be a lot more rugged anyway.


I also went through my collection of 35th scale weapons and thought I'd post a little comparison of the the 4 MG-34 and stick hand-grenades...spoiler: Dragon modern wins both rounds in re-compensation for me blasting their 251/7 C .

MGs, from top to bottom:
Master Box
Dragon modern
Dragon old
Tamiya

Hand-grenades left to right:
Tamiya
Dragon modern
Miniart Red Army stick grenade (really a bit off topic but there will be quite a couple of soviet weapons and equipment present in this diorama)
Master Box




Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz

[Raoul Kunz]

Progress!

I added a figure, he is the result of a necessary kitbash of the Zvezda MG operator and arms of the Dragon figure of the same pose... and they both are horribly annoying: the Dragon one has soft detail and leans way to far down to actually fit the 251... the Zvezda one has a way sharper detail (it's on of the good newer Zvezda sets) but it's impossible to fit the MG in his hands, not just the Dragon or Master Box or Tamiya MG-34, but also Zvezda's own MG-42 doesn't fit his hands, not in this life .
Anyway, he has a Hornet head that really looks like Luke Skywalker , let's call him Obergefreiter Lukas Himmelsstürmer .
His face will be a bit toned down eventually because it turned out a bit overdone .


I also added the Sturmstege (way higher quality than the rest of the kit) and I'm still experimenting with how much stuff should be in the interior and how it should be arranged .



Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz