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"The End of the World" - Pershing II-launch in 1/72


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I just finished a diorama I built for a friend and collegue of mine. He graduadet with a thesis about nuclear strategy and asked if I could do him some "nice stuff". I had recently seen the M1001 with Pershing II-kit by Modelcollect in 1/72 and agreed to build this.

 

The construction of the m1001-truck and the erector was a pure pleasure, here are some impressions:

 

The truck is a german built MAN, with lots of small details and even PE-parts:

 

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This is the erector:

 

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Also very nice to build, but you have to think first before you start, especially if you want the missile in the launch-position - the kit only offers the transport position. But that conversion is not very complicated.

 

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And done, with the missile in position (not finally painted, though):

 

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The MAN was wearing a MERDC-scheme during the early years of its usage in europe, so I painted it in this - as I think - very attractive camoflage.

 

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I used a lightened up green 65 by Revell, Khaki green 86 (Revell) and the small "hooks" are done with white (darkened a bit with brown) and matt black.

 

Cool looking camo!

 

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One downside of the kit: It does NOT contain any realistic decals for the MAN-truck. So I had to come up with some spare markings of my own. Also missing: The prominent MAN-logo on the grill!

 

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As I mentionend, I wanted to do a diorama. This mainly because my friend wanted to park the truck, erector and missile in his office, and the best method to keep the model safe from touchy fingers and room cleaning personnel is to do a diorama and put a glas-hood over it.

The first step was to do a basic layout:

 

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Adding a small foot of a hill and the command post for the firing crew:

 

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Plaster was used to have some basic ground structure and even a small forest trail:

 

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Color:

 

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Scatter materials, secured by lots of thinned white glue:

 

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Checking again:

 

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Adding trees for a typical german pine forest:

 

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And small bushes:

 

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The "doomsday-button"!

 

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Trio infernale:

 

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Taking up position:

 

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Adding a camo-net above the position for cover:

 

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And finally adding the erector with missile and cotton to simulate the blast:

 

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Edited by Hajo L.
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Looking "from east":

 

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The view from "the west":

 

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Anyone who knows Herman Kahn?

 

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In his book "On Escalation" he described the theoretical steps of the different levels of conflict, from diplomatic exchange up to an all out nuclear war.

 

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As you can see here, we have obviously reached one of the highest levels of escalation, where no rules apply anymore - the crew does not care anymore for the sign that says "Prevent Forest Fires! Smoking and open lights forbidden!".

 

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Various power- and controllines are leading between the firing position, the truck and his generator and the missile erector:

 

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HAJO

Edited by Hajo L.
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I fully understand you and I agree. If you happen to look into the "This ain´t real"-GB, you´ll see my most current posting for a project where I explained my personal relation to the Cold War. I think this explanation also stems from the aftermath of having done the Pershing-diorama.

Actually, it´s a very good opportunity to thank you folks from the US and Canada for defending our borders in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. You could have chosen to stay at home on the other side of the pond, and leave us Europeans alone with our problems. Thank you for staying with us! I think this unity we had back then in NATO was the main reason why I can build a diorama such as the one above today, and never had to see a "live-launch" of a Pershing back then!

 

 

HAJO

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That is a great diorama! I remember that old Army cammo scheme. I hauled several Pershing missiles to Europe in the C-5. Minus the warhead...C-5 wasn't certified for nuke airlift so the 141 guys had to haul it. 

Ground work, forest, roadway and overall time brings back memories that seem to be forgotten. Great job!

 

Cheers...Ron

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