First let me intoduce myself: I live in the United States in the state of Idaho. I first became interested in WW1, when I was ten years old and did a essay on the Battle of the Somme. I have watched this forum for about a year and a half now, and have decided to make my first post, anonymously at first to see how my post works out. Please feel free to move my post, but I would prefer you would mot delete it.
Well, as the heading says I have lots of questions!
1. I need the full history and the list of markings of A7V no.564, if this information is available
2. Where, may I ask, would one find Madator models in the US (I am particularly trying to aquire a fahrpanzer model)?
3. What German Buetepanzer MK.IV were stil in service by the end of the war? If it is possible what were their markings and camouflage, and were they male or female?
4. Where would one find a FSF Big Bertha model kit in the US?
5. Last, but not least, on a diorama ( I am building one) how can one make a real-looking cloud of poison gas?
These questions may seem to be an overload, but I have not been able to find the answers
A7V #654 "Prinz Oskar"/"Oskar" was from the 2nd batch of A7Vs with Rochling armour, i.e. the side armour was a single plate. It was originally a female tank re-equiped
with a socle gun mount so it had the original machine gun mounts on the front armour plate. It was delivered in May 1918 and saw action in June and again in October.
The few images of 564 seem to suggest a multi-colour camouflage - if you agree with Rainer Strasheim these would have been irregular patches of red-brown, green and
ivory/cream over a Feldgrau or possibly green base.
A good reference is the Tankograd book "Sturmpanzer A7V - First of the Panzers" by Strashiem and Hundleby. This is a condensed and updated version of the out of print
1990s book by the same authors.
Regards,
Charlie
-- Edited by CharlieC on Friday 3rd of May 2013 08:49:38 AM
Hello Stormtroop, and a warm welcome to the forum from a fellow WWI German modeler. I'm Josh and I have dealt with many of the questions you ask. I will answer as best and as many as I can in order:
1. 564. 'Prinz Oskar' featured a pedestal mount for the 57mm, and 'standard' pattern armor. not Rochling or Krupp. according to this thread here: http://63528.activeboard.com/t47643089/sturmpanzerwagen-a7v-502503-faust-and-564-prinz-oskar/ there is no camo or special markings aside from the name and about 4 maltese crosses. to model it I would recomend a KORA kit, (But be prepared to work with a lot of resin and small parts, their not easy!)
2. To my knowledge, there is no American supplier for Matador in the states. They are strictly based and distributed in the UK by UK sellers. If you have a Paypal, (and it's not that hard to set up if you don't,) I recomend scalelink.co.uk I buy all my WWI stuff by matador from them. the proprieter Bob, is a great person to do business with and I have never had any problems. In regards, to your prticular model, I am also trying to accquire two myself, but they are currently out of production, and last I heard matador is recasting the molds for this and some other kits.
3. The small book published by Osprey claims there were around 36+ Mark IV's in German service at the war's end, Charleroi, where many captured tanks were refitted with German weapons and or rechambered with German ammunition, usually repainted captured British tanks in ochre and brown over field grey. however, some tanks that couldn't be taken in for refits in time were simply taken as they were, and in some cases simply had iron cross markings and fieldgrey paint quickly applied leaving much of the orginal British markings. I'm sure many other people will fill in the blanks here, but it's a start.
4. Now, here is the tricky part. I won't say this can't be done, in fact I'm living proof it can. I collect rare models of German equipment. Ask anyone here. Fine Scale Factory models are extremely difficult to accquire. They have been out of business since 2006. but, I followed their trail, and found the molds and remaining stocks changed hands about three times all in Europe. Eventually I got in contact with one Andreas Brune, the orignal owner of FSF. I emailed him and had a one time recasting done, and now have at least one of nearly every FSF model specific to the WWI German lineup. I'm really not sure if you could get a hold of one, but for what its worth, here is the contact for the above mentioned owner.
imperialchief@aol.com
Good Luck. see where this gets you, private message me if you hit a dead end. The last I heard is that this man is planning to partner with another business to re relase the FSF WWI kits.
