38t Panzer "Marsch"

The perils of trying to update a blog on a mobile device mean that I am typing this post again. Perhaps it was my chubby fingers or a "interface error" but here for the second time of telling is the "38t Panzer Marsch" (see below): 

These are all examples of the Fuji 38t 1/76 kit, copiously available in the 1990's where most if not all of the above were collected. Like their namesake Skoda 38t the kits were relatively cheap and easy to put together. Many a pitched wargame battle was fought against the Matchbox French Char 1 bis (one notable game occurred in a London pub's wargames room where "Rommel" as per history took a part.French DCR in France 1940).

They have a lightened "hard campaigning" look about them and so need the balkan black German cross and those 'red and white' large side numbers. One day that will come ;)

The 38t is a nice little model that serves well for the Germans in Poland 1939 (as part of their "Light" Divisions), in France 1940 famously with Rommel in the 7th Panzer Division and also 8th Panzer and even into Russian in 1941. Axis satellite allies also used them post-1942 but there the camo schemes started to go three toned and away from the grey. You could even find them as mobile "train" defenses, carried on flat-beds in "Partisan country" to deter partisan attention.   

Panzer II "Marsch"

The early war panzer photograph collection was never quite finished. The Panzer II 'posse' pose together (see below) in France or Poland.

Four Matchbox/Revell and two Fujimi, the chap with the commander is the really early war variant (see below). They are crying out for decals (black crosses in particular) and I want to give all the early war crew tank commanders a little individual attention.

I do have one other Panzer II still in DAK colours and I am debating what to do with him, whether to turn him grey or camo him up for the recon vehicle.

Panzer I Variants: A Versatile Little Tank

My "Panzer I" family photograph pulled from the album:

Along with the "combat tanks" (ahem, yes we all know that the Pz I was only ever intended as a panzer training vehicle, possibly stretching to combat use as a radio [as in, indirect combat role] command variant the Pz I was developed out of necessity in a variety of other roles. Going left to right we have: Spanish Civil War Condor Legion 1937 'Gun' Tank, then the German 1939-41 Command Tank, 1939-41 HMG Tank, 1940-1942 Tank Destroyer, 1940-1942+ Assault Gun AFV.  

The Spanish Civil War (SCW) brought a classic battlefield modification, born out of necessity, marrying a Breda 25mm Italian AT gun to a 'dustbin' turret on the Pz I chassis. All because the Nationalists had to counter Republicans who had real tanks with guns in them (T26's)! The miniatures are from a firm called 'Faust Miniatures' and were an early form of "resin" kit [circa 1997, and were rather rough and ready, brittle and sadly the castings were full of air holes] but rather nevertheless 'charming' for all that too. Too my disgrace they are still in their black undercoat despite having them for fifteen years, but I can report that they are finally working their way a cross the painting table (as I type).

Next in line is the main production fighting variant (see below) Panzer I Ausf B:

You had to be small and dinky to fit into these things, basically a machine gun carrier with a squashed or cosy crew of three. The armour could stop a HMG bullet but not an anti-tank rifle (aka the British Boyes or Russian PTRD) which could take the tank out. It had already reached its swan song long before 1939 and was pressed into combat use by dire need for tanks in Poland (1939), France (1940) and Russia (1941) campaigns.

Next up something with a much more significant punch, the mobile AT destroyer JagdPanzer I (could I call it a Marder MkI?) with the Czech 47mm AT gun. Something even early war French and Russian heavy tanks had to respect (see above). The manufacturers are Fujimi and Esci and again are "old" friends, painted but still needing [the bane of my modelling life] some decals.

Finally the 'metal' fiend of my collection. Something that even in later in the war would have drawn respect, though I don't think any of them could have lasted that long. The Pz I Sig 150mm mobile Infantry Gun. Not a tank killer but a high factor indirect (or direct) support weapon against infantry or fortifications (see below). The kit is courtesy of the ubiquitous SkyTrex 20mm WWII Hinchliffe range and although it was expensive, it was a nice buy which I have never regretted.

I don't think these things, call it an AFV for want of a better description, were ever "knocked out" in direct fire combat, but I suspect the vehicles soon "shook" themselves apart after continuous firing. In reality too big a weapon to be mounted on this small frame. 

The only omission to the family (bar a Pz I munition carriers or ambulances) would be the specialist street fighting variant produced experimentally in 1942 after the Pz I had been removed from front-line combat service. This was a Pz I with "100mm of thick frontal and side armour" designed to be a semi-mobile HMG platform to support German infantry in heavy urban combat. Dis anybody say shades of the Stalingrad mind set? Apparently eight were produced and fought in on the Eastern Front. I think the kits are/were available in resin but from who I know not. The DAK also did a 'battlefield conversion' when fighting outside of Tobruk in 1941 and installed an infantry flame-thrower weapon inside a Panzer I with a limited amount of success. 

Summary: The Panzer I a surprisingly versatile little tank and with its many variants lived a life with a lot more service than would have been expected from its pure wargaming "data statistics".

