FF35003
1:35th Log Beach Posts and mines
£19.00
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A set of 5 1/35th scale super-detailed anti-invasion obstacles with Tellermines and etched brass saw-tooth cutting blades. Typical use was on the Atlantic Wall.
Another excellent product with excellent results.
I am building a large scale D-Day diorama in 1:35 scale and so far, this is the only "true to scale" choice in order to cram the shores of either Omaha Beach, Juno, Gold, Sword or even Utah with highly accurate German obstacles.
In this particular instance I am referring to the "Log Beach Posts with mines and razor saws" (the razor saws are not mentioned in the page description, but they are actually included as Photo-Etched pieces).
This product is also reserved for the more skilled builder (not for beginners, since we are talking about etched parts which could be harmful for less experienced hands), but there are no alternatives on the market these days, at least not in injection molded form.
These defenses were placed directly on the Beaches at the limit of the waterline. With High Tide, some of these were submerged and were practically invisible to the naked eye.
Not all logs were provided with either Mines or Razor Saws, but many were, especially those below the water line (these could only be spotted when the tide was low).
The Razor saws, placed at random on the logs, served the specific purpose to destroy the hull of the landing crafts and sink them.
The mines were meant as an additional trick to blow the sinking craft to pieces and cause harm to the men on board.
In fact, many of these devices (luckily) did not work at all. This was due to either the malfunction of the mines themselves, or by the movement in the water that in many cases just achieved that the razor blades detached themselves from the logs before they could do any serious harm to the landing crafts.
Nevertheless, these defenses did contribute to at least deviate the landing zones in which men and material were supposed to actually reach. They also caused a lot of confusion.
Contrary to what one does when painting normal logs or trees, these logs had a much more darker appearance.
The reason for that, is that they were treated with a special coating of a petroleum based lacquer which was meant to protect them from the salty water and partially fix the razor saw blades unto them.
Moreover, they were also darker for the simple reason that they were regularly submerged in water and therefore looked wet, rather than dry.
This is why their painting and weathering should look accordingly dark and almost dirty.
The razor blades have to be burnished and weathered prior to their application on the logs themselves.
The mines were usually painted in either Dark Green or Sand Yellow, but due to the exposure to the elements, they all appeared much darker than usual and therefore and in time, they turned out to expose their metallic surface, although not shining, but rather corroded, and therefore very dark metal (almost black).
Now said that, their placement is rather easy in a diorama, and although here shown as being concentrated side by side, they were not placed like that.
They were alternated in upper surface and lower surface log placements and their upper face turned inland, not towards the sea line.
Also, they were distanced at regular intervals from each other (10 meters or so = 10.9361 yards).
This was due to the fact that the Germans wanted to avoid that if one exploded in contact to a landing craft, the next would be affected as well.
This did not mean, that along the 10-metre distance there were not other obstacles as well, just like simple planted logs (either pointed or shallow; the shallow ones were also provided with mines), or tetrahedra, or again hedgehogs.
Now, would I recommend this product? Absolutely yes!
It is well conceived and requires just a little patience in the painting and weathering department, but its quality is beyond one may expect from a product like this one.
Bravo Accurate Armour!
Posted On: Sunday, May 7th, 2017 @ 6:04 pm