Pair of Panzer IIIs

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hi guys,

 

I did some work on the turret in the past few days. I thought that there is turret stowage bin included in the kit, but I was wrong. Only lid and the front lid panel are included, while the basket is missing. Fortunately, there was one in the Academy kit that I am using as a source for missing parts. However, it's the late mounting bracket type, and these Ausf. Gs used early type, so I had to improvise a bit.

 

Here's the difference between early and late mounting bracket  type:

 

 

I just had to remove the screws from the hook, put the bracket and put the screws back. I used some spare PE parts from previous builds for the brackets.

 

 

 

Turret extractor fan is usually seen in two different positions on Ausf Gs, sometimes its closer to the middle of the turret and sometimes, closer to the edge. Looking at reference photos It is impossible to determine for sure which is the case with 131 tank, so I chose the option that's closer to the middle, because it was more common.

 

And here are all turret sub assemblies finished:

 

 

I also noticed that there were two improvised spare wheel holders attached to the rear of the tank that I missed before. It's not possible to determine how exactly they looked like on 131 photos, but there are photos of other tanks from the same batch where it's easier to figure out, like this one:

 

 

I scratched them from some styrene stripes:

 

 

I managed to build dozen of jerry cans that I'll need for both builds. These are AFV Club jerry cans (German and Italian versions):

 

 

That's it for now. Next step - tracks. It will be Master Club this time... 200 links and 400 pins... have to prepare myself for this daunting task

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hello everyone,

 

This time, I will be using Master Club, early Kgs 6111/380/120 narrow tracks. When building these, I usually stick them to double sided tape, to keep them in place while I'm inserting the pins.

 

 

In my opinion at least, Master Club tracks are much better molded than Fruils. Better details, almost no cleanup is needed and you don't have to drill the holes for the pins. Assembly time is half of the time I need for Fruils. Working with pins may be a bit intimidating (I pinged at least dozen of them), and if they get stuck and break, which does not happen very often, but it happens, it is PITA to pull them out. Also, Master Club guys were very generous with spare links. It's written on the box that there are 220 links. You need 93 per side. However, there were at least 240 in the box, maybe even more. Which was great for this build because there are several segments of spare tracks on this tank.

 

 

Also, a lot of spare pins, which is really necessary, because many of them will break or ping to nowhere.

 

What I usually do is I am using few links less that the number in the specification. It was quite often the case that with the right number of links, tracks are too long, and than you have to bother removing the links. So I used 90 links per side here and here's the result:

 

 

In this case, 96 links were needed per side to achieve the sag that I wanted to achieve:

 

 

I know it's not 93 as per specification, but I would rather see them looking right to my eye.

 

And here is a spare segment attached to the front, with two flimsies like on the reference photo:

 

 

And here's the rear segment:

 

 

I notices something interesting while looking at the reference photo. Two links are attached upside down. I am not sure why (maybe it is easier to attach the segment that way), but I made it like it's on a reference photo. There's one more spare track segment on the fender.

 

Also, managed to finished the hatch lids (inner side), because they will be opened:

 

 

Now that I am in the mood of building tracks, I'll assemble the set for my other build, Ausf. H. I'll use Master Club as well, but early wide version (40cm), Kgs 61/380/120. Hope I won't go crazy from this effort 

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[vytautas]

Looks good with lots of great details. I love your attention to historical detail, it really looks like detective work - what you do and what you write is very interesting, sometimes I would like to have as much patience and diligence.

 

Vytautas

[vaoinas]

Looking great. I like all the added details and field improvisations on the model so far.

Having used MasterClub tracks on my latest models I can say these are a wonderful add-on,

For the exact number of track links - I guess no-one in their right mind would use a correct number of links no matter what.
It's always a few links here or there to get the correct length and sag and thus the look of the model. So no worries there.

 

Kristjan

[edjbartos]

Lovely work Nenad, super detail work, the tracks look great, I too really like MasterClub tracks they look great...

 

Ed

[Nenad Ilijic]

On 9/15/2021 at 9:49 AM, vaoinas said:

Looking great. I like all the added details and field improvisations on the model so far.

