It is an ordinary SWS half truck for transporting soldiers and goods. The loading platform looks like there are many wooden parts. Italeri’s three-digit product number, this kit is #360. It was probably an ancient kit for such a three-digit numbering.
The chassis combines thin frames. Previously, I made the SWS anti-aircraft self-propelled gun, so this area was the same process.
Caterpillar is a partial connection type. Parts are irregular, and it isn’t easy to wind up. There was a case where a slight gap could be made. I painted these parts in black and added the weathering effect, so there was no need to be so nervous.
Because this kit plastic is quite fragile, movable part of the front wheel, I fixed them with super glue. There is no problem with decorating it without a movable section.
There are a lot of burr and parting lines for old Italeri kits, so shaping parts is a little troublesome.
(27-May-2018)
A carrier and a driver’s seat aren’t glued together yet. At least I’m thinking of gluing them together after painting inside the driver’s seat.
Although I’d like to have a soldier sit later, I put three fuel drums together as of now. Although it is modern US drums, such a mold is scraped off and diverted to WWII German military use.
It’s a big vehicle, so the painting area is vast. Maybe I should use a hairspray ( technique only for bonnet? Because I am still hesitating, it is roughly painted in black.
(29-May-2018)
I used dark yellow water-based paint and blended Creos and Tamiya.
I wanted to make it muddy weathering, so I rubbed three-dimensional mud onto the bumpers and fenders. As I paint my taste later, the original sand color is not concerned. It is a mixture of sand and matte medium.
Using the Voyager masking template, I made masking sheets for dirt on the wiper. Although it is a rarely used tool, it’s pretty fun when I am examining such convenience goods.
(01-June-2018)
Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (Heavy Military Tractor) was a half-track that simplified the complex mechanism of the former half-track for mass production. Caterpillar was wide and suitable for the muddy ground of the Eastern Front.
This mass production started in December 1943, and 825 were manufactured. Many vehicles are cargo-carrying vehicles on the wooden platform. This kit also has all the wooden loading platforms; several benches are set up.
All the carriages are made of wood, and there is no particular increased armor around the driver’s seat. Although half-track has off-road driving performance, there is almost no defense against battle. It is the “Cargo track,” which is the blog’s title. The maximum speed is 28 km, it’s pretty slow, so I’m worried that the Soviet army will soon catch up when retreating.
I painted the windshield with the masking of the wiper trace. After all, it was muddy that I used weathering frequently, and the glass fogged.
I thought about whether the caterpillar looked heavy if it shone; I emphasized it pretty much.
The number of this decal was challenging to cut and paste one by one. I can do it as my favorite number, but I would like to be prepared with one ready-made number decal.
Even if the canvas is hung on the driver’s compartment, both sides are open, so this is almost an open-top vehicle. Before gluing the canvas, almost all brushes reached inside the compartment, so there was no problem with painting procedures as ordinary tanks.
With a hairspray technique, I drew rust on the driver’s compartment and bonnet. It is slightly heavy weathering compared with my usual vehicle with dry mud—an image of the mud of the Eastern Front.
Even if three drums are put in, space has not been filled so much.
Hmm, weathering is monotonous and boring. It isn’t easy to paint color variation because there is too much space between the open-top loading space and the considerably large vehicle.
I thought the headlight would have a few accents, so I painted the interior silver and let the clear parts shine.
This time it was a Schwerer Wehrmachtsschlepper of Italeri’s easy price kit. The partially connected caterpillar was a little tricky to build. Bronco’s SWS is at a higher price. It is a pity that the total price will not be so cheap if the shipping fee is included in the overseas mail order. If the review is good, I’d like to build that next time.
(03-June-2018)
