Tamiya SdKfz 251 in use by US Artillery unit

[JamesOLeary]

I am building this kit for a build campaign about captured vehicles being put to use by the country that captured them. For this I am going to have this Tamiya SdKfz 251 represent one that was captured by the US Army in France and then was repainted and put to use by an Artillery unit that used captured German guns and vehicles.

Here is the kit I am using. A couple of years ago when my Grandson went to his first few shows, he bought this same kit and built it before I had a chance to help him with it. He got it done in a day and although the suspension of the front wheels was kind of jacked up because he didn't let the glue dry before moving it, it still turned out halfway decent. I bought my kit at Soonercon a couple weekends ago because it seemed like a decent kit, but would still be fairly easy and quick to build.

And here is a picture from a Squadron/Signal book of the vehicle this will end up looking like:

I started building the kit yesterday evening and it is coming along nicely and fairly quick. I might not be following the sequence of construction according to the instructions, but the way I am doing it will enable me to paint the interior details better. I plan on keeping the interior the yellow color that the factory painted it and just painting the exterior OD. I will add some chipping that exposes the yellow a bit.

For stowage I will probably just add a few US packs and some German Artillery ammo.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
James

 

[moon puppy]

We had a campaign like that a while back. "Under New Management"

 

[JamesOLeary]

I wish I had this model and the inclination to go outside of my comfort zone back then. I like the atmosphere of the campaigns on this site better than the other site.

Cheers,
James

 

[iambrb]

I like the atmosphere of the campaigns on this site better than the other site.

Cheers,
James

Me too.

neat subject idea!

 

[JamesOLeary]

Here is the work that I have done to this model up to this point...I have the interior about 80% done. I decided to go with open rear doors so the interior can be viewed from several angles. Although the vehicle was painted OD after capture, the interior was left to it's original color.

Here is the top part. I still need to paint the interior parts to this before I glue it onto the rest of the model.

At this rate, I might be able to have this done by this weekend.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
James

 

[JamesOLeary]

I spray painted the interior of the upper hull with Krylon Olive Drab and then applied Reaper Faded Khaki. I also painted the radio and the vision blocks since they will be somewhat visible.

Now it was ready to glue to the lower hull. Then the rest of the parts minus the pioneer tools were added. Gaps were filled with putty, sanded, and covered with a thin layer of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. I then masked off the opening in the rear as well as the one for the top. Blue tack covered the places where the wheels will be glued on. Now it is ready to paint!

I sprayed the model with Krylon Olive Drab, let it dry, and then sprayed it with Tamiya Olive Drab which is more on the greener side. I will let this cure overnight before I start shading. I will touch up the areas that were covered by the masking tape on the top, but won't start anything else until tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
James

 

[moon puppy]

Thank you for letting us know about the Campaigns James. At least we do that right. :woohoo:

Looks great so far! :dude