Afternoon fellow modelling nuts!
Firstly, apologies for not being around much recently.....life, etc, etc.......
Secondly, I have managed to finish the tri colour camo and have attached the spare tracks....but before the pics some background on my research, which is very reliant on my book on this unit:
- Up until I got the book, I had never been able to work out from which company of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 654 the Jadgpanthers involved in the action had come.
- However, I'm sure I had read somewhere that it was the 2nd Company - not that I could find it but that turns out to be wrong anyway.
- The book contains an entry from the diary of a member of the unit confirming that it was three JPs from the 3rd Company's 1st platoon that were involved in the action.
- One was definitely 311 belonging to the platoon leader, a Leutnant Scheiber.
- The book also contains some high quality plates, including one of 314, from which I drew my inspiration for the camo schemes.
- I have not finished the research yet but using this new info (and after I had completed the paint job), I have just found new material online, also quoting the book, stating that 314 was also involved in the action.
In terms of the paints, I used Vallejo's
Model Air and
Model Colour:
- 71.028 Dunkelgelb (RAL 7028)
- 71.092 Medium Olive (RAL 6003) for the olivgrün
- 71.041 Armour Brown (RAL 8017) for the rotbraun on one vehicle
- and for a slightly redder colour to vary it a bit, a mixture of 71.041 Armour Brown (RAL 8017) and 70.984 Flat Brown (not entirely successfully).
The patterns were an approximation of that from 314 and also 332, as the 314 plate only shows the front and LHS. The camo pattern from 332's RHS looks to be a similar pattern and going by the dates was likely to have been painted around the same time.....the rear and topsides, I had to make a guess on. I also reversed the green and brown on one them to mix it up even more.
I still have some minor damage to the paint job to add but I will keep it light as the 3rd Company only had their vehicles for around a month before they saw action.
A note of warning about the pics; for some reason the colours have turned out a bit more vibrant even though I took them outside in a nice natural light - the colours on the schürzen are much closer to the real thing than the rest.
Also, just remember that it turns out the S-Model JPs are a slightly later versions of the G2 than the actual ones in the unit - or didn't have items included in the kit e.g. stowage bin on the superstructure. But by the time I realised it was too late and so some of the features are not accurate.
ACW as usual.
Andrew
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My source material:
My homage to 314 and 332: