Master Model Builder Wayne Wanner and the Construction Equipment

Master Model Builder Wayne Wanner sent me three of these great little concrete mixers.

He painted them in military colors.

And added dried "concrete" to the bowl.

It's a pretty cool model.

And he did a great job painting it up, thanks WW!

German Sherman

Master Modeller Wayne Wanner has downsized some of his collection.

I was fortunate enough to get his gem from his collection.

It is a Sherman that has been captured by the Germans and...

It has been remodeled into a version that has more German features.

These include a German camouflage pattern paint job, 

German turret machine gun, 

German Jerry can rack at the rear, 

And a German air recognition flag.  Great job Wayne Wanner, both clever, and well done.

Wayne Wanner Tanks

One thing that Master Modellers do is find ways to make things that no one else makes.  Here he has taken a Roco T34 tank and put an Aunt Jemima mine roller on it for a Lend Lease mine clearing.

Here are some excellently painted M24 tanks and nice trucks from Wayne Wanner.

US Army vehicles can look a bit dull at first, but a fine set of decals and nice weathering can make them look very nice.

Wayne Wanner Trucks

Master Modeller Wayne Wanner came up with a nice idea.  He took these metal Flames of War 15mm packs and used them to supply his HO scale trucks with a bit of cargo.

These are the old Roco 2 1/2 ton truck.  They have had the addition of paint, expert weathering, and a rack of supplies.

One truck has even been given a .30 caliber water cooled machine gun.  One in four 2 1/2 ton trucks are supposed to have a .50 caliber machine gun for AA use.  Many of them did not, but that was the theory.

Wayne Wanner

My friend Master Modeller Wayne Wanner sent me a few photos of his collection.

These HO scale Roco and Paul Heiser models show his great skill as a model builder, painter and weatherer.  

These WWII US Army vehicles are very well done and they fit together well.  Congratulations WW on another wonderful project completed.

Roco M60A3 Tank

Master Modeler Wayne Wanner has made up some M60A3 turrets and is putting them on his Roco M60 series tanks.

 

 

"I had to fill some holes in the bottoms (of the turrets) and I added Evergreen rod for the turret pins. I used Testors primer before applying Tamiya NATO green. I cheeped out and didn't bother to camouflage them.

That's not too inaccurate either as the M60A3's we used for almost 10 years, (in the US Army Reserve) were never camouflaged. They were paint a solid NATO green color. I then applied some mud and black washes from AK and Vallejo.

I used brass rod for .50 barrels, not perfect but serviceable.

Overall despite several inaccuracies and flaws, I still think they're excellent war game candidates. And fill a void of M60A3's and a mine plow M60 series.  I did do a little research and found several pictures of M60A1's and A3's that have the mine plow mounted. It seems the Marines used them too, especially on the their reactive armor M-60A1's."

 

HO scale Roco M60 series tanks upgraded to the M60A3 tank with mine plows.  Great job WW!

Roco Fire Trucks

Master Modeler Wayne Wanner has turned his attention to Roco fire trucks to make some utility trucks for his WWII German Army.

 

"Attached are five Roco Mercedes "Fire Engines" converted to misc. German support trucks. I completely disassembled the trucks and plugged the holes in the tops of the truck bodies. Some Squadron putty was still necessary despite using Evergreen rod in the holes. This was a technique Steve Zaloga mentioned in one of his model guides.

I used Tamiya Sprays of German Gray and Tan to paint the interior and exterior faces. And used several washes and "spatters" of AK "dust and mud". These will be for gaming so Wehrmacht license plates were omitted. Besides they would not have been visible through the heavy mud coating anyway.

I consider these pressed into service along with Opals, Krupp's, Henschels and others. The Germans used thousands of trucks for work shops, administrative services, mess, medical, veterinary, weather, command and many, many others."

 

Another great line up from Master Modeler Wayne Wanner.

Paul Heiser Models by WW

Master Modeler, Wayne Wanner shows us again, why I call him Master Modeler.

 

"Attached are several pics of a Heiser M4A1, and early version, note the return rollers on the centerline of the roller boogie. 

