Wittmann's StuG Ausf A

Post by **Coen** » Fri May 01, 2015 1:53 pm

Hey fellas,
For some time now I've been wanting to complete my builds of Michael Wittmann's vehicles.

So far I have his last mount, Tiger 007,

His ride in possible Villers Bocage Tiger 212, (This one I'm planning to rebuild or build 205 and has already been boxed away)

His tiger from Italy and Ukraine S21,

and His tiger from Kursk 1331,

Those are mostly his tigers. I could probably build Tiger's 222, 205 and 212 as they're all the possible and debated tigers he may have ridden in during his attack on the 7th RTR at Viller's Bocage. I may yet still. I build 212 only because at the time it was the popular choice by the experts at the time. I don't know what it is at the moment. I grew tired of the argument.

What I want to build now and then later on is his first two rides. His StuG Ausf. A and his Panzer III Ausf M or L (I'm not sure yet, still doing the research on that) This build is of the StuG Ausf A which he rode into Poland, maybe France and then into Russia as part of Operation Barbarossa in 1941. A newly minted AFV commander.

Here's a brief blurb about his time during that event... ¬Wikipedia¬

His first experience in action came in the Polish Campaign, followed by the Battle of France as a commander of one of the new self-propelled assault guns, the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. A. The Greek campaign - Operation Marita - was launched on 6 April 1941. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) captured the Greek capital and formed the spearhead, alongside the 9th Panzer Division, which punched through the Greek countryside. After three weeks of campaigning Greece had fallen to the III Reich's panzer divisions, and Wittmann and his unit were withdrawn to refit in Czechoslovakia.
Wittmann receiving the Swords to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross from Adolf Hitler.
The rest would not last long, however, as Wittmann's unit was soon dispatched to the Eastern Front to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union. He initially served as a commander of a StuG III assault gun. He was assigned for both officer and tank training in the winter of 1942–43.

I'm not going to attest to the accuracy of the Wikipedia account. I haven't confirmed every event that's mentioned in that blurb as yet. Some of sounds a bit wonky.
What I have in my own library that relates directly to Wittmann during Barbarossa and his earlier career is written by by Patrick Agte, (Michael Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII: v. 1) and Panzer Aces I by Franz Kurowski, These books are written in an unusual way and I don't hold a lot of faith in their accuracy either. A lot of what is in them is anecdotal and thus of no use other than to fog the issue with the author's opinions and tale telling.

My plan for this build is to combine two kits together on a diorama. Both are actually the same kit, one a reboxing of the other.

The ancient imperialish series Wittmann kit...

and the rebox with added figures...

both kits are exactly the same and the only difference is the figure set. Both are not very good kits. They're old, spongy detail, flashy, and have accuracy issues.

The older kit I build a long time ago and will be adding to the diorama but with a new figure for the commander.
Where the newer kit will be built as Wittmann's StuG.

This is my first mock up of the plan for the dio, The two StuG's moving to support some infantry and the CO's having a confab about directions. Somewhere in Eastern Europe during Barbarossa. I may end up changing it a few more times as I have a few story ideas for this one.

A possible configuration change... but maybe not... Stowage for Wittmann's StuG sorted.

A bit of paint on her

And some decals...

Next will be some chipping then sealling it all up under the gloss in prep for the washes.

Post by **Nige99** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:44 am

Looks great Mike, I love the look of a stug they always seem to have lots of stowage on them. I do need to add one to my stash. There are so many out there

just don't know what to get.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:57 am

Don't get either of these ones Nige. There are better ones out there

Post by **burnie43** » Sun May 03, 2015 11:59 am

I'm trying to collect Wittman's vehicles since visiting his grave in Normandy......quite a site to see...
note to self....keep reading up on the man and finding info!!!
Thanks Mike
Mark

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 03, 2015 3:39 pm

Not a big update this time. Just chipping and a gloss coat is all I had time for.
I used a two tone chipping this time. This colour is hard to work with.
I used life colour dark grey as the base and Vallejo model colour 150 cam dk brown as the centre.
It's not much to see but it's there none the less.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Sun May 03, 2015 3:59 pm

Very cool build! This is the exact same build I am in the planning stages for now (If life will ever let me get back in my workshop

).I have the newer Dragon kit and have already bought the Aber PE set for an Ausf.A,a Voyager resin/PE barrel cleaning rod set and a set of Friul tracks.The only thing left I want to get is a PE fender set.So needless to say I will be watching this build very closely.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 03, 2015 8:43 pm

What you're planning is much more advanced that what I had in mind Steve. Mine is almost out of the box. I was just looking to do something simple to keep me busy until mossy sig, the star war sig, and the home land sig started.
But then I thought diorama.... And things got more complicated.

