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"SERGEANT, COVER OUR FLANK"

by James Wilbanks
I became interested in building this diorama while looking for camouflaged patterns for the PANZER 4/F -2 from my books and internet research on this tank which showed Armor Fighting Vehicles moving through and fighting in grass up to and above the hull on some machines in south central Russia, also known as the Steppes, in mid-summer.
The grass was made from the bristles of five roof brushes dyed many shades of yellow green to dark green and black for the burnt areas, using Ritz Dye, and glued into pre-drilled holes with Elmers White Glue. To hide the plywood base, I glued down in between the grasses, dried lemon peel found in grocery store spice aisle. The Slate was left over house and yard project materials. My mud area on the scene is made from an Interior/Exterior Patch-N-Paint Lightweight Spackling. I like using this material because it can be put on very thick, up to 3/4" in thin layers and dries quickly. It can be spread out and molded into rock shapes as seen on castle walls, or brick cutouts found on houses and buildings. It can also be painted or stained very nicely.
The PANZER 4/F-2 is an older kit molded many years ago, and fit together very nicely. It was made by a company called Mini-Craft.
The T-34/85 turret was a late/post war mold that I modified to a mid-production style turret, by moving the roof ventilator over the loader's position to the rear of the turret's roof. This bought the time line of the end of the PANZER 4/F-2 model's production run and the start of the T-34/85 mid-production run closer together.
My figures came from many different kits. The tank commander was a driver from a Tamiya Panther kit. I repositioned his arms outward and filled in the armpit area with contour putty. The infantry officer on the back of the tank came from Tamiya's 88mm gun kit. I changed his pointing hand to one with a flare pistol in it. The figure climbing up on the back of the tank came from Tamiya's Mobelwagen kit. I added a KAR-98K onto his back. The other figures came from Tamiya's Panzer Grenadiers and Africa Corps sets.