Ricks' Ramblings

[Rick Lowe]

Fair comment. 

[Rick Lowe]

1/35 Czech OT-810 Half Track ** Real World **

After WW2 the Czechoslovakian Army needed to rearm and made use of the State manufacturing industry that had been producing equipment for the Germans during the war. They also scoured the country for equipment left behind, in various states of repair.
The Sdkfz 251 was accepted as the standard troop carrier, initially as refurbished units in the standard version and later new builds in an improved form,
as the OT-810.

It wasn't too popular, with the troops calling it 'Hitler's Revenge'; but the military was in no position to be too choosy as the supply of other vehicles from The Soviet Union was delayed, probably due to the oft-cited 'Technical Reasons'.

It soldiered on until 1964 as a troop transport, and until the late 1980s as a carrier for the 82mm Recoilless Rifle.
After they were taken out of service they were placed in long-term storage.
Later, under Disarmament treaties most were scrapped, with small numbers sold to the re-enactment crowd who modified them back into Hannomag Ds, in the main – so full circle.

I considered whether to convert the Tamiya C or D, and decided that as I would have to rebuild the rear end anyway, and I had a couple of Cs to spare but no Ds, that was what I would use.
In the end I may have been better to start with a D, but oh well. Off we go!

Materials were mainly 1mm card, with other bits and pieces sourced from where I could find them as the build progressed.

I started by sawing off the rear end, then fitted a roof for the rear compartment along with hatches, hinges and torsion bar balances for them.
I rebuilt the rear end and added the side plates over where the side stowage boxes would have been.
The bonnet was modified with extended engine hatches and new grilles.
The front plate was replaced at a sharper angle and new engine compartment sides as well, with new cooling cowls added from 2mm card filed to shape.
The driver's plate visors were cut from sheet, hinges added and gaps filled.
The sprockets had their central drive teeth removed and the new outer rings, which were carefully cut from Hetzer units, were attached.
The kit wheels and tracks from a Panzer 4 were assembled; then I realized the new sprockets meant the run was flatter than it was supposed to be.
Out came the saw and the part from behind the sprocket to in front of the idler was carefully cut away, holding my breath and hoping I didn't damage the already-assembled drive train. A packing of 2mm card was inserted and the wheels refixed into place.
The front wheels also had to be dropped by the same amount, but the details would be hidden behind the wheels and by the various front and side armour panels, so I wasn't too worried about that. Some details were added though, at the front where they would show.

The front mudguards were removed and replacements made, along with scratch silencers and new headlights, IIRC from the Airfix Rommel's 250, with scratch indicators.
Rear mud flaps with mounting strips pricked from the back to depict the rivets holding them on. 
The commanders' roof hatch I am particularly happy with; it was cobbled up from a T-55 hatch, a piece of wire, and various details carved and filed from scrap. It looks complicated, but a few days' study of photos and lots of sketches and notes broke it down into separate shapes and bits, none which were particularly taxing or difficult – there were just a lot of them.

Jerricans at the rear are from the Italeri set, in scratch mountings.
Panzer 4 spare track links.
Pioneer tools from the spares box.
Various other fittings, where I could see from photos and as many as I could stand to do before I called it 'good enough'.

The model was given a spraybomb coat of grey as an undercoat, but when I realized this was pretty much exactly the shade I was after it became the final top coat.
Detail painting happened and then dirtying down with artist's acrylic colours.
I haven't added any markings, as I think they were pretty plain; though I can stand to be corrected, and I'll probably add some Soviet, sorry, Czech-style tac numbers later.

Kits used were the old Tamiya Sdkfz 251C and various bits from the Airfix Rommel's Sdkfz 250 'Grief', sprocket bits from a Hetzer/38t kit and generic Panzer 4 track.
References were mostly photos and a set of plans from the net.
In the end, I don't think there was a single plate that wasn't outright replaced, or at least modified in some fashion; even the underside had to be tweaked.
Ah well, it's all part of the fun, isn't it?
 
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[Rick Lowe]

And a couple more
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[Old Wombat]

Nice!

The Sdkfz 251 was accepted as the standard troop carrier, initially as refurbished units in the standard version and later new builds in an improved form,
as the OT-810.

It wasn't too popular, with the troops calling it 'Hitler's Revenge'; but the military was in no position to be too choosy as the supply of other vehicles from The Soviet Union was delayed, probably due to the oft-cited 'Technical Reasons'.

Yes, the Czech's were refusing to play "Happy Little Communist Slave State" & were trying to go down the path of "Western" democratic socialism until 1948.

That was when the Czech Communist Party "coup" occurred (Soviet-backed & with Soviet military support, although that has been suppressed into non-existence over the years).

Even then the Czechs kept trying to go their own way, much to the chagrin of their Russian overlords.

[NARSES2]

Nice piece of work Rick 

[zenrat]

Excellent work there mate.   

[Rick Lowe]

Yes, the Czech's were refusing to play "Happy Little Communist Slave State" & were trying to go down the path of "Western" democratic socialism until 1948.

That was when the Czech Communist Party "coup" occurred (Soviet-backed & with Soviet military support, although that has been suppressed into non-existence over the years).

Even then the Czechs kept trying to go their own way, much to the chagrin of their Russian overlords.

Exactly. The 'United Front' was more propaganda than reality.

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

[Wardukw]

Now your talking my language matey   
I loves me a half track in any shape or form 😆
And yep ..Im's lovin this too ..very cool mod of the 810/251 copy 😎 😀
Mate Andy got to drive one at a military show here yrs ago ..lucky bugga 😆

[Rick Lowe]

Thought it might spin your wheels, Phill - glad you like it.

It's amazing what turns up here, at the Cambridge show. Saw a Chieftain on a low-loader one year.

[Rick Lowe]

Time for a bit of a change, y;all.

Calvin & Hobbes

I managed to find some 3-D printable figures from one of my favourite cartoons and had them printed to a reasonable size.

A lot of the parts are split along colour demarcation lines; this made it very convenient for painting.
I had to do a bit of filling with paint and talcum powder, but really only where the parts were against the print raft.

Assembly was pretty straightforward after that.

Painted in various craft and GW colours. Finding what I considered a 'proper' Tiger Orange was a bit of a mission, but after about the third try I am happy with it.
Getting the stripes to be random enough also took a few attempts.

I decided it needed a base, so I used a craft store MDF plaque and some acrylic paints.
The stream bed got a coat of gloss for the water, though I'm not sure how well that shows up.
The green was mixed with old coffee grounds for a bit of texture and the log glued on, the figures are pinned to enable them to be removed for storage/transport.

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[scooter]

Whimsical

[NARSES2]

Oh I do like them      One of my favourite cartoons as well

How tall is Hobbes ?

[Steel Penguin]

      awsome!

[Rick Lowe]

Oh I do like them      One of my favourite cartoons as well

How tall is Hobbes ?

I'm not at home at present, but off the top of my head, 120mm/5" or so.
Though that's a lot smaller than the size of the original download - I had it tweaked to a more manageable size.

Thanks, all.

[Nick]

A Boy and His Tiger 

I have some of the books too. Never fail to make me smile.