Hunter's hobbies

I have been modelling for most of my life, beginning at the tender age of 5 or 6. I started off with small Airfix kits that you could buy for a few bob. they came in clear plastic bags with basic construction and simple instructions. I built up an impressive force of aircraft, tanks and ships. In the mid seventies more detailed 1:35 Japanese kits started appearing and I continued to build these. Other memorable kits were the 1:12 scale formula 1 cars of Graham Hill  and the Renault of Rene Arnoux. The most memorable aircraft kit was the 1:48 scale Lancaster bomber, which has always been a favourite of mine. The models also had some practical value as I used to use them to demonstrate scale when teaching students in mathematics.

My love of building scale replicas has continued to the present day. My main interest has been AFVs from the second world war. There are so many examples to choose from on the market today and with the addition of etched brass and resin parts customising to match individual examples is endless. I have recently been building 1:35 scale boats. The VOSPER MTB (shown above) and the metre long SCHNELLBOOT, thankfully I have a very understanding wife !  

This magnificent model shown here, pictured on a lovely sunny day, is not yet completed, as I am waiting for the reissue of a resin kit for EMC mines to fit on the stern of the boat. This is to replicate the boats that were involved in the disaster of operation tiger at Slapton sands in 1944. My boat is a replica of kommandant Hans Jurgen based inRotterdam, Holland 1945. I have added a resin inflatable to the rear of the boat which adds extra interest.

 Another fascinating aspect of this hobby is the research that is needed to faithfully recreate the models. For the schnellboot I uncovered some fascinating stories and some great images. The internet is absolutely brilliant as a tool for this. One of my projects was to build a FAMO and SD.AH.116 trailer, again another large kit at nearly 650mm long. I had two pictures in my own library but found an excellent site which I used for painting and construction tips. I also researched the units the vehicle was attached to and added the sturgeschutz 3 of the 237 stug brigade based in Russia 1943. This led me to investigate what this brigade was involved in during this time and I discovered that they were used in the battle of Smolensk on the Dneiper river and I added the decorated Bodo Sprantz to my finished diorama, examining his broken down vehicle, It would be incorrect to call it a tank as they were considered to be mobile artillery.

As you can see it is very difficult to fit the completed model in one image so I took some more detailed shots.

I have many other images of other models I have made and many more detail shots, although I find lighting the shots difficult, as natural light is best and our climate means that suitable light is rarely available. I have included  another couple of images of a flakvierling  but I have many more, which I may add at a later date, depending on interest in the blog. I have also considered taking orders to make replica pieces for others but the cost may be a prohibitive factor as the finished articles are difficult to transport, without damage and the cost of putting them in display cases adds even more cost, however it does make dusting the models a much less traumatic and time consuming process. I'm afraid my long suffering wife won't touch my collection.