Now its time for he Jag-u-ar? ... Jag-war? ... Jag-GWU-are? What ever you call it this time we get to talk about the nasty little missile launcher tank destroyer for the West Germans in Battlefront's Team Yankee! The Jaguar I & II (TGBX04)
Another metal and resin kit that continues the trend of the West Germans sets...very nice! Battlefront continues to rock on these kits. This was another pre-release version I built and painted for the All Powerful Luke. In this set you have all the items necessary to build either the Jaguar I or the Jaguar II.
The design of this set is such that you can build both versions with the judicious use of magnets and a little acceptance that the Smoke Dischargers will be "off" for one of the versions.
Build: If you are only building one version its a pretty simple build. Glue the tracks to the hull; Assemble the missile launcher insert for the version you want. For the Jag I, add the HOT Missile and little periscope; for the Jag II Add the gunner and TOW, the doors and periscope. Next glue on the right front glacis...the one with the MG is for the Jag I and the one without the MG is for the Jag II. The final piece are the smoke dischargers. For the Jag I, they go on the back deck and for the Jag II they go on the front of the vehicle.
Now, with a little magnet magic you can get both versions out of the single box.
All you do is set it with magnets on the missile inserts and another set of magnets for the right front
glacis. If you are really good, you can even magnetize the smoke dischargers.
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| The backside (on right) shows the bump that needs to be dremeled off |
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| Magnet gets glued where the bump was |
I followed the same process I used for the Luchs, Fuchs, and Rolands in my previous articles which is very close to the guide found on page 47 in Leopard.
- These were primed with the Team Yankee NATO Green Primer. There lots of little nooks and crannies so you might need several passes. Remember to use short controlled bursts and don't go full rock and roll sustained fire. A close second is to prime black using your favorite black primer and then use either the Team Yankee NATO Green bottle paint. I have found that Vallejo's Model Air 71.093 Field Green (just discovered that you can find 71.093 under the name NATO Green as well as Field Green) is pretty close to the NATO Green.
- Once you have the NATO Green base laid down, it's time for camouflage. Again look at the templates Battlefront has for these.
- 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...and they're not not just for the airbrush. You can use them with a regular brush.
- 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 were the tracks. I deviated JUST a little bit from the paint plan in Leopard. Here I started with a 70.950 Black base and then added a dry brush of 70.862 Black Grey.
- 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 in the guide is a drybrush of Dry Dust. I used the old standby of Vallejo Model Color 70.819 Iraqi Sand. 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. This went on the hull, the turret and missile pods, as well as the track and road wheels. On the tracks you need to have a very, very light touch as a little goes a LOOOONG way on that dark surface.
- Glass effects on the gunner's and driver's vision slots and head lights were done by starting with a 70.950 Black base then adding 70.816 Luftwaffe Uniform as a 1st layer on top of that. The you do a jeweling effect with 70.943 Grey Blue by adding a little curve on the outer bottom of the light and then a little dot in the opposite corner.
- The tail lights were a simple 72.010 Bloody Red and 72.007 Gold Yellow.
- 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.
- Now that the base vehicle is done (which includes the front glacis and weapons inserts if you are doing those separately), you can do the HOT and TOW missile and crewman.
- The HOT missile and TOW missile/launcher start with a base of 70.893 US Dark Green, a shade wash of Monty Shade from the Color of War series of paints from Battlefront and then a dry brush of 70.886 Green Grey.
- The TOW Gunner followed the plan in the book (Mostly)
- A base of 72.979 German Camo Dark Green for the uniform. Now you apply a little Monty Shade and a final highlight of 70.886 Green Grey.
- The Helmet was a base of NATO Green (or Vallejo's Model Air 71.093 Field Green). Next, hit it with a Monty Shade and a final highlight of 70.886 Green Grey.
- Now do your favorite skin technique. I start with a base of 70.872 Chocolate Brown, followed by 72.140 Heavy Skintone and a final highlight of 50% 72.140 Heavy Skintone and 50% 70.955 Flat Flesh.
- If you're feeling up to it, you can do the German Flag on the sleeves next. Start with a little square of 72.007 Gold Yellow then a stripe of 70.950 Black at the top followed by a strip of 72.010 Bloody Red, leaving the yellow at the bottom.
- Now just touch up the uniform and you're done.
- 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.
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| The downside of magnetizing the glacis...it can be twisted :-( |
Now you're ready to sneak these little missile launching monsters at the Soviet Horde!
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.
