Krupp Protze - Coming Together

Finally, it's beginning to look like a Krupp Protze! I've added the cab and hood assemblies as well as the rear compartment and rear axles to the main frame. The windscreen is molded in clear plastic and the glass areas have been masked-off for painting. The stubs extending under the driver's and passenger's seats are for the spare tires (one each side). Still to be added are the real fiddly bits: headlights, width indicators, pennant frame, and mirrors. The observant among you will notice that I still have not decided how to handle the broken shovel mounted at the left rear: model it as broken, re-make the handle out of plastic rod, or remove the shovel all together. Time will tell.

Here's a photo of the undercarriage at this point:

The photo ably points out that there are ejector pin marks on the underside of each fender that will need filling. Doh!

The Maquis

The Maquis were predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance during World War II. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du Travail Obligatoire (STO) to provide forced labor for Germany. In an effort to avoid capture and deportation to Germany, what had started as loose groups of individuals became increasingly organized. Initially fighting only to remain free, these bands eventually became active resistance groups. (Wikipedia)

Master Box Ltd. has produced a set of five figures (MB 3551) depicting four Maquis (three male, one female) and a captured German soldier. I have added the numbers in the box art photo above to show the three that I am contemplating using in a vignette for my M8 Greyhound build. Yes, I've finally decided to model an M8 from the 2nd Free French Armored Division, France, 1944. At this point I plan to use two or three of the Maquis figures shown above along with figures from the forthcoming MiniArt set of French Tankers (35105). If they are not available in time, my fallback position is to use Hornet French tanker heads on U.S. tanker figures from the appropriate time period.