Panzer replacements - 1st Company

 I've occasionally ruminated in previous posts about replacing some of my older vehicles with more modern models. Replacing them means it wont take up any more storage space as I'll dispose of the old ones, but I'll have the fun of painting more tanks. As regular readers may have gathered, I like painting tanks.

I finally got around to doing something about it, and ordered some more toys, vaguely structured as an early war panzer battalion in Command Decision terms, even though I rarely play 1 base = 1 platoon games any more. It is just an easy organisation system and scales up and down fine for operational and tactical games. Essentially they are one for one replacements of the existing models I bought decades ago though. 

So here is the '1st Light Company', a platoon of Panzer IIs and two platoons of Panzer IIIs. I've got some old Panzer Is too but I'm not replacing those yet.  Early war panzer battalions had two or three light companies with a mix of Pz I, II and III, plus a medium company. These are all resin 3D prints from Battlefield 3D, and I endured the usual six week long wait from order to delivery, but it is always worth the wait as the models are exquisite.

First up is a Panzer II F. A lovely crisp little model, and sized well. It is a similar size to my old Peter Pig Panzer IIs and somewhat bigger than my Zvezda ones which are notoriously undersized.

It is a two piece print, just the hull and turret and very little clean up required, just a few stray support struts. I was a bit anxious about the 20mm cannon and coax MG as they are quite thin. The resin is fairly springy, but I stiffened them up with some PVA which didn't noticeably thicken them.

Lovely crisp detail on the engine deck. I ran some pinwash into the air grilles after the main paint job. As it is first company they all have similar numbers - red outlined in white. For some variety I just put 131 on the turret bin for this one. I also added a rolled tarp on one of the stowage boxes (from the Skytrex vehicle stowage pack).

Otherwise it is pretty plain although the tracks contrast pleasingly with the hull colour, just like the Bovingdon one. I did paint all the tyres, and although it is hard to see, it lifts the model considerably. That balkan cross behind the aerial rail was an absolute pig to stick on. Once of the nice things about resin print is the level of physical detail, but they do make some modelling jobs hard. 

Next up is this lovely Pz IIIe. It is beautifully modelled and has managed to capture that rather fragile pre-war look. This model had separate tracks and turret,and  I went for an open turret hatch option. the commander is a spare PSC one. Well, it was supposed to be a platoon commanders tank irl.

I added a couple of jerry cans on the rear engine deck and highlighted the tow cable with Boltgun Metal and Nuln Oil. Fairly obviously I've also done this one grey and brown camo! This was the official scheme from July 1937 to July 1940 but it persisted into the Russian campaign as older vehicles were only generally repainted when refurbished. I wanted to do a few of my early war vehicles in this scheme as even the Bovingdon Pz II is in grey and brown now. Because both tones are very similar, it doesn't show up well in black and white photos.

Turret number 113 for this one, still red and white.

Finally we have a Pz III H, a much more business like looking vehicle. This has got more modern drive and idler wheels than the Pz IIIe, it also has spare track slung on the lower front hull and very obviously applique armour on the hull front and mantlet as well as a turret bin. It is armed with a 50L42 gun, but with the fine detail 3D print it is very hard to distinguish from the 37mm gun on the E.

The engine deck is different to the E and it has wider tracks and spare wheels mounted on the fenders. I added the oil drum.

I did this one in overall panzer grey, turret number 124. The base colour for all the vehicles was similar - undercoat black, spray the upper surfaces white then a base coat of either Humbrol Sea Grey or Coat D'Arms Uniform Grey followed by a heavy wash of Vallejo Panzer Grey diluted to various thicknesses to vary the coverage and overall tone. I was after a range of greys, which I did achieve, but the weathering tended to blend them all back into a more uniform tone.

This is what they are replacing, my old Peter Pig Pz III and Pz IIs. Perfectly fine models in their time (I bought these in the late 90s when metal 15mm tanks were £3.50!), but just a bit crude compared to modern ones, particularly the running gear. They have seen long and sterling service, but time for an upgrade.

Sizewise they all match nicely.

I'm very pleased with those and I'm looking forward to getting them into action soon. More replacements to follow!