[eBook - Modellismo Ferroviario - EnG] - Model Railroader - Train Spotting

8/18/2019 [eBook - Modellismo Ferroviario - EnG] - Model Railroader - Train Spotting

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Train Spotting

Introduction

The Schwere Panzerabteilung 506 was

created in August 1943 and was the first of

these units to be equipped only with Tiger I

tanks from its creation. The 506. was sent

to the Eastern front were it fought in the

Tscherkassy region until it lost all of its

tanks. The unit was rebuilt with a new

allocation of 45 Tiger I in March and April

1944 and fought during the withdrawal

from central Russia in late spring and early

summer 1944, eventually being sent to

Germany for refitting in August. The 506.

was issued a full complement of 45 Tiger II

that were used against the Western allies

until the dissolution of the battalion in April

1945.

The diorama represents one of the rarequiet periods for a Tiger I of the s.Pz.Abt.

506. during March 1944. At this moment,

the Tiger Is belonging to the unit still were

of the ‘mid’ type, with rubber tyred wheels.

The crews have received orders to

assemble the vehicles in Mankowzy, and

prepare the tanks for railway

transportation. The 506. handed its 7

remaining Tigers over to the s.Pz.Abt. 503

and travelled to Lemberg to receive their 45 brand new Tiger I. For these veterans, it


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by Antonio Martín Tello

was time to say farewell to their old Tiger

that had kept them alive during the last

hard winter.

Building the little Tiger

Like many of us, I started in AFV modelling

by building and painting 1/72 kits. Soon, I

moved to 1/35 because these “big” tanks

were more impressive, better detailed and

I thought that they allowed my modelling

skills more scope to develop. Thus, I

relegated the 1/72 scale and saw it as a

“starting point” and the models in this

scale as toy like. Recently I discovered

some of the newer 1/72 kits and was

astonished. All the finesse and quality of

the best 1/35 kits is there, but in a tiny sizeand they are fun and quick to build. Out of

the box they give excellent representations

of the “real thing” but they also leave

plenty of room for the addition of details

and improvements. The limit is just set by

the builder and his/her sanity. Also, for the

painting aspect, all the techniques used for

bigger models can be applied to these

little gems.

Probably, the current leader in 1/72

injected plastic kits is Revell. The quality of

their most recent releases is astounding

and small-scale modellers await each new

one with great expectation. Anyway, one

has to be cautious, since among these

“state of the art” kits are re-editions of

older Esci or Hasegawa moulds which are

not up to the same standards.

The Tiger I depicted in this article(reference 03516) is an example of one of

these new generation Revell kits. This

brand has in it’s 1/72 catalogue two Tiger I


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kits. This one represents a mid/late vehicle while the other

(ref. 03508) allows you to build an “African” early Tiger I.

Both kits share most of their parts, with one sprue specific

for each type of tank, and their overall quality is excellent.

I decided to build my model as a mid Tiger I with rubber

tyred wheels. This type is provided in the box (they are

common to the “African” version) along with the all steel

type, but curiously enough, they are marked as “not for

use” in the instruction sheet and thus no advice for their

placement is given. Photographs and literature have to be

checked for their correct installation, a minor task. A

shortcut taken by Revell in this area is that the double

wheels are represented by a single, thicker one, much in

the same way as Tamiya did with its seventies 1/35 Tiger I.

This apparent shortcoming is barely noticeable when all

the running gear and tracks are installed.

As I have already mentioned, I decided to finish my Tiger

as one belonging to the s.Pz.Abt. 506. in Russia duringspring 1944. The most remarkable feature of this unit’s

markings at this period was the large unit symbol on the

rear of the turret bin, consisting of a “W” (after its former

commander, Major Will ing) with the shield and the tiger.

The colour of the “W” and the turret numbers denoted the

company (Stabs-green, 1. Kp.- white, 2. Kp.-red and 3.

Kp.-yellow). I chose this unit because the 506. crest is

included on the decal sheet.The construction work

progressed with no problems. There are plenty of

aftermarket products available for 1/72 models including

the Tiger I, but I decided to follow the “homemade way”.

