What does the Fuchs say....
Sorry 'bout that :-)
Round 2 with the West Germans in Team Yankee from Battlefront. This time we look at the Fuchs (TGBX06) and this Fuchs say va-va-va-voom!
A hefty little 6 wheeled all terrain troop transport to move those Panzergrenadiers around the battlefield. Yes please! You can find these bad boys in the Panzer Aufklarungs Kompanie list and can you can get 2 zugs of them with 3 Fuchs in each.
On to the models!
This is another very sweet kit. The kits I have for prepared are pre-release versions. This is an old-school resin hull with metal bits. These are chock full of detail and are VERY clean. The metal wheels had just a few metal whiskers and no flash or mold lines.
The fit of the wheels here is a very simple peg on the hull and hole in the wheel, but is very well designed. They are a different style than the Luchs wheels, but fit just as snug.
Build: Since this was a pre-release kit, I didn't have the instructions that are up on Battlefront now. But that didn't matter! The kit is super easy; very intuitive...put all the wheels on one side of the hull. Let those dry a little so that they don't wiggle any more, then do the other side.
While the first side of wheels dry, you glue on the AAMG and that completes the basic Fuchs.
Now, if you REALLY want to go crazy you can add a Milan launcher mount. Each zug of 3 Fuchs can have 1 Milan mounted on it. To do this, you also need to have a couple Marders. The Marder has an optional Milan mount, but not every Marder will need them. All you do is take the extra launchers and use those for your Fuchs. All you need is a pin vise and little wire. First, clip the little "lip" off of the base of the launcher.
Next, drill a hole near the crew hatch on the hull and then on Milan launcher. Now, when your Panzergrenadiers keep their Milans with them, you take the launcher off the Fuchs...when they want to mount it you just stick the Milan back on.
Paint Plan:
I followed the same scheme as I did for the Spahpanzer Luchs and the guide in Leopard on page 47 as close as I could.
- I primed these models using the Vallejo Surface Primer 73.602 Black and then Vallejo Model Air 71.093 Field Green as a base coat.
- Once you have the NATO Green base laid down, it's time for camouflage. Before you do any camouflage on these, you need to look at the templates Battlefront has for these.
The camo pattern was standardized for each vehicle type and every vehicle of that type had the same (or very close to the same) pattern applied. These patterns show you views from the front, rear, left, right, and top of the vehicles and make it VERY easy to follow and are a must to use.
- First up are the black stripes. The guide calls for Worn Rubber. A good substitute is Vallejo Model Color 70.862 Black Grey. I airbrushed these using a mix of Vallejo Game Air 70.862 Black and Vallejo Model Air 71.048 at a 2:1 ratio. I am falling in love with Vallejo's growing range of Model Air and Game Air colors.
- Next is the brown. The guide calls for Woodland Brown. I used Vallejo Game Color 72.043 Beasty Brown which is a very close second.
- Next I did a little clean up and used the Team Yankee colors to hide any of the little "splatter" marks that creep in when you airbrush and to add a little depth to the camo lines. The thinner nature of the Team Yankee colors help you keep the feathered airbrush edges...feathered.
- Next were the wheels and metal parts. Here I used a Vallejo Model Color 70.950 Black as a base. So all the tires, tools, the MG...and the little propellers at the rear (yep...it has propellers) are painted black. I high-lighted the tires next with a drybrush of Vallejo Model Color 70.994 Dark Grey and then Vallejo Model Color 70.992 Neutral Grey.
- Next in the guide is a drybrush of Dry Dust. I used the old standby of Vallejo Model Color 70.819 Iraqi Sand. Again this is a big step. You aren't trying to get the dirty/dusty look at this step. You lightly (and I stress lightly) drybrush the Dry Dust/Iraqi Sand. What this does is tone down the brighter/bolder tone of the NATO Green and Woodland Brown as well as pick out the many edges on the model.
- Now you hit the metal bits with a dark gunmetal color. I like to mix Vallejo Model Color 70.950 Black and Vallejo Model Color 70.863 Gunmetal Grey for this. After that is laid down, a hi-light of pure Vallejo Model Color 70.863 Gunmetal Grey.
- Paint the wooden handles on all the tools with a quick Vallejo Model Color 70.875 Beige Brown to wrap up the main painting.
- Now, if you want to add some extra dust affects you can hit the model again with a few light layers of Vallejo Model Color 70.819 Iraqi Sand...or darker dirt colors. Use multiple light (not heavy as opposed to not dark) layers give the best effect. The multiple layer helps build a depth and can give a really nice texture.
- The model is gloss coated; decals applied; Ordnance Shade (or other black wash) is applied and then model then hit with a Flat Matte or Anti Shine to wrap it all up.
Now... get the Fuchs outta here!
Jeff Flint "SonBae" has been a long time contributor to WWPD and admin on the forums. A long time gamer and painter and recently a new studio painter at Mastermind, Model and Miniatures in Huntsville, Alabama. Just trying to keep the cats herded in WWPD-South!