5. Lastly, Assuming you are working in 1-72, since all model info you requested pertains to 1-72 scale models, There is really much that can be done, likewise, the amount of realism is limited by your chosen scale. but a starting point is to pull cotton balls to a webby consistency, then a light coating (so put a small amount of distance between you and the mass of cotton) of spray paint in a off yellow or green, for the colored effect your looking for. also Black or orange would work for flamethrwers and 'burnt out' scenes. If you search around and ask on a few other forums maybe someone has done something better. but this is what I have seen from studying Flames of War miniatures, and my best approach to this question.
PM if you need more help.
Greetings, Josh (FR73)
__________________
"General, you have nobly protected your forts. Keep your sword...to have crossed swords with you has been an honor, sir." General der Infantrie, Otto von Emmich
Thank you ever so very much for all the very useful information!!! Sorry it took me so long to reply, is very busy here. I really should get a copy of that book, Charlie, but not for 150$ plus shipping. Again thanks for all the information!
Thanks very much for the e-mail adress, and the useful information, especially about the gas clouds! I too, and a modeller dedicated to modelling WW1 German items in 1/72 scale
I think the Fine Scale Factory range is now available from SHQ in the UK. I think they have bought most of the range, although I'm not sure if it is all available yet. The artillery certainly is though! I know I saw in it their catalogue at the On Track show in February and was chatting to the chap who runs SHQ, so it's worth checking them out!
Hope this helps.
Paul
__________________
The sands of time are eroded by the river of constant change
Thank you ever so very much for all the answers and sugestions!! Josh, I too an a WW1 German modeller ( I model in 1/72 too), and thanks for the warm welcome. I was wondering where you could find a kora A7V kit in the US, and how to private message on this forum? I really, really regret to say this Josh but I only deal in US dollars, I feel terrible about telling you this. Anyway, just forget about the big bertha, I can live without it, please do not take the following statements the wrong way - the last thing I want to on this friendly forum is offend someone. Anyway, Josh thanks for all the very kind answers and sugestions. Charlie C, thanks for answering by a7v question with generous detail, would these irregular blotches be similar to the ones on 526 AlterFritz, and what wa the arrangement of these blotches??At SHQ, Paul, they do have a FSF big bertha. Thanks for the info!!!!! Sure hope this post gets on the forum!!
Everyone thank you ever so very much for all the answers and suggestions. Thank for answering all my questions as best you could , Josh. And yes, I too an a WW1 German Army modeler, I have done Emhar's A7V, Revell's Fokker Dr.1 and WW1 German Infantry. Thank you very much Charlie C for answering my question about A7V no.564, that information was extremely helpful !!!! And yes, Paul they do have FSF models at SHQ, and I will try purchasing one in the not to distant future, when I learn how to use English pounds and shillings!!! THANK YOU EVER SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Stormtroop, and a warm welcome to the forum from a fellow WWI German modeler. I'm Josh and I have dealt with many of the questions you ask. I will answer as best and as many as I can in order:
1. 564. 'Prinz Oskar' featured a pedestal mount for the 57mm, and 'standard' pattern armor. not Rochling or Krupp. according to this thread here: http://63528.activeboard.com/t47643089/sturmpanzerwagen-a7v-502503-faust-and-564-prinz-oskar/ there is no camo or special markings aside from the name and about 4 maltese crosses. to model it I would recomend a KORA kit, (But be prepared to work with a lot of resin and small parts, their not easy!)
2. To my knowledge, there is no American supplier for Matador in the states. They are strictly based and distributed in the UK by UK sellers. If you have a Paypal, (and it's not that hard to set up if you don't,) I recomend scalelink.co.uk I buy all my WWI stuff by matador from them. the proprieter Bob, is a great person to do business with and I have never had any problems. In regards, to your prticular model, I am also trying to accquire two myself, but they are currently out of production, and last I heard matador is recasting the molds for this and some other kits.
