This figure came about after looking in my reference book, German Mountain Troops in World War 2 and I found the picture below of a group of officers. And after getting a Jones headsculpt that was made by Saturday Toys, I decided to have a go at kitbashing an older higher ranking officer figure. I was thinking of using a pair of red officer tabs on the collar as with the figure on the far right in the picture, but in the end I decided to have the rank for this figure as an Oberst (Colonel).
I have also tried to get the uniform as close to the picture as well, by using a mixture of the different items from various manufacturers. I prefer to do this for my kitbashes as I get the best parts from each figure loose, rather than buying the complete boxed figures.
Headsculpt
The headsculpt was made by a company called Saturday Toys, and as shown below it has some very good facial detail with the folds and creases, plus a very good highlighted paint job on it. And this was perfect for an idea I had for this kitbash, but I could not find just the right headsculpt until I found this one.
In the two pictures on the left above, the head has the neck post removed by placing it in some hot water, once it was warm I took it out and pulled the neck post off. The next two pictures are of the separated head and an older Dragon Neo 2 body, showing the head almost in position on the Dragon body, all that is needed is a slight push to get it to fit.
The next three pictures show how I have tried to fit the head to a DiD body, it can be made to fit with some slight trimming of the neck post.
The three pictures above right show the head with the factory highlighted paint work before I have given it a pastel wash, with the next three below, after the application of the wash and a drybrush with some Flesh pastel chalks. This has now dulled the paint and added some darker depth to the face to balance out the highlights. The final picture above right is the head placed back onto the figure.
Pastel Chalk Washes
Just a quick note about how I do the pastel washes, what I use to get the pastel chalk dust is a foam sanding pad, all I do as in the picture above left is rub the pastel chalk onto the pad and then add some water to it. This then gives me the ‘mix’ I need to do the pastel wash on the head. Note: I have found that by using a Light Brown chalk pastel it adds only a slight tint to the face as shown above right, otherwise the face will become too dark when the chalk dries completely. Also, I have found that with the different manufacturers paint that they use on the heads, it is better to use a light pastel chalk to add the darker colour.
A more detailed explanation about this process is on my pastel page – Pastel Washes.
Uniform
With the uniform for this figure I have used a Toys City tunic because of the Green collar, the trousers came from the Dragon Alfons figure, the boots and puttees are also from Toys City. The cap as shown below, is from the DiD Konig figure and I was going to change the Jager badge on the side, but after I gently took it off the cap I found that I had a large silver glue mark left behind. So rather than try to remove it, I painted a piece of cloth printer paper Green, when it was dry I placed the Jager badge onto that, this was then cut to shape and placed back onto the cap.
M43 Cap Changes
Update Note: I have now changed the DiD cap for a Dragon one, because as shown above right the Jager insignia is too far back on the side of the hat, and it has really started to annoy me. And seeing as I cannot remove the large silver glue mark, I have had to use another cap in it’s place. So with the Dragon cap as shown right, I have replaced the buttons on the front flap and the side insignia with the items from the DiD cap.
Coat
The coat is from the DiD Konig figure which will be weathered but not too much, because even though the officer may serve in the field like the lower ranked soldiers, he may take longer for the uniform to get as dirty. So with this coat I have gently applied some Tamiya Mud Weathering Powder along the seam edges, pockets and the collar as shown below, the next photos show two closer pictures of the front.
Note: As shown in the last picture above right, I have used a cotton bud to for the powder as I find it far easier to apply it onto the coat.
As I wanted a slight discolouration for the dirt, so once I was happy with how it looked, I then went back over the edges again with a clean cotton bud to remove some of the colour, which also helped to rub it into the material. I then used the brush from the weathering set to apply some of the Light Sand powder, to add highlights over the Mud dirt that I added earlier. This helped to lose the new look to the rest of the coat. Note: The camera has picked up some of the colours, which is exactly what I was after as it has stopped me from over doing the dirt.
Boots
The boots for this figure are from Toys City and as shown above I have repainted them with some Burnt umber artists acrylic paint, the new boots are on the left, the repainted boots and on the right after I have folded and creased them up a bit. I did this the same way that I have done for my other Toys City weathered boots. And as shown below, I have changed the laces and tied them off as I did with the Boots Update from the same link above.
The gloves came from the DiD T Becker figure, and as shown above right I have the pair that I am using for this kitbash. The glove on the left is as it came from the set, with the one on the right I have given it a light drybrush of the Tamiya Light Sand weathering powder to add highlights. Note: The camera has not shown the highlighting very well, but it is there.
Equipment and Weapons
For this figure I wanted to keep the parts to a minimum, so the only equipment that I have used is the binoculars, waist belt, gloves, pistol holster and the briefcase.
The briefcase above is made by DiD and it has had the same weathering treatment done to it to make it look older, that I have done to my other ‘pleather’ parts. From the left the case is brand new, I then rubbed over it with some fine sandpaper, and on the rounded edges of the top flap and
straps I rubbed the material from behind to thin it slightly, this allowed me to curl the flap up to make it look worn. Note: Do not rub too hard with the sandpaper just in case the material starts to tear. I then painted it with Model Color Matt Medium 540 acrylic paint, in the next picture I have given it a drybrush with some Tamiya Light Sand weathering powder, making sure that I highlight the edges.
The pistol and belt are also from DiD and had almost the same treatment as the briefcase, but with these items I used some Black artists acrylic paint to take away the new look. And in the last picture above right I have given them a drybrush of some Brown pastel chalks, then a wipe over with a clean dry fan brush to remove some of the dust, so that the Brown colour and the dust is in the gaps, edges and on the stitching.
Assembled Figure
These pictures are of the work in progress with this figure, as I wanted to see what the headsculpt looks like in the daylight. The fourth picture above is after I have weathered the coat slightly, and even though I have taken the picture outside the camera has picked up on the weathering well, as it shows me that I have not overdone it. The centre picture shows the diorama base that I have made for this figure, as I wanted something different from the usual shelf for this model. The last four pictures above right show a close up of the headsculpt, and even I am surprised at how good the factory painting is on it, because the pastel wash and pastel drybrush has really helped to bring out the detail.
Various pictures of the figure
I would like to thank RogueJK for his excellent help with my future German figures.
Thank you to Heeresbergführer for all of the pictures and help with my Gebirgsjager figures.
And Patrick (Nomad65) for the very highly detailed insignia.