Bergepanzer III...

... A while ago I did something or other with one of the two Panzer IIIs one gets in the Armourfast box of quick builds. That, of course, left me with its companion, which, in turn, became part of the disjecta membra that I exhibited here a few posts ago. Wondering what to do with the remaining Panzer III, Dan, of Gunner's Wargaming, suggested that I try a Bergepanzer. So, here we are:

The finished thing, but minus the chain and hoist that should be on the jib arm. I thought I had a little bit of 'chain' somewhere, but a search through various boxes produced nothing, so I will have to source a bit of 20mm chain, and a hoist. Does anyone know the best place to get that sort of thing?

The Armourfast Panzer III is a pretty reasonable wargames model (certainly better than their Crusaders), as the DAK one above shows, while the hull formed the basis of the Bergepanzer. I wondered about opening up the turret ring, so that the little wooden access box would open downwards into the driving compartment, but decided that given the kit basher philosophy that rules here I could forgo that bit of work.

I made an initial mess of the superstructure, making it far too big on three axes, so had to start again. I also switched from PVA, which was a poor glue for the balsa wood, to super glue. As we all know, super glue's speed of adhesion varies greatly, depending on the materials being glued; but, the fix is instantaneous with balsa! I had to really make an effort to steady my palsied hands as I brought the little bits of balsa together. 

This view of the front of the Bergepanzer shows the main limitations of the Armourfast hull - poorly rendered lights, no notek light, and simple tracks, but, overall, it is OK for the wargames table.

 2012 is going out here in England (and Wales, Scotland and Ireland) in much the same way as it spent most of the last seven or eight months - that is, WET. My garden is just a soggy, squelching mess, but even in the horrid gloom there is light:

These bright yellow stars are the flowers of Jasminum nudiflorum. For which, much thanks.