Sd.Kfz.251/1 Ausf.C

H K
Great start.

Adam Carter
After the fun I'm having with their Centurion, this is definitely on the wish list!

Martyn Fox
Yes I thought I get another AFV on the go. I started off back in the hobby a few years ago mainly doing armour, but have enjoyed getting into aircraft recently. I find it good trying techniques used mainly on armour, on aircraft and vice versa.

Martyn Fox
I'm thinking of doing this in a diorama using some resin figures I've seen from a company called Stalingrad.They do some German infantry in 'at rest' poses which look really good. Has anybody out there seen them or used them?

Michael Razz
i have the 251 ausf D with the 7.5cm gun(gonna post it later on here)keep up the good work Mr Fox 🙂

Martyn Fox
Interior painted and weathered 🙂

John Van Kooten
Ooooh! I will be following progress on this one! 🙂 I love German half-tracks and have a few 251's in my stash as well. I'm a Dragon fan but the AFV-Club 251 has much better and more accurate detail compared to most Dragon versions of the 251. This one is on my wishlist as well 😄

Good job so far! 👍

I have seen a bunch of those Stalingrad figures (in real life), a bit pricey for my taste, but they all looked VERY good and very well detailed! I'm sure it will be no different for the ones you are referring to 🙂

Martyn Fox
Thanks for the comments John. I'm off to a couple of model shows in April so I might try and look look out for the Stalingrad figures in the flesh. I have a plan for a simple diorama with maybe 2/3 figures based around the Kursk offensive. Might even try some of this new type grass vegetation that's on the market now, although I'm a bit out of practice with dioramas. I have the vision in my head but it will probably turn out totally different 🙂

Wim van der Luijt
I have the scaled down (1:48) version from afv club...count me in

John Van Kooten
@Martyn: Haha! Yeah, I'm totally out of practice with diorama's as well but I am also going give it a go again sometime soon 🙂 bought the NOCH Grass-Master 2.0 recently. It will be interesting to see how that works with the static grass 🙂
Looking forward to your updates and to see how your diorama turns out differently than you initially thought 😛 😄

@Wim: 1:48 is a great scale! I used to build quite a bit in that scale. I might try some again sometime 🙂

Jan Hazes
Nice interior work Martyn

Martyn Fox
A few updated pics added.Basecoat,filters and initial weathering completed.

Es-haq Khosravi
Well done!

Martyn Fox
Thanks. Just need to look for some suitable figures at the model show on April 6 to set it off in a diorama.

Michael Razz
Hope u win Mr. Fox

Jan Hazes
Excellent work!

Kim Branders
A big 👍

Martyn Fox
Decided to use Miniart figures ( German soldiers at rest). Used some Miniart figures before and the quality is very good in my eyes. Even the faces are well sculptured so you don't have to replace with resin ones.

Christopher Bowling
Love the worn/weathered effect you were able to replicate. Great job Martyn.

John Van Kooten
Absolutely stunning work!! I love it! Very well done, Martyn! 👍 👍

I have some MiniArt figures in my stash as well. I have never built any of them yet but I definitely agree, they look very good detail wise!

I have a few questions about this kit, if I may:
Did you use the vinyl tracks that came with the kit? And if yes, how does the level of detail compare to, say, plastic individual tracks (like Dragon Magic Tracks or the ones from Trumpeter)? And are they easy to work with, i.e., is track sag easy to reproduce with these? Or are they quite stiff?

Did you encounter any problems with the kit at all? Like sink / pin marks or fitting issues?

Sorry for the many questions but I am also considering getting a few of these AFV Club half-tracks because the level of detail is simply great (better than Dragon)! 🙂 I'm just wondering if I should also get the AFV Club plastic track kits or Friuls while I'm at it.

Mike Kryza
I think this one will become an eye catcher.

Martyn Fox
Thanks for kind comments everyone.John, the kit was a pleasure to build with no problems or cleaning up to do.I used the kits vinyl tracks which have decent detail and are flexible. As a modeller I tend to not use a great deal of super detailing as I like to get on with the painting/weathering which is the area of modelling I enjoy more. I've just bought the Dragon Panzer 1 and broke into a cold sweat when I opened the box and saw the Magic Tracks 🙂

John Van Kooten
Hahaha! I know the feeling 😉 I have (fairly) recently started using photo etch but I still also am in the exact same boat you are. I enjoy straight up modeling + painting much more than fiddling around with these tiny PE parts or other super detailing items.