Having used MasterClub tracks on my latest models I can say these are a wonderful add-on,

For the exact number of track links - I guess no-one in their right mind would use a correct number of links no matter what.
It's always a few links here or there to get the correct length and sag and thus the look of the model. So no worries there.

 

Kristjan

 

Thank you Kristjan.

 

How do you deal with resin pins (because they are not effected by burnishing fluid)? Do you paint them? Or there is some trick to deal with them that I am not aware of

 

Best,

Nenad

[vaoinas]

16 hours ago, Nenad Ilijic said:

How do you deal with resin pins (because they are not effected by burnishing fluid)? Do you paint them? Or there is some trick to deal with them that I am not aware of

Hi, Nenad.

 

I've painted resin pins after burnishing the tracks.

I usually use some brownish-grayish shade for that and. As the paint doesn't stick very well with this resin I run the pinheads over with a fingertip stained with some metallic pigment as a final touch to hide the spots where the paint has worn off

I'd really like if Master Club used some darker resin for the pins.
 

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hi everyone,

 

I had some health issues last few weeks (they are not caused by building two set of tracks simultaneously ) so I was not very productive.

 

Anyway, both sets of tracks are finished. You can see the difference between the Kgs 6111/380/120 and Kgs 61/400/120.

 

 

Assembling wider Kgs 61/400/120 was quite easier, I guess because the track links are bigger. They are both very nice, with great details, especially for metal tracks.

And most importantly, both fit idlers and drive sprockets perfectly

 

Ausf. G is being primed with Mr. Surfacer 1500.

 

 

And covered with base color of RAL 7021.

 

 

I used Real Color for the lower hull and Mission Models for the upper hull. Real Color tends to be very flat and to grip pigments too much (even after being covered by camo color), so I usually avoid using it on upper surfaces because it's hard to control. It might be only me though  I would simply use MRP or Gunze, but I don't have it at the moment.

 

Regarding camouflage color used on Panzer Regiment 5 tanks initially, there is a long and inconclusive debate about this. I think I started a thread some time ago about this here on this forum, but there are discussions about this topic on many other forums as well. Bottom line, other than the fact that it was yellow color (from a diary of one of the soldiers) and that it was much paler than later RAL 8000, there's no answer to this question. I am leaning toward the idea that it was Italian paint, but this is just a guess. I will be simply using something pale yellow, most probably my faulty MRP Light Stone.

 

Anyway, Ausf. G will be shelved for some time now and I'll switch to Ausf.H.

 

I will be building this one, which is Panzer Regiment 8, 15th Panzer Division tank, from the 6th company, number 632.

 

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken during rehearsal, probably November 1941, before operation Crusader. This tank is probably one of the initial Panzer Regiment 8 tanks, delivered during April 1941.  

There will be some guesswork involved because I don't have photos from all angles. However, there are many photos of other tanks from the same company, so I'll use them to fill in the gaps.

 

Also, I am thinking to add fascines at the rear, because they were very characteristic for PR 8 tanks. Do you guys have any idea how to model them? Easy way

 

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[Bullbasket]

That's coming on really well. It looks good in it's base colour Nenad. I hope that you health issues have gone now.

 

John.

[THEscaleSHOW]

3 hours ago, Nenad Ilijic said:

Hi everyone,

 

I had some health issues last few weeks (they are not caused by building two set of tracks simultaneously ) so I was not very productive.

 

Anyway, both sets of tracks are finished. You can see the difference between the Kgs 6111/380/120 and Kgs 61/400/120.

 

 

Assembling wider Kgs 61/400/120 was quite easier, I guess because the track links are bigger. They are both very nice, with great details, especially for metal tracks.

And most importantly, both fit idlers and drive sprockets perfectly

 

Ausf. G is being primed with Mr. Surfacer 1500.

 

 

And covered with base color of RAL 7021.

 

 

I used Real Color for the lower hull and Mission Models for the upper hull. Real Color tends to be very flat and to grip pigments too much (even after being covered by camo color), so I usually avoid using it on upper surfaces because it's hard to control. It might be only me though  I would simply use MRP or Gunze, but I don't have it at the moment.