3. The small book published by Osprey claims there were around 36+ Mark IV's in German service at the war's end, Charleroi, where many captured tanks were refitted with German weapons and or rechambered with German ammunition, usually repainted captured British tanks in ochre and brown over field grey. however, some tanks that couldn't be taken in for refits in time were simply taken as they were, and in some cases simply had iron cross markings and fieldgrey paint quickly applied leaving much of the orginal British markings. I'm sure many other people will fill in the blanks here, but it's a start.
4. Now, here is the tricky part. I won't say this can't be done, in fact I'm living proof it can. I collect rare models of German equipment. Ask anyone here. Fine Scale Factory models are extremely difficult to accquire. They have been out of business since 2006. but, I followed their trail, and found the molds and remaining stocks changed hands about three times all in Europe. Eventually I got in contact with one Andreas Brune, the orignal owner of FSF. I emailed him and had a one time recasting done, and now have at least one of nearly every FSF model specific to the WWI German lineup. I'm really not sure if you could get a hold of one, but for what its worth, here is the contact for the above mentioned owner.
imperialchief@aol.com
Good Luck. see where this gets you, private message me if you hit a dead end. The last I heard is that this man is planning to partner with another business to re relase the FSF WWI kits.
5. Lastly, Assuming you are working in 1-72, since all model info you requested pertains to 1-72 scale models, There is really much that can be done, likewise, the amount of realism is limited by your chosen scale. but a starting point is to pull cotton balls to a webby consistency, then a light coating (so put a small amount of distance between you and the mass of cotton) of spray paint in a off yellow or green, for the colored effect your looking for. also Black or orange would work for flamethrwers and 'burnt out' scenes. If you search around and ask on a few other forums maybe someone has done something better. but this is what I have seen from studying Flames of War miniatures, and my best approach to this question.
PM if you need more help.
Greetings, Josh (FR73)
Josh,
Thank You EVER SO VERY MUCH for all the suggestions and answers to my questions. All the information was ever so VERY USEFUL. I really appreciate all these friendly replies. I am terribly sorry I took so long to say thank you, this is the fith time I have tried thanking you, I think it is my computer that is slowing me down, not the administrator. But...... just a few more questions, where would one find an Kora A7V model kit in the US, and how does one PM on this forum!!! And yes, I too am a 1/72 scale WW1 German Army and Air-force modeler, thank you ever so very much for the warm welcome, and your genuine interest in answering my questions!!!!Thanks again, Josh you are the absolute best!!!!!!!!!
Thank you EVER SO VERY much for answering my question about A7V no 564''Prinz Oskar'' in the most generous detail about the markings. Sorry I took so long to say thank you, I think my computer is slowing me down.
I think the Fine Scale Factory range is now available from SHQ in the UK. I think they have bought most of the range, although I'm not sure if it is all available yet. The artillery certainly is though! I know I saw in it their catalogue at the On Track show in February and was chatting to the chap who runs SHQ, so it's worth checking them out!
Hope this helps.
Paul
Paul,
Thank you EVER SO VERY MUCH for notifying of this information, they DO have FSF Big Bertha artillery models at SHQ. Perhaps I will try to purchase one in the future
Stormtroop "Pending" comments (all after the original) approved for display (I know only the last requested but read on). Sorry about that. Stormtroop, your problems discussed in On the Forum -> Help needed (also all approved for display).
Rectanglia, thank you very much for not deleting my posts, you are truly a kind man. And that's also okay about being late to put my posts on the forum, everyone makes mistakes.
Thank you ever so very much for all the very useful information!!! Sorry it took me so long to reply, is very busy here. I really should get a copy of that book, Charlie, but not for 150$ plus shipping. Again thanks for all the information!
Thank you very much for all your time!