I think that yours will be the one to watch over mine. Yours sounds like a hell of a dress up.
Should be really cool.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Sun May 03, 2015 8:58 pm

Coen wrote: Yours sounds like a hell of a dress up.

Considering the kit in question it's more like putting a dress on a pig...

Post by **AgentG** » Sun May 03, 2015 9:26 pm

I like what's going on here.

G

Post by **mannloon** » Sun May 03, 2015 9:49 pm

Man that old kit looks really good when you put her together with paint.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 03, 2015 11:44 pm

Paint can be very forgiving and deceptive... Especially dark paint.... And a dark room.

Post by **Nige99** » Wed May 06, 2015 7:08 am

Thanks for the heads up Mike

I'll look else where.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 10, 2015 2:47 am

I've flat coated and started the washes now.
A burnt umber with a touch of dark yellow added for the first one.

Next is dull coat a dark grey filter for the upper surfaces. Then a pin wash for the details.

I also started painting the figures.

Post by **mannloon** » Sun May 10, 2015 3:28 am

I like the dark tone here. I feel like Panzer gray is done too light most of the time.

Post by **jbellos1** » Sun May 10, 2015 4:17 am

Nice Mike. The chipping looks great, seems it might be difficult on that grey background, but it looks random and real, I like the scratched and abraded area on the cross.

StuG, well whataya know, you are busy busy busy...no dust collecting at your place, that's for sure.

Post by **Tiger131** » Sun May 10, 2015 7:43 am

Looking real good like the bloke with the neckachief very fashable feller..

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Sun May 10, 2015 8:52 am

Don't you recognise mr Hugo Boss?

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sun May 10, 2015 10:29 am

Few things are cooler than StuG´s

great idea, i like it to see you building early war topics! Most modellers stick to late war stuff which gets a bit boring after a while.

Post by **Coen** » Sun May 10, 2015 11:28 am

I really like the early war pieces, they have really interesting stories to tell.
I'm really partial to North Africa myself. Barbarossa is also very fascinating.

Post by **Coen** » Mon May 11, 2015 9:54 am

More progress on the figures.
I completely pouched the camouflage on the smocks but I ran out of mojo for painting them after the third attempt.
I'm hoping that under the washes and some dirt it won't look so bad.
I still need to paint the equipment and finish off the skin and facial features yet.

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Mon May 11, 2015 12:27 pm

Figures can kill mojo sometimes... What are the figures camo called? Gonna be a compelling story with 6 infantry men and then Wittmann and crew I guess. As always popcorn time!

Post by **Schoof** » Mon May 11, 2015 3:36 pm

Yeah wow ththat camo is soooooooooo bad. ....... lol. ....suck it up buttercup

Post by **Nige99** » Mon May 11, 2015 8:33 pm

I think they are well painted Mike. The German grey is spot on. What make paint did you use mate.

Post by **Coen** » Tue May 12, 2015 9:40 am

I used Vallejo Model Colour German Uniform Green Nige, and Gustav... I have no idea. It was supposed to be an early war summer peadot but that's not what happened.
Ah well. To late now. I've already added a wash to them. I've lost interest in fixing it.

I've finished the tank crew today and started work on the first of the two StuGs now.
Here's a mock up of Wittmann's machine. (I just noticed that I haven't painted Michael's hair yet. )

The final base paint on the figures is done. Camo be damned.

Then I gave the Wittmann StuG a pair of washes. For the lower areas I gave it a wash mix of Ultimate mud, dark dirt, and sand mixed with some static grass and some dark brown pastel chalks.
The upper areas is a mix of Ultimate sand, concrete and dark dirt.
Because I'm applying this to a flat surface instead of a gloss I have to add a tiny drop of dish soap to help thin the surface tension.

Then once all of that is dry I took a small stiff brush and blended all the colours together.

I'll apply the same treatment to the second StuG next and then start on the more detailed effect.
After that I'll start work on the diorama.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:16 pm

That weathering looks great! How the wash gets into all the nooks and crannies really makes for some very realistic dust effects.

Post by **localjedi** » Tue May 12, 2015 3:27 pm

Looking great. I like the method of using dish soap to make the wash go where it's supposed to. I think I might try this too. Now I'm curious how the dio will turn out...

Post by **Nige99** » Tue May 12, 2015 4:04 pm

Looking really good Mike. Love your figures and the stugs are spot on.

Post by **Coen** » Tue May 12, 2015 4:31 pm

Thanks guys.

localjedi wrote:Looking great. I like the method of using dish soap to make the wash go where it's supposed to. I think I might try this too. Now I'm curious how the dio will turn out...

Just make sure that when you do its on a matte coat and not in a gloss. It won't work as well on a gloss coat, it will react as a standard wash on a gloss.

