A Panzerturm for Alpha

sassgrunt
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A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by sassgrunt »

Before he passed away, Alpha and I would talk about various builds & projects on the board, (he may not have been an active member any more; but he continued to be actively interested). One of the things he was really impressed about was Herman Bix's Panzerturm Stellung R39 build. (Probably because he admired the creativity it took to start with nothing and wind up with something interesting and credible).

He knew that I had a Panda Hobby PzKpfw 38(t), and that I had set aside the turret parts when I only used the chassis parts for a build. After seeing Herman's build, he started nagging me that I should send my unused turret parts to him, so that he could build another one using that turret; but I didn't get around to talking to Herman about it before Alpha passed.

So, in deference to one of Alpha's last musings regarding worthwhile builds, I contacted Herman and asked him if he would be willing to accept this "posthumous challenge" from Alpha. He said that he would, (which I was very happy about), and I sent him the parts. That sets up the background of the build, and I'll let Herman continue with whatever journey he plans to take us on with it. -Mike
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43rdRecceReg
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

:clap: A great, and very touching idea, Mike. I'm sure that the General would have been treated us to a dazzling string of animated GIFs, and custom emojis, to applaud the tribute. :thumbup:
If he could send them and some blueprints, by ouija board, I'm sure he would. He's gone, but certainly unforgettable. :(
Roy.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
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Estnische
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by Estnische »

An excellent idea, and one I know Herman will not treat lightly.

Bon Chance!
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by HERMAN BIX »

And now I do have said bits of Pz38T.
I will say its a hell of a thing to be invited to carry out a commission for one that A-has a certain notoriety, and B- has tragically passed on........ ;)
This virtual forum may dim and fade over time, but for me, this build is one that will take on a special place and shine on over what time I have left, so that when he and I meet, we can shake hands & he will nod approval.....................

That aside, I humbly acknowledge that Mr Sassgrunts invitation was very surprising and I did not hesitate to take it on.
Mr Sassgrunt is a very special human that never ceases to assist others in the hobby, and no doubt in real life as well.

My quandary is that I could take the safe & well researched route and produce a fair representation of many of the Panzerturm Stellung that dotted the Atlantic Wall & similar lines of fortification, but not to involve some form of G.U.P. extrovert inclusion would be kind of letting the General down.......... :problem:

One thing I will state- for the record.....................IM NOT DOING A BLOODY PINK PANZERTURM :/ :/ :haha: :wtf: :lolno:
(sorry General, love ya, but we've established I dont do pink military models ok !!)
I'm hoping to get into the research tomorrow & put a few options up for comment.
To a degree I'm glad that his last comment was NOT that he wanted me to do a Sherman with a pink camo job so I can at least thank him for that.
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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jarndice
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by jarndice »

This is an absolutely wonderful idea for a project :clap: :clap: :clap:
Well Herman there is one thing you will not be short of and that is "Helpful ???" advise :haha: :haha:
And anyway whats unmanly about Pink painted vehicles?
WW2 saw the humble jeep painted pink for operations in the Western Desert and the SAS used pink landies in the Iraq war's,
I doubt many people would be prepared to call an SAS Trooper a Po*fter because he was driving a pink land rover :lolno:
With Mr Hitlers obsession with "Festung's" on the withdrawal from Russia the possible use of Panzerturm's on the perimeter's of Towns and Cities offers a great opportunity for such a build. :thumbup:
I shall be watching your progress with great interest.
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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Son of a gun-ner
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by Son of a gun-ner »

This sounds a cool idea.

Herman, if not pink, how about a pinkish/red brick one :D :thumbup:
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PainlessWolf
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good Morning Herman,
Cool to see one of Alpha's projects being brought forward, Mike. Herman, thank you for undertaking this build. ;o) Following along!
regards,
Painless
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Son of a gun-ner wrote:This sounds a cool idea.

Herman, if not pink, how about a pinkish/red brick one :D :thumbup:
That was one I based my R39 bunker on!
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by HERMAN BIX »

jarndice wrote:This is an absolutely wonderful idea for a project :clap: :clap: :clap:
Well Herman there is one thing you will not be short of and that is "Helpful ???" advise :haha: :haha:
And anyway whats unmanly about Pink painted vehicles?
WW2 saw the humble jeep painted pink for operations in the Western Desert and the SAS used pink landies in the Iraq war's,
I doubt many people would be prepared to call an SAS Trooper a Po*fter because he was driving a pink land rover :lolno:
With Mr Hitlers obsession with "Festung's" on the withdrawal from Russia the possible use of Panzerturm's on the perimeter's of Towns and Cities offers a great opportunity for such a build. :thumbup:
I shall be watching your progress with great interest.
Yeah but there’s pink and then there’s PIIIINNNNKKKKKKK !!
Old Alpha liked to ambush unwary modelers with his bright GUP paint jobs on occasion, but not this time !
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: A Panzerturm for Alpha

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Im calling the SU152 done(pics and finishing story to come) so its time for this almost Memorial project to get under way properly.

Now most of the Pz38(t) turrets wound up on the Northern Atlantic wall in small concrete emplacements overlooking a seaward inlet.
I have found one that I can still make into an effective bunker, but enable a bit of quirky-ness that might hopefully suit Gen. Alpha's vision of one he might have liked to do himself.............

This one is in Toulon, France, cleverly disguised as a news agent!
I plan to make the turret as per kit, and fabricate the disguise out of a polystyrene base block for the concrete, a balsa and cardboard fascia that can hinge down on the frontal arc & perhaps be retained with magnets.
Might use clear book cover plastic for windows & some form of wire mesh to get the security screen look.

Righto, on with the job......................let me know how Im doing when you can General :think: ;)
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Sanary ( France) near Toulon PZ 38 (t).1.jpg
Sanary ( France) near Toulon PZ 38 (t).1.jpg (55.85 KiB) Viewed 5089 times
Sanary ( France) near Toulon PZ 38 (t).2.jpg
Sanary ( France) near Toulon PZ 38 (t).2.jpg (57.88 KiB) Viewed 5089 times
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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