By Dario Risso | 05.10.2013 10:48
These new vehicles, designated StuH 42 (Sturmhaubitze 42, Sd.Kfz 142/2), were designed to provide infantry support with the increased number of StuG III Ausf. F/8 and Ausf. Gs being used in the anti-tank role. The StuH 42 mounted a variant of the 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer, modified to be electrically fired and fitted with a muzzle brake. Later models were built from StuG III Ausf. G chassis as well as StuG III Ausf. F and Ausf. F/8 chassis. 1,210 StuH 42 were produced from October 1942 to 1945.
By Guy Golsteyn | 08.01.2010 17:33
To be able to build the 1976 Ensign, first you need to buy a kit of course. The problem is that none of the known manufacturers may offer anything that comes close to this subject. After a long search I found a 1/20 kit by the Brazilian manufacturer RTN Models. Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of them before either.
By Mario Covalski | 08.01.2010 17:30
Building scale models doesn’t always mean to build static reproductions based on plastic or resin kits. Thus there are modelers who using raw materials, make models from scratch, without a commercial kit, others build models from paper, wood, etc or radio controlled ones…For many years, at the same time of building static models, I’ve been a big fan of radio control; in this way, I built ships, cars, aircraft and of course, I made them operate in the different scenarios they were created for. The aim of this article is to serve as an introduction to the scale RC cars focusing on my latter project, a Fiat Abarth 1000 built from the 1/10 Tamiya kit.
By Roger Knight | 08.01.2010 12:30
The object of this build was to make the model as the Fiat raced in 1907 rather than as it appears now in the Italian museum. It is on this museum exhibit that the Pocher kit is based and it is very different.
Apart from the car being painted entirely red, including the radiator surround and front wheels there are many other differences between the exhibit and the original car.
Other changes to the kit included replacing the 'plastic wood with real wood, floor boards and steering wheel rim and re-modelling the dash board to accurately represent the original.. it was red and not wooden as in the kit. Many plastic parts have been re made in brass and metal and the radiator grill was also remade replacing the plastic item supplied.
The seats where re-covered in leather and all of the straps and buckles have been scratch built. The side 'doors', for want of a better word are canvas on the original and the fabric supplied with the kit is far to thick to ever look convincing. I replaced these with silk as it hangs and folds in a much more realistic 'scale' manner. The engine, being very simplistic in the kit was enhanced using many scratch built parts
The tires on the original were white natural India rubber, as indeed all tires where at the turn of the last century. Carbon black was yet to be added to the rubber in 1907 so the tires supplied with the kit are incorrect (being black) but are correct for the museum vehicle. Model Motorcars ( www.modelmotorcars.com) produce many high quality after market parts for Pocher kits and their extensive range includes a replacement set of white tires for the Fiat so these were used to replace the supplied tires.
This model now represents accurately the 130 hp car in which Nazzaro won the 1907 French Grand Prix
By Modeler Site | 08.01.2010 0
By Alessandro Prini
By Mario Covalski
I know that we're talking about kits that were manufactured 25 years ago, but oh God... what kits! I think that modeling in general has lost a lot without kits of these characteristics. There were attempts from Hasegawa, Fujimi, and Otaki in the big scale (1/12), trying to present kits with the same quality, not to forget Doyusha, but none of them had the "life" of Tamiya's Porsches; maybe there is an exception, the Lancia Stratos manufactured by Otaki for Nitto; this kit is currently marketed by Doyusha, but we'll talk about this model in a future note.