The Magic Tracks are not as bad as they might look though😉 But I must admit, if you've done some before, assembling them goes much quicker and easier.

Thanks for the comments on the kit! That helped! 👍

H K
What Mike said, an eye catcher. And the MiniArt figures look really good.

Martyn Fox
Just started painting the figures today. I'll post pictures when the dioramas completed🙂

John Van Kooten
Looking forward to that! 👍

Martyn Fox
Diorama completed today. Hope you like🙂

John Van Kooten
Martyn, that is AWESOME!!! Absolutely stunning!! The groundwork is AMAZING as well! And I like the little details, like the sunblock on their noses 😄 the paintwork on both vehicle and figures is marvelous!

I also absolutely love the size of the diorama. It's simply perfect! All the focus goes where it needs to go!

This is a perfect example of how I would like to go and build my diorama's! Which why I'm saving your pictures on my NAS 😄 👍 👍

SUPERB!

Martyn Fox
Thanks very much for the kind comments John. I don't do a lot of dioramas, as I've been building a few aircraft recently but I was quite pleased how this one turned out. I do tend to like to keep things simple and compact and think only a few well placed figures can set a vehicle off. 🙂

John Van Kooten
I think that's a great way to go, keeping things simple and compact! I totally agree in that a few well placed figures ties it all together and sets it off. Which you did perfectly in this diorama, I might add 👍 it breathes atmosphere and looks very realistic!

Again, absolutely perfect IMHO 🙂

H K
Stunning! Such a great little scene 👍

Christopher Bowling
Excellent build Martyn Fox. Very interesting diorama. Thanks for posting.

Matthias Weiss
Very nice, looks excellent!

Es-haq Khosravi
Great Job!!!

Martyn Fox
Thanks for all the kind comments everyone, it really means a lot 🙂 Might enter this in the next model show I go to in June. I've been on bit of a roll today, just finished the new Airfix1/72 Hurricane. I'll have to take some pics and post tomorrow.

Fabian D.
really nice, it might be a simple setup, but it works... an that´t what it is all about 👍

Jan Hazes
Superb work Martyn 🙂

Hunter Cummins
Where did you get fhose awesome figures ???
The whole diorama looks amazimg
great work as usual

Fabian D.
@Hunter: MiniArt... Soldiers at Rest (MiniArt 35062, 1:35)

Hunter Cummins
I will be at my LHS soon lol

Martyn Fox
Thanks again for comments Scalemates. Hunter : Fabien was correct,the figures are from Miniart which I find are producing some really good sets. The sculpting is excellent and I don't find the need to replace with resin heads as all the features tend to be individually expressive.

Hunter Cummins
Sweet
I have been wanting a few of their sets

Laurent Demaille
Hi Fabian, Can I ask you please, which brand of paint did you use for the overall dark yellow ?

Holger Kranich
Wonderful work, Martyn! The figures are very nice, like the white noses😢

Martyn Fox
Thanks guys. Hi Laurent (Its Martyn by the way) I believed the paint I used on this kit was Tamiya dark yellow lightened with buff for the base colour.

Mike Kryza
Really a very nice work. 👍

Martyn Fox
Thanks Mike

Laurent Demaille
Sorry Martyn for confusion 🙂 Tamiya colors for Dark yellow or Desert Yellow for DAK look like more appropriate.
I have Dark yellow primer from AK interactive, but looks like too much Mustard. Life color modulation for Dark yellow is a little bit too "green". But when I add both, comes closer to Tamiya colors, like on first pictures of my Panther Ausf.D from Zvezda

Kim Branders
Nice dio. Grtz.

Rui S
Very nice dio, the setup figures painting and kit are great. Nice to see that you don't need photoetch or resin heads or a thousand aftermarket things (ie tracks or other) to get such a good result, so congratulations for that Martyn.

Martyn Fox
Thanks guys. Rui, I agree that you don't always need need a load of aftermarket items. Some of the new plastic figures now are very good and I'm also not great with photo etch and fiddly single track links etc🙂 I guess I just like to get on with the painting as it's my favourite part of modelling.

M.Julian Marles
Real nice finish! Subtle yet effective weathering! I like it!😉