Short run blues...

... I've actually been listening to random bits of 50's jazz, rather than blues. But some cat like 'Howling Wolf' would be good accompaniment to this evening's efforts with the beautiful 1/72 Citroen traction avant. It's a short run kit, so it suffers from the usual problems associated with them - the plastic is pretty brittle, and  I managed to snap both the front and the rear bumpers (fenders); the sprue is too heavyweight for the parts which means one has to take a lot of care cutting, and a good deal of sanding is necessary. But, I actually find the sanding process quite therapeutic, so I won't complain too much. The current state of play is:

The figures are 20mm Luftwaffe Field Division types, and give some idea of the size of this little model.

I think that I will base the Citroen once it is finished, as it needs a bit of extra protection against my clumsiness. Looking at the chap with the grenade and the state of the car, it brings to mind, of course, the famous 'Italian Job' scene, but I will forbear to quote.

The kit provides some Luftwaffe number plates, and I've decided to go for this option. The photograph above is taken from the Osprey on Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941-45, by Kevin Conley Ruffner and Ron Volstad. The combed out Luftwaffe were not the most fortunate of men, and much of their kit was extempore, captured, scrounged etc. The photo shows a mix of vehicles, including what looks like a Renault truck. So, the traction avant will join various bits and pieces to help support my forlorn Luftwaffe chaps.