 

This is a semi resin/plastic model kit. I liked it alot, and it went together very well, using a super glue of course.

I gave it a coat of Tamiya OD and a wash of AK dust. The only addition I made is a Tank Commanders sight blade near the hatch. These were a typical addition to Sherman's to aid the Tank Commander in training or slewing the turret as he looks along the sight blade an then knew the tank turret (gunners) sights would then be very close to the target.

A piece of sheet metal was welded/bolted in a semi triangular shape with a rounded top.

 

 I can't say positively but I think some units painted the tops white or red. 

 

I like Paul Heisers Sherman's I have about 20 of them."

 

Thanks WW for some awesome Paul Heiser Models goodness.  I get mine at Fidelis Models, run by my best friend, Randy.

Truck

 

Regular readers of Bunker Talk will be familiar with the name of Master Modeler Wayne Wanner.  This is his latest project, described in his own words.

"A local hobby shop recently started carrying Sylvan 1/87 scale vehicles. I bought a Ford that looked like it was one of those used by the French and then captured by the Germans. The white resin is very fragile, fortunately the kit is very simple. I added a night driving light and a fuel tank behind the driver.

"I then gave it a couple light coats of Tamiya German Gray. And some AK Mud extra thinned wash over all. I then dabbed some un-thinned mud right from the paint pallet onto the lower parts of the truck and the tires. And a coat of Testors matt last."

 

"The truck cost $20. Kind of high for a sparsely detailed truck. I also tried the Vallejo brush on Liquid Mask on the truck body while I sprayed the canvas with Testors light gray. I was disappointed with that, I spent an hour picking at the greenish rubber coating. It refused to come off the truck sides."

 

Master Modeller Wayne Wanner II

In World War Two the US Army used just about every type of construction equipment being made for civilian industry.

Most civilian construction equipment was used for the same purpose and so fit right into military units.

Civilian contractors built roads, airfields and bridges and harbors for the military both in the US and overseas.  Hundreds of them were stuck on Wake Island when the Japanese attacked and were while some were killed in the attack and some taken prisoner, most were executed by the Japanese.

Wayne has done an excellent job of capturing the rusty, dirty look of military construction equipment.


These are good models, I have the bulldozer and road scraper, but his look much better!

Master Modeller Wayne Wanner

Once in a while Master Modeller Wayne Wanner sends me some pics of his latest triumphs.  Using the glue and paints shown above he has constructed some awesome US Army construction equipment, in HO scale.

"Here's some pics of some "Woodland Scenic's" construction equipment, turned into WW2 US Army Engineer Equipment. Are they absolutely authentic? I don't know. But they look good. These will get attached to my engineering group."

 

"I started by removing the occupants and coating them with a couple coats of Tamiya OD TS-5, then Testors OD 1911. I think the Testors 1911 is too light but I wanted a faded look. I opted not to strip them as then were not really a fine quality model. They were about $18.00 each, a little high I thought."

 

"I used Testors enamels and Acrlyc to hit the details bits.Then washes from AK47 AK721 rust and 723 dust and Vallejo 73301 black shade.  I also used Battlefront Decals with Tamiya  X-22 clear, before and after."

Master Model Maker WW

Master Model Maker Wayne Wanner sent me a few photos of his work and some descriptions.  Great work as always on those Roco trucks:

 

Both of those guys are seconds. They were bought in lots off of E-bay. I stripped them and repainted em' both. The short stout fellow is a dwarf fighter, he's missing his shield. The other is a sorcerer, a magic user. He's missing his staff, a magic users prime tool. If I find a usable shield the dwarf will get one.

 

 

The sorcerer will just do without, as a game piece things like that typically get broken off.  They were painted with Testors enamels, and a couple Vallejo shades.

 

The trucks are a couple I've been experimenting on with the AK weathering paints. The "colors" are mud, dust, tire black, and rust.

 

I found that if used right from the jar they're much to dark, or they obliterate the base color. I noticed the same thing with the Vallejo "dip" wash. So much experimentation is in order.