Advice on a vertically challenged 88mm gun crew member.

[Jim R]

Hi all
In the cab of my 1/48 scale SS-100 tractor sit 3 figures. A driver, a front seat passenger and a bloke in the back. Trouble is the driver is fine but the other two are short arses! I suspect that as the kit is a mix of Tamiya and Italeri the driver is Tamiya, designed for the SS-100, and the other two are Italeri.

This is them










Options ....
Leave well alone and hope the fact that his feet don't touch the floor won't notice.
Cut and extend the boots. Not ideal but easy to do.
Print this notice to scale and fix in the rear window


I can't lower the seat height as his head would be below the window and I can't raise the floor

I just wondered if anyone can come up with any other ideas. What would you do?

Thanks guys. Stay safe.
Jim

 

[wotan]

Jim

I would cut the legs just around the knees. That is cut the femur slightly above the knee and the shin bones just below the knee. This will allow you to insert a wire armature into the upper and then lower leg to extend the length. You can then bend the wire to reform the knees and then make good with miliput, Magic Sculpt or Green stuff (Whatever you have). Since the legs will be below the height of the windows a super sculpting job would not be entirely necessary.

Good luck on what is a really nice piece of modelling.

John

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Ammo crate or similar box as a foot rest perhaps?

 

[minitnkr]

I'd compromise & do the longer boots. PaulE

 

[scottie3158]

Jim,
That is quite a bit of difference, I know its a bit of a cop out but I would just leave him out.

 

[Allen Dewire]

Well Jim, I would go for the last option, but the sign should read…...

Achtung!
Gartenzwerge
An Bord

The sign in German would better suit the SS-100 with 88!!!

Bleib Gesund
Allen

 

[Steve Jones]

This guy has been sat in my spares box for four years if you want him??

 

[boatman]

JIM in my opinion fit him in an leave him as there are plenty of short arse people in the world isn't there ?we don't all come in the same size do we so I reckon that's more realistic as my dad was only 5ft 5" yet im 5ft 8"
chris

 

[Jakko]

I suspect that as the kit is a mix of Tamiya and Italeri the driver is Tamiya, designed for the SS-100, and the other two are Italeri.

The passenger in the photo looks a lot like a reduced-size version of a figure you can build from in Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Sd.Kfz. 9 (“Famo”) halftrack kit. My guess is the figure for the driver was designed entirely independently from the others, and one or the other (or both) somehow ended up a little off, size-wise.

 

[yak face]

The two figures look very similar in size from the waist up , their shoulders are the same level ( even if one hasnt grown a head yet !) The big difference seems to be the length of the boots so you could just cut off his boots and replace them with longer ones from a spare figure ? One other option is to give him 1970s ABBA style platforms so they reach the floor !

 

[prichrd1]

Jim,

I'm with Allen on this one - re-word the sign !!!!
but, also with Christopher - not everyone is the same height - even in the army!

I would also consider Andy's method of using an ammo box or crate!
(Basically I'm a chicken when it comes to conversions & always work the other way).

Paul.

 

[SimonT]

You know me Jim - I’d go with Johns hack, slash and rebuild

 

[Neil Merryweather]

I'm lazy-ish
I'd go for longer boots from another model, and grind his bum down, and grind the seat down
I know ,sounds like more work doesn't it
sorry

 

[Bobby Conkers]

Instead of having him sat down, have him rooting about for a lost fag on all fours. The scale won't show as much.

Sorry, I feel your pain, but can't help finding it a little funny. At the moment, we NHS workers have only dark humour to fall back on.

 

[Jim R]

Good morning gentlemen
Thanks for all your help and in many cases most amusing posts Appreciated especially at this worrying time.
Anyway Otto von Shortarse has had surgery. His lower legs are now slightly out of proportion but filled and painted he will look fine as his legs will be mostly hidden low down in the cab. I'll do the same with the back seat passenger who comes from the same genetic stock. I'll grind the seat down to lower him the last mm and make him sit more naturally.


Thanks again guys. Stay safe.
Jim

 

[yak face]

Looks fine jim he’ll be virtually the same proportionally as the driver now , although he needs to change his butcher , hes got very skinny legs !!

 

[Bobby Conkers]

Shortarse Pistorius?

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Great solution Jim. He looks fine.

 

[prichrd1]

Jim,

Hope you remembered to put the prosthetic's on the correct legs!!




Paul.

 

[scottie3158]

Great fix.