Back to the start of things: The mighty Panzer I Ausf B

The earth quakes and the ground rumbles as the dawn of the Blitzkrieg is heralded in by the mighty Panzer MkI Ausf B, in the infamous (ahem, thanks Tim, see comments) Dunkelgrau (German Panzer Grey) colour scheme, rolling across the Polish plains (see below): 

These old friends started life with me a long, long time ago, some twenty one years ago in Aberdeen. They are all PzIB's bar the central tank which is the Command Tank version. The only difference being no turret, only one HMG (instead of two) fixed to the front but a blooming great big radio tucked inside it (to spot it see above, middle of picture). This was the time when Frank Chadwick's Command Decision II was the new set of rules in town (circa 1990) introducing the novel concept of one model represents a platoon in a battalion order of battle (OoB) and morale was a significant factor rather than just the weapon wielded. I would also note that the range of plastic kits you could find in shops was very, very limited compared to the extravaganza before us now :).

Heading away from the sun shows a slightly more detailed view (see above), with the Command Tank variant (see above, top left) now leading the way left. The manufacturers are Esci (now to be found re-issued in Italeri boxes) and Fujimi (delicate, hard to come by Japanese kits even now). The pictures were taken from my BlackBerry in natural light hence the long shadows and limited zoom in. Did you notice the unpainted kit amongst the ones above?

Renaissance has finally made way for WWII 20mm and the painting table/tray is now filled with traditional modellers plastic sprue, instead of the trendy 28mm plastic figure kind (see above and below). 

The Italeri model was an old friend (I had previously built two Esci kits together albeit a long, long time ago), although the one-part none slippery plastic track (that required stapling together) was not missed, the individual track parts made it a lot of parts for a small kit! I think I will paint and yes even decal it up for the France 1940 Campaign (which means it is also perfect for Russia).

The Polish "white cross" markings are too silly for my liking, in fact the Panzer crews themselves soon started obscuring them with mud and grease as they had noticed the preponderance of knocked out panzers with hits on or around the "white crosses", which were perfect aiming points for the Polish gunners.

Footnote: I found on "You Tube" the Italeri Panzer I Ausf B review

Airfix Tiger I refurbishment: Part Two

Moving onto a basic Dark Yellow overcoat (XF-60 dark Yellow):

Now comparing with Old Airfix:

(New Airfix) Against the Fujimi as Comparison

(Old Airfix) Against the Fujimi as Comparison

I think it's an improvement on the original shape :)

Next a new Camo Pattern to make it pretty ...

Airfix Tiger I refurbishment: Part One

A funny thing happened to me from the Painting Table to the Model Box ...

I had just under-coated the so-called German Wonder Tanks (from Pegasus) Matt Black and had put them to one side (eyeing up the Boulton Paul defiant and Hawker Hurricane) when I thought I should really put the tanks "back in the box" (so I or small child didn't break them)!

Pandora's box of unfinished models was opened and I spied my old pair of Airfix Tigers. Hmm. The comparison (Fujimi v Airfix):

Now this annoys me, all because of the missing back stowage bins (you know the story of the Airfix designers basing their model from a reconstructed Tiger, done in haste without the ubiquitous stowage bins in place, so they never made it to the final Airfix model ). Just think of all those generations of misguided teenage Airfix modellers getting confused with their AFV recognition charts ;)

I had made these two Tigers yonks ago but they were never used as they looked a bit silly next to their Fujimi and Hasagawa cousins (with back bins). Taking inspiration from a certain Tim Marshall's web-site and his Tiger Turret conversion I decided to take the plunge and have a go myself, it looked simple enough.

The basic conversion, a new back:

Starting with glueing two small bits of squarish plasti-card sticking out from the rear turret (using the Fujimi turret as a guide), a third longer piece was bent and rolled over joining the back of the two. Getting it sufficiently curved was rather tricky, so I settled for glueing piece three in place and then sticking a forth bit of rolled/bent plasti-card over it to get the extra curve needed, Finally I carved a rough curve to fit the Tiger turret from a very thin bit of plast-icard and put that over the bin framework. This irregular shape was carved back to conform to turret/bin shape.   

A little extra detail (Two Back Flaps added):

Two small squares of plastic were added as bin flaps and a small square hole was drilled into the middle of the back stowage area (as per the Fujimi model).

A spot of Panzer Yellow (Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow): It looks rough in close-up, but it's good enough from a distance and there is a bit of camo and weathering to follow :)

The refurbishment continues ...

"Brown" and "Green" Tigers

Following hot on the heels of 1/72 Hasagawa "Green Tiger" painting saga comes the 1/76 Fujimi "Brown Tiger" in what I can only say was a comparatively speedy paint job but also giving it a very Eastern Front effect. In the staged scene below we can see "Brown Tiger" to the back halted, covering "Green Tigers" advance:

Note in the background the huge vastness of the Russian Steppes leading off over the horizon. Then note, somewhat spoiling this illusion, top left and the shadow of my window sill. Obviously expecting danger "Green Tiger" halts and now covers "Brown Tiger" as it advances. You will have to excuse my vivid imagination here as I have been painting (or just looking at) these beasts for far too long.