Photos 1 to 4

First of all, the version I chose for my Tiger required a

zimmerit coating. I did this by engraving with a small

screwdriver the surfaces that had been previously

softened with liquid cement. Two or three applications of

glue were given in a relatively small area and after a few

seconds, the pattern was engraved with the screwdriver. It

may be necessary to check the degree of softening of the

plastic and to apply more liquid cement before starting the

engraving work. It probably would be advisable to practice

a little bit first on non-visible surfaces, such as the interior

or the underside of the hull. When the softened area is

done, the process is repeated on the next area until the

entire surface is completed. When the glue is completely

dry and the plastic has hardened again, it may be

necessary to sand the zimmerited surface in order to

eliminate some hairs caused by the molten plastic.

Photos 5 to 10

Some other details added included new metallic towing

wires, cleaning rods and their brackets, new track

changing wire and its brackets, new exhaust protectors

made with aluminium sheet, brackets for the missing fire

extinguisher, electric wire for the headlight, periscope

protectors from aluminium sheet for the driver and co-

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driver hatch and turret roof, handles from

wire on the commander and loader

hatches and engine deck, holders for the

spare tracks, brackets for the jack and

details on the front mudguards and the

turret bin. Just few words for two additions,

the gun barrel and the engine deck grilles.

The kit gun barrel looked too thick to my

eye so I decided to replace it. The only

material I had available at the time and

was suitable was a nice pink lollipop stick. I

had to sand this to make it thinner at the

end where the muzzle brake fits. The

engine deck grilles were cut from nylon

mesh from a DML Panzer IV L70(A) kit and

the frames made with aluminium strip.

I reworked the side fenders, sanding them

down until they were more of a scale

thickness. Also, I cut them into sections as

on the real tank. These fenders were the

only parts I did not permanently glue to the

model, in order to have a better access to

paint and weather the upper portion of the

tracks.

Painting

The base colour was Tamiya matt earth

(XF-52). Onto this, I airbrushed Tamiya dark

yellow (XF-60) but allowed the base colour

to show at the edges of panels. Next coat

was a mixture of dark yellow (70%) and

matt yellow (XF-3) (30%), both from Tamiya,


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irregular shape. Since the paint is so

diluted, when dry, the effect is almost

imperceptible, but it is there, and can be

enhanced by repetition. I chose for this

task brownish colours such as chocolate

brown, flat earth, hull red, burnt umber,

dark yellow, gold brown, medium flesh and

orange brown.

Now, I applied a controlled wash of very

diluted matt black enamel on the non-

zimmerited surfaces. I let the pigment

accumulate in recesses and around the

details. When dry I drybrushed with dark

yellow (Humbrol enamel) very slightly some

details in order to bring them out.

Photo 18

I painted the towing cables and tools in

black, following by some light washes of

chocolate brown, flat earth and hull red.

Next, I painted the gun cleaning rods with

gold brown.

Photos 19 to 21

So far I had worked to achieve a degraded

and worn out look, but the tank was clean,

so my next job would be to make it dirty. I

did not want to ruin the previous work so I

decided to concentrate mainly on the


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lower areas. I tried to replicate the effect of dried mud in

the recesses of the tracks and, more sparingly, on the

wheels and lower hull. To make this mud, I mixed some

pastel powder until I got a colour that I think was good for

this purpose. Then I added to the powder a mixture of

water and white glue until I obtained a paste with the

desired consistency. Then, with a small brush I applied the

paste to the track recesses. With a cotton bud I removed

the excess paste, mainly on the outer surface of the track

links. Also, I applied some patches of the paste on the

wheels and lower areas and textured them with the brush.

When dry I worked all the tracks and wheels with the

pastel powder in order to integrate the mud. I also used

some lighter shades of pastels to get some colour

variations and a dried mud look. Next, I dry brushed very

slightly with black enamel on the outer side of the track

links to “clean” the surface where the mud should have

gone.

At this stage I glued the side skirts and applied some

pastels on them, as well as in the tools and towing cables.

