Field Test - Flakpanzer 341 and Rheintochter R-3
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September 18, 2023Just got back to working on models again after a break for a few months, hopefully I haven't forgotten everything yet...
Haven't tried a Dragon kit yet but I've heard good things. I looked at some of the sprues and everything seems to be detailed, at least enough for my standards. Only thing I don't like is working with rubber/vinyl tracks.2
September 18, 2023Won this weird kit in an ebay auction. As far as I can tell it's a Cromwell Models Rheintochter R-3 German anti-air missile. On the way models did a review for one transported on a flak 41 carriage, but this seems to be intended for mounting on top of a tank based on the parts included. The pieces on the left look like decks to walk on since the missile would take up a lot of space. I'm planning on mounting it to an entrenched position instead since I've seen the other models where Rheintochters are mounted on tanks and they just look silly.3
September 18, 2023Finally here is a M.G.M. MSZ 201. This is some sort of rare artillery tractor that the Germans used, but this one has a fuel tank in the back. The resin quality is a bit poor so it will need cleanup. First steps though will probably be a relaxed build of the Flakpanzer 341 before I get too deep in the resin.4
September 24, 2023Thought I'd uploaded these earlier in the week - just some complaints on quality. Since I'm just doing this as a straight build I was hoping the model itself would have high quality as I'd heard good things about Dragon but it isn't great. Compare how these tools are attached by a weird frame to the box art where the tools are flush with the chassis.5
September 24, 2023Another quality problem that's a bit hard to see is on the topmost barrel where it is both bent, and flared out and damaged.6
October 3, 2023Sorry updates are a bit slow. I've mostly finished up with the Flakpanzer, I just need to actually glue the body and turret together. This photo is just of the dryfitting. I'll glue it up and fill any gaps then go onto the MSZ 201.7
January 22, 2024Alright finally got back around to this. Finished up the MSZ 201 most of the way. Anything that's not attached I'll be painting separately.8
January 22, 2024So the Rheintochter was missing its solid fuel boosters and I had to improvise. A lot of models give the boosters a six-nozzle setup, but I opted for the simple single nozzle. I figure if the Germans actually deployed these they would not have the material for complicated single-use boosters. Additionally, there is a surviving missile at the "Muzeum Wyrzutnia Rakiet" which uses a single nozzle. Unsure if it is a reconstruction.9
January 22, 2024In-progress on the boosters.10
January 22, 2024More or less final missile.11
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January 29, 2024Put in the metal wire handles. Just need to fill the gaps at the drilled areas.13
January 29, 2024Test layout.14
February 2, 2024Advanced hovel construction techniques.15
February 2, 2024Build of the bunker and base for the rheintochter. They're a bit rough here but will get green stuff and acrylic putty. I didn't want to waste wood so the box for the rheintochter base looks wonky since I built half of it with scraps.16
February 2, 2024Detail on the stairs. Not sure how I'm going to fill in the gaps with putty and add earthy texture without just swamping the wood bits themselves and losing all the detail.17
February 2, 2024Details are a bit washed here due to bad lighting but I sanded down most of the corners and added a flat floor to the bunker.18
February 7, 2024No huge progress, used some poor carpentry skills to construct a box and have been liberally filling with green stuff to clean up mistakes. I'll be applying acrylic putty for texture to the bunker and base soon so things are looking up.19
February 12, 2024Put in the mount and concrete texture on the box.20
February 12, 2024I realized that since the actual mount and frame the missile would be on don't have an interface for manual control, it would probably be something that is controlled electronically. Realistically this would probably be wired underground, but I decided that just to make it more interesting I would run the wire into the bunker.21
February 12, 2024The view from ins22
February 12, 2024Put up some janky little metal holders for the wire. Later I cut them down and made them more uniform.23
February 12, 2024Got the ground detailing down. A couple rocks and a lot of tread marks and footprints.24
February 12, 2024Alt view, you can see how the wire looks better with the join half buried.25
February 20, 2024Getting started on paint. I've been testing some shades of yellow for the tank and missile mount on the base.26
March 3, 2024Got around to base coating the tank as well as rocket base.27
February 20, 2024Base coated the fuel trailer. I saw some pics of the sd. kfz 251 with a sort of latticed pattern that was probably done by hand with a wide brush and decided to replicate that on the fuel drum.28
March 3, 2024Went ahead and used some grey powder in order to make the concrete more concrete-y.29
March 3, 2024Preparing to paint camo.30
March 3, 2024And camo painted. I just tried to follow somewhat there was displayed on the back of the instructions. Not sure how realistic this is but it looks interesting. I need to do a bit of cleanup since my airbrush is kind of a junker (only ran me about $20) and doing any detail work is very finicky.31
March 3, 2024Now that my least favorite step is out of the way, I should make a lot more progress I think.32
March 3, 2024Just as a bonus at the end of the weekend I basecoated the figures and objects here with some spray paint.33
March 11, 2024Gave everything a clear gloss coat and began to assemble the tank.34
March 11, 2024I actually thought it would be impossible to get the decal where it said to on the instructions, but I guess it isn't. I also did some very light chipping, but not too much since this hypothetically wouldn't have been deployed in an actual frontline before.35
March 11, 2024Detail on the back.36
March 11, 2024And the opposite side.37
March 11, 2024Was more heavy-handed with the chipping on the fuel truck. Gloss coat makes it a bit hard to see all the details.38
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March 11, 2024I tried to do a sort of pseudo-rivets look on the rail but it didn't work out. I cleaned it up as best as I could.40
March 11, 2024Starting to weather, I did okay on the back wheel, I just need to do the same sort of thing on the front, a little lighter on the tire itself though.41
March 21, 2024Very disappointed in the AK Interactive bottles, I put it down on its side to store it and I guess the seal was not held despite being screwed nearly all the way on as the whole bottle drained itself.42
March 21, 2024Weathering update, now missing my pigment fixer43
March 21, 2024Turf and grass applied. I aimed to make it seem like there are a few different types of grass growing together here.44
March 21, 2024Created a fuel hose from green stuff.45
March 21, 2024Gluing in the various props.46
March 21, 2024Preview of how the tank will look in place.47
March 21, 2024Painted up the figures real quick. Clearly need to improve on this.48
March 21, 2024Everything laid out first to get a matte coat, then to be glued in.49
March 21, 2024And done. Final kit review: Dragon Flakpanzer 341 >= Cromwell Models Rheintochter R3 >>> MGM MSZ 201. Was very unimpressed with the MGM kit due to plentiful air bubbles, poor quality, and frail casting. The other kits both were pretty high quality for their mediums outside of some minor errors. I think I'm going to try and move away from poorer quality figures and kits in the future to see if that improves cohesiveness overall. I'll be doing a figure next, so I'll see if I can't improve on my detail painting with that.50
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Comments
18 18 September 2023, 23:39
![](/profiles/img/125387-174-s.jpg)
The resemblance is uncanny, though I think the Lee was much more successful than whatever strange prototype this is.
20 September 2023, 02:52
![](/profiles/img/33587-335-s.png)
Definetly looks interesting so far with a lot happening on that diorama 👍 Curious to see what´s next!
12 February, 21:56
![](/profiles/img/125387-174-s.jpg)
Even though I called this done I'm considering going back and gluing a few pebbles/gravel around in the areas where there are none at the moment. I think it would help differentiate the dirt, I was just a bit hesitant to before since the stones could have made it difficult to glue down the vehicles and figures.
24 March, 20:32