Small Scale Military Headquarters

I don't know if anyone had posted on this project yet, but I have discovered an idea thru the direction of the Hun to go buy some PTE type sets that have a Wespe looking tank in them. I kept the tanks and sent the rest of the stuff to my nephews. No pictures(yet), but the tank has great potental to make a decent model. My only down points on them is a fixed molded track that has a notch out of each front and rear end. Since I am going to use these as flatcar loads, I can cover them up with barrels or crates loaded up in front and behind the tank on the flat car. There will be some minor modifications needed, not not too bad as the drive wheels are the same. If a Marder is to be made, then I will have to change the wheels and the cannon to a 75mm. I will shoot some pictures tomorrow of the "before" look as I start the project. The first run will be of 3 units

Da General

Hallo there General

I remember this has been mentioned before but not sure if this is the right thread

viewtopic.php?t=18577&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

bout time someone started customizing those Chap Mei Wespes.

aferguson wrote:bout time someone started customizing those Chap Mei Wespes.

Same here can't to see how they look

I've got a kitbash project started with this, but lately my efforts have stalled. The Chap Mei Wespe is inaccurate and the tracks look terrible, but there is much possibility with the kit if one stretches the accuracy Basically, I intend to make some sort of Wespe-like vehicle. It will not be a Wespe in the exact accurate sense, but something that looks like a plausible German tank killer.

My plan is to mate the chasis of a 21c hanomag (the part with the bogey wheels and tracks) to the upper shell of the Chap Mei Wespe and replace the Chap Mei main gun with the 21c Pak 40, minus the shield. Thus far, I've torn apart a 21c Pak 40 Hanomag that I got on clearance at TRU to get the chasis and the gun. I will use some of the other hanomag parts such as the ammo magazines, seats, etc. on the kitbashed vehicle as well. I've also dismantled the Chap Mei Wespe that I bought, taking the upper shell and cutting up the lower track pieces to get the fighting compartment floor and rear end of the vehicle (a harder process than I thought). I've also removed the gun and will have to modify the gun mount to accomodate the 21c Pak 40. I've sort of left off at the point where I'm going to meld all these disparate parts together. Still tons of sanding, cutting, and putty work left to do, never mind the painting and detailing.

When I eventually return to this project and complete it successfully, I'll post pictures. I'm sure General Blasto will beat me to the punch and make something cool

why not just leave it as is, touch up the paint a bit and heavily drape in foilage, as many wespes and marders were done.

i'm looking forward to getting at least two of these one day. One i'm going to leave as is, as a wespe (i'll try to make a new breach for it as the gun barrel itself is not bad) and the other, do what you are doing and graft in a pak 40 to make a marder.

Accuracy aside, i think these things are cool beans and i hope to see more 'inaccurate' realistic armour from chap mei...it's a lot better than the total nothing that everybody else is making, save a smidgen from pte.

I wish these would just show up!!!!! I've looking for them for well over a year and no luck.

Could be worth while to kit bash but it sure will be a lot of work.

I don't know when I'll get around to playin' with the ones I got
So much to do on other projects, but I'll get there THere has to be some changes made on the main gun. Sanded down and the slots on the outside filled for sure. The drivers hatch MUST be changed and enlarged. Other than that, I'll just change the molded on details and address the track issues after that. Camo netting will complete the project(s) after a good coating of tricolor paint - remember, I'm doing these as flatcar loads.

As for finding them, I couldn't find them down here, but found a bunch in GA at a Rite-aid drug store.

Da General

i share your pain, Normandy. No rite-aids in canada. The good thing about chap mei products is that they keep showing up forever. It took me 7 years to find the chinook helicopter they make but i finally found it last year. Hopefully i won't have to wait nearly that long for the wespe, as i'm bustin'..

General Blasto wrote:
As for finding them, I couldn't find them down here, but found a bunch in GA at a Rite-aid drug store.

Da General

What better place to sell toys than a pharmacy.

