SHQ German "Propaganda" Tank

Wikipedea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neubaufahrzeug

A multi-turreted early war metal monster, the German equivalent of the T-28. Not quite as mad as the Russian T-35 but clearly sanity prevailed as it never reached production getting halted at the prototype state (five in total), although three vehicles did fight in the Norwegian Campaign. It is a SHQ birthday present that has been a long time waiting for its time in the sun (see below):

It has all kinds of experimental madness, with twin guns (3.7mm AT and low velocity 75mm L24 HE) in its main turret, two Pz I style machine gun sub-turrets (that only have one HMG a piece in them) and a crazy high hull with multi-roller tracks (see below):

It comes together in a sort of mad Indiana Jones style way (see below):

Next stage(s): From silver to black to Panzer Grey, but when?

The Joy of Airfix (3): The good old Panzer IV F2

Albeit old, albeit basic, albeit heavy on the number of small plastic parts to make up the wheels and track assembly, it still stands the test of time very well. In addition to this it is relatively cheap (£5.99) and still found in the model shop on the high street :)

It also build up quickly and (now) has a carefree track assembly :)

Project wise I plan to build three of these to be a company in a CD III late war Panzer battalion. Other manufacturers contributing the other companies. No great rush on this adventure, just keeping pace with the steady build up of my British and American Sherman CDIII regiments and battalions respectively.

Plastic to be painted when I feel inspired (deep sigh). 

A not quite finished Franz Ferdinand

Or in other words a dirty great big German Elephant SP gun from WWII. Pity the music fan that via Google that picks up this posting instead, street-cred immediately lost.

Almost classed as a prototype odd-bod, but for the ever resourceful "waste-not want-not" WW2 German armament industry coming up with a novel use for the some ninety chaises already built for the failed Porshe Tiger I contract bid.

I cannot make my mind up for the final camouflage scheme, so it shall have to stay indefinitely that grubby shade of Panzer Yellow.

Strictly speaking the Kursk combatants seemed to have had an Eastern Front red-brown disruptive line-pattern spread over them. However the above model has a front MG which means it is a post-Kursk modification that served in both Russia and Italy. The latter theatre begs a three tone camouflage pattern, but seeing how I have been painting so much of that as of late I will give it a rain-check before committing myself!

Patience Al the Comets are coming ;)

The SturmTiger

A lovely little model kit from Dragon. It fitted together like a dream, the casement shell is actually metal not plastic, as were a few of its fittings. Beautifully precision made, but not cheap. Dragon will sell you an already painted version in their die-cast series.

Front: A splendid view of the 35cm (Modified KM depth charge) Rocker dispenser. Rate of Fire is not an issue, it was sufficient just one of these things "went off". Heavily armoured to be able to trundle into position and survive to get off its first shot (and probably last one needed). A very direct fire weapon. 

The Side: Notice the reloading hatch in the top of the casement and crane/winch required to manhandle the next round into the SturmTiger.

The Back: The site you probably want to see if you are interested in knocking one of these things out!

When exactly you would use it on the wargame table is another question entirely. It was a post-Stalingrad reaction to urban fighting. I believe units could have fought in Warsaw (1944), but most seemed to have surrendered to advancing US troop in 1945 on the Ruhr. Quite what the US troops made of the beast is another matter.

More Airfix Tiger I (completed refurbishment) shots

They just seemed so photogenic so I kept snapping.

Two Tigers far away:

One opened-up with tank commander further away:

Another one of the tank commander opened-up coming closer:

And closer:

The other Tiger close-up:

Airfix Tiger fashion show now over (honest)! Yeah, those pesky decals still to do. In the interest of fairness I should now concentrate on making and painting a couple of Airfix Shermans ;)

Airfix Tiger I refurbishment: Part Three

I have a problem with the basic Dark Sand Yellow look of mid-war German armour. I just don't think it is interesting enough. I like to fiddle with my painting and add different shades of paint to give a weather beaten effect. 

Hence I followed my Panzer Jagd IV, Tiger I and Royal Tiger (Tiger II) examples. I chose a late-war three part scheme. However I made it slightly more "blocky" than "stripy".

If truth be told the yellow has migrated to more of a pale stone whiter shade, which fits with a late 1944 Ardennes feel to it, but is not something I plan to universally adopt.

