as a short break from my Mark IV-project I have used the weekend to build a 3D-model of the Fahrpanzer, a mobile 53mm artillery. I based it on some low-resolution drawings I found on the net, together with photos of surviving exemplars (mostly the one in Brussels). Here's the result:
It also has a basic rendition of the interior:
I hope you like it, and if you see any errors, please let me know!
It will be modified to get it 3D-printed in 1/35 scale as a small kit. Does somebody here know which color schemes can be used for this, apart from the very colorful scheme seen in Brussels? A lot of the pictures show it in a monotone camouflage, but I have no idea what this could have looked like.
That looks great. I am interested in modelling one in 1/35 when I get round to it ! But I think printing one will be a lot quicker. Most pictures seem to be in multi-colour camouflage but I would reckon on green/grey or light earth if painted in a single colour.
That's an impressive bit of work there Thorsten. I'm still learning when it comes to 3D CAD work, I think that would be a months work for me right now. :)
Thank you very much! I am still learning, too. Have bought Rhino one year ago and am very pleased with it's functionality (and you can't beat the price for students). Before, I had only 2D CAD experience, but never had someone actually teaching me which would have saved me so much trouble. What are you working with?
Today the parts arrived from Shapeways. I designed them to be already halfway in seperators for molding,
so all I have to do is to wrap some walls around the pieces and pour silicone over them. Then I can cast them from resin.
But before, I need to fix some problems with the parts. First, they were still covered with a gooey, thick liquid which I think is a residual of the support wax. I have not been able to remove it completely yet, and it makes the primer not sticking to the parts. Second, some of the plates are warped slightly and I need to get this refixed for the molds.
Thanks! Yesterday I poured silikone over the mold-molds, today I tried the first runs in resin. Small parts went well and I'm really happy with the detail, but I have some air bubble problems in the bigger ones. I don't know when I will be able to continue working on them, but when I have a complete set of parts I will show pictures. Assembly will be straight forward then.
Still unsure about the color... Is there any evidence on paint used for such equipment? I have nice pictures of monotone colored Fahrpanzers and would like to replicate this...
The example at the Brussels Army museum is, as are most of their items, in it's original color scheme. If you can't find a color photo, I can furnish a few.
Be careful of the colours at Brussels - although they are the original paint finishes the paint colour isn't stable over time. Back in WW1 alkyd and acrylic paints were unknown
so paint was made from linseed oil and lead oxide with pigment added for the desired colour. This gives a very resistant coating but the lead oxide reacts with sulphur compounds
in the air to form black lead sulphide. The effect on the paint colour is that it slowly darkens and dulls over time. Lead paints don't have anywhere near the colour saturation that
modern paints have so even colours like yellow ochre probably weren't anywhere near as bright as modern counterparts.
A few years ago I saw a camouflaged German helmet which had sat in a cupboard for many decades - the colours (green, brown, ochre) were surprisingly bright compared to the colours on the
pieces at Brussels. I guess we're conditioned to camouflage schemes which attempt to merge with the background - I'm not sure that was the objective in WW1 schemes -
most of them seem to have picked up the ideas of the Cubist movement in painting where blocks of colour could hide the outline of an object.
The model nears the finish line. The parts were assembled and painted in a medium grey. Some small details were added (tool clamps on the doors from aluminium foil, small details in the interior from plastic sheet). Now only the weathering and the small diorama is missing.
I started with the small diorama which will hopefully resemble an original picture of an abandoned Fahrpanzer in a destroyed trench (on the original picture, a destroyed female Mark IV lies in the background). I began building up the landscape with packing material and a DIN A5 board:
Then I covered it with wood putty and some small branches. There will be another layer with more small twigs.
Cheers Thorsten
-- Edited by thorst on Monday 21st of April 2014 04:25:18 PM
It looks fantastic ! 3D printing is really a dream for modellers.
Note that as my favorite scale is 1/72, do you think is it possible to ask Shapeways to produce a 1/72 scale version of this Fahrpanzer (I think that if they have the files, is it probably possible). However, I don't know what it costs ?
I need your help: Someone knows which color was used by Germans that results in a bright overall color on black and white photographs of that time? The picture I try to duplicate shows the Fahrpanzer in such a tone.
Marienwagen, I fear that this is not possible. Even in 1/35, the detail is nearly not doable. For 1/72, the rivets needed to be enlarged massively or neglected, and the wall of the turret needed to be thickened such that the interior would not look accurate. Even then, the model needed to get a major redesign (which I would attempt if there is a market...).
As for colours, all I will say is beware black and white photos. Often what at first looks like a change in colour, is actually due to the angle of the light and how reflective/shiny the paint finish.
I often watch the Royal Navy ships coming in and out of the harbour here in Portsmouth. I know they are painted a Grey with a hint of blue to it. Sometimes you can see the blue, other times they're just grey. Also Although painted all over in the same colour, the upper works will often look lighter than the hull. This is because the hull angles outwards and the Bridge and masts straight up or inwards.
What ever colour you end up going with, remember to tone it down a little to match in better with the scale.
Helen x
A few nice photos here... Historica Looking at the drawing they seem to be hinting at a pale browny sand colour, but green and camouflaged seem ok as well. I do like all the tools hanging on the door in one photo.
Another page here with a contemporary water colour where the artist has painted the main body of the Fahrpanzer the same as the bare iron on the wheels. So lots of choice, chances are they painted them in the field to whatever the popular colour was in that area/Company.
-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Wednesday 23rd of April 2014 10:06:04 PM
-- Edited by MK1 Nut on Wednesday 23rd of April 2014 10:35:35 PM
Thank you Helen!
It is interesting to note that the pictures in the link you posted show two different versions of the Fahrpanzer, the one having a step directly below the dome like the one I modeled, the second going down straight below the cupola.
As you can see, it appears as a monotone color which is quite bright. I can find two different options online, the one is a bright grey, the other a bright grey-green. The problem is that I am really clueless about which color could have been used, i.e. if there was a "standard" color for such equipment... Any help is most appreciated!
Looking at the photo you are working from I would agree with it being a pale sand-brown, as it would tie in with the surrounding ground colour. Has the "female" in the distance been noted and identified I wonder ?
The diorama is coming on nicely too.
Paul
__________________
The finest stories of the Great War are those that will never be told.
Thanks Paul! I don't know more about the female, but it was a reason to build this diorama. So you guess it to be a light sand color... was there a standard of such camouflage colors in Germany at this time?
Thorsten
Excellent build, Thorsten. Â All the 35ers out there should be asking you for a Fahrpanzer kit. Â I'm particularly impressed with the small items you were able to have produced; as in the gunner's seats. Â Hats off to you!
I've been spreading the word among some of my colleagues in AMMS Brisbane - hopefully you may get some enquiries about your model. I'll try to get it into our monthly newsletter - can you PM me an email address please.