NEW PROJECT: Abandoned Demag 7 Ton

I decided to knock off a project that had been sitting in my "just finish this" pile for far too long. Over the course of 4 years or so, my ideas for it evolved as I've randomly stared at the crowded parts trees on my desk. When I say crowded, I'm talking at least 100 bits per tree. I was originally hoping this was a simple kit I could just knock off in a weekend. Not so - not even close. I have however, determined to finish this as soon as I can. I have a lot of other unbuilt kits I'd like to get cracking on.

My idea for this kit was a familiar theme, the Germans had to make a hasty retreat leaving behind a lot of damaged gear with no time to repair it. This Demag was part of a mass armor retreat in western France in March of 1945, and would have likely made it had the track not snapped under the strain. It would show obvious signs of wear and tear, battle damage and all the weathering I could lay on it.

First thing to remember while building your kit is figure out what you want to customize. In this case, aside from typical denting and and bending, I left various hatches down, to be properly prepared for the stowage that was going to be scattered about. Lots of hastily discarded gear, and the typical detritus that gets pushed roadside at wartime, will surround the truck once integrated with the base.

Now that I figured out which season (muddy) and the basic story, it was time to look at my leftover bases from previously destroyed dioramas to see what I could salvage. I like the idea of continuing the natural base theme I've been doing, so I resurrected an old piece of what used to be firewood that had a great angled "hill" on it.

I went through my garden leftovers for trees and shrubs, and then spares boxes to add all sorts of gear that would be in a scene like this. Rusted damaged fuel drums, old discarded parts guns,boxes, and rusty metal scraps by the ton were found littering the roadsides.

The rest of the body has been detailed with all sorts of knobs, clamps, buckles, and straps. The detail won't really come out until the painting process is complete. S you can see I have a LOT of wheels to get together and weave into the half track section.


Next post, I'll get into the what's left of the assembly and begin the painting and weathering process.