 

Regarding camouflage color used on Panzer Regiment 5 tanks initially, there is a long and inconclusive debate about this. I think I started a thread some time ago about this here on this forum, but there are discussions about this topic on many other forums as well. Bottom line, other than the fact that it was yellow color (from a diary of one of the soldiers) and that it was much paler than later RAL 8000, there's no answer to this question. I am leaning toward the idea that it was Italian paint, but this is just a guess. I will be simply using something pale yellow, most probably my faulty MRP Light Stone.

 

Anyway, Ausf. G will be shelved for some time now and I'll switch to Ausf.H.

 

I will be building this one, which is Panzer Regiment 8, 15th Panzer Division tank, from the 6th platoon, number 632.

 

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken during rehearsal, probably November 1941, before operation Crusader. This tank is probably one of the initial Panzer Regiment 8 tanks, delivered during April 1941.  

There will be some guesswork involved because I don't have photos from all angles. However, there are many photos of other tanks from the same platoon, so I'll use them to fill in the gaps.

 

Also, I am thinking to add fascines at the rear, because they were very characteristic for PR 8 tanks. Do you guys have any idea how to model them? Easy way

 

 

Cheers,

Nenad

Hello Nenad

I have just discovered your post and find your construction up to this point absolutely great.
Many details and clean implementation.
By the way, the reference photos and the accessories are also awesome 👍
Have fun - I'm looking forward to it!
MD

[Jasper dog]

Superb build and attention to detail,  as ever.

Your Masterclub tracks look really good, only ever used Fruils but could be tempted for a future build...

 

Suspect it'll look pretty stunning when finished.

 

Atb

Darryl 

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hello everyone,

 

Ausf. H construction is almost complete. It was a bit more straightforward build than Ausf. G, probably because I was well aware of all of the problems of Dragon's instruction sheet.

 

Some changes and scratch work were needed, partly because this kit is intended to be used for Tauch version, and partly because of many modifications being made before these tanks were shipped to Africa. Some of the changes are specific for Panzer Regiment 8 in particular.

 

 

These large tool boxes are not standard. They are specific to PR 8 tanks (Ausf H and some Ausf J). Not sure if these were used in other units. Anyway, I scratched it from some styrene and etched spare parts. Spare wheels are not included in this kit either, so I used some wheels from Academy Ausf. J kit and added spare wheel holders. Notek light is also not included. Used one from Academy kit as well.

 

 

Jerry can holder of this type is also specific to Panzer Regiment 8, although it was later adopted in other units (slightly modified). The one used here is modified Royal Model jerry can holder. Aerial wooden holder is also modified and I think it is specific to Panzer Regiment 8 vehicles. It is inclined and I think that it is shorter than a standard holder. The reason for this is to make space for the spare wheel. So I had to modify one supplied in the box and to make new supports for it.

 

I am not sure at all about the position of jack block. It looks like on some of the photos that there are two box like objects, one on top of the other. So my guess was that it is standard small toolbox and jack block on top of it. Not sure how user friendly this was, but looking at the photos, I can't see jack block anywhere. Maybe in the large tool box? Don't know.

 

Aerial and engine grilles are Aber AM parts.

 

 

Spare track segment holder attached to the glacis is scratched from styrene strips. I also added some damage to the fenders.

 

Metal barrel with canvas protection and canvas cover for MGs is AM from DEF Models. Great stuff, I really like it. Does anyone know what was the canvas color?

 

 

 

There's a spare link segment attached to the back as well. Looking at the photos, it's not the early version of 61/400/120, but the later one, which is still 61/400/120 but with the slots for ice sprags. I used Academy's indy links to build this segment. The rest of the tracks will be early 61/400/120 without slots, because they were almost exclusively seen on the first batch of Ausf. Hs delivered to PR 8.

 

 

Here's the layout from the top:

 

 

I have no idea where S hooks and crank bar were stored. Can't see them on any photos. Also, not sure about crowbar. I placed it behind the large toolbox, but I doubt that it was kept there.

