Historiker

One of the more unpleasant sides of this hobby of ours is the pettiness of the arguments that arise. The topics are always the same; authenticity, taking hits, event organization, event scheduling etc. Everyone has their own opinion but nobody want’s to compromise and just sit down and work it out for the common good. It is quite tiring…

My girlfriend teaches kindergarten and the stories she tells of arbitrating daily disputes only varies in subject matter from the things I hear in organizing a reenacting event. Truly amazing!

Recently I introduced the use of hit cards for our tactical events. The system, when applied with a little judgment on the part of the reenactor, can yield good results. It also give our medics something to do during the tactical battles. Still there was grumbling about how people could open the paper strip when they registered and ‘cherry pick’ their hit…. argh!

So being an inventor (it’s my day job, 88 issued US patents so far) I’ve come up with the solution to some of the griping… The HIT COOKIE. I will have them for our next tactical, so you get hit break open your cookie and read your fortune!

Still putting the finishing touches on the Kübelwagen, but I’ll be done in time for the Brent Mullins Jeep show. Looking good…

Today I got the chance to do a bit more work at lunchtime. I painted the right side fenders and started on the left side Balken Cross. It’s the largest of the stencils and the most difficult I think, requiring good registration of two layers of stencil to accomplish. We’ll see how it turns out…

Masked and sprayed first pass…

Finished job…

Today I tackled the battery box. The original box that was fabricated for the Kübel was pretty large and offset taking up all of the foot well space for the right rear passenger. And it’s not very authentic being a simple large aluminum box. You can see here that it’s too big.

I decided to fabricate one that was more authentic looking. That would also solve the space problem. First to yank the old one, clean up under it and paint…

I found a great website done by Mr. R.Olgiati with detail information on the Kübel wagen and he also hosts drawings for the floorboards and the battery box. I used these plans to create a close approximation (size adjusted for the Volkswagen floor pan used in the Kooblekar. Here the materials are laid out for marking and cutting…

Part way done with assembling the cut parts…

Battery box done and installed, I just need to make the front latch…

Finally a sunny calm day in Central Texas Hill Country and I’m making fast progress on restoration of the Kübelwagen. Among other things today I’ve cleaned up the jerry can holders, done a bit of wiring and applied more stencils.

Here you can see the nightime clearance stripes and the Ramcke - von der Heydte unit markings…

I also got some of the accessories mounted back on the Kübel, as you can see the jerry can mount in this photo…

and I got the stencils on the rear deck done…

Now I’m waiting on my taillamps and notek light to complete the rear end…

The stencils that I custom ordered from Axholme Signs have arrived. And they are great!

Tony even included a practice stencil so I could get used to the operations. It worked fine and the first real application was to my BMW R-71. The test will be the symbol used by von der Heydte fallschirmjager on their vehicles. The stencil is two part due to its intricacy.

Here’s the base portion of the stencil, the diamond, in place, masked off and painted…

Here’s the second portion of the stencil, the R, in place, ready to spray…

And the end result, wunderbar!

The stencils arrived today and just in time as I’ve just finished the painting. It’s looking good…

One problem with owning vehicles is keeping up with the keys at a event and also what key fob to keep them on. There are very few period key fobs available.

I want something large enough to so if they are dropped or misplaced I can see them from a distance. Or not forget them on the dresser when I leave for an event. I recently picked up two new key fobs off of a vendor on Ebay. They meet my criteria and are simple and well made. The topper is that they are Fallshirmjager themed!

I love them, and the slogans embroidered on them too…

Don’t whine, fight!

Fallschirmjager, fall from the sky and fight!

Several months ago I’d written about my project to add a skirt to my zelt text so It would be a bit more habitable. I forgot that I never posted pictures of the finished result. The tent is much more roomy with space for two cots and a small table.

It also creates a space to store gear away from prying eyes and sticky fingers during shows; as well as just a place to take a break in privacy for a few minutes…

Here’s the tent at the Brownwood/Messina tactical…

Washing, sanding. priming and painting…

Pressure washed and sanded the Kübel, also removed brackets for cleaning and removing more of those blobby welds. I just cannot believe that anyone would not clean up or smooth one single weld on a project like this…

Part of the Kübel primed and painted in Luftwaffe grey…

Here’s a little painting tip…you don’t have to buy that relabeled expensive special ‘Luftwaffe Grey’ paint that folks rip you off for 15 dollars a can for. SEM makes a stock paint that is really close. It’s 39183 Bumpercoater, very close match. Also a great primer is the Sherwin Williams 988 self etching primer.