This page is just for some of my vehicle projects in 1:72 scale.
Sherman M4A3 — For a recent Crossfire game I needed four Shermans for the Allied team, but only had two plastic models. I ran out of time trying to find an Armourfast kit locally and thought I would have to do without. Then I remembered the paper kits I had seen at the Paper Model Workshop web site. I picked the M4A3 variant to avoid any complex curves and managed to build two tanks in about three days. The models are on the simple side, but they look fine for wargaming purposes. Plus they gave me the experience and confidence to start looking at the more advanced paper models at Paper Tiger Armaments.
Cruiser Mk. III (A13) — This is the free sample from Paper Tiger Armaments and I had given it a try about six months ago. It is a lot more detailed than the Sherman above and I gave up after assembling the hull. I came back to it after building the Shermans with a renewed determination to finish the model. I liked the result enough to print out two more.
On the second model I started differently and worked through the instructions in a different order. I began with the road wheels and sprockets since they're the most tedious, but less fiddly, part of the model. Then I put together the lower hull and began gluing on the wheels. This way I avoided the trouble I had attaching the sprockets under the track guards. I also glued the tracks on at this point as well. Again it's a lot easier to do it without all the superstructure attached.
Panzer 38t — the first of two models I bought from Paper Tiger Armaments was this small tank. I wanted some German armor for the France 1940 campaigns in the works and this is one that isn't common as a plastic model. There were a few tricky parts (especially the commander's copula), but overall it was fun to build.
SdKfz. 251/C — I got this one along with the 38t so I could start experimenting with APCs in Crossfire without spending a whole lot of money on them, especially since a company would need a minimum of 9 vehicles just to carry the squads. This way I purchased one "master" that is good for as may 251s as I have the patience to make.[1] Once they are done I'm thinking about making crew/passenger plug-ins like Will and Lloyd.
Renault FT-17 — this was a free model from designer Wayne McCullough (available in high resolution from the Hobby Factory) that I built for my 1940 campaign. I used ideas from the Paper Modelers forum and the scratch-built ones by Tim Marshall to detail mine. The model was fun to build. The body looks tricky to fold, but goes together like a charm (the angled rear is the only place I had difficulty). The tracks are single units and are also very easy to build. The tiny details were a lot trickier (I still don't know how part #10 is really supposed to go on). I found the instructions to be too vague when explaining how some of these were supposed to be folded and attached. The line drawings didn't quite match up to the printed part and a picture of the completed parts might have helped explain it better. But once I got past that I was quite pleased with the finished model.
Sherman M4A1 76(W) — this is the Revell kit.
Sherman M4A1 75 — an old ESCI kit that I inherited as a finished model.
StuG IV — the Revell kit.[2]
Jagdpanzer IV/70 — Revell again.
Panzer IV F2 — an ESCI model that came in a play set with the Sherman. They both have basic paint jobs, but it's good enough for the gaming table.
[1] SdKfz251.com and Sd.Kfz. 251
