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