I painted the periscope glass with very dark green artist’s

oil. I added the periscopes in the commander’s cupola

made with plastic strips painted in dark green.

The final touch was to apply graphite powder on the tools,

towing cables, bow machine gun, anti aircraft MG rail and

some handles to give them a more metallic look. Also, I

painted directly on the track details and horns, and drive

sprocket teeth with a soft lead pencil to achieve this

metallic look.

The SdKfz 251

Hasegawa also has in their catalogue an extensive range

of AFV’s in 1/72 scale. Some of them are older kits that

date back to the 80’s or even the 70’s and are not at the

same level of more recent releases. Nevertheless, some

of their later kits are very close or at the same level as

Revell’s best. Some of the finest Hasegawa kits are the

three versions of the SdKfz 251 German half track.

Hasegawa produces the “normal” personal carrier SdKfz

251/1 (ref. 31144), the SdKfz 251/22 “PakWagen” (ref.

31145), armed with a 75 mm PaK 40 gun, and the SdKfz

251/9 “Stummel” (ref. 31146), armed with a short 75 mm

support gun. These last two versions are in fact the same

kit as the 251/1 with the addition of a new sprue

containing the gun and the corresponding attachments

and a new decal sheet. The version of the famous German

half-track depicted in these models is the final Ausf. D,

designed in order to save materials and simplify

production in the second half of WWII.

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Photos 26 to 29

The construction of the model progressed

with no special difficulties. I did not want to

super detail this model and only made

some small improvements. Thus, in the

interior I added some levers by the driver’s

seat made with stretched sprue. Outside I

replaced the MG shield and the rear

mudguards with aluminium sheet, since

these parts were too thick in the kit. The

MG itself was replaced by an MG34 with

armoured sleeve (used in tanks), a spare

from Revell. Also, I rebuilt the tubular

support for the rear MG with stretched

sprue. Finally I replaced the two width

indicators with stretched sprue and a drop

of superglue to simulate the ball.

It was necessary to paint the interior before the two main parts of the hull were

glued together. The painting process here

was similar to that used in the exterior and

will be described later. This was also the

moment to put the driver’s figure in his

place. This figure came from a Preiser set,

and it’s fit in the tight driving station

needed some major surgery in the seat.

Fortunately, this area was barely visible

when the model was completed.

Painting the tiny 251

Photo 31

The overall procedure was very similar to

the one described above for the Tiger, so

only the main differences will be stressed.

Again, the base colour was Tamiya matt

earth (XF-52) on which I airbrushed Tamiya

dark yellow (XF-60) allowing the previous

colour to arise on the edges and panel

separations.

Photos 32 to 36

On this base, I airbrushed thin stripes of

red brown (XF-64) as the first camouflage

colour. To obtain better results I put thenozzle of the airbrush very close to the

model (about 5 mm) and set my

compressor to low pressure (around 0.5

psi). Also, I diluted the paint more than

usual with isopropyl alcohol, at about 75%

(slide S8). The olive green (XF-58) colour

was airbrushed next in a similar way. My

first attempts were not successful as I got

wide lines, “spider legs” and so on, so I

had to retouch with dark yellow to finally

get an acceptable result. At this stage I

added the decals, the tactical numbers

and German crosses are spares from

Revell and the license plates are the ones

provided by Hasegawa in the kit. To finish

the airbrush job, I used a very dilute (95%)

mixture of brown and black to outline the

edges, separation lines and recesses.

Photo 35

Next, I applied a couple filters of cream

(103) and reddish brown (62), both

Humbrol enamels.

Photo 36

The chipped paint effect was done next.

Some chipping and scratching was made with the base colour lighten with buff

(Vallejo) and with a mixture of chocolate

brown 872 and black. A thin, very sharp

brush has to be used and the chipping

should be kept small and done moderately

in sensible areas. Also, on the sides I

painted some longer scratches, since

these parts would be more prone to this

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type of damage due to rubbing with

branches, other vehicles or obstacles.

