Shifting out of Neutral Part 2: Come with me if you want to Resist
By Ian Birdwell
In the last article in this series, we reviewed what force would best represent Austrian forces, what the army list for that force would look like, and injecting a little bit of fantasy into the Bundesheer to get it to work with the Israeli list. In part two of this series, we’ll focus more on the converting and building of the elements of the Austrian army which needed to be 3D printed rather than bought off the shelf.
3D Printing the Obscure
Though I’m calling these elements obscure, what I mean to impart is that I’ve yet to find a miniature manufacturer for these vehicles which makes them at a 1:100 scale.
I’ve found several at a variety of other scales, most visibly from Heroic and Ro’s in 1/300 scale. But where there’s a will, there’s a technological development ready to make obscure miniature manufacturing possible. In this case I’m talking about 3D printing.
There are only a few files needed to create nearly all of the vehicles and armaments needed to make our Austrians for Team Yankee a reality, I’ll have the files listed at the end of this article for your own use if you’d like to follow along with converting your own Austrians. With that said, this article is going to advance in four sections regarding the four major vehicles needed for converting to use in a Team Yankee Bundesheer force quickly reviewing the history of the equipment before getting into how to convert it.
I feel it is important to note here and now, these are to be representative models and not 100% accurate representations of the vehicles. There will be several things which won’t jive with those most familiar with the vehicles. While that can be remedied with the proper application or time, patience, and skill in either plasticard modeling or CAD designs, I lack far too much in each category to make true-to-life representations of these models and am completely fine with “close enough” because when in doubt I can always hide my crimes with camo-netting and disruptive camouflage.
The Saurer Family
In terms of pieces of Austrian equipment the Saurer family of vehicles is likely the most iconic. It served in the Austrian military since 1961 in numerous roles, was frequently upgraded and still serves in the Bundesheer.
The most commonplace to see the vehicle would be in the panzergrenadier companies where it would be used as a transport, mortar carrier, scout vehicle, observation post, and infantry fighting vehicles. By the mid-80’s the Saurer was definitely a piece of equipment which was long in the tooth, and the Bundesheer sought to find a replacement for it though was unable to locate a suitable one until after the Cold War’s conclusion.
In game terms, there’s going to be a lot of work going into this specific model to create both historic and fictional vehicles. Fortunately, Bergman’ modern files gives us a wonderful tool to work off of to make all of these other designations happen, the only model of Saurer I’ve yet to find in 1-100 scale: the Saurer 4K4FA-G2 schutzenpanzer.
Though this model represents the IFV version of the Saurer, it provides an essential foundation for creating the other versions of the Saurer chassis needed, despite its relative differences to those models. So looking at our list we’ll need thirteen uMG Saurer, three Saurer Grenatwerfer, two Saurer TOW, four Saurer IFV, and then one Saurer observer.
Saurer uMG-M113
In terms of representation, work, and numbers the Saurer uMG is going to be the most prevalent conversion we’ll be working on. Its relatively simple, but will require a healthy dip into your bitz box. The following items will be needed to convert these vehicles the way I have:
1 .50 Cal AA MG
1 ACAV MG gun shield
1 Cromwell turret hatch
2 MG42 on AA mount
Step 1. Clean model, remove IFV turret, clean all of the necessary parts
Step 2. Clip off tab of ACAV MG gun shield and center-top of the shield, file down smooth.
Step 3. Glue the Cromwell turret hatch over the turret peg whole
Step 4. Glue modified ACAV MG gun shield over the front section of the hatch
Step 5. Glue the .5 Cal MG to the gun shield as shown.
Step 6. Clip off 1 AAMG’s AA mount
Step 7. Attach AA MGs as shown
Saurer Observer-M113 Observer
In terms of difference with the regular APC, is that you don’t add the gun shield, .5 cal, or forward MG 74.
Saurer Grenatwerfer-M113 w/81mm
The Grenatwerfer and the Saurer TOW have similar conversion needs, with one major difference between the two being drilling a hole for the TOW gunner. So those same steps are shared between the two conversion guides. To do this guide you’ll need the following
1 81mm mortar from the M113 Kit
2 M106 Mortar carrier hatch bits
1 Cromwell or Sherman Hatch cover
2 Small plasticard bars
A small amount of green stuff
Step 1. Remove IFV turret, clean all parts
Step 2. Remove the whole bottom section of the mortar, leaving only the upper section.
