Tag Archives: panzer

Trumpeter 1/72 Jagdtiger (Porsche suspension) with Zimmerit

Jagdtiger (Porsche) on 1/72, Trumpeter
Jagdtiger (Porsche) on 1/72, Trumpeter

The Jagdtiger was a last-ditch weapon, a self-propelled anti-tank bunker, that had zero impact on the outcome of WWII. Regardless, a lot of model companies offer both variants of this machine. My main reason for getting the Trumpeter set with Porsche suspension was the small number of parts and the related ease of construction. It promised a rather uninvolved build as I imagined a straight OOB project done over the weekend. Yeah, right 😀

The first session was promising, I managed to remove the main components from the sprues, clean up and assemble the bogies in a couple of hours. Instead of going full AMS I decided to plug the locating holes for the spare track hangers, and go “bald”.

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Panzerkampfwagen E-100 resin tracks from OKB Grigorov

E-100 resin tracks, OKB Grigorov
E-100 resin tracks, OKB Grigorov

There was only ever one E-100 chassis built, but this project for super heavy armored vehicle continues to capture modeller minds across the world in all scales. Years ago the only 1/72 kit was the Dragon one, which went missing for nearly a decade. When re-released it disappeared from the market in 2 (two days).

Then along come Trumpeter and Modelcollect, and here we are with two more competitively priced 1/72 kits.

What’s common for all 3 of them? The tracks are far from good. Negative experience with DS tracks and the underwhelming releases from the younger competitors drove my interest to, well, OKB, and their E-100 resin track set.

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Production (Henschel) Pz VI B King Tiger in 1/72 – comparison of tracks on the market

The “King Tiger” tiger needs no introduction, and there’s hardly a company that has not issued a kit of it. While the angles and sizes of various armor plates would rarely be the subject of scrutiny in 1/72 (and even less often are corrected on models), tracks remain an important detail of the kits.

There are several types, including multiple patterns of the wider “combat” and narrower “transport” ones – a situation similar to the first generation of Tiger tanks.

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OKB Grigorov: commander cupolas for Panthers D, A and G

The WWII Panther tank has become a legend mostly based on its looks and long gun rather than its combat record. This has prevented no manufacturer ever from producing a kit of it, and as a result the modeller today has a vast choice of kits to build. Other than the (generally) horrendous tracks the detail that gets your attention the most is the commander’s cupola.  Renditions vary, but they are usually molded closed, in soft detail, and with vision blocks having see-thru effect.

Georgi from OKB Grigorov is offering a solution to those problems for your Panther fleets: 2 separate sets of 4 commander cupolas each for the Ausf D and the Ausf A/G, respectively.

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Pz IV upgrades from OKB Grigorov: 40cm tracks and steel wheels

The PzKpfw IV is a popular machine in the modelling community, and many companies have produced kits in 1/72. The weak point on the majority of those sets are the tracks and wheels.

OKB Grigorov produces over 30 different sets for the Pz III and IV family of vehicles. There are tracks, road wheels, idlers, return rollers and sprockets. With the recent additions to my collection I was looking to replace the vinyl and DS tracks with a more detailed, durable, and easier to work with option, so below you will see images of

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Pz VI Tiger Ausf. E – Revell 1/72

The finished article. Paints and effects used:

– acrylic paints by Gunze, Tamiya, Vallejo for the camo job,

– MM Gun Metal for the armament and track base color,

– Tamiya X-11 for track bare metal effect,

– various dark metal shades for the chipping effects,

– thinned Revell browns used for the washes (darker on the hull, lighter on the tracks),

– Agama patinators and Koh-I-Noor pastel chalks for dust, smoke and heat staining on the exhaust heat shields,

– Alclad II Engine manifold on the exhausts for that extra oily exhaust look, feel and SMELL,

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Building Revell’s Tiger E in 1/72

First thing to do is to get rid of the molded-on tools. Considering the absurd ideas to make the hammer our of 3 layers of PE and the jack out of 9 layers – some tools were replaced with items from the Attack’s set “Implements and tools”, and I kept the jack almost stock. For the time being I glued on the retaining PE clasps and straps for them and the tow cables.

Stripped from the tools - PE added
Stripped from the tools – PE added

Aside from the molded-on tools and the symmetric turret there are few other issues with the Revell kit:

– directly sticking the spare tracks to the turret walls – there are brackets for this on the actual machine – I used PE items form the Part set.
– the gun that is very crudely molded in one piece together with the muzzle brake – replaced it with RB Models item 72B26 turned aluminum barrel with bronze muzzle brake. Since the barrel is turned there are visible traces from the lathe on its surface – I sanded down with 800 and 2000-grit sandpaper.

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1/72 Part PE set P72-093 for Revell’s Tiger Ausf.E

Years ago the Poles from Part have released 3 PE sets to improve the molded-on details of both Revell’s Braille scale Tigers. The three packs basically have the same main fret and mesh set, plus a third metal sheet that holds details specific to the version – P72-092 for the Ausf. H, P72-093 for the E, and P72-094 for the H1.

I got myself a set for the late variety, and here it is.

1/72 Part PE set P72-093 for Revell's Tiger Ausf.E - Fret A
Fret A

As you can notice there’s heaps of tiny detail, some so small really you will not even bother remove it from the metal sheet. There’s useful stuff like all the tool retaining straps and clasps, the side mud flaps, the exhaust heat shields, the ammo belt and can for the commander’s MG, as well as the mesh screens that are SO missing from the Revell kits.

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Revell 1/72 Pz. Kpfw. VI Ausf. E, kit 03116

The Tiger tank needs no introduction, so I’ll get straight to the model kit.

The Revell offering has been around for more than a decade – it was the first MODERN rendition of this important machine after the Hasegawa and Fujimi (which is 1/76) offerings. Technology advances have made the inclusion of much better detail possible, so at the time of release the model was what we call “state of the art”. After the very early H model came the late Ausf. E, with the appropriate changes – new wheels and different right turret half.

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