Battleground Models

[Grunt]

Greetings everyone,

I am a garage based maker of mainly World War 2 items in 1:16 and 1:18 scale. Originally my focus was on larger items like armor, artillery and anti-tank weapons. As of late, I've focused on researching and making a lot of smaller items like gear, radios, cameras and hand weapons. It occurred to me that because these items are smaller that in most cases I could also produce them in the larger 1:6th scale with my existing equipment.

Now for the but.. I don't really know much about the 1/6th community other than there are a lot of like minded enthusiasts and some extremely talented folks, so my post may be mis-guided. Hopefully not.

I decided to join and make this post to see if there was any interest in some of my items being made in 1:6th scale, which I would be happy to do.

Here are some examples that I think might be interesting though knowing you guys someone in the community may have already done them. If not, maybe I can help:

Tonschrieber C Cesar and D Dora

Philco 44b Civilian Radio (USA)

French Pathefone No 10 (Modeled after Saving Private Ryan)

Bell and Howell Slide/Film projector (US Army)

Eyemo Camera for US war correspondents

Neumann Bottle Microphone (German War Correspondents)

These are done in CAD and 3D printed in house(literally) using a variety of resins depending on whether it is a mechanical or static part.

There is a lot more here including photos of finished items.
https://www.battlegroundmodels.com/shop-1

Thank you for allowing me to share and for any interest or feedback,

Pat
Battleground Models
www.battlegroundmodels.com

 

[Pangaea95]

I think if you were to do 1/6th it would be a great resource to the community, you have some neat stuff I think many would enjoy

 

[The_Dutchman]

You have quite a collection of interesting items on your website.

I am a 3d modeller myself and create my models in true 1/1 scale and then resize them to 1/6 and then review the 1/6 version to make sure it is within printing material specs.

My only concern would be if your models are created in 1/16 or 1/18 scale and you re-scale them, the 1/6 version will likely appear very coarse and lacking detail. So that would be something to be aware of.

Best of luck!

 

[Rolling Thunder Tech]

Looks like a large and varied product line with reasonable pricing. A couple of pieces are listed as 1:18 scale. Does that mean that the default non-listed scale is 1:6 scale?

Any plans to produce a DshK 12.7. would be interested in the wheeled version as well as the turret mounted for a tank.

There is a nice line up of U.S. radio sets. Any plans for British sets such as the Wireless sets 11 and 19?

Leonard
RTT

 

[Squidley]

You have some very interesting and unusual items on your site.

I'm sure many would be welcome additions to the community.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Grunt]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, feedback and questions. This is the type of discussion I was hoping for when I joined and posted.

To answer a few questions:
"A couple of pieces are listed as 1:18 scale. Does that mean that the default non-listed scale is 1:6 scale?"
- Everything listed and the associated pricing is for 1:16 and 1:18. Nothing on the site is 1:6 (today). My thinking is that I could upscale the existing smaller items (think field gear) to 1:6 and produce it with equipment I already have.

"Looks like a large and varied product line with reasonable pricing."
For pricing, I would estimate a 1:6 version of an item to be 2-3x the 1:18 price for 1:6. This pricing I hope will be reasonable for unique items, but will seem unreasonable if compared to existing 1:6 items that are available fully painted in plastic or unpainted cast resin.

Being new here, I don't know which items are already affordable and exist in 1:6. I think I can only be helpful with the unique, unusual or out of production/hard to find ones. Suggestions and requests are very helpful.

"Any plans to produce a DshK 12.7. would be interested in the wheeled version as well as the turret mounted for a tank."
- I focus mainly on WW2 and had skipped the DShKM thinking it was a modern gun and did not realize there was a DshK 1938 version until you asked and I googled. Is the 1938 version the one you would like?

"There is a nice line up of U.S. radio sets. Any plans for British sets such as the Wireless sets 11 and 19?"
- Thank you. Radio sets and their associated gear are really fun to research and create. They also print really well. British sets are virgin territory for me so I have some research books on the way. Asking around, folks have consistently suggested the 19 and the 22. They also mentioned the 18, 38, 46 and particularly the 76/R109 combination. I'll add the 11 to the research list. These sets appear to get really hairy when it comes to the details. The 19 alone had 16 variants and many of these requested sets had different mounting configurations for manpack, ground station, vehicle, cabinet, etc. So any further detail on your request is helpful.

Hopefully someone will request the No. 13. It's safe to wear for prolonged periods right?

"My only concern would be if your models are created in 1/16 or 1/18 scale and you re-scale them, the 1/6 version will likely appear very coarse and lacking detail. So that would be something to be aware of."
- Yes, changing scales with math in CAD is easy, making the item look right and print well is an art. I also design for 1:1 and scale down for the same reasons. The largest sin I have to commit consistently for 16/18 is to exaggerate some features, eg rivets/bolt heads, so they actually appear when printed. Perhaps I need to print one of the more detailed items in 1:6 and post a picture for you all to be the judges on whether the detail is lacking or too aggressive.

