What do you get if you cross a Pzkpfw III ...
... with a Jagdtiger?
A Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B!
Looking through my box of ROCO bits and pieces, I found a Pzkpfw III hull and the casemate from a Jadgtiger. I wondered if I could utilise these to build a self-propelled gun, and after a quick look through my reference books and at a photo on Wikipedia, ...
... I realised that I could bodge a Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B from the parts.
I downloaded a drawing of the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B from the Internet, ...
... which I then scaled down so that it was 1/87th-scale. Using the drawings as a guide, I cut the Jagdtiger casemate to the right length (it was already the right width), and after cutting away part of the Pzkpfw III’s upper hull, I was able to glue the casemate into place. I then added a suitably shortened gun barrel from my spares box, and used thin pieces of plastic to blank off the open end of the casemate. Some further detail (e.g. hatches, jerrycans, a storage box) was added using more bits from the spares box ... and the model was finished!
The resultant model is not a 100% accurate scale model, but I think that it’s good enough for wargaming.
It is a long time since I bodged together something like this ... but I have proved to myself that ‘Bob can bodge it!’ (With apologies to the lyrics of the BOB THE BUILDER theme tune!).
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Yes he can!.
ReplyDeletePaul Liddle,
DeleteIt was great to find out that I could still bodge a conversion!
All the best,
Bob
Looks good. A very 70s project.
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteVery true. It’s the sort of conversion I used to do back then!
All the best,
Bon
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteNice work there on the conversion in 1/87th (HO Scale). The magazine 'Military Modelling' back in the 1970s had many such 'conversion' projects to follow- great magazine back then. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteCheers! I used to avidly read those articles and the ones that appeared in Airfix Magazine ... and at one point, I had quite a few conversions in my collection.
All the best,
Bob
Hello there Bob,
ReplyDeleteThat was a canny piece of improvisation for sure! Very old school and looks just the ticket. It certainly took me back to my converting days.
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteCheers! I was on the point of buying a model of this particular vehicle from a company that prints model tanks to order ... and then I realised that I had the right bits to bodge something that looked roughly right. I saved some money as well as proving to myself that I can still make models from broken kits and spare parts etc.
All the best,
Bob
Well bodged!
ReplyDeletePeter Douglas,
DeleteCheers!
All the best,
Bob
Nothing wrong with a good "bodge"! I tend to think of them as "vismod" conversions........after the US Army training centre which used Shedidans as the basis for T-72s, BMPs and ZSU-23/4 mock-ups!
ReplyDeleteIf it's good enough for the US Army....
Neil
Neil Patterson (Neil),
DeleteI’d never thought of them as vismods, but I suppose that they are!
They are certainly good enough for government work.
All the best,
Bob
Brilliant bodging Bob!
ReplyDeleteYou can always blame any imperfections on deliberately shoddy workmanship/sabotage by the slave labour in the factories of the Reich...
Arthur1815,
DeleteCheers! Hopefully there wasn’t any shoddy work done, but If there is, I know who to blame!
All the best,
Bob
StuRat,
ReplyDeleteMy first ROCO models were the King Tiger and Jagdtiger! I bought them in the Southend-on-Sea branch of Woolworths during a day trip. Like you, I used them as generic German tanks to support my German troops.
All the best,
Bob
Close enough for Government Work, Bob. Excellent conversion!
ReplyDeleteRegards, Chris.
Chris Kemp,
DeleteCheers! I hope that it wil look even better when it has been painted.
All the best,
Bob
Bob, the Artful Bodger -
ReplyDeleteThere is something about bodged or scratchbuilt kit, don't you reckon, that (a) has that extra character, and (b) is apt to become something of a favorite. SP infantry support weapons - always useful!
My first German AFVs (back in 1976) were Airfix Panthers and SdKfz234/4, and Matchbox Jagdpanthers; the Russians got Airfix T34 and Fujimi KVI and KVII. All of these are still my favorites.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYou are right about bodged or scratch built stuff becoming favourites. I suspect that it happens because you have invested just that little bit more time and effort into creating it than normal 'ready made' or 'put together' kits.
My favourite military vehicle kit of all time is the Airfix Universal Carrier, of which I have built (and bodged) many. They became the basis of all sorts of conversions, ranging from Pzkpfw IA light tanks to the running gear of a Maultier!
All the best,
Bob
You can't beat a good bodge! Nice work Bob.
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteCheers! There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of producing a good bodge job!
All the best,
Bob