Nenad Ilijic

Excellent work! Will have to check this kit out myself. Nenad

Thank you!

Great work Jeremy! I really like the dusty look. Looking forward to your diorama. Nenad

Brilliant work! Numbering on a turret looks fantastic! Cheers, Nenad

Fantastic! Always looking forward to your new builds. Nenad

Hello everyone, Few goodies arrived this week: Never used T-Rex or any other 3D printed tracks. Excited to try it out. Finished cleaning the roadwheels. I'll go with the thick rim option. Also, did some work, mostly with PE, on the rear. I used the following photo of Tiger 112. It's taken a bit earlier (while passing the old bridge in Jedeida, heading to Tebourba, late November 1942) and is representing this tank in the condition much better than it was few months later, the state I would like to show with this model. However, having no rear side photos of this tank, I decided to use this photo and consider that the rear was in the similar state. It was not any better for sure There is some damage visible on the fenders and exhaust covers I tried to reproduce. Cheers, Nenad

Thank you everyone. You guys were so kind as always, and all the info you shared was extremely helpful to me! This one is finished, so I would like to conclude this thread. Here it is: You can find some more photos in RFI here. Thanks for watching. Cheers, Nenad

Hello everyone, This will be a bit an unusual project for me. Haven't built many Tigers. Only one so far to be precise. So it will be an exciting discovery process, and I'll need all the help I can get Anyway, I will be building Dragon kit No. 6608, "Initial Tunisian". At first look, seems like a great kit. Let's see... Even though DS tracks included look quite nice, I decided to replace them with AM T-Rex 3D printed tracks. Seeing so many disintegrated DS tracks, I have no faith in them at all. Ordered these, so please tell me that they are the right ones: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/t-rex-studio-tr85008-tiger-tracks-early-type--1361986 I'll build Tiger No. 112, of the s.Pz.Abt.501. Although, I may decide to build it as No. 724, which is the same tank, just renumbered when it was transferred to s.Pz.Abt.504. It got some new scars at that point. This tank is quite interesting, because it was one of the first three Tigers that arrived in Africa, and survived almost to the end of the Tunisian campaign (it was still in service in April 1943). Very interesting info can be found here: https://tiger1.info/tank-page/A2F There are many photos of this tank online, this is one of them: This was when it was still 112 in s.Pz.Abt.501, just before the Operation Frühlingswind, 14-18 February 1943. The kit is packed to the maximum... always surprised how Dragon manage to squeeze everything in that box! Started working on the wheels and got to my first dilemma. There are two options for the outer wheels. One with the thick rim: And the other with a shallow, welded rim: Looks to me that I should go with a first option, but not sure about it. I'm sure that many of you guys here that are Tiger experts will no better That's all for now. Cheers, Nenad

What a fantastic diorama! Great work Stuart.

Fantastic work!

Interesting vehicle. Never saw it before.

Great work Darryl. I'm just starting my Tunisian Tiger 112, so thanks for inspiration

Thank you George. Yeah, me too... also Italian aircraft. Thank you Gordon. Thank you for your kind words. Stowage was actually quite simple doing, just dry brushed it with lighter color, applied pigments, and wiped the excess with the tissue. Thank you Francis. Thank you Pete. Thank you Toryu, really glad to hear this. Thank you Andrew. Thank you Ian. This one at least had some view Quite often, it was completely covered with sandbags and tracks. As I understand, driver port was considered a biggest weakspot on M13/40. Thank you Stuart. It's purchased, Royal Model stowage. Thank you Milan. Thank you Vytautas, you are very kind.

