Protze to Sd.Kfz.247 Conversion

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 9:51 am

Hi guys,

I'm back with another... that's right, conversion!

Looking for a new conversion to build I stumbled across this image:

It's a field conversion on a Protze truck. A crude addition of some armor plates for added protection.
And a 37mm gun on top with some extension to it's armor.

I liked to build it, but thought it wouldn't be much of a challenge to build and it doesn't look that appealing.

Looking further I came upon this image:

It's the Sd.Kfz.247
It's based on the chassis of the Protze but with a completely armored hull.
Apparently only 10 have ever been built.

Here's some history:

The Sd.Kfz. 247 had an open-topped, thinly armored body placed on a wheeled chassis. It was unarmed as its six-man crew was not intended to fight; rather, it was intended for use by the commanders of motorcycle and motorized reconnaissance battalions, although neither version was fitted with any radios.[1]Its armor was intended to stop 7.92-millimetre (0.312 in) armor-piercing bullets at ranges over 30 metres (33 yd). Photographic evidence shows some Ausf. B vehicles were retro-fitted with a star-shaped radio antenna mounted inside the crew compartment, and an additional armor plate bolted to the lower glacis of the hull.[2]
Ausf. A[edit]
Krupp built ten Ausf. A models on the chassis of its L 2 H 143 6 × 4 truck (Krupp Protze) in 1937. Its 4-cylinder air-cooled gasoline flat engine 3.5-litre (210 cu in) Krupp M 305 65 horsepower (66 PS), gave it a top speed of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) and a range of 350 kilometres (220 mi).[1] Like all of the other vehicles that used this chassis, the Ausf. A had very limited cross-country mobility, drivers being advised to stay on roads and trails. It weighed 5.2 tonnes (5.1 long tons; 5.7 short tons), was 5.2 metres (17 ft) long, 1.96 metres (6.4 ft) wide and 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) tall.[3]

There is a 1/35 Resin kit of this vehicle, but that's it.
So rare enough for me to build a PS one for myself.

Here are some images of a guy that built the resin one:
(Nice reference material for my build)

There even was a drawing of it, which was very handy for measurements.

So I bought this kit on ebay:

Building:

After the chassis was done came the (even more) fun part of scratch building.
The drawing was instrumental for measurements. I started of with the big side plates.
As they were the base for all other plates.

Then came the floor.

Side plates and back plate attached.

More plates.
I used the back fenders of the kit. Cut a little of the outer edge away to resemble the fenders on the 247.

Front sides added.

Upper sides added.

I realized that the bottom sides were plated too and I had to cut away large portions of the cabin to fit them.
Rest of the plates added too.

Side steps and front fenders added.

That's where it's at now.
Next up: More detailing like doors, hatches, boxes and the interior.

Post by **Tiger213** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:26 am

German "A-Team"???

wow, impressive idea and you are doing very well so far, keep posting your progress

Post by **privatepete** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:57 pm

nice to see you back,this should be good, another little gem coming up,where do you find them

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 4:30 pm

I love your ideas and skill with scratchbuilding and converting kits. highly interesting vehicle!

Post by **OneSmallStep1966** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:01 pm

great work.

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:14 pm

privatepete wrote: nice to see you back,this should be good, another little gem coming up,where do you find them

Thanks. It takes a lot of googling and it's getting harder every time but it's fun too.

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:20 pm

HamilkarBarkas wrote:I love your ideas and skill with scratchbuilding and converting kits. highly interesting vehicle!

Thanks Michael!
Yes. It's an awesome vehicle. Kinda like the Sd.kfz. 223. But with 2 extra wheels.
And it's weird that I've never seen it before until this search. Apparently still a lot to explore.

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:26 pm

Hi guys,

Back already with a nice bit of progress to share.

I finished the complete outside detailing.
Added boxes, tools, hatches, doors, hinges, grill, license plate and spare tire.

Next up: Detailing the interior!

Post by **privatepete** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:57 am

Hi absolutely brilliant job as always, do you make your own hinges?, and has the flooring got a texture to it, if it has where did you get it from please. It's almost a shame to put paint it ,all that work is hidden.I would be very happy with myself if I could produces something as good as that

Post by **hansolo** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 7:10 am

privatepete wrote:Hi absolutely brilliant job as always, do you make your own hinges?, and has the flooring got a texture to it, if it has where did you get it from please. It's almost a shame to put paint it ,all that work is hidden.I would be very happy with myself if I could produces something as good as that

Thanks Pete!
The hinges are improvised from little parts of left over PE. The floor plate does have a texture. I bought it at my local model shop.
They don't sell online I'm afraid.