You may also notice that "Green Tiger" looks a little lighter in parts of its base Dark Yellow from previous photographs, I retrofitted lessons from "Brown Tiger's" painting. I am happy with "Green Tiger" now :)

Am I done with German heavy tanks? I must admit I am tiring, but I do have a pair of Airfix Tigers still to do. Yes, this would make-up a heavy (reinforced) German heavy tank company, however the Airfix kits do have a serious flaw. They require a bit of modeling as infamously as the kit designers studied a version that had been reconstructed from an abandoned Tiger (from Tunisia) at a tank museum. The Allies in their haste to fathom the secrets of the Tiger took it apart but broke it (so urban myth has it) and things like stowage bins to the rear of the turret were forgotten about as they tried in vain to get the engine started. Along came the Airfix designers, studied what they though was the real deal and didn't see the difference with war time photographs until the molds had been pressed. I intend to do a job like Tim Marshal (first photo on page, bottom right) did on his, but the plasti-card can wait for a while ;)

Another shot of my JagdPanzer IV's

Flicking through my camera I found this one of my initial Esci 1/72 PanzerJagd IV project and would like to post it for prosperity:

They are traveling over the very, very familiar ground to those who have seen my other photographs ;) I am still thinking that a 1944 Ardennes scenario is the most likely wargame to put on.

Thin stripes and no spots

The Porsche turreted Royal or King Tiger stalking its Sherman prey in Normandy shortly after the D-Day landings, well at least in my mind's eye.

My 1/76 scale Fujimi Prosche turreted King Tiger is shown above (caught with the setting sun behind it,too far from the invasion beaches to make a difference). I remember the classic photograph with the Esci kit showing a King Tiger unit with mixed turret versions hiding under trees in Normandy, trying not to attract the attension of passing rocket-firing Typhoons of the RAF.

The side view is shown above (be warned the click-in photograph is fuzzy and may blur your eyes).

Instead of the full three-colour spotted "ambush" pattern I used previously I went for the slightly earlier, thinner (hence more) striped three-colour version. It also helps me tell from a distance Henschel versus Porsche on tabletop. All this means, and an audible sigh of relief follows, I am done with making and painting my King Tiger kits, Henschel or Porsche until in the distant mists of time I come back to decal them.

I can now claim a reinforced (very) heavy German tank company! As a footnote, tanks of this sort in CD3 and Battlefront etc, really distort ground scale effects. Making in the worse case tanks look "silly close" on  table. So why did I bother? I guess it was because I already had them and they was there. I should really move on now and paint something sensible and reusable on the wargames table ;)

Hunting Pack of "Big German Kats"

And so I come to the final bit of painting ...

After the stripes comes a quick attack of spots, lots of yellow in the dark brown and dark green areas, then (a few) green in the base  yellow area and (again just a few) brown in the base yellow area too. This certainly breaks up the defined regions very well. Nice! The finished 1/76 Fujimi KonigTiger (with supporting band of LOTR Moria goblins in the background[eh?]) is shown below:

This means I now have a hunting pack of Big German Kats (yes "K" for Kongtiger).

This would be a company strength formation for Command Decision or Battlefront (or even Spearhead) and realistically I need no more for any feasibly historical wargame. True, I still have a model of the Porsche turret version (found in combat to be a weakness as it trapped rather than deflected some incoming enemy shots), but I file that under the category of variety not necessity. To mix in with the Henschel variants and Tigers in early D-Day+ Normandy 1944 battles for instance.

These boys are good for late 1944 in the Ardennes/Rhine and late for the 1944 and 1945 eastern front battles. However, if truth be told, the unit is great to model and look at, but a rarity on the battlefield and askew to the typical historical Order of Battle I prefer.

Fujimi KonigTiger (Henschel) get its stripes

A quick flurry of activity on the painting table resulted in the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger nearing completion, getting the following done to it:

• First some brown stripes

• Then some green ones

• Then some highlighting is added to the brown stripes

• Followed by some highlight to the green stripes

 

• The back to highlight the base dark yellow bits that still show through

• Finally for tonight some Games Workshop "Boltgun Metal" to highlight the tool and track

 

Now time for some coco :)

Note: Also Updated

Previous Painting Link Post

Fresh paint on a Big Cat

Sticking with the KonigTigers the Fujimi (Henschel version) 1/76 got the Anita's Acrylic Metallic Black treatment. First up was the track and tools to base shade:

Then followed by an overall oily wash into those cracks and crevices with a bit of loose thin overspill where my brush took it:

Just to make it look and feel a little bit battlefield grimy! I have retrospectively fitted these images back into the earlier painting post on this blog to get a step by step progression.