AFV Modeller - Issue 13 - 1 - Red Death, White Fields

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RED DEATH

WHITE FIELDS By Mig Jimenez 2

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I feel that the year 1943 is especially

On the Trans-Caucasian front, elite soldiers

Although the main topic of this scene is

important for the modeller, because

of the Soviet Naval Infantry operated very

the T34, I wanted to highlight this

we can find so many interesting ideas

effectively-for example, Senior Marine V.S.

interesting history of a mostly unknown

and much inspiration from which to

Ponomarenko killed more than 580

subject for many modellers.

make our models. For example on

Germans behind enemy lines in January of

Soviet vehicles the winter camouflage

1943. In this diorama, I have tried to show

can be seen to have worn very quickly

one of these soldiers directing the advance

and roughly, and with a premature

of a T34 of the 52nd Red Army. The naval

The remains of the Pz. IV F/2 symbolize the

spring this would be hastened by the

infantry did not normally fight along with

Red Death in this diorama, as German

soldiers’ attempts to scrub off the

armoured units but in some cases where

tanks were often the victims of ambushes

whitewash. With the return of warmer

they knew the enemy rearguard area very

by the Russian tanks. At this stage of the

weather the snow quickly melted,

well they served with them as support or

war, Pz. IVs started to appear painted in

producing very muddy conditions

reconnaissance. In any case, these

the new dark yellow colour scheme, and

where armoured vehicles found it hard

soldiers were considered as genuine

they were now being armed with the

to operate. As a result, the infantry

heroes and they were respected and

powerful 75mm L/48 instead of the shorter

had more opportunity to engage the

admired by all of the other armies. One

L/43 gun barrel. However, the mobility of

enemy with the knowledge that an

man in particular, V.V. Tselikov, was

the T34 on the snow remained a great

armoured counterattack would be

honoured with the Gold Medal of Hero of

advantage over the Pz. IV. This Panzer was

unlikely.

the Soviet Union.

penetrated by several projectiles in the

The Red Death

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chassis, causing a strong interior explosion that split the tank into two parts, which is characteristic of many destroyed Panzer IVs. It would soon have been covered by snow and mud, which, in conjunction with the heat of the explosion and fire, would cause extensive corrosion.

Although this Pz. IV is only a secondary component in the diorama, it is still necessary to make it with a lot of care and attention, because each element that we put in a diorama contributes a lot of information to the observer. We should study any abandoned or destroyed vehicle that we include in a diorama, and to build it with as much detail as possible. I have seen many times beautiful dioramas with magnificent figures and perfectly built and painted vehicles, but the general scene was not quite as convincing as it might have been because the author used a 20 year-old model to represent a destroyed tank. It is necessary to take great care with

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these elements and to realise that the

of the kit turret for the longer L48 version

diorama or model that we make is a

observer is more attracted by the

by Jordi Rubio. Everything was assembled

personal interpretation that may not always

destroyed vehicle than the rest of the

in a little over 2 hours.

be understood by other people. Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to

diorama. This is especially true if the diorama is to be entered in a competition.

The White Fields

explain our ideas in a magazine have the opportunity to justify to others why we

My head was full of images of dozens of

used a particular colour and not another, or

However, we cannot always spend our

white T34s advancing through numerous

why we put this tank in this position, etc.

money and our time buying a new PzIV, a

remains of German tanks….“A white

However, the great majority of modellers

complete interior and all the accessories,

avenger with a red death”. Maybe too

cannot explain their own dioramas and so

when that PzIV is only to be used as a

poetic, but it is often my main inspiration

they can meet with bad results or

complement. This was my situation, and

source. In my opinion, a diorama can be

experiences. To overcome this, it is

so I decided to look for a simple position in

an interpretation of ideas, sensations or

necessary to research as much as

which to place the upper part of the tank,

imagined experiences. Maybe for this

possible in order to bring their work as

so that it would not be required to create a

reason there are many problems among

close as possible to reality. It is the only

complete interior. For that I used the PzIV

many modellers. When a modeller

way to be understood by others, using a

F2 turret from my company, Mig

receives harsh criticism, even if

common language: -modelling. It’s easy to

Productions and some parts of a Dragon

constructive in nature, from another

imagine a white snow covered field with

PzIV F2 kit that I would never use. I

person, he can feel very offended and find

100 T34 advancing, but later it is

replaced the main weapon & muzzle brake

it hard to accept. This is because each

necessary to know how to translate that

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image into a small diorama. This the big challenge, but to

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me it is also the most rewarding achievement in modelling.

