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Thursday, January 23, 2025

Figures and Roco

Odemars WWII German commanders in a ruined building.
With a guard from Caesar Miniatures.
Tiger III tank with the small turret.
Roco Tiger II with an old Roco Panther turret and replacement 88mm gun.
Troops use rangefinders to insure first round hits against advancing Soviet tanks.
Odemars German Commander figure with Roco sound detector from an SWS halftrack, in place as a ground mount.
Roco Kubelwagen.  I got it used; the previous owner did a great paint job.  Window frame is broken but has since been repaired.

 Odemars German Commanders, Revell German Artillery, Caesar Miniatures German Artillery Crew.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Germans In the Defensive

Caesar 1/72nd scale WWII Germans in the snow.  These are a mix of several different sets from them.
I took a small brush and brushed out trenches for the troops.  In real life soft snow would provide no protection for the troops, but packed snow would provide a little bit.
More men advance along the communications trench.
They are armed with the SG-44 assault rifle and other automatic weapons.
The Tiger III with the small turret.
Grille with the FlaK 37 gun.
Anti-tank / anti-aircraft company headquarters and supply depot.  Roco SWS halftrack and Kubelwagen.
Sound detector to listen for the Russian advance at night.
 

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

AA Guns in the Snow

Versuchsflakwagen fur 8.8cm Flak 41 or as we know it the Roco Grille Z-105 model was a self propelled gun made in late World War Two by the Germans.  Only three were produced, however the same gun mount and shield was used as a ground mounted gun in both the anti-aircraft and anti-tank role as early as 1943 in Tunisia. 
I have converted 12 into ground mounts to use with my German troops. 
Over 300 of them were built during the war.
I am also making a few to paint in desert scheme for my Germans in Tunisia.
The crew figures here are from Caesar Miniatures.
Platoons of four guns, with a company of three platoons for a total of 12 guns.
Figures are from several different sets of Caesar Miniatures as well as a couple from Odemars, all in 1/72nd scale.
Troops in a snow trench.
 

Monday, January 20, 2025

Odemars, Roco, and Ceasar on the Russian Front

We only get a few days a year with any snow accumulation here in KY, USA.
So when I get a little snow, I like to take advantage of it by setting up a few figures in the snow.
This snow is about 2-3 inches deep.  I took a 2 inch paint brush and used it to brush the snow into trenches.  I made gun emplacements by pushing a water bottle into the snow to make a circular impression for the guns.
This set up uses Roco Minitanks, mostly very old ones.  This is part of an SWS halftrack, the "sound detector."  I removed the dish and mounted it on a ground mount.  I use it variously as a radar dish and as a sound detector.  1/72nd scale figure by Odemars.
Roco Tiger II converted into a Tiger III.  It has a Tiger II hull with a Roco old Panther turret.  The turret has been modified with a new vertical turret face and the addition of the Tiger II gun.  The Roco old Panther turret is very similar in size and shape to the Trident Models Panther small turret version, Panther F.  The Germans determined that making the turret front face narrow and then sloping out the sides they could decrease hits on the face and more readily deflect hits.  The M60A1 American Patton tank has a similar configuration to the turret.
The buildings are some resin kits I got 20+ years ago.  I don't know who made them, or even where I got them anymore.
Odemars German Commanders and Caesar Miniatures figures in the upper floors observing the action, both are 1/72nd scale.  When I started collecting in 1963 the only sets were 1/72nd scale figures by Airfix and 1/87 scale vehicles by Roco.  I was not allowed model glue until a few years later and so I needed the snap together construction of the Roco.  Also Roco had a vary large number of vehicles on offer, far more that all the 1/72nd scale companies combined.
Roco Grille gun dismounted and turned into the ground mount version.