41/52 German recovery tanks

Deutsche Bergepanzer in 1/144

Mit dem Bergepanzer IV habe ich jetzt alle wichtigen Vertreter in 1/144. Daher habe ich mal alle Fahrzeuge kurz in einem Video vorgestellt. Was nicht enthalten sind, sind Sonderlösungen, welche Einheiten sich für Reparaturzwecke selbst zusammen geschweisst hatten und alles was Räder oder Hlabketten betrifft. 

Zum Schluss habe ich dann auch noch den T-34 berückichtigt, weil von dem viele Einheiten erbeutete Fahrzeuge als Bergepanzer oder Schlepper verwendet hatten. 

German recovery tanks in 1/144

With the Bergepanzer IV, I now have all the important representatives in 1/144. So I decided to briefly introduce all the vehicles in a video. What is not included are special solutions that units had welded together themselves for repair purposes and everything related to wheels or half-tracks. 

Finally, I also included the T-34, because many units had used captured vehicles as recovery tanks or tow trucks. 

1/144 Bergepanzer IV

1/144 Bergehetzer

1/144 Russian T-34 recovery tank

1/144 Bergepanzer Hetzer with spade

1/144 Bergepanther

02/52 Hetzer diorama in 1-144 in one minute

1/144  Hinterhalt Diorama mit Hetzer Panzer

Am Wochenende habe ich mal wieder dien Weg in meinen Keller gefunden und angefangen was Neues zu bauen. Herausgekommen ist ein kleines Diorama, welches in nur ein paar Stunden fertig war. Als Basis diente ein 5 x 5 cm grosse MDF Platte, die ich noch von einem anderen Projekt übrig hatte. Das Gelände entstand aus Foam, welchen ich etwas bearbeitet hatte. Alles braun grundiert und dann mit Gras, Sand und kleinen Steinen bestreut. Noch zwei kleine Büsche dazu und schon fertig. Den Hetzer habe ich so wie er ist, von Dragon, aus dem Regal genommen.

1/144 ambush diorama with Hetzer tank

At the weekend I found my way into my cellar again and started to build something new. The result is a small diorama which was finished in just a few hours. The base was a 5 x 5 cm MDF board that I had left over from another project. The terrain was made from foam, which I had worked on a little. Everything was primed brown and then sprinkled with grass, sand and small stones. I added two small bushes and I was done. I took the Hetzer as it is, from Dragon, off the shelf.

1/144 Ambush diorama

Mini-diorama, German Tank in autumn field 12/52

Instead of always doing dioramas with a summer theme, I decided to try the yellow grass, which I had bought many years ago. So taking one of my small painting canvas and in less than 1 day it was done. For the second version I thought I should do something with the tank chains. Putting them in the ground has the disadvantage, that they are then blocked with plaster or whatever you use for the ground. So I got the idea to do a form in 3D so that I could press as much thank chains as I want. Okay the prototype was a bit to big, so I had to cut of the corners. But the result was excellent.
Instead of  plaster I used a soft material, which is called "Das modelling clay" 

1/144 Sturmgeschütz in autum scene

1/144 Sturmgeschütz in autum scene

1/144 tank tracks

1/144 tank tracks, not colored for better visibility

the set with both widths and my playground

the tank track, here my modified prototype

my next 1/144 battlefield

1/144 winter battlefield

1/144 winter battlefield, different tanks

https://www.shapeways.com/product/BANVSB9JN/1-144-tank-track-set

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Deutsche Version

Ich wollte mal ein Diorama mit einem Herbst Thema gestalten, Sommer-Dioramas habe ich schon genügend. In meinem Keller hatte ich von Woodland noch entsprechendes gelbes  Gras. Also einen meiner kleinen Bilderrahmen genommen und in weniger als einem Tag war ich fertig.  Danach wollte ich abe rnoch Kettenspuren auf dem Modell darstellen. Bisher hatte ich da nicht ganz so gute Erfahrungen gemacht, weil meist danach die Ketten des benutzten Panzers hin waren. So kam wir die Idee, dies einfach mit einer Walze in 3D drucken zu lassen. Da der PRototyp etwas zu gross geraten war, musste ich die Ränder abschneiden. Danach noch schnell weisse Knetmasse verwendet und ich hatte ein super Ergebnis. 
In den nächsten Tagen werde ich auch noch das zweite Diorama fertig stellen.
Die beiden Walzen sind ab sofort bei Shapeways erhältlich.
Viel Spass beim Ausprobieren.

Hetzer ambush and Tiger tank down, two new 1/144 dioramas

As I still work on a lot new stuff, but got nothing finished, I present two small diorama which I finalised in the last weeks. With both I started a very long time ago, but never finished them. 

The first one is a Hetzer tank in an ambush somewhere in Europe. Base is a piece of gypsum decorated with nearly every piece of green I could find.

The second one, I created after the gun of one Tiger tank broke by an accident. So I remembered a famous picture of an Tiger tank in Normandy. 

more old dioramas

Here some more of my old dioramas:

Bergehetzer in 1/144

I try to get my Bergehetzer finished in the next days. At the moment I do a lot of progress.
Inside I added the seat for the driver and the open box for the small parts. On the side I have the crane and on the other side a piece of wood. On the end I have to add a piece to guide the wire for the winch and then it should be finished.
As a source I use pictures from built models in the scale 1/72 and bigger. If you check the internet for pictures of original Bergehetzers you will be very disappointed.
There are not that much. Mostly you will find the pictures from the prototype in the Prague factory. This was the version with the spade. How many of them found the way to the troops? I have no idea but even in all books I know, you see no picture of any Bergehetzer with a spade in real action. So this brings me to the point, if you decide to build a Bergehetzer, just do what you want, most of them were modified in field in several different ways.

top view of my new Bergehetzer 

the Bergehetzer together with other (unfinished) German recovery vehicles

 

side view of my unfinished recovery fleet

 

small diorama "Hetzer in Hinterhalt" / "Hetzer in ambush"

For this as for many other small dioramas I use small picture frames which I get for 1 USD.
I take the glass and paper out and fill it with a piece of foam board.  There i mark the dimensions on which I can place the scenario. With a air drying powder I created some small basics so that I can use them for different dioramas. Below is one with a wall.

The frame which I get for just 1 Dollar.

  You have only to consider that most air drying stuff is shrinking a lot. Therefore I had to extend everything later again. My mistake!

 

The finished mini diorama, a German Hetzer somewhere in the west waiting for "friends"

 

Hetzer on the hunt

I found some nice cases, perfectly to build a small diorama for one or two tanks.

So I put as a foundation, a small piece of foam inside and together with some small trees and a bit of grass and mud the diorama is done.

For the first impression take a look at the picture.

Winter wonderland in 1/144

Here a model which I build many years ago, just when I started collecting tanks in the scale 1/144.
From a modeling magazine I got a good idea about a bleaching material what I could use for snow.

As a basis I took a 12 mm cork coaster which you find in each Swedish furniture store. On the top I modeled the landscape in a combination of gypsum and paper. Later I painted everything in dark brown and scattered it with this bleacher powder.
The only thing I forgot where the tank tracks in the snow. Therefore I tried a modification which I later removed.