Step 4. Glue the Hatch bits onto the rear of the hull
Step 5. glue the two plasticard bars into place to form a square
Step 6. Glue the Cromwell or Sherman hatch into place
Step 7. Place a small amount of green-stuff onto the center of the box, press and glue the mortar top into this and smooth out the edges.
Saurer TOW-M150 three options
1. TOW Gunner
You’ll need the following
1 Cromwell or similar hatch cover
2 M106 Mortar Carrier hatch bits
2 small plasticard bars
1 Jaguar 2 TOW missile with aiming crew or similar miniature
1 MG 42 on AA mount
A slightly larger amount of green stuff
Step 1, clean all materials, remove IFV turret
Step 2, drill a hole into rear area large enough for your TOW missile with crew
Follow steps 3, 4, and 5 from the Grenatwerfer
Step 6, Place the TOW gunner into the whole, I found it necessary to fill the hole with a little bit of greenstuff.
2. The Rocket Launcher version
The rocket launcher variation of the Saurer was tested by the Bundesheer, but rejected far before the 1980s. Two prototypes were created beforehand though, so it is definitely possible to replicate for your force if you so choose. To get the look of the vehicle if you’re not planning on sculpting or fashioning the rocket launcher, I’d suggest picking up an American HMMV turret with TOW launcher and placing it on the rear hatch area before applying liberal amounts of foliage to hide the join.
3. The experimental route
In the Steyr corporation continually experimented with a variety of potential new roles for the Saurer to sell to the Bundesheer and abroad. One of the more interesting variations comes from the 1990’s and features a Saurer with a modified commander hatch featuring a bank of BILL missiles (the ATGW adopted by Austria following the conclusion of the Cold War). I only came upon this variation recently, but the application of it seems simple enough and could be accomplished with traditional modeling, 3D printing, or kitbashing to get a fair representation of the actual model. As a note, this vehicle was also rejected by the Bundesheer and to the best of my knowledge it has not been mass produced, and this was the only photo I was able to locate.
3D Prints Ready off the Print Bed
- Saurer IFV-Luchs
- SK 105-Leopard I
- Saab 105-Skyhawks
These three vehicles really won’t need any modifications beyond what is already present on the model when its printed. The Saurer IFV is fairly close in size to the Luchs, so there’s no issues there as far as further conversion work is concerned. The SK 105 Kuerrassier is an incredibly interesting vehicle I find, and it is completely up to you as a player and modeler with what you’d like to do with it.
There are a host of pictures with the SK 105 with and without AA MGs, camouflage, and other details. My only suggestion would be to put the vehicle on a large base if you intend to have it stand in as a Leopard I due to its much smaller size. Finally in terms of the Saab 105, the model here represents a hybrid as the 3D designer was unable to get schematics for the 105OE so again it could be closer but for a representative piece it works well. Importantly, be sure to print the version with both Guns and Bomb pods.
The big push with the Saab 105 is less the conversion work and more creating the flight stand, so below is how I was able to make it happen. By and large, it amounts to acquiring a base of whatever size you’d prefer (I’ve gone with an oval 75×42) and some spare flight stand rods I’ve had lying around. I’d heartily suggest doing as I’ve done putting putty or clay around the rod and to pin the rod to the base to provide for additional support. Then simply glue your magnets and you’re all set (I’m going with some squares to make reduce spinning in game) and some extra weight with rocks to prevent tipping.
Final Thoughts and looking towards the future…..
I think 3D printing opens the doors for a host of more obscure armies to be included on the tabletop, especially since the market share of some of these forces may be incredibly small.
The big drawback of using this specific style of printing is that my 3D prints are all in PLA with a medium-scaled layer size done on an Ender 3 in order to be more cost-effective for me, but the visible layer lines can be mitigated by printing it in resin or with smaller layer sizes on different printers. There are trade-offs associated with those choices, so I figured I’d pursue a different painting technique to help visually reduce the starkness of the print lines. That’s what we’ll be covering in the next article in the series, so stay tuned!
In terms of what you’d be looking for the replicate the conversions I’ve done above, it is mainly focused on the 3D prints needed to serve as the basis for the conversions needed. I’d also like to take this time to thank both m_bergman and Giddi for creating such great designs!
- Saurer 4K4FA-G2 schutzenpanzer- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3766220
- SK 105- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3265006
- Saab 105- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3186694