 

I think that the only addition left are four holders at the rear that are also specific to Panzer Regiment 8. Marked with 1 on the following photo:

 

 

There were initially used to store fascine bundles. It is interesting that thanks were shipped with fascine bundles, probably because it was hard to find them in NA. I still have to attach them.

 

 

I made them from the PE leftovers. This garbage is usually very useful to build all kinds of stuff. 

 

 

You can see on the reference photo that the right fender is damaged and completely bent upward (2). Having no PE fenders, I tried to reproduce this by damaging the styrene once. Not perfect, but I hope it'll work.

 

 

That is it for now. Generally, these were very nice builds. Fit is almost perfect, details are nice.... both kits are top quality. The only problem is instruction sheet, which is really bad with so many errors.

 

Next, I'll be priming Ausf. H and painting it with base RAL 7021.

 

Till next time.

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[vytautas]

It looks really great, you did a great job. And the photos are very good, nice when can to see all the little things you’ve made.

 

Vytautas

[edjbartos]

More great detail Nenad, it’s looking better and better...

 

Ed

[Bullbasket]

10 hours ago, Nenad Ilijic said:

I made them from the PE leftovers. This garbage is usually very useful to build all kinds of stuff. 

I couldn't agree more Nenad. I've just done the same a couple of times in my Israeli A/C build. Never throw anything useful away. Back to the Pz.lll. Brilliant work. It's looking first class.

 

John.

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hello everyone,

 

I played around a bit with a stowage options for Ausf. H. It will probably look like this. I may add fascines as well if I figure out how to make them.

 

 

It is mostly Value Gear, except the wooden box, which is some other brand (I don't remember which) with lid added. It is not exactly the same as seen on a reference photo, but close enough.

 

Ausf H. received Mr.Surfacer 1500 primer.

 

 

I did some additional cleanup before applying RAL 7021. This time, it was Gunze lacquer (Mr.Color 513). It is not that accurate straight from the bottle because it's a bit on a light side, but I love using Mr. Color for base coat. When cured, it is extremely hard and it can endure all kind of harassment. Also, it will be covered almost completely by RAL 8000.

 

 

Wheels of PR 8 tanks were painted white to protect rubber from overheating. However the paint rubbed off from most of the wheels after the few months. It usually remained visible on the return rollers. There's chipping fluid applied before white paint, so I will additionally chip the white paint.

 

Ausf. H will be shelved for some time for now waiting for the RAL 8000, and I am switching back to the Ausf. G.

 

 

Decals are applied. These are Archer's dry transfer decals. Applying them always makes me nervous, because there are so many ways to screw things up. Some of them were applied as dry transfers, while some were first applied to decal film and than applied as water slides (turret number for example). Anyway, the disaster was avoided this time

 

Font is a bit different compared to the real vehicle, but it works for me. I usually don't like applying varnishes and avoid them whenever I can, but this time I had to apply some  (Mr. Premium Clear Flat) to seal the decals and to protect the base paint, which is Mission Models and is a bit fragile.

 

And finally, after spraying few coats of chipping fluid, here's the camouflage color applied.

 

 

 

It was applied very sparingly. Looking at the photos of PR 5 vehicles, including 131, it was the case in real life. The reason for this is probably because all of the vehicles had to be painted in one night and they probably had very little time per vehicle to paint it. Also, I guess that paint supply was very limited. Some of the PR 5 vehicles were almost unpainted, with only few streaks here and there. It is not known which paint was used, except the fact that it was yellow and lighter than RAL 8000. There are many theories and I am leaning to the one that it was Italian paint, but it is just I guess. I used MRP Light Stone, which actually is not light stone because I got a bad batch. But it looks good to my eye.

 

After that, I did just very mild chipping:

 

 

And than tracks. Blackening fluid applied. I used VMS blackening fluid, but the old version, where you have to apply two different chemicals.

 

 

Even though I was trying to remove all the bubbles, it was not very successful, and most of the nooks and crannies were unaffected by the blackening fluid.  Fortunately, shiny metal is partly covered by the residue so it is not that visible. I will have to find some better way to deal with bubbles in the future.

 

That's it for now folks.

