Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: 2015

Comrades!!!

Another pic, another project!!! This time, is this beautiful German truck, wearing American colors, after his capture by the Allied forces in the region of the Ardennes. Here's the Ford V3000S a valuable and robust vehicle with mechanical known by American soldiers and, therefore, extremely useful in their displacement and maintenance duties.
The truck in the photo is the version called Neuer Art, with flat front fenders, absence of the rear fenders and small headlights, but still with the metal cabin. This characterizes the mid version of these robust vehicles. As I normally do, I will seize the opportunity and build the late version of this truck, with front flat fenders and the wooden cabin. All this to save material and workmanship in the final stages of the war. See the complete history about Ford models in the post about Ford Maultier, in our Bunker.

The actual picture and the origin of this project.

Ford V3000S Neuer Art with American markings.

Specs:

Ford V3000S 4x2 Neuer Art - Metal cabin
Type	Medium 4x2 3 ton. truck
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
In service	1941 - 1945
Used by	Germany - all armed forces
Production history
Designed	1940 - USA
Produced	1941- German
Number built	+24.000
Specifications
Weight Weight load max	3310 Kg 5830 Kg
Length	6.390 mm
Width	front axle: 1650 mm rear axle; 1652 mm
Height (cab)	2.175 mm
Crew	driver

Engine	Ford V8-3,9 liter 95 HP - gasoline
Engine disp.	80.95mm x 95.25mm - 3922 cm3
Brakes	Oil hydraulic brakes in all wheels
Transmission	manual - 4 foward + 1 reverse
Suspensions Wheels Wheels size Tires Wheelbase Fuel tank	Front: half-spring long. Rear; half-spring long+auxiliary Disc wheels with flat base rim 20x6 (front and rear) 190x20 (front and rear) 4013mm 110 liters
Operational range	500 km
Speed max.	85 km/h

The kits:
For this work, I'll use two kits Ford V3000S from ICM:

Ford V3000S from ICM

Kojak inspecting the contents of one of the boxes

And for neuer art version, flat fenders in resin from Dnepro Models

Gentlemen: Start your engines!!!

Both engines in close ... I thought in more detailing, but are completely hidden in the hoods of the Fords ... and life is too short for certain things...

V8 engines

...and the chassis, too...

axes....

While the chassis and suspension dries, let's building the wheels:
tires with civilian tread patterns, as usually the Krauts wore in their Fords.

In the front suspensions, a little detail: put on the leaf springs a 2mm thick plasticard
to lift it up. If not the Fords' front suspensions will look "lowered".
Very cool for a Dragster, but very bad for a military vehicle ...

The exhaust system consists of 7 unbelievable segments each .... Isn't it sweet ????

For the late version, with wooden cabin (Einheits), again Dnepro Model resin kit

Resin and plastic parts...

The two Girls, side by side: Mid and late version:

After I built the fenders (correctly, because the grooves do not allow otherwise ...) I found out that my American girl has a peculiarity: its fenders go down more than usual in its front portion: They go to the base of chassis ...

Notice the front fenders detail...

Thank to the Gods, at the time I bought them, these fenders were very cheap in Jadar. So, I will sacrifice a pair of them to make the correction. Here are the shocking pictures: In red, the parts to be discarded ...

Planning the surgery...

Cutting the fenders with Dremel's saw...

The new parts glued (with super-glue) in the front fenders...

Putty

Done !!!

As usual, I like to draw a profile as a guide in my paintings.

Ford in colors: olive drab and allied stars

Now, it's painting time: vallejo olive Drab primer

Much better!!!

The late version, with wooden cab:

The cammo of the late version will be dark-yellow with green and brown stripes

Mid version in olive-drab. Notice the windshield
protected with Panzerserra's Maskol: PVA glue 50% + 50% hair shampoo

The american gir features high sides in the cargo bed, but the Ford ICM V3000 kit only comes with low sides ...

V3000S sprue - Notice the low sides of the cargo bed...

Good thing I got the Ford G917 from the ICM, which comes with the trees of the cargo body from V3000, as parts "unusable".

Ford G917 ICM - box art

Sprues from G917 - Notice the "parts of no use"

Bingo. I took the additional pieces of Ford G917 without mutilating another kit. Here the body already built with new sides, primmed with Vallejo Olive drab:

Cargo body with high sides

And glued in the chassis

The two girls with color base applied!!

Tonal variations in the green...

And the yellowish girl with cammo stripes...

But what I can put in the cargo body of the late girl? In this period of the war, the greatest scourge of Germans were airstrikes. Searchlights!!!!! I have one, from AFV!!!

The truck and the cargo...

The 60 cms searchlight under construction...

Wooden joists to distribute the weight ...

and the AFV searchlight almost done...piece of cake!!!

Yankee girl with decals (and Future...)

Luftwaffe markings for my shinning girl; It was hard to find the tactical markings of the searchlights, but I got here ...and here!! Time to use my transparents decals and my laserprint...

60 cms Motorized Searchlight Battery

Luftwaffe stuff...

But now, we have a the problem: how Ford was Neuer Art (material savings), the headlights were small, not large size like from the kit. The photo below shows the differences ... and my girls wore little headlights ... Notice the addendum: In the upper left, my girl. On the top right, the new headlight... And the difference in size, compare with the big picture: