UVS models: Salute 2021 11/12/2020

[ultravanillasmurf]

Is the close in defence weapon a mortar/grenade launcher in a rotatable mount?

[ultravanillasmurf]

Rundumsfeur remote mg.

http://www.pzfahrer.net/hetzermgs.html

URL is a bit flaky.

[ripley]

Yes , the close defence weapon ( Nahverteidgungswaffe    ) was sort of like the bomb thrower on Shermans , except that it could rotate 360' , all the better to try and kill of attacking Russians

Internals - the handle bar with the site is for the remote mG , the black thingy in the rear is the " breech " of the cdw ( photo from a  fantastic Missing -Lynx  Stug III build by Mike Roof  ) 

Here's a couple of top views of the CDW on the BA Tiger and Panther ( which I added  )

[Pinky]

A close defence weapon would be cool.  I was thinking of something like this:



It seems to me the IDF would be a good source of ideas for modifying WW2 armoured vehicles.

[ripley]

Could also add those grenade /smoke launcher things , seen on Tiger and Panzer III / IV turret sides . They were fired electrically from inside  but had to be loaded from outside . Plus they tended to catch fire and explode if hit in combat , hence being deleted and the CDW installed . If your doing a what if / Konflic  47 , they would have used the latest stuff , not taken a step back IMO . While a mg on the drivers plate of the 250 might work and look cool , you wouldn't have room there for the armored ball mg mount , just a sliding port , kind of defeats the purpose of the armor up front , having your window open . The IDF halftrack has a front window easily 2 times as high as the 250 , so room for ball mount . Much better to have a roof mounted remote mg ( Rumdumsfuer ) IMO

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks for the ideas.

The ball mount on that half-track is neat, definitely something for a companion to the easy eight when I build one.

The smoke dischargers are a strange thing, if you look at the current Leopard, it has a bunch of them down the side of the turret. I know the ATGW environment is different from the WW2 one, but I wonder if it was a reaction similar to the initial Zimmerit addition and then not adding it. A "Dangerous Dogs Act" reaction.

It is noticeable that none of the rules I have read mention smoke dischargers or candles or the CDW, they rarely get mentioned elsewhere. Were they that ineffective? The US sealed up the hole on their Shermans.

The CDW is an interesting idea, but adds another hole in the supposedly sealed fighting compartment.

According to the limited information I have found, the 253 had an MG for defense, but I have yet to find out where it was mounted.

Another question, I had always thought the covers over the vision ports had bullet proof glass protected slits, but photographs in the Terry Gander book show plain covers. Is that an artifact of the reproduction?

The simplest option is to just drill a hole in the roof and glue a thin slices from some Evergreen tube to represent the mounting point. I have not fitted the one to my JgPzr 38(T).

The alternative is to delicately drill between the binocular sight and add a slice of Evergreen tube and build the remote gun later.

Having the sight and the gun together does mean you can only call in fire or defend yourself but does mean that one function does not block the line of sight of the other.

[Pinky]

Ripley is right about the limited space for an MG mount, although it could be done by building a protruding box shape. 

The German close defence weapon wouldn't compromise your sealed fighting compartment, so maybe that's a good idea.  A bit boring visually, however.  There were persistent production shortages with the remote-controlled MG, so in real life it often wasn't fitted, but it could be quite a nice addition to your vehicle.  Maybe have an IR sight as well?

Some SdKfz 253s had MGs, but photos of them are rare.  This famous photo, often misidentified as an SdKfz 250/3, is an Afrika Korps SdKfz 253 fitted with a frame antenna and mounting an MG 34.  That said, it's not clear how the MG is mounted (although it's clear it's not in the same place as an SdKfz 250), and the position of the crew doesn't quite seem to match the configuration of the roof hatches.



There were armoured glass lenses fitted behind the visors, which had slits (restored neu SdKfz 250 at Beltring):
   

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks for that.

The 253 photograph shows there are slits in the front ones, which makes sense.

[ultravanillasmurf]

How about...


Only kidding, it was a size comparison for a Weird War vehicle.

[ripley]

Hmm , did you glue the roof on ? If not , trace the shape on plastic card and add a hole so you could mount the  turret  . I did the same kind of thing in 1/35 using the old ( very old) Tamiya 250 and a Zvezda B-10 AC turret



One of those fun kit- mingles using extra  Dragon parts and Miniarts 45mm ammo set . Still working on a crew . I just love this hobby in so many scales 

[ripley]

Just spotted this on Armorama  and thought this idea might be right up your alley 

Shouldn't be too hard to kit bash , just some tubing mostly

[ultravanillasmurf]

Excellent idea.

I had thought to use a Stuka zu Fuss (scary, predictive text supplied the second and third words) with a hard top or hope for a Maultier or sWS with Panzerwerfer 42.

[Pinky]

Yes, this looks very '1946'.  You could have the rockets from the Stuke zu Fuss, but in a rotating launcher.  I guess you'd put a roof plate over the existing hatches? 

[Ballardian]

I agree that it's an excellent idea - given the absence of a sWS based Panzerwerfer in plastic (there is the WG resin/pewter Maultier version).

[ultravanillasmurf]

For those of you with long memories, the Warlord Sherman V has now received a base coat and some scuffing.

There are a few bits that need clean up (one of the crates has track colour on it) but it is currently in the process of receiving the decals for A Squadron Grenadier Guards (the M4s are C squadron, the M5A1 is HQ squadron). Once varnished, the paint work will be cleaned up.