sWS with Flak

by Mike Millette

Italeri's sWS with Flak in 1/35 scale is available online from Squadron.com

This is Italeri's sWS with Flak. I was initially inspired to build this kit after seeing a shot of it in Bruce Culver's Osprey/New Vanguard "SdKfz 251" book. A single picture of the right front side is included in the very back of the book. I really liked the paint scheme and felt it would be a challenging one to attempt. I had started the kit when I came across the Jentz & Doyle "Panzer Tracts" #12, dealing with Flakpanzers. This publication provided shots of both sides which was fortunate as the paint scheme on each side varies significantly.

The kit was assembled using information fron an article on John Robinson's Armor in Scale website. http://www.cidwebs.com/armorinscale/inboxswsflak.htm John's article proved very helpful during construction. Major alterations to the kit include:

Cutting down the gun shield to match the photos. Adding additional armor on the roof of the cab to match the photos. Using plastic tubing in place of the 2 piece torsion bar covers. Substituting Friul tracks and drive sprocket for the kit tracks/sprocket. These make a substantial difference in the look of the kit. The right side window and cover were reduced in size to match the photos.

As it stands the kit includes a different style of wheel & tire as used on the vehicle in the photos. I have a resin set of wheels & tires from R&J that match the wheel style but some work must be done to accurately simulate the tire tread pattern.

The paint scheme was applied using Model Master & Floquil paints. Floquil's SP Panzer Yellow was used for the base coat and Model Master's Olive Green and Red Brown were used for the camo stripes. 

The complex scheme did prove to be a bit of a challenge, particularly on the nose plate where the stripes interact in a very complex pattern. It was however quite a lot of fun. I haven't seen any photos of the back of the vehicle so some conjecture was necessary. Light weathering was applied using a thinned brown/black mixture for general grime, some local pin washes to simulate shadows and pastel dusting for good old road dust. Lastly a graphite pencil was used to provide a few scratches here and there.

All in all this was a fun project. I really like the stripped scheme and enjoyed the challenge it provided.

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Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2001 by Mike Millette
Page Created 06 June, 2001
Last Updated 18 July, 2001

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