Hello everyone, This is my take on a workhorse of Axis in North African theater, Carro Armato M13/40. It should represent a Series 3 tank belonging to the Ariete division, sometime around the battle of Bir el Gubi, November 1941, during the opening engagements of Operation Crusader. The particular vehicle belongs to the VIII battalion, 1st Company, 2nd Platoon. The Ariete's first units disembarked in Tripoli on 24 January 1941. Battle at Bir el Gubi was the first engagement where Ariete fought as a division. Also, it was the first armored engagement in the conflict that was successful for the Italians, and it was the battle that earned Ariete division respect among both Axis and Allies. After this event, the narrative directed toward Italian armored forces changes to: "they fought valiantly, despite being ill-equipped". The model is based on Tamiya kit No. 35296 with some changes in order to accurately represent the Series 3 vehicle (Tamiya kit is a mix of features of Series 1, 2, and 3 vehicles, as well as M14/41). I also used a few AM Royal Model sets. You can see the whole build here. And here's the result: Kit is painted with Hataka's version of Khaki Sahariano. Weathered with MIG's nature effects and MIG's and VMS pigments. I enjoyed building this kit. Even though it has some issues regarding accuracy, changes required to make it accurate (if that's your thing) are quite easy to do. Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback. Cheers, Nenad

Thank you Massimo!

Hi guys, I found a fantastic document here: https://www.modellismopiu.net/m+contenuti/fabio/Autoblinde_mod._40_41_e_43.pdf And I think that I figured it out. It looks like that only following vehicles were completed with double Breda Mod. 38 8mm machine guns. 1. AB 6 prototype, later used by PAI with registration number 0501 2. Second prototype (one with Notek Light), with registration number RE 116B, not sure where it ended up 3. The batch of 5 initial AB40 vehicles with registration numbers RE 117B - RE 121B that were delivered to Pinerolo Training School 4. The batch of 20 armored cars delivered as “Ferroviaria” version, registration numbers: 304B, 315B, 317B, 320B, 328B, 336B, 339B, 360B, 368B, 369B, 370B, 381B, 382B, 373B, 375B, 379B, 385B, 394B, 403B and 413B So the only feasible options would be to build one of the vehicles that went to the training school, with different set of wheels, or version with 20mm cannon and different turret. Both of these are available from Royal Model. So now that I figured out which vehicles existed with double MG setup, I'll have to build that one Will go with the one of Pinerolo Training School vehicles. Once new set of wheels arrive. This is the initial batch: One of them (117B): Cheers and thanks for all the help! Nenad

Thanks, that Hataka's version of Kaki Sahariano is actually quite a match to this sample. @JackG yes, I think you are right, it was probably Kaki Sahariano. Serial production started in January 1941, but first 5 samples were finished in March 1941, same time when Kaki Sahariano was introduced. And these first 5 vehicles look pale on the photos. Regarding the actual vehicle to build, the one AB 40 that was in police battalion is not an option. At least not an easy option. It was prototype version, so I would need to find aftermarket wheels, new decal set, and some additional modifications. Not sure if these are even possible to find. So the options is Nizza regiment and to hope that they had some AB40's, because I've seen only AB41s on the photos.

Evening everyone, Everything put together and ready for some dusting: Before spraying pigments, I like to mask the tracks and apply dry pigments with the brush later. That way, the shining areas are being preserved. First, I airbrushed North Africa Dust nature effects (AMIG1404). Thicker in the lower part of the model. Removed the excess from the areas exposed to wear with the brush dump in enamel spirits. After leaving the model to dry for a day or so, I added some dry pigments (combination of pale and yellow sand) to make some variety. I moistened them with enamel spirit and after letting them dry, rub off the excess with the sponge. Almost there I think. Not sure if attaching MG makes sense with close turret lids? Aerial is yet to be added. Not sure about the dimensions. Does anybody know what should be the thickness and length? Cheers, Nenad

Thank you guys. @JackG that Franch article is great! Haven't seen it before. Reading through all these, it looks to me that chances are slim that marking options provided in this kit are correct and that this configuration (AB with twin MGs and 'Libya' tires) was used by RE. Maybe there were some used by Nizza Cavalleria, but it's hard to tell. I guess, I'll have to believe Italeri Regarding paint, it should be Giallo Sabbia Scuro, right? Thanks, Nenad

Did some research for the '8' Panzer II, when I was building it some time ago. It is definitely Ausf. C and it was most probably painted in RAL 8000. You can see my model here. The paint I used, Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color H402, is considered very accurate representation of RAL 8000. As I remember, there is a chance that some Panzer IIs (mostly Fs) were painted in RAL 8020, later in this theater, during Tunisian campaign for example. Like this one. Revell 17 is considered nice representation of RAL 8020. MRP and Hataka version are both pretty accurate representations of RAL 8000 and RAL 8020. Cheers, Nenad

