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Adler Sdkfz. 13

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This is the Bronco Adler Kfz. 13, the detail on the kit is quite nice with some very fine parts. However, my kit had some issues. The biggest of these issues was that the chassis was warped and needed to be straightened out. This was accomplished using glue, bracing and some small relief cuts. Getting the chassis straight was crucial to achieving a flat-sitting vehicle. There were also a number of superfluous parts, especially on the chassis and steering linkage. Another gripe is that the wheels are attached to the axles by a mere nub of plastic. I'd recommend cutting them off and using brass or plastic rod for strength.

Bronco would have you add superfine etch fender supports that cannot be seen. I left mine off as a time and frustration saver. The etch mud-flaps are beautiful, but very challenging to anneal to match the curve of the front fender. I made mine from wine foil, this was much easier to deal with, I added punched discs to detail them. I replaced the driver-knows with brass AM ones and the mirror on the fender is a piece of wine foil polished on auto sanding cloths until I got to 12000 grit. You can actually see your reflection in it, a fun little add-on.

I added Hussar wheels and I flattened a portion with a file to make the vehicle look heavier, I highly recommend the Hussar set.

The decals are excellent, mine went down great and I buried them under clear gloss and then weathered the vehicle.

I painted this vehicle a shade of British Naval Blue from MM. As I find that the panzer grey shades often become too dark once weathered.

I am still unsure if I like this figure for this vehicle. I am open to suggestions. Now that I am done with this kit, I am going to take a break. I am also going to take a really hard look at my painting style and just build for a while without worrying about my next finished model. If you have critiques on how I can improve my painting, on this or other vehicles in the 'Gallery', please let me know your thoughts.
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About the Author

About George Stray (gstray)
FROM: WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

Been sniffing glue since I was 6 or so. I am now 44. I became obsessed with armor when I saw Tony Greenland's work in FineScale Model Magazine. I try to get better with each model. I am thankful for having a wife who really allows me to get in to my hobby!


Comments

beautiful!!
SEP 10, 2015 - 05:24 AM
Exceptional work! And thank you for sharing the build tips! Regarding the figure ... very nicely painted as well, but I agree that he doesn't seem to fit this particular setting — just too relaxed looking ... I guess. —mike
SEP 10, 2015 - 05:35 AM
Neatly done, George. I like the the subtle weathering. I find your panzergrau quite convincing. As already stated, the figure doesn't really match. Well done and congrats. Gabriel.
SEP 10, 2015 - 06:07 AM
Great build and like the figure. Where's he from? Corpus?
SEP 10, 2015 - 10:28 PM
Nice build of a vehicle we don't see very often.
SEP 10, 2015 - 10:29 PM
Very well done, I like the vehicles with the open interiors like this bronco. Thanks
SEP 11, 2015 - 02:29 AM
Thanks Gang! Wolfhead, the figure is an old Warriors find on eBay.
SEP 11, 2015 - 08:11 AM
Great job as always George! I like the figure, keep it.
SEP 12, 2015 - 08:48 AM
I agree. I also like the tip with the mirror, I'd been struggling with that type of detail recently, so will give it a go.
SEP 12, 2015 - 03:32 PM
Tried the mirror tip. Works. I polished some lead foil with 600 through 4000 grit paper using a small block. I followed that with mild polishing compound. Cut out the discs with a hole punch and used a piece of sprue tipped with BluTac to place it. The discs are tender. THey will wrinkle and scar easily. I expect the the lead will gray out a little over time. I don't believe the German motorized units used the Balken Cross on the soft skinned vehicles. During the Polish campaign the white cross was used on some recon vehicles. Nice job though. I'm not a heavy weathering guy but maybe a little more dust on the lower chassis and wheels along with the interior. Nice job of getting the warp out of the body. Tony
SEP 16, 2015 - 07:19 AM