Thanks again,

Pat
Battleground Models
www.battlegroundmodels.com

 

[Rolling Thunder Tech]

Thanks for the replies to my questions.

Have been looking at the British wireless 11 and 19 units as from my research these were the ones used in Commonwealth vehicles during the North Africa campaign and by the SAS LRDG jeeps. Other wireless units may also have been used in this capacity. wiki does give a nice lineup for British wireless units used in WW2 though I would not use it per se without other research confirmation.

For the DshK am looking at the 1938 version. The wheeled unit would be great for ground troops, and I have a 1/6 scale JS-2 heavy tank that would be enhanced with a turret mounted version. These had the two pistons to compensate for the weight distribution as the mount is close to the gun handles, rather than at the center of balance with the Browning 50 caliber heavy machine gun.

Leonard
RTT

 

[ROB48]

Saw several items on your site that I would like to have in 1/6th. Hope you can get it going. Good luck and keep us posted.
Bob

 

[Rolling Thunder Tech]

Would be interested in viewing an updated product list that includes pricing and examples in 1:6 scale.

Other items that are typically in demand are jerry cans and 55 gallon drums. Just a thought to pass on.

Leonard
RTT

 

[Grunt]

"Would be interested in viewing an updated product list that includes pricing and examples in 1:6 scale." -RTT

and

"Saw several items on your site that I would like to have in 1/6th." - Rob

- Are there any existing items in particular I should focus on? I just need something to run through the process, show pictures, make any desired changes, figure out pricing and report back.

 

[Panzercommander HOH]

Agreed with the rest, I'd like a few of your items you currently make in 1:6th.

Hope you soldier on with this venture!

Fred

 

[jbcat]

Agreed with all commentes too.

I'm interested in viewing british items in 1/6, for example, from your listed items:

british electric lamp set
film camera and projector


Other items:
an BSA foldable bicycle
britisih ML 3-inch mortar
allied jerrycans (but not solid, two parts for glue after?)

 

[Rolling Thunder Tech]

Interested in the U.S. and British radios. The Japanese and Russian heavy MG's would be great to add in 1:6 scale.

just my two cents
Leonard
RTT

 

[Grunt]

Thank you all for the feedback.

I'm surprised about the jerry cans and barrels. These would seem to be commodity items for the big companies and casters to do. A quick google found these jerry cans which look pretty good and are in stock:
https://www.monkeydepot.com/Container_Set_Go_Truck_1_6_20_Liter_Fuel_Can_and_p/gtb0008.htm
https://www.mhm-shop.de/Jerry-Can-/-German-WH-gasoline-from-metal-canisters-in-1-/-6

As well as these barrels:
https://www.monkeydepot.com/Barrack_Sergeant_German_WWII_Oil_Fuel_Drums_p/sb0002-dd156.htm

Are these too expensive, not detailed enough, the wrong variants, or ?

I'm going to start with a few radios, the film projector and camera. These are easy to upscale and make with the equipment I have on hand. I'll report back with photos and rough pricing to see if this is worth pursing further.

For the radios and projector:

Would you want them hollow so that you could put lights inside?
What if they were a clear-ish material allowing light inside to bleed through any unpainted, or lightly painted areas?
Should the holes be large enough to fit a particular (?) gauge of wire?

Happy Holidays!

Pat

 

[Pangaea95]

The barrels at the Monkey Depot are awesome, same as the DML version, but very hard to come by, surprised to see these and they'll most likely sell out soon!!! The Jerry cans you posted don't appear to have the detailing for the German army, WH and SS. The thing about the barrels that's nice is they are fabricated hollow and are light, I can't see someone doing these in resin due to weight and cost, there are a couple of sources for the resin Jerry cans tho, FOA has several sizes
http://www.fieldofarmortanks.com/generic-accessories/

As well as Armorpax
https://www.armorpax.net/

 

[jbcat]

The jerrycans you posted, first are modern and german the others. ww2 allied jerrycans are really hard-to-find and never own enough. Any SAS o desert veehicle used a lot

 

[Grunt]

Update:

I was able to make a couple items in 1/6th scale. I estimate these would run about $20 each given the cost.

Bell and Howell Eyemo Camera for US Signal Corps War Correspondents

US Signal Corps PH-222 Projector for Film and Slide Projection

I worked on CAD for British Wireless No. 11 Mk III. I've had trouble finding good images to work from but this is what I have so far.

 

[Panzercommander HOH]

AWESOME!

Looking forward to ordering some of the US cameras!

Fred

 

[Grunt]

I went ahead and put the Eyemo camera and the U.S. Army Projector into the store in 1/6th scale:

https://www.battlegroundmodels.com/product-page/eyemo-war-correspondent-film-camera

https://www.battlegroundmodels.com/product-page/bell-howell-ph-222-film-slide-projector

 

[Rolling Thunder Tech]

It would help if there was a 1:6 scale tab or page to easily find out what items are available in our preferred scale.

Leonard
RTT