Photos 37 to 40

The following step was the oil washes . As

a general rule, I deposit a small fraction of

the oils (several shades of brown, ochre,

green, white and blue) on a tissue paper

and wait for 15-30 minutes . Some of the

greasy components of the oils are

absorbed by the paper-this does not affect

the pigment, but improves the final

appearance. I wet a zone of the model

with clean Humbrol thinner and then, I

apply a very small quantity of oil directly on

the model, blending it quickly . I never use

a general wash, but small washes of

several shades in small zones. In my

opinion, the trick is that the oil has to be

blended with the surroundings in order to

achieve subtle tonal variations in different

parts of the same zone.

Photos 41 to 42

As in the Tiger, the worn out look was

accentuated by an acrylic mapping (slides

S19 and S20) of chocolate brown and

orange brown.

Photos 43 to 44

It was now time to apply dirt to the model.

To do that, I applied controlled washes of

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very dilute buff enamel colour (Humbrol). I

avoided a general wash, but tried to draw

vertical lines on the sides and other vertical

surfaces simulating rain streaks, and

irregular shaped spots on the horizontal

surfaces letting the pigment accumulate

slightly where the dust would be more

apparent.

Photo 45

To enhance the details and the volume I

applied a controlled wash of very dilute

matt black enamel followed (when dry) by

drybrushing with dark yellow (Humbrol

enamel) very lightly in the same way as for

the Tiger. I painted the tools in black,

followed by some light washes of

chocolate brown, flat earth and hull red,

and graphite powder. Next, I painted the wooden handles with gold brown.

Photo 46

The tyres and the tracks were painted in

matt black, then I applied some washes of

brown and cream enamel colours. On the

tracks I drybrushed the rubber pads with

matt black and finally I applied graphite

powder to the metallic parts. Now, I

attached the tracks to the running gear

with superglue, and glued both sets of

wheels and tracks to the main body. The

machine guns were painted in matt black

and then rubbed with graphite powder.

To finish the painting process of the tiny

251, some touches were given with pastel

powder of several shades of earth colours,

mainly in the lower areas, but very

sparingly in order not to hide all the

previous painting work

The diorama

One of the advantages of 1/72 scale is that

you can build dioramas combining several

vehicles and still keep the size reasonably small. In this case, my idea was to try a

somewhat different composition, with

several levels and elements in a relatively

crowded space, which was dictated by the

circular wooden base. I have always

admired the dioramas built by Japanese

and other Asian modellers because I think

they master the art of composition and the

integration of all the elements (vehicles,

figures, vegetation…) in scenes that are

often full of life and dynamism. Bearing this

in mind, I tried to build a diorama “à la

Japonais”.

I wanted to put both vehicles on different

levels, with the SdKfz 251 climbing uphill

towards the level where the Tiger I is, and

with the tall tree emphasizing the vertical

perspective. Two secondary elements such

as the railway and the stone wall, would

create some variety.

Photos 49 to 53

The main body of the background was

done with insulating foam, a versatile and

light material that can be easily cut with a

hobby knife and sanded. The basic shape was cut with the knife (Slide D1) and then

a thin layer of modelling clay was used to

model the ground and to create some

texture. The ballast and the rail track are

items from railway modelling, cheap and

easily available in specialised shops.

Another advantage of 1/72 is that many

scenic elements conceived for train

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combine arms, legs and heads. I painted

the figures mostly with Vallejo acrylics,

using black and German green as the main

colours, and shadowing and highlighting

areas following the “light from above”

method mostly described by the “Spanish

school” of figure painters.

References

- Tigers in Combat I, by Wolfgang

Schneider & Jean Restayn, J. J.

Fedorowicz Publishing. 1994.

- Achtung Panzer No.6:

PanzerKampfWagen Tiger, by M. Bitou. Dai

Nippon Kaiga. 1999.

- Tiger I on the Eastern Front, by Jean

Restayn. Histoire & Collections. 1999.

- The SdKfz 251 Half Track, by Bruce

Culver. Osprey Vanguard no. 32. 1983.

- SdKfz 251 in action, by Charles Kliment.

Squadron Signal Publications no. 21. 1981.

[eBook - Modellismo Ferroviario - EnG] - Model Railroader - Train Spotting

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