Sometimes it is like distributors DON'T want to sell their merchandise to the public at large.

Hey CplSlade,
Your Rite-aid store is where I found my Marders at
I got to shoot some pictures here for the folks who haven't seen them yet.

Stand by ......

Da General

Beat you to it, using photos I took before I chopped up the vehicle

Ok, ya beats me to da punch
It got to late and I crashed on the couch after takin' the pictures
Well here are my before pictures. Wespes sitting on flatcars.







Note how the barrels will cover the gaps in the front area of the tracks.
I only did this on the second tank.



It's not much, but after modifications and camo netting, they should look pretty good

Da General

This "thing" makes my eyes bleed.

The upper hull is more Marder III than Wespe..Note the RHD of the tank vs German design which are LHD.



Marder III



Also the running grear isn't really Pz II A-C, F type..and def not D/E and G/J or L/M torsion bar type. The sprocket and idle is closer to a 38(t) design than Pz II also

But you can take a block of wood, call it a Tiger and if you're happy with it all the more to you.

Very cool blasto, thanks for posting. These give a much better sense of how big they are and how well they blend in with other 1:18 STUFF.

Btw, who is that hot viking chick? Meoooow....

It's a shame that they don't make alot in 1/18th
But we got to do the most with what we have. 1/35 has alot of stuff out there, but the figures are NOT posable and MUCH harder to custom do their faces, ranking, etc.. Not all of us are micro detail painters I think when I get done with my roto-track cannons, they will look something more apealing to most

Da General

I'm far from a micro-paint..see the Luchs I finished over the Holiday, one of my best jobs so far.

I found doing 15mm figures has improved my 1/35 when it comes to tones and shading and mixing fleshtones...right now I am working to get better at Filters and Pigments. Alot of trial and error still at this point. but it's coming along. As for 1/35 there is alot, but all there are major gaps..like for me I like Non-Combat posed soldiers more than action poses and those set are just now starting to show up with different companies.

as for 1/35 being harder to customize.

not really harder, I have photo/etch rank and insignia for panzer and infantry from Eduard. Medical, PzGr, Artillery, Helmet and unform insignia from Archer. Luftwaffe(all types, LFD, FlaK, FJ) insignia from verlinden, you can do aftermarket heads from several companies, come in sets. aftermarket weapon sets, P/E detail sets. Stencils for ammo boxes, all sorts of armour markings.

Then you can always hack and cut and putty up your own poses or just make your own figure if your skilled enough.

AND Then the pros can make a piece of art like this 2" tall.


sure he isn't poseable, and that's prob the biggest headache of 1/35 is the planning of a scene or diorama for which just sketching out and maybe just starting to outline on pink board can take as long as building the models for the display.

Right now I am waiting for the next Pz II L to come in, with all the aftermarket stuff I am going to add..and I am trying to figure something for a Ostfront '44-45 bit for 4.Panzer Division from Kovel, Poland to Kourland '45...right now I am at the stage of reading..alot of reading and note taking.

i think with a bit of work they will look dandy as either wespe or marder. Doesn't have to look exact to be fun. Imagination is a big part of the 1/18 scale hobby, as most of the pieces start out as toys (jsi tomcat not withstanding). For someone who is concerned about exactness of detail, 1/18 is definitely NOT the hobby to be in....that's what 1/35 is all about.

It's the big size, figure interaction, resourcefulness/creativity, joy of discovery and novelty that make 1/18 a great hobby.

Very much looking forward to getting my hands on a few of these one day.

I'd bet PH could pull off a sweet Wespe or marder kit. I'm working on his 222 now, and it's a pretty sweet piece.

I'm going to start my 222 this weekend.
As for the Chap Mei Wespes, I stopped at a Rite Aid near work at lunchtime, nothing.
I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to hunt this "tank" down. If they were all over the place I'd pickup a few and do the custom work but this thing needs a lot of help and not worth the time hunting for it.