Which is fine by me. It breaks up the outline nicely and I don't have to work in the busy "ambush scheme" (may be at a later date).

The tracks were in a mixed up state, paint everywhere. Here I fell back on a recent trick I learn from the Airfix Chieftain that crossed my painting table. Games Workshop Chaos Black, particularly when it goes slightly chunky in the pot, seals the shiny silver Airfix track plastic really well. While the black was out I took the opportunity to blacken the gun barrel/exhausts and highlight with a shade of grey.

Next step is to consult my Flames of War (Art of War) painting tips for German tank tracks. They seem to think there should be a reddish tinge/undertone to them, but I am much happier with my Airfix Tiger I now.

Time to catch up with the second Airfix Tiger I.

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 ;)

Panzer Commanders

In response to my pedantic "is this the right type of yellow" paint brush fiddling (which to be honest felt very much like hard work) I was at least allowed to tart-up the "Green Tiger" crewman and commander figures. I felt obliged to go back and add a few extra details to the King Tiger commander, after all this was a piece of kit with an even bigger clout. Hence I give you Panzer 'Kurtz' Senior in the King Tiger with his Junior Panzer friends in the "Green Tiger":

I am still not completely sure about the "Green Tiger's" overall look ("You wouldn't let it lie" - Vic Reeves). In this photograph I noticed that the difference between the two yellows is quite stark. I used much more white in the late war "ambush" scheme. However the mid-war tones of Dark Yellow from all the illustrative plates that I have seen (and I try to bear in mind these are only artistic impressions not real period colour photographs) do not show the yellow quite so bleached. I may come back and tinker with another whiter highlight (of a highlight) to the "Green Tiger" later (Er, much later). If I did anything more now I fear I would just spoil it.

At least I've managed to get an "in focus" Tiger crew if you click into the above photograph, tank commander and lance corporal so to speak. I have not cracked this miniature photography lark at all as I was really trying to focus on 'Kurtz' in the King Tiger!

Painting Tray Update

Behold (at last) the behemoth King Tigers have rolled away to strike terror into the hearts and minds of the Western or Eastern Allies alike. Or alternatively presenting a plum target of opportunity for a young Jabbo fighter-pilot (Mustang or Sturmovik) to make his name. In convoy below (a faked wargame moment):

Or deployed, ready to dominate a wargames table near you ;)

Meanwhile a further batch of German heavy armour presents its profile under the painting lights. These pair of Tigers (1/72 Hasagawa and 1/76 Fujimi [early version]) pose a slight problem for me as I will have to move away from the three tone camouflage scheme I was enjoying. Something either Dark Yellow with Green or Brown irregular lines to break up the profile. The 1943 summer look as it were.Currently they sit in the Oiled and Metallic stage ready to take their camouflage markings on:

Meanwhile up in the skies the Airfix Battle of Britain single engined fighter project continues in a stop start fashion. The Hawker Hurricane MkI stands in its shade colours as:

While the Boulton Paul Defiant (viewed broadside) is shown here. It packed a surprise rear-punch to a Hurricane profile (seen from behind), but once bitten twice shy in combat as a 12 o'clock attack was its undoing.

Last but not least a second metal Goblin, The Great Goblin King himself gets painted and the Moria Goblins HoTT Army project takes an oh so small step forward:

In the background I have almost uncontrollable urge to paint 20mm WWII plastic infantry in large industrial batches, after all in the northern hemisphere the nights are beginning to draw in.

:)

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 ;)

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.

A Wonder Weapon that leaves you wondering!

After retrospectively editing my "painting tray" post I remembered what actually set off my latest painting spree of late war German camouflage. While tidying up I came across a model kit that I could not conveniently "hide" away in the "box of unmade stuff", so I ended up making it as it would take up less space. While in the process of making it, just over a dozen pieces, I decided what the heck I'll do the whole hog and paint the thing(s). Out came the Tamiya Dark Yellow (XF-60) and one thing lead to another.

