Here is the DML Panther Ausf A built as Barkmann's vehicle in Normandy. It features some extra etched brass (engine deck screens, spare track holders, tool clamps, chains etc) and home made zimm created with Squadron Green putty and a Tamiya zimm rake.
I hollowed out the tow crevis and track cable holders and drilled them to allow the retaining pins to be added. The tow cable is spare DML ends with Karaya soft brass cabling.
Crew are by DML with Hornet heads, and markings are Archer dry-transfers. I also added periscope lenses using small cut-out rectangles of 35mm photo negative. A classic Steve Zaloga tip!
Here is the new DML "Orange Box" mid Tiger 1 with a few tweaks and extra aftermarket items. I added or amended the following
* Voyager Resin and PE Feifel air cleaners
* Griffon model S mine dischargers
* Karaya soft brass tow cables
* Etched brass tool clamp handles
* Hollowed out cleaning rod ends
* Metal headlight cables
* Metal track pins added to the turret spare links
* Metal grab handles added to spare link holders
* RB Metal barrel
* Crew figures from Jaguar and Tank
The vehicle is coded "1314" which was I believe Michael Wittman's vehicle. There are no photos of it, so the actual paint scheme is conjecture. It's a great value kit straight out of the box. I particularly liked the quick-assemble wheel and track system. No clean up, and assembly in around 30 minutes - brilliant!
This is the first edition DML King Tiger (Porsche turret) with a few improvements and tweaks. I added some little details from the spares box to give it a bit more finesse -- wing nuts for the track holders, some spare photo-etch here and there and Karaya cable for the main tow cables and the transport track cable.
The zimmerit was hand-applied using my tried and trusted Squadron Green putty and Tamiya zimm rake method. Zimmerit was seldom applied neatly, and for me, the resin sheets you can get don't always hit the right spot - they can be a bit too neat. This might break with some modellers received wisdom, but look closely at wartime photos and you'll see what I mean. I've seen some wartime pics of really horrendously applied zimm that if you replicated it, your model would look hideous. So... for me, doing it yourself strikes a happy medium between the two.
Back to the model. I had some spare DML King Tiger "Magic Tracks" so I used them instead of the first generation indy links that were in the kit. I used a spare Aber side skirt to stick between the exhaust stacks, and the kit skirts were carefully cut apart with a jewellers saw and carefully thinned down to a realistic scale thickness around the edges. Doing it this way saves a heap of cash, and look every bit as good as photo-etch. I'll get on my modelling soap-box again. Why use photo-etch when the styrene part is more in-scale and every bit as detailed? OK, you need it for some parts - or if you are dealing with a poor quality kit - , but modern kits from Dragon, Bronco, AFV Club etc mean that by and large, photo-etch pain is a thing of the past.
The figures were from the Dragon range with Hornet heads. Panzer pink-edged shoulder boards and epaulettes were from the peerless Archer range. Anyway, here it is:
Here is something a little different.
I have always admired the ingenuity of those during WW2 who adapted existing equipment to improve or add to their capability, or indeed to make up deficiencies. The Germans were masterly at this.
I saw a photo of a Ford Maultier with a 37mm Flak mounted on the back, and thought I would like to model it. I got hold of the ICM Maultier, and used the 37mm Flak from the Italeri SWS mit Flak 37 kit. Voila! A perfect match. Well, maybe not quite perfect as the ICM kit was a dog to build --- the tracks were hideous -- but I soldiered on with it, and I think the results are pretty acceptable.
Anyway, here are some pics for you to make up your own mind:
Here is Panther "215", commanded by an Uscha Kruger during the Battle of the Bulge. The vehicle was k/o'd in Stoumont and is the subject of photos and an excellent colour profile in "Duel in the Mist" #1. It features the Daimler Benz "ambush" pattern scheme using dots over a tight sprayed/hardedged 3-colour scheme.
It is the recent DML kit, pretty much stock except for finer detailing. One issue I took exception with in the DITM colour scheme was that they depicted a green base colour. Surely not in a post zimm Sept/Oct '44 machine? Anyway, I painted it in a dunkelgelb base, and masked off this with blu-tac. Next came the green, and a tightly sprayed brown. The dots were added with a tooth pick dipped in paint.
Anyway - comments welcome as always!
Cheers, Dave