Post by **privatepete** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 7:37 am

I though you would have made the hinges, I will have to do some more searching for some I think adds feel to the model

Post by **Naedrux** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:15 pm

I'm flabbergasted! This is a very interesting project, but that you have been able to come this far and get such a nice result is simply astounding. I'll be followin' this build.

Post by **hansolo** » Sat May 07, 2016 7:40 pm

Hi guys,

I finished building the interior.

I cut away parts of the dash board so I could fit it in the vehicle.

Construction of the interior deviders.

The rails are made from stretched sprue.

Two seats are made from a left over bench.

The tank on the floor is made from 3 plates glued together and then sculpted.

The ledge.

The back chairs.

The middle chair.

I constructed a pair of binoculars from left overs.

Now she is finished!

Next up: Painting!

Post by **Icemannique** » Sat May 07, 2016 8:03 pm

Nicely done scratch building !

Post by **OneSmallStep1966** » Sat May 07, 2016 9:26 pm

Ditto above, superb scratch building

Post by **Vleugelmoer** » Sat May 07, 2016 10:20 pm

Excellent conversion yet again Hansolo, I do have some small points for improvement seeing that the top of the body is big and open. 1st: are the rear doors, the outside looks absolutely real and convincing, the inside however is a flat peace of plasticar without and opening so the outside doors are doors to nowhere really

. 2nd and last similar to the rear doors, the from armour plate has no openings for the windows so how will the driver see where he's going. If he has to rely on the commands from the guy on the periscope he's a sitting duck as there is no armour to protect this vital part in the operation of this awesome and rare vehicle.

As always veel modelbouw plezier en blijven plakken

Paul

Post by **hansolo** » Sat May 07, 2016 10:27 pm

Vleugelmoer wrote:Excellent conversion yet again Hansolo, I do have some small points for improvement seeing that the top of the body is big and open. 1st: are the rear doors, the outside looks absolutely real and convincing, the inside however is a flat peace of plasticar without and opening so the outside doors are doors to nowhere really . 2nd and last similar to the rear doors, the from armour plate has no openings for the windows so how will the driver see where he's going. If he has to rely on the commands from the guy on the periscope he's a sitting duck as there is no armour to protect this vital part in the operation of this awesome and rare vehicle.

As always veel modelbouw plezier en blijven plakken

Paul

You're quite right, Paul. That's because of the way I put stuff together.
It's laziness more than anything else. Most of the time you don't see the insides of the doors or hatches.
But this time you do. Sadly it's all glued together now and I hate to break it apart again.
Next time I will keep this in mind.

Post by **Naedrux** » Sat May 07, 2016 11:42 pm

hansolo wrote:
Vleugelmoer wrote:Excellent conversion yet again Hansolo, I do have some small points for improvement seeing that the top of the body is big and open. 1st: are the rear doors, the outside looks absolutely real and convincing, the inside however is a flat peace of plasticar without and opening so the outside doors are doors to nowhere really . 2nd and last similar to the rear doors, the from armour plate has no openings for the windows so how will the driver see where he's going. If he has to rely on the commands from the guy on the periscope he's a sitting duck as there is no armour to protect this vital part in the operation of this awesome and rare vehicle.

As always veel modelbouw plezier en blijven plakken

Paul
You're quite right, Paul. That's because of the way I put stuff together.
It's laziness more than anything else. Most of the time you don't see the insides of the doors or hatches.
But this time you do. Sadly it's all glued together now and I hate to break it apart again.
Next time I will keep this in mind.

It won't really be noticeable if you place some figures in the vehicle too, but then again, they would at the same time hide parts of your work. I really like that vehicle, can't wait to see what it'll look like once it's been painted.

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun May 08, 2016 7:23 am

Just by reading the title i figured it could only be one guy doing this
That is some very nice scratch building so far and a intresting subject
I never heared about it before
Keep up the good work

Post by **hansolo** » Sun May 08, 2016 8:37 am

MarkVerploeg wrote:Just by reading the title i figured it could only be one guy doing this
That is some very nice scratch building so far and a intresting subject
I never heared about it before
Keep up the good work

Thanks Mark!

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sun May 08, 2016 1:54 pm

A pleasure to follow this project! Very cool sir!
Would be cool if you could somehow cast some parts of it and sell it as a conversion kit?