Post by **Tiger131** » Tue May 12, 2015 5:55 pm

cracking work bud like the camo pattern nailed it

Post by **Coen** » Wed May 13, 2015 2:58 am

Huge amounts of work done today.
Both stugs completed and the figures are done.
I also made a start n the diorama.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Wed May 13, 2015 4:04 am

A Stug with a turret bin, how cool is that

Post by **Coen** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:12 am

I've seen a few shots of Pz IIIs with stolen turret bins, so why not a StuG

Post by **Jan1976** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:38 am

Great work!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing the dio.

Post by **Coen** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:19 pm

Today was all about the diorama.

i started by adding a layer of premixed drywall compound to the surface of all the cardboard and the foam to give it all a solid base but one that I can pierce with the stems of the trees, grasses and other bits and pieces.

Then I mixed up a batch of celluclay, white glue, dish liquid, and added some black craft paint to it to darken it.

I spread that all over the base and let it sit for about 20 minutes or so to let it harden a little. Then I added various sands and small stones to the surface.

Then I selected a bunch of seafoam bits, baby's breath, and some weird plant that Rodney Hicks sent me, to make the trees and mocked them in.

I added some sawn logs as a bit of local colour.

Then I started with the base colours sprayed randomly. I wasn't sure if I was going with Greece or Eastern Europe at first, but I ended up settling on the eastern front, Barbarossa.

Once that's all dry I'll start with the grasses and other bits and pieces.

Post by **lucasner** » Thu May 14, 2015 4:08 am

Coen,
As always, an inspiration to us all brother!
Dave

Post by **mannloon** » Thu May 14, 2015 5:26 am

Digging the early war subject. Clean and proper as always Mike.

Post by **Nige99** » Thu May 14, 2015 7:07 am

Looks amazing so far Mike. Love your dio's they always tells a story

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Thu May 14, 2015 8:41 am

Superb progress you make here mike, makes me want to build yet another barbarossa diorama. most likely it is the topic i deal with the most when it comes to modelling

the sand yellow stowage pieces on one of the StuG´s do not look right to me though, although it would not be impossible that they were around at this time. The Afrika Korps started its operations before the invasion of the Soviet Union, so some supplies definately found their way to the eastern front instead of beeing sent to Africa.

Post by **Coen** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:17 pm

A quick shot of the dio with the trees done and the vehicles and figures mapped out.
Nothing has been glued down and many of the elements have yet to be added.

Post by **daveygoravey** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:27 pm

looks super mate the groundwork is flawless.

Post by **daveygoravey** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:27 pm

looks super mate the groundwork is flawless.

Post by **Nige99** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:57 pm

Flawless Mike, awesome mate. Your afv builds, your figures and your dio's and the way they tell a story is mind blowing.

Post by **Danta2er** » Thu May 14, 2015 4:21 pm

I have never done armor before...this makes me want to try!

Post by **Nige99** » Thu May 14, 2015 6:09 pm

I'd say go for it!!!! You make them as dirty and beat up as you want. There are so many variations to each vehicle.

Post by **mannloon** » Fri May 15, 2015 12:07 am

This might be my favorite piece of yours since I've been around here Mike. I really do like early war stuff.

Post by **AgentG** » Fri May 15, 2015 12:55 am

Nice!

G

Post by **Danta2er** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:27 am

Well Nige, gotta get my plane and ship fix first, then I'll start dipping my toes into other areas. As an aside, I'd just like to say that every time I see where you are from my internal voice says "Wrexham? Damn near kills 'em!", my apologies...

Post by **Coen** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:50 pm

That sounds a lot like the story of the fella that took a bicycle with no seat for a ride down a bumpy road.
He went to see his doctor the next day about his rectum.
Rectum... Damned near killed him.

Post by **lucasner** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:59 pm

Coen,

How long does it take you to put something like this together? Between the builds, painting, diorama and everything...is this weeks/months of work?

I am so slow with my builds I think there's something wrong with me when I see such impressive builds as yours! LOL

Dave

Post by **Coen** » Fri May 15, 2015 5:09 pm

Today's work... So far anyway because I'm not done yet.

I started to build up the dio, grasses, bramble, leaves, twigs, a fence etc.

I started with some watered down PVA (woodland scenics) applied to all the areas that had been painted green.

Then I added rubberised horse hair for the bramble, assorted grass tufts, a piece of seaweed (a future shrub), and a bunch of short cut horse hair for twigs and sticks.

Then I added assorted spices and herbs to I imitate leaves and ground scatter. I added some green tinted sawdust and dried parsley flakes to the seaweed shrub as well as scattered about the dio.
I also installed the trees and the sawn logs.

Next I'll be working with the pigments, then I'll add the vehicles and figures and add the pigments to them.