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[edjbartos]

It's coming along very nicely Nenad, the stowage looks great and the painting and chipping looks good too. I think the tracks look really nice, very effective.  Well done, looking forward to seeing more...

 

Ed

[vytautas]

Hi, Nenad!
It’s looking better and better!

 

Vytautas

 

 

[Jochen Barett]

On 09/10/2021 at 11:52, Nenad Ilijic said:

Hi everyone,

+++

Also, I am thinking to add fascines at the rear, because they were very characteristic for PR 8 tanks. Do you guys have any idea how to model them? Easy way

 

Cheers,

Nenad

I'd try to use dried basil. Use the leaves for cooking and dry the stems. The stuff we get in a pot from the supermarket grows rather straight (still in a "natural" irregular way), and the diameter may just work well in 1/35.

[Nenad Ilijic]

On 10/23/2021 at 2:29 PM, Jochen Barett said:

I'd try to use dried basil. Use the leaves for cooking and dry the stems. The stuff we get in a pot from the supermarket grows rather straight (still in a "natural" irregular way), and the diameter may just work well in 1/35.

 

What an interesting idea. Thank you Jochen,

[Jochen Barett]

In case it doesn't work for fascines (in 1/35) you may stll get some nice insalata caprese or pesto alla genovese. 😎

[Nenad Ilijic]

Hello everyone,

 

Tracks, tools and stowage are being attached to the Ausf G. It's now ready to add some sand and dust. 

 

 

I am not sure what was the material these flimsies were made off. It looks shiny on some photos, so I guess aluminum? I did some aluminum sponge chipping to them.

 

 

I find Gator Grip glue very useful to fix stowage. It dries very slowly so you have time to play around with it. Also, even when dry, you can easily remove it from the model without damaging it. On the other hand, it is strong enough to hold everything in place.

 

Same done with Ausf. H. And than I noticed I forgot markings 

It will be a bit problematic to do them with everything attached because they are dry transfers.

 

 

And here's the stowage.

 

 

I really like how basil fascines turned out. Both scale and texture is OK I would say. @Jochen Barett thank you once again! And thank smells so nice, it makes me hungry 😆

Big wooden box is shiny because it is still wet from the wash. Looking at the reference photos, It looks like that lid was additionally added so I painted it differently than the box (box is darker, older wood, while the lid is painted to look like a piece of fresh wood). Than I used Mig's wash for wood to bland it together and for wood grain to pop up.

 

Both tanks sprayed with North Africa dust diluted in enamel spirits. I always struggle spraying it because it clogs airbrush every 5 seconds. It is also very hard to clean the airbrush afterwards. I should probably get some cheap airbrush with high diameter needle for this job. Currently, I don't have anything over 0.4mm.

 

 

 I try to add more dust to the lower part of the model. Also, I usually protect anything that should be shiny (tracks, MG barrels, periscopes, etc.) before doing this.

 

 

I usually leave it to dry for 24h and than remove the dust from where the crew is walking, by using a brush damp with mineral spirits.

 

And finally I added some pigments (in this case North Africa Dust) semi-randomly. 

 

 

It looks very messy and scary at this point. But than comes my favorite part - playing out with pigments. Wiping it out with powder sponges, moving it around with brushes, cotton swabs and microbrushes (that I find very useful for this) until I am happy with it. Than I wet the whole model with mineral spirits to fix the pigments and repeat the process once more.

 

Here's the result:

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe I'll do some minor changes if I notice something, but I'll probably call it done at this point.

It's hard to capture it with cellphone camera, especially the colors that are a bit off, but better photos will be coming soon in RFI section.

 

That's all folks. Thanks for watching and thanks for the help.

 

Cheers,

Nenad

[vytautas]

Really great job, and not one, but two at once! So the pleasure of watching it all is double.
A very interesting way to make the dusty surfaces - I had never heard of the fact that dust can be sprayed with an airbrush, will definitely need to try.

 

Vytautas

[Longbow]

Those look Superb, Nenad !!

Wonderful job on both !!

 

Well done !!

[Hamden]

 

Stunning pair excellent result

 

  Stay safe          Roger