The culprit was the: 1/72 P-245-010 Jaguarundi from Pegasus Hobbies (Note: it is nice that you actually get two to a box) :


Scanning the skies for trouble. A strange piece of kit, with that late war German irrational "make the most of what you have got left, while you can" feel to it. Never got off the drawing board, but yet I have two for my German late (and some) war battlegroups. The main armament (5.5cm) was supposed to have AA capacity as it had a 90 degree arc of vertical fire. Hmmm, how practical a weapon would that be?


Something for the Russians to ponder as they roll over it with a regiment of JSII's or T34/85's.

Danger: KonigTigers on the prowl in the twilight

The king of the jungle in that three tone "ambush" camouflage again! Nasty beasts to come up against even in a JSII. Decals still need doing, will have to wait for the time being at least. I sense a mass decal production line at the end of my painting spree.


These are Esci kits (the molds now released by Italeri), with the same story line as the PanzerJagd IV's mentioned previously in my blog, a long stay in the cupboard before their resurrection :)

Viewed from above in twilight:



Yes seventeen possibly eighteen years old with a long history of being on the "would be nice to do" list, usually at Xmas after The Battle of the Bulge had been on the telly. Inspiration for their camouflage comes from the cover art on the Arms & Armour Press book of Panzer Colours (ISBN 0-85368-450-2)

I will just add as a footnote, yes, honest I do have something other than German tanks! It is just that the urge has taken my this way, for this month anyway.

JagdPanzer IV Kit Information and Painting Description

As requested (and with a little bit of retrospective updating from other models kits done since)

The JagdPanzer IV's shown in the previous post are actually original Esci kits.
Something I bought "seventeen years" ago! (Ah, the shame of it all)

Since that time they hibernated in a box untouched (shall we call this a gestation period) before seeing the light of day, an instruction manual and plastic (liquid) glue. They then hung about in a draw with other naked plastic kits until about five years ago when the huge pot of black Tamiya matt came their way. Again another period of darkness (in the Pz Mk IV cupboard) until inspired by other WWII 20mm bloggers and a pot of Tamiya dark yellow XF-60 the late war paint scheme project came to life.

The painting went as follows:

Matt Black (Tamiya XF1)


Above kit being a 1/76 Fujimi KonigTiger (Porsche Turret).

Matt Dark Yellow (Tamiya XF60)- leaving lots of dark shady cracks black highlighted in rather an extreme way:


The above kit being a 1/76 Fujimi KoingTiger (Henschel Turret), just being started.


The above kit being a 1/76 Fujimi Tiger, primed yellow. As a footnote to this part, I use a a large (Size 3) brush, so I can be rather rough and ready but cover a lot of area quickly as I essentially wash over the model (and totally repaint it) in the next step.

Metallic Black (Anita's Acrylics) neat on track and tools

The above is the 1/76 Fujimi (Henschel) KonigTiger given base metallic shade to track and tools.

The radical bit: Black oily wash of a watered down Metallic Black, yes you get lots of floaty shiny bits but it suits an oily, dirty panzer look (IMHO). The Hasagawa 1/72 Tiger is starting to look raw, mean and hungry.

Likewise the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger above has lost that parade ground sparkle and starts to look roughly treated.

(Above) Matt Red Brown (Tamiya XF-64) blotches and stripes on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger

(Above) Matt Dark Green (Tamiya XF-61) blotches and stripes on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger

Then came the part Games Workshop can take credit for as I highlighted up a shade with:

(Above) Matt Red Brown (Tamilya XF-64) with Matt Flat Earth (Tamiya XF-54) on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger. As a final highlight the the above mixture with a touch of Yellow (Tamiya XF-3)

(Above) Matt Dark Green (Tamiya XF-61) with a touch of Yellow (Tamiya XF-3) on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger

(Above) Matt Dark Yellow (Tamiya XF-60) with a touch of White (Tamiya XF-2) on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger

(Above) GW Citadel paint "Bolt Gun" to highlight the shiny metal part.on the Fujimi 1/76 (Henschel) KonigTiger

Then the fun bit with the spots (and a bit of touching up after when the blotches go amiss). Cover/leathers we painted initially Matt Red Brown and shaded with GW "Bestial Brown" and "Snakeskin Leather".

The final product with a quick twirl for the audience.


The kit above is one of the Esci 1/72 KonigTigers.

The only thing left is to decal it at some point in the future

;)