Hello everyone, I need some reference photos of Autoblindo 40 in North Africa. For this kit in particular: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/italeri-6482-autoblinda-ab-40--101856 If you have any reference photos that you are willing to share, or if you can direct me to some reference material, that would be fantastic. Also, does anybody know what was the camouflage and which paints were used for these vehicles for North African theater? Thanks! Nenad

Hello everyone, hope you are all well. I'm back from vacation and ready to do some modelling. Primed everything with grey Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500. And noticed that I forgot antenna holder It's not included in the kit, so I scratched something with PE. I was not able to find any reference photos of the particular vehicle I have decals for, which is the one with the registration number RE 3088. So I decided to finish this one as the vehicle that participated in the Battle at Bir el Gubi, in November 1941. This was one of the opening battles of Operation Crusader and the first battle in the Western Desert campaign where Italians, and in particular Ariete division, under the command of General Mario Balotta, performed successfully and valiantly. Timewise, it makes sense to place Series 3 tank in this period. This is one of the photos that I will be using as an inspiration, but I will combined it with few other photos from the same period. These tanks (post March 1941) were factory finished in Khaki Saharaiana, and it seams that most tanks were left like that, without any disruptive paint. I'll go with that option. Finished painting with Hataka Khaki Saharaiana as base paint and combination of Gunze, Vallejo and Tamiya for detail painting. I was never happy with my technique regarding the tracks, so I am always experimenting with new approaches. This time, they are painted with the mix of Tamiya Dark Iron and Flat Brown. Then, Mr. Metal Color Stainless Steel was dry brushed, which is buffable. And at the end, I added just a little bit of truck rust pigments. And here are some tools, exhausts. stowage, etc, And finally, everything (mostly) put together. Some chipping applied as well. I'll still have to decide where to put jerrycans, to tie down stowage where necessary, and few other details. As I was planning to hang jerrycans on the right side handle, I noticed that it's missing. I completely forgot it Scratched something quickly with wire and PE. Hope paint will stick to it. That is it for now. One or two more sessions and I can call it done. Cheers, Nenad

Thank you guys. Just ordered them.

Hi, I build them flat first. Actually not flat, rather to the shape more or less similar to what they should look like once attached. Then, I waited for 5-10 minutes, and then attached them to the wheels. They were soft enough to accommodate to the wheels, but glue was dry enough not to stick to the wheels. I am using this method with the indy links as well, with only difference that I assemble them completely flat, on the double sided duct tape, glue them, wait for 5-10 minutes, remove them from the tape and accommodate them to the wheels. Cheers, Nenad

While trying to figure out when and where this image was taken, I gathered some observations. It seams that this was the painting and markings style from the early 1941 (March and April) for Ariete division, and that these were the tanks previously painted in Grigio-Verde that were sparingly repainted with Khaki Sahariana. So original color is actually Grigio-Verde overpainted with patches of Khakhi Sahariana. The decision was made in March 1941 that all tanks should be factory painted Khaki Saharaiana, so moving forward, new deliveries were probably already painted in base color of Khaki Sahariana, while old tanks were (sometimes) repainted. And regarding the markings, it seams that this marking style was changed sometimes during the 1941, battalion number was not used any more. Not sure when this happened, but I guess it was on September 1st 1941 when battalion was transferred to the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment. On some photos, it looks like that previous markings were overpainted and new ones painted on the turret side, like this one: I was not able to find some later examples with green patches. I guess that most of the tanks were painted plain Khaki Sahariana. Also, the mushroom shaped radiator cover was introduced in May 1941 and it seems that it is highly unlikely that any VII battalion Ariete tank in this yellow with green spots camo style had a mushroom shaped radiator cover. So I should probably choose something else as a reference if I would like to be accurate. Have in mind that I have VERY limited knowledge about this, and that this is almost entirely guesswork. So if any of you have any more information about this matter, it would be great if you would like to share it. Cheers, Nenad