Welcome To My Wehrmacht Sniper Page

As usual with me this kitbash is based on a single item in my spares box, as an idea for another figure. This time the idea came about because of the Figures Home backpack I altered, as I wanted a figure wearing it, and also with the same colour camouflaged uniform as well.

That is when I remembered about the picture on the right, from one of my osprey reference books and from this the idea developed about a German Heer sniper figure. I was originally going to use the Dragon Kurz parka and trousers for this figure, but in the end I have decided to use only the trousers combined with a Dragon Splinter smock instead.

Headsculpt

The head and body for this kitbash is from the DiD Herman Hanke figure, the first three pictures are of the headsculpt as it came from the box. The next three I have given it at light wash over with a light brown pastel chalk, which has only given the headsculpt a slight brown tint. The main reason for this is that I did not want to ruin the beard detail on the head, but although it has taken some of it off, the majority of the detail is still there.

The cap on this figure is from Dragon as I feel that it is the best one for scale at the moment, as it is the thinnest material and it the easiest to fold into a 'flopped' appearance. To get the effect I wanted with this kitbash and the folded look at the front, I have put some double sided tape on the inside of the cap behind the emblems. The cap was then put on the head and pulled down at the front over the eyes, the tape was pressed down onto the head and then the brim was pushed back up, the tape then holds the cap in place to get the 'collapsed' look that I wanted.

Uniform

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I am not sure as to the figure the smock came from as I got it as a loose part, and the pictures above 1. shows the new smock, pictures 2. & 3. show it after I have weathered it, I have also made a section on this page about it - Smock. Picture 4. is of the Toys City belt buckle which has had a wash over with some Black paint, which is left to partially dry and then wiped off carefully to leave the colour in the detail. Picture 5. is of one of the DiD Konig gloves I used fitted to a Dragon rifle grip hand, I fitted it in the same way as my other gloves. The difference with this hand is that I had to first separate the moulded fingers with my model knife, and gradually put them into the glove. Picture 6. is of the other hand which is a DiD flexible one, which I also put into the glove.

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The above trousers are from the Dragon Kurz figure, In picture 7. & 8. I have weathered them the same way that I have done with the smock, making sure that the knees and the bottoms of the legs were dirty. In Picture 9. I have removed the large metal popper that is used on the strap for the smock cuff, Pictures 10. show how instead I have sewn the strap to the sleeve, so it looks as if the button is holding the strap in place instead.

Boots

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I was going to use a pair of laced boots for this figure as in the picture, but in the end I have decided to use a pair of DiD short jackboots instead. But I did find a problem with them once they were on the figure, in that they did not support the ankle joint fully, and as result the figure kept falling over after a while. So in Picture 12. I have used some thick tape to both stiffen and support the joints, which has helped to stop the figure from falling over. Picture 13. is of the DiD short jackboots as they were when I got them, in Picture 14. I have very gently sanded the toes to get a worn look to them. Note: Be very careful as the 'pleather' material is very thin and can easily tear.

Equipment

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With the helmet for this figure I wanted a splinter cover on it, but I could not get it to look right as it was too loose. So as an experiment I put some double sided tape on the edge inside the helmet, I then put the helmet cover on and pulled it tight pressing down on the inside edges. I found that it did help to hold the material in place, and I got the shape I wanted as shown above. Note: This is not a permanent fixture, as the edges do come loose over time and need to be pressed back down into place. But I prefer to do it this way, rather than use some kind of cyanoacrylate glue. Pictures 15. & 16. are of the new cover fitted onto the helmet, and pictures 17. & 18. are after I have used the same weathering technique on it, that I did for the smock for this figure.

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The pictures above are of the various parts for the belt kit for this figure, all of which have been weathered the same way as the pieces from my other figures. The bayonet was placed on the top of the bread bag, mainly because of the folding shovel which will not allow me to place it over it. So the only other place I could think of for the bayonet was over the bag.

An experiment by me was done to get camouflage cover for the binoculars as shown in Picture 24, which is basically a 'T' shape of material cut out of a zeltbahn, folded over and stuck in place with double sided tape, onto which I sewed a button. I have also put on my Germans3 page how I did this.

Backpack

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

The backpack from the Figures Home Handscar model that I have managed to get loose, which I have adapted to fit a better metal frame and straps. How I have done it is shown on this page - Backpack. Picture 26. & 27. show the altered backpack without any weathering done to it, in the next pictures 28. - 32. I have added some similar weathering to it that I did for the smock and trousers.

Weapons

The main weapon for this figure is I believe a DiD Kar 98 sniper's rifle, I bought it as a loose part but I can't remember from which figure it came.

To weather the rifle I went over the wood parts with some Brown shoe polish, which I then wiped off and then I rubbed in some Brown pastel chalks. The rifle wrapping was made from some fine hessian material which I cut into long strips, and then wrapped around the barrel and scope of the rifle. I then got some thread and tied a knot around the barrel end, leaving a long piece of thread hanging free, I then wrapped the thread around the rifle wrappings to hold it in place. Gradually working up and back down the barrel, so that when I came to the end, I just tied off the end with the thread I left hanging earlier and when finished I just cut the thread ends off. The same was done to the wrappings on the scope.

Various pictures of the figure

Assembled Figure

Reference Material

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In the pictures above, I have taken some screenshots of a German WW2 sniper training film translated into English by the US army to get some reference material for this figure. Because I found very little information and pictures about the German sniper's online. Picture 12. shows how one of the snipers have bent some wire to the shape of a pair of spectacles, and in picture 13. how it looks when some grasses have been tied to it as a face veil. Picture 14. shows what the veil looks on the face of a sniper. Picture 15. shows a telescopic sight with just a piece of material wrapped around it, but the end of the scope is un-covered. So to conceal this from the enemy and to stop the glass lens reflecting light, in pictures 16. 17. & 18. the sniper's have made some different types of slip on lens covers.

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With these pictures above, pictures 19. & 20. the German soldier is using a wire frame to conceal his shoulders and head, picture 21. shows how he is fitting some of the grasses to the frame, and in picture 22. he is now hidden from view. Picture 23. shows what he looks like when he stands up. Picture 24. shows the same soldier from behind. Note: In the film the narrator describes the purpose of this wire hood, that when it is worn the sniper can turn his head and because the frame is bigger it will not move and give away his position. Picture 25. shows a picture of a sniper with helmet camouflage.

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In picture 26. the sniper is using a pair of binoculars which have been wrapped with some kind of material to camouflage them, picture 27. shows how a sniper has concealed his telescopic sight with some grasses. Picture 28. shows another type of face veil in use by a sniper, picture 29. is of another soldier with helmet camouflage.