From the German 'Kabinettskriege' - Cabinet Wars: a period of limited conflict from the Peace of Westphalia (1648) to the French Revolution (1789).

WiP Complete - 3 Rare Tanks

With various jobs around the house complete I was able to focus on finishing the three tanks I started some time ago.  They are rare-ish because few were made in the case of the Tetrarch (100-177) and Panzer II Luchs (100); and the more numerous Panzer III was reduced to a handful of survivors by the late-war period which I game.  They are all 1/76 scale, white metal kits, by MMS Models.



The A17 MkVII Tetrarch, in this case the CS version, is intended to support my Airborne platoon and is painted in a two-tone brown camouflage pattern.  I had thought it was going to be pretty dull when I put it together but I find the finished look rather pleasing.



The Pz II Luchs, this was a nice kit although there were some casting flaws but it captures the rather 'cute' (can tank be cute?) look of the original.  The markings, for a 9th Panzer vehicle in Normandy, were a real pain.  The red, four-digit serial goes over some vision slots and decals refused to adhere to this uneven surface.  So, I had to paint these freehand, not great up close but from a distance they're okay.



The Panzer III, Ausf J, is one of my favourite tanks and I've painted it up as one of the training tanks forming Panzer Kompanie 'Mielke' at Arnhem.  That unit had several Pz III of various different marks not all of which are known so I've taken the liberty of assuming one was an Ausf J.  I've given it the serial number '28', as what I've read says they had black two-digit serial numbers on the turret and one of them was '29'.  The commander seems to be doing his Usain Bolt impression, what that's all about I'll leave to the imagination.



And finally, an even rarer flight of fancy.




ADDENDUM: I perhaps should've pointed out that the Airborne flashes on the Tetrarch are my first attempt at printing my own decals.  Didn't do too good a job of varnishing them before use to protect the ink from the water - but live and learn.

9 comments:

  1. Very nice work on all three and an interesting read, a couple of quite rare tanks,must admit I have never heard of them until now, they all look great, be good to see them when they get their chance in a game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm guessing you had actually heard of the Panzer III, but if WW2 isn't your thing then the others are a little esoteric.

      Delete
    2. Haven't gamed WW2 since I was a boy, not my cup of tea but do enjoy seeing others work. Yes the Panzer III I knew about the others are new to me so very interesting and I will do a bit of research on them.

      Delete
  2. Lovely looking toys Rob…
    If I ever start doing late WW2… I would definitely have all these tank’s whether they are appropriate or accurate for campaign or not.

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Best swat that butterfly now as I reckon you already have more 'projects' on the go than is good for you. If you do need to scratch that itch then I'm sure you know plenty of people who could run a WW2 game for you. If not, you're welcome to come to the cabin to try it for size.

      Delete
  3. Some very interesting and nicely painted tanks to add to your collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, hope they'll get a game some time, as at present I'm in the middle of an early-war campaign in 15mm using a friend's collection.

      Delete
  4. An interesting collection of tanks and great to see a Tetrarch I have one for my 10mm airborne lads. Painting your own markings is next level!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Airborne flashes weren't painted they were printed on my laserjet onto an A4 sheet of white (as opposed to transparent) decal paper. They're a bit flimsier than commercial decals and as the sheet is white (necessary as I can't print white) they have to be trimmed down precisely to avoid having a white outline - I made the flash oversized so I could cut into the maroon.

      Delete