Wrong one - that sounds like the original 1990 book - the one you want is Rainer Strasheim and Max Hundleby "Sturmpanzer A7V - First of the Panzers" published by Tankograd
(No. 1001) in their series "Tankograd - World War One - Imperial German Army Weapons and Soldiers of the Great War 1914-1918" ISBN 978-3-936519-11-2. I'd recommend the first in this series on Sturmtroopers (No. 1000).
Regards,
Charlie
Charlie,
Thank you very much for the correction( do not feel bad about it, everyone makes mistakes), as well as the recommendations and book information
Stormtroop "Pending" comments (all after the original) approved for display (I know only the last requested but read on). Sorry about that. Stormtroop, your problems discussed in On the Forum -> Help needed (also all approved for display).
Thank you ever so very much for all the very useful information!!! Sorry it took me so long to reply, is very busy here. I really should get a copy of that book, Charlie, but not for 150$ plus shipping. Again thanks for all the information!
Thank you very much for all your time!
Wrong one - that sounds like the original 1990 book - the one you want is Rainer Strasheim and Max Hundleby "Sturmpanzer A7V - First of the Panzers" published by Tankograd
(No. 1001) in their series "Tankograd - World War One - Imperial German Army Weapons and Soldiers of the Great War 1914-1918" ISBN 978-3-936519-11-2. I'd recommend the first in this series on Sturmtroopers (No. 1000).
Stormtroop: Which Kora A7V wold you be interested in? there are three variants. Each are around 50+ dollars on Ebay. There is a Early (Rochling Armor) a Mid (Krupp/standard armor pattern) and a Late (Krupp armor)
Greetings, Josh
-- Edited by FR73 on Wednesday 5th of June 2013 09:08:48 AM
__________________
"General, you have nobly protected your forts. Keep your sword...to have crossed swords with you has been an honor, sir." General der Infantrie, Otto von Emmich
Stormtroop: Which Kora A7V wold you be interested in? there are three variants. Each are around 50+ dollars on Ebay. There is a Early (Rochling Armor) a Mid (Krupp/standard armor pattern) and a Late (Krupp armor)
Greetings, Josh
-- Edited by FR73 on Wednesday 5th of June 2013 09:08:48 AM
Josh,
Thank you very much for replying to my post! And about the Kora A7V kit............................., since you said 564 had neither Krupp nor Rochling armor I can not tell. Perhaps if we had a picture to go by, we could decide which kit version is the closest to it. And about the price....50$ is a bit too much for a 1/72nd scale kit, I do thank for taking the time trying to find one for me, anyplace else that has a cheaper one in the US?
I would say it is the standard. (According to the small book I have on WWI German tanks by osprey) so that would be the mid (Standard/Krupp) which runs about 55.99 on ebay exactly. I would say that is actually about the standard rate, because Kora really isn't sold in the U.S. The manufacturer is in the Czech republic I think or in the Ukraine. Not sure which. the prices are set according to the exchange rates, so a seller has to post the price as such to recoupe his base price plus import fees. so you see, this is a history, modeling and economics forum all rolled into one!
Greetings, Josh
__________________
"General, you have nobly protected your forts. Keep your sword...to have crossed swords with you has been an honor, sir." General der Infantrie, Otto von Emmich
. I have watched this forum for about a year and a half now, and have decided to make my first post, anonymously at first to see how my post works out. Please feel free to move my post, but I would prefer you would mot delete it.
) how can one make a real-looking cloud of poison gas?
but I only deal in US dollars, I feel terrible about telling you this. Anyway, just forget about the big bertha, I can live without it, please do not take the following statements the wrong way - the last thing I want to on this friendly forum is offend someone. Anyway, Josh thanks for all the very kind answers and sugestions. Charlie C, thanks for answering by a7v question with generous detail, would these irregular blotches be similar to the ones on 526 AlterFritz, and what wa the arrangement of these blotches??At SHQ, Paul, they do have a FSF big bertha. Thanks for the info!!!!! Sure hope this post gets on the forum!!