Post by **hansolo** » Sun May 08, 2016 8:35 pm

HamilkarBarkas wrote:A pleasure to follow this project! Very cool sir!
Would be cool if you could somehow cast some parts of it and sell it as a conversion kit?

Thanks so much, Michael. Yes, that would be great. It would make a nice kit. There is a resin kit, however. And making molds for PS is extremely expensive. And the art of masters. Maybe some company like Dragon or such could pick it up. That would be cool!

Post by **hansolo** » Sun May 08, 2016 9:04 pm

Hi guys,

Already here with an update!

I started painting.
First a coat of black primer.

Than the base color of German grey.

Highlights with a lighter tint.

A matt clear coat for protection and than detail painting.

A wash with Ultimate's Dark Dirt.

Decals made with masking tape masks.

After an other matt coat, a second wash with Ultimate's Mud.

Next up:
Some oil paint rendering. To work specific areas. Light up some parts and darken others.

Post by **InitialProduction1** » Mon May 09, 2016 11:54 am

Hansolo, you really knocked it out of the park.

Post by **hansolo** » Mon May 09, 2016 12:15 pm

InitialProduction1 wrote:Hansolo, you really knocked it out of the park.

Thanks Clay!
Well, it ain't over till the fat lady sings!

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Mon May 09, 2016 4:36 pm

Post by **hansolo** » Mon May 09, 2016 8:36 pm

Hi guys,

Here are the last steps done in the weathering process.

First a lot of oil paint rendering with these oil colors.

Then some tiny rust settlements with these.

Mud settlements under the fenders with these.
First white glue was applied and then the pigments were dapped on.

Some dust effects with the same pigment. But applied dry and fixed with fixer.

Some metal edges and the metal parts of the tools done with this.

And finally some oils stains with this.

You can find the final reveal picts here: http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 46&t=18019

Post by **Vleugelmoer** » Mon May 09, 2016 8:44 pm

I see what you mean with "build speed" blink your eyes and you have missed it. Great build to follow FYI Milltracks is this weekend in Overloon there you can check out the real thing...

Post by **hansolo** » Mon May 09, 2016 8:47 pm

Vleugelmoer wrote:I see what you mean with "build speed" blink your eyes and you have missed it. Great build to follow FYI Milltracks is this weekend in Overloon there you can check out the real thing...

Top! Bedankt voor de tip!

Post by **Icemannique** » Mon May 09, 2016 8:54 pm

Impressive, i cant say any better !

Post by **Vleugelmoer** » Mon May 09, 2016 8:59 pm

hansolo wrote:Top! Bedankt voor de tip!

Seb has got a thread up on it and it looks like Sunday will be the day if you want to meet some fellow ISM'ers from The Netherlands IRL

Post by **hansolo** » Mon May 09, 2016 9:48 pm

Vleugelmoer wrote:
hansolo wrote:Top! Bedankt voor de tip!

Seb has got a thread up on it and it looks like Sunday will be the day if you want to meet some fellow ISM'ers from The Netherlands IRL

Yeah. I would. I hope I can make it. It's dependent on other obligations.

Post by **Vleugelmoer** » Mon May 09, 2016 9:53 pm

we'll wait and see

and we might see you Sunday

Post by **privatepete** » Thu May 12, 2016 3:05 pm

Hi brilliant job sir

I've been wondering can you remember a while ago you were building a bunker for a friend I think did you every finish it and if you did are there picture I would like to see them if poss

Post by **hansolo** » Thu May 12, 2016 3:12 pm

Due to all kinds of other projects I still haven't finished it.
It needs one final touch of varnish on the soggy ground and then it's finished.
When it is, I'll definitely post the final reveals in the Land section.

Post by **hansolo** » Sun May 15, 2016 11:18 am

I'll be in Overloon at 14.00. Wearing my ISM t-shirt.
Maybe see you guys there.

Post by **Morgoth62** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:50 am

WOW. Very nice. I have always wanted one of these so I guess I will have to follow in your foot steps.

thomas;)

Post by **hansolo** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 6:10 am

Morgoth62 wrote:WOW. Very nice. I have always wanted one of these so I guess I will have to follow in your foot steps.

thomas;)

Please do! And keep me in the loop!

Post by **chalkyw** » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:15 pm

Top scratch building HS

Post by **hansolo** » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:56 pm

chalkyw wrote:Top scratch building HS

Thanks!