1st Step: Documentation and Assembly The T34 probably had more variation than any tank that has existed, so it can be difficult to be sure that our model is completely correct in detail. The object should be to research the subject thoroughly in order to ensure that the model we build is a true representation of a vehicle, which was actually built, and to avoid glaring or not so obvious errors. Pic1) These books were used to research the upgrade of our T34, they contain a lot of information on this tank. Pic2 to 9) The Aber PE is necessary if we want make our model ultra realistic-we can make damaged fenders or boxes, and also the rear grille. To bend the etched

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components I used the Etch Mate tool of Mission Models, at the time it was the only tool that allowed the user to bend very long parts. If the entire Aber photoetch set is used, a very accurate T34 will result. However many modellers tend to only use those parts that allows a model to be visually enhanced to their satisfaction rather than spend a great amount of time using every single part, which can be tiny and barely noticeable on a finished model.

2nd Step: Working in a Winter Camo In my opinion, the winter whitewash painting of any vehicle is one of the most difficult techniques to master, but also one that is very rewarding. Contrary to a grey or green camouflage where the modeller can work quickly with the weathering on that colour, the white camouflage needs a lot of work and elaboration to achieve an acceptable base colour. The technique to paint these types of colours consists of applying numerous layers of superimposed colours. This means that we should combine layers of green colours with white colours. It is a very slow and exhausting work, but the result is very realistic. Pic11) With acrylic paint, we must paint the white areas, as irregularly as we can while trying not to cover all of the green areas.

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Pic12) Now, using different greens, we dry brush the large

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surfaces. The first look is not attractive but we must keep the faith!!! Pic13) With a fine brush, we can make the first green chips. If we use enamel paint, it’s easy to make all of these chips quickly. Pic14) Now we make the inverse process, with the same paintbrush but this time with white acrylic. Let us remember that the chips in green colour should be in the most exposed area, and those of white colour in the protected areas. Pic16) The result after 4 or 6 layers of chips begins to be more interesting. Pic15) before weathering, it is important to paint the call sign numbers on the tank. In reality, they were painted by hand, and they were not exactly perfect. The best way to represent this is by making it in the same way, by hand. Pic17) we begin making some filters with grey and brown oil colours. The filter should be diluted with 95% of turpentine and 5% colour. We can apply different filters to unify and to enrich the surface of the tank, but the filter is not to make the details stand out-that would be a wash. We should moisten the surface of the vehicle with the mixture taking care not to flood the surface. This is very IMPORTANT! Pic18) With pigment powders, we paint the exhaust pipes. By applying a large quantity with turpentine, we can create a realistic texture and colour.

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Pic19, 20) The rust chips are very important on this model. First,

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we paint the chip and a vertical line, then blend the line with a clean paintbrush moistened with turpentine. Pic21) The younger chips are painted using a grey-brown enamel mix. Pic22, 23) before making the mud, we should make the vehicle generally dusty. We apply first earth colour pigments and later we add turpentine to fix the pigment. We should allow it to dry off before continuing with the process. We can also apply different layers with different colours. Pic24, 25) to make the mud, we mix acrylic resin, plaster and earth pigments. Everything is mixed together and applied with an old paintbrush.

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Pic26) We paint the tracks with acrylic brown colours (try not to use enamels as they damage the modelkasten plastic) and we apply pigment earth with a brush. Then, we use a graphite pencil to create the metal effect.

3rd Step: Painting the Red Death Pic27) The PzIV F2 late, using different parts of Dragon, Mig productions' kit and a new gun barrel from Jordi Rubio. Pic28, 29) The first step is to apply Tamiya Dark Yellow with an airbrush. Then, we paint the large rusted areas with Red Brown. Pic30) Now, we make the filters with enamel colours.

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Pic31) The extreme waste is made with diverse stains of oils fused with a clean paintbrush. It is very important to make a dark washes around the small details. Pic32) Is it a chip? No, It’s mapping. This means a big chip area that will be covered by a heavy layer of a semi clear colour.... red and orange. Pic33, 35) Now, we paint the rust colour with pigments, and we can complement and fuse with matt varnish mixed with other colours.

4th Step: The Final Scene Finally, we can make the base of the diorama that will unify all the elements. It is very important to create a beautiful

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composition, and to try to escape from the

technique, mixing Silica with white glue in

boring plane surfaces. With a small

very dilute layers.

inclination, we can make the relationship between the PzIV and the T34 much more

The Naval Infantry figure is made from

interesting. The profile of the ground is

scratch, using only a head from Hornet. He

made with thick plastic, later filled with

carries an MP40, as it was not unusual for

liquid foam. On the dry foam, I applied

these troops to use weapons captured

modelling putty and the groundwork was

from the Germans. The other two Russian

made with small stones and earth from the

tankers are from Mig Productions, and all

garden. (Pic 36, 37)

are painted with Vallejo acrylic.

The T34 and the PzIV were placed after

This diorama is specially dedicated to

painting the groundwork, but before

‘Su76’.

applying the snow. The snow is made with my friend Jean Baptiste Verlhac's 13