251/9 Stummels - "stump guns". To make these, you will need to convert your Matchbox kits to the C version, since earlier versions were not used for this variant. If you have a D version model, then your conversion to a 251/9 will be easier, since a late 251/9 had a gun mounted on top of the existing vehicle, instead of, as here, inset down into the vehicle, with parts cut away from the roof. The late version had a co-axial MG, but these earlier versions did not.

This photograph shows the converted nose of the kit. The nose-piece supplied with the kit has not been glued on, and the front edges of the side parts of the nose have been cut to form a straight line in profile. The B version had a nose with a bend in its middle. The C version had a slab flat nose, with a little rectangular bit on the bottom. Cut a piece of plastic card to fit over the nose and glue it on, then trim it down to size to fit exactly, then add the little rectangle at the bottom. Burn or drill a hole through the bottom centre of the main (roughly hexagonal) piece, or glue on a thin circle of plastic card to represent the cover to this hole (which was for the starting handle).

The front-most sections of the mudguard have been cut back, and a new lip carved on their edges, and to these have been glued the headlamps. Actually, the headlamps were on stalks, but I thought that the stalks alone would be too weak, so I glued the headlamps to the front edges of the mudguards. The headlamps themselves have a slit added to their front, and the backs of them have been filed to a hemisphere (on the B version they were more conical). When set in place, Milliput stalks have been added, which attach to the sides of the nose.

Note that the grille at the front of the bonnet (that's "hood" to you Americans) has been filled in with Milliput. I found that carving away the grille lines first helped a bit, to get the final effect nice and smooth.

From this angle, you can see that the 75mm gun, which was used for firing high explosive rounds in support of infantry actions, is set down into the vehicle, roughly where the front right visor was. Of course, the hole to accommodate the gun was wider than the gun, to allow for some amount of traverse. In the vehicle on the right can be seen the six-round bin to the right of the gun, on the inside wall. I do not know what this looked like, so have represented it with a simple box made from plastic card. Also, you can see the wheels, with their little handles, for aiming the gun, and the sight. Some of these vehicles had scissors scopes, with two eye-pieces, but I have opted for the simpler single periscope sight. The big guard looping around the breach is lower on the right hand side, to facilitate loading. This guard kept the crew out of the danger zone when the gun recoiled after firing. From it often hung a large bag for catching the cartridge casings.

The same vehicles, from above. From this angle, you can see that the floor of the vehicle has been widened where the front benches have been removed, to meet the sides of the body, and it has be scored all over with diagonal lines, cross-crossing, to provide a grippy surface for the crew to stand on. Behind the one remaining bench is a seat back, which is also a locker. These were in all C versions of the 251, but my seated figures don't sit properly with them in place, so I have left them off my other models. Opposite the bench is a large ammunition bin, which stands on the flat floor, taking up a lot of room. At the gun-end of this bin is a smaller, lower bin.

With a keen eye, you can see that the holes in the shields for the guns are wider than the guns. This gap is covered by a second smaller shield behind the hole. You can also see some details of the breach. I made the main square part of the gun, together with the breach, as one piece, carved from a thick slab of plastic card (actually, three layers glued together). The guns were old StuG III guns, and their new use was such a success, that this type of gun, having been discontinued, was brought back into production. I have seen several commercial models of this vehicle, and some home-made conversions. The commercial ones were all very lacking in detail, and the conversions almost all used the short 75mm barrel which comes with the Airfix Panzer IV kit. This is the wrong type of gun, and of course the tank kit lacks the breach.

The same vehicles, from the side. You can see the periscope sight, peeping over the shield, which I have made from quite thin plastic card. The gun barrels are two diameters of plastic rod. The roll of cloth shown on the right-hand vehicle is Milliput. Note the angle of the little shield at the base of the barrel. The main shield, and the extra shield behind it, can just be seen. The right-hand vehicle's extra shield is not quite at the right angle.

Note also that the right-side visor has been removed (left-hand vehicle in the photograph), and that there is a pipe from the vent cover to the exhaust. In this particular case, I have used a diameter of rod which is slightly too thin.

The finished models on a wargaming table. One of the two crew cartridges has dismounted, to give us a better look at the gun breech. The effect of the added detail on the edges of the tracks shows up well in this shot. I have painted a big black smoke stain on the bonnet. I don't know that this is realistic, but it seemed appropriate. The gun has no barrel brake and is close to the bonnet, so a smoke stain seems likely.

The road is my own road (see scenery section). The Spanish riders I made myself from girder strut, bought from a model shop, with little flat plastic card triangles for the strengthening bits, painted very rusty iron. The woodpile in the background is made from - you guessed it - twigs.

I was going to cover these models with loads of foliage, which would be authentic, but after going to all that trouble to detail the model accurately, I couldn't bring myself to do this.