Introduction
Marc Hobbs is a founding member of the Austin Armor Builders Society club. He lives and works in Austin, Texas. Note: All the thumbnails on this page are active and will take you to the full size graphics.
Italeri 1/35th Horch Command Car
My model is the Italeri Horch Command Car SdKfz 15. This kit has been around for some time. I think the initial release was in the 1970's, but my example is dated 1996. The kit consists of 113 parts in dark green plastic, four windows and two headlights in clear and six black vinyl tires. Included in the 113 parts are a driver and officer figure and a nice little folding map table.
In spite of this kit's age, the overall molding is excellent. There are some punch-out marks in some rather annoying places, but I haven't built a kit yet that didn't suffer from this. Also the mold seams are heavier than on modern kits and there is one major fit problem around the bonnet, but the quality of detail is unmatched even today. Where this kit really shows its age is in the figures and accessories, they do not begin to compare with the sets now available. Photographs by Marc Hobbs.
Firefly VC 1/35th Conversion
This model represents a tank of A Squadron, Notts Yeomanry, 8th Armored Brigade as pictured on page 61 of Terence Wise' "D-Day to Berlin" (Squadron-Signal Publications). I chose to depict this tank in late fall (before being whitewashed as seen in the photo), as this is one of my earlier efforts.
This model was built before the release of the Dragon Firefly VC, so it is a combination of Italeri's running gear, MP Model's M4A4 hull and CMD's Firefly turret. I used tracks from the old Tamiya M 10 because they had the rubber chevrons and, because they are slightly larger than 1/35 scale, they fit the lengthened hull. Photographs by Marc Hobbs.
Italeri 1/35th Panzer IV Ausf. G
This model represents one of five Pz IV's which opposed the 36th Infantry Division during the landings at Salerno. It is the Italieri kit built straight from the box as an early "G" model.
It is currently on display at the Texas Military Forces Museum in the diorama of the Salerno operation. Photograph by Marc Hobbs.
Italeri 1/35th Schwimmwagen
This model represents a Schwimmwagen with the Pioneer Battalion of the 11th SS Panzer Division. I chose this unit because a nifty unit badge was included in the kit decals. It is the Italieri kit with a lot of little homemade additions. I built this kit in 1997, before the latest Tamiya release. The Tamiya kit is far superior, but for the money this is still not a bad little kit. Photograph by Marc Hobbs.
Testors 1/35th Chevrolet CMP Artillery Tractor
This Testors reissue of the Peerless/Max kit represents a 7th Armored Division, 1st Canadian Army truck around February 1945. This kit compares favorably with the Tamiya model of the Ford truck. No major alterations were necessary, but a lot of little details were added. An excellent reference for this kit is the magazine "Wheel and Track" from England. There are still hundreds of these things running around Europe and they show up quite a bit. Photograph by Marc Hobbs.
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