UBB.threads Forums General Interest Other Hobbies and Collections, like sports cars, movies, music,etc Tactical 100 WIP

This is my rendition of the Tiger I belonging to Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502 also known as �Tactical 100�.

This project actually started out with the pre-built 1/35th scale CHC offering of this particular AFV. I was very disappointed in the finish work on the tank so I decided to use it for weathering practice. For anyone interested in the effectiveness of a filter, this is a good Bench Mark. The paint was a very pale blue-green-grey color. The weathering was a joke, looked like someone had started to paint the tank white and never finished, I guess it was supposed to be heavy dust.

I like to set certain parameters to work within on a practice project so I decided to limit myself to only using certain things to accomplish the make-over with. For a color filter I used MIGs P240 Blue for Panzer grey, two coats only. You can see the results, made a big positive difference in the grey, very happy with the result.

For all other weathering I�m using my Winsor & Newton oils straight from the tube, diluting as required here and there for the various weathering types and conditions. Using a wide range of brush sizes as well. No airbrush, no toning, no washes, no pastel chalk. MIG pigment has been used for some of the �dry� stains, the rusted mufflers and will be used in conjunction with his Acrylic Resin product P032 to add mud to the wheels and lower portions of the hull.

Ultimately this project will also have its display base modified to resemble a muddy road with traces of snow starting to show up along the edges.

Thanks for looking.
Rick Turner

The rusted mufflers were accomplished by applying Winsor and Newton �Lamp Black� directly to the muffler then adding MIGs various colors of rust directly to the oil paint with a large rounded brush.

Vinyl tracks were used on these display models by CHC and the tracks on this tank were installed very poorly. The vinyl�s were removed and will be replaced with an early set of Fruils.

...back to the shade!

The short history of Tactical 100 -

Not only one of the first 10 Tigers built but certainly also one of the first half dozen or so to be deployed in combat (to the Leningrad sector) from August 23, 1942 to September 18, 1942. At the time only 1st Company could be formed due to the lack of Tiger availability and most of the 1st company was filled out with Pz IIIs. Both the N and the L versions of the Pz III were used in these early formations.

Initially attached to the 170th Infanteriedivision, the 1st company Tigers are plagued with teething problems and were only kept running with support from factory technicians in the field. The vehicles at first are employed very poorly, normally over unsuitable terrain, the unit suffers much downtime from recovering bogged down tanks.

So at first, other than miscellaneous cover missions, retrieval and repair, not much was accomplished militaristically speaking. Then on the 12th of January, 1943 the Soviets launched an offensive against a bottleneck in their lines in the Schlusselburg - Lipka area. Relieving this bottleneck is the main focus of the Russian attack.

On the 13th of January the 1st company is ordered into action. With 4 Tigers, 8 Pz IIIs and support from Grenadierregiment 283 (96th Infanteriedivision) the 1st company counterattacks near Goro-Dok. During the first days action a dozen T-34s are destroyed.

Fighting continues into the next few days, on the 15th of January the original 1st company C.O., Oberleutnant (Full name?) von Gerdtell is killed. Have not been able to confirm this but assume the C.O. was killed in action.

Finally on the 16th the Soviets complete their encirclement of the German forces in Schlusselburg near Posselok 5. Its unclear to me at this point whether the Tigers are inside or outside of the encirclement but it sounds like maybe inside or maybe even both. On the 17th the Germans regroup, 2 Tigers and 1 Pz III are attached to the 227th Infanteriedivision.

On the 18th of January the encircled German forces are ordered to break out towards German troops approaching from Sinjavino. During the breakout the battalion loses only one Tiger, but also loses four of its Pz IIIs, all to anti-tank gun fire. Its during this operation that its reported that the driver of Tactical 100 made a serious error and drove into a peat-bog and the tank was abandoned. Overall 1st company has lost 5 of its 7 operational Tigers from 10th of January to the 18th, 2 from human error.

Circumstances being what they were in the area, maintenance crews were unable to rescue the bogged down tank and it was captured intact by the Russians. The vehicle would later be placed on display in Moscow. I�ve read but not confirmed that the tank was later used by the Soviets for gunnery practice and was totally destroyed.

Operational history for this tank is very brief, built around August of 1942 the tank was lost due to lack of operational experience by mid January 1943. Very little printed information and very few photos exist of Tactical 100.

As near as can be determined the serial number for this chassis was 250009. As with most of the very first batch of Tigers pressed into service the vehicle has very little in the way of proper stowage such as tow cables and related tools. No fenders, not even any mounts ever installed. Mud flaps front and rear were fabricated by the battalions own shops similar to the early DAK Tigers. Duel pistol ports and duel stowage bins on the turret sides round out some of the more noticeable characteristics of these very early versions.

One of the more notable field modifications to Tactical 100 was the addition of exhaust extensions to the tops of the existing mufflers. These extensions were fabricated by the units shops and are not a factory item.

Also very noteworthy was the appearance of a privately owned photo of Tactical 100 taken in December 1942 or January 1943 of the tank in whitewash winter camo which surfaced in an online auction in Germany in December 2006. The camo pattern is very similar to the type added to other Tigers that experienced that first winter of operation in �42 - �43.

Book references -

Tigers in Combat 1 by Wolfgang Schnieder

Tiger Die Geschichte einer legendaren Waffe 1942-45 by Egon Kleine and Volkmar Kuhn

Panzer Tracts No. 6 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen - D.W. to E-100 including the Tigers
by Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary Louis Doyle

Progress! Turret is complete, pin wash in certain areas really helped punch up the details. Additional detailing and weather was added to the hatch interiors. The basic turret interior was detailed and a wash was used more as a shortcut for that area. Details in the commander�s hatch were painted and weathered through the hatch since they were already installed. Kind of like trying to paint a ship in a bottle but everything turned out O.K. Didn�t want to spend too much time on the rudimentary interior but didn�t want it looking all bright and shiny when the hatches open either.

Both hatches had been installed incorrectly, had to repaired both. The thing that messed up the commander�s hatch was the fact that the �factory� added a dab of glue to the hinge point in the center of the hatch. Couldn�t move along the slider, wouldn�t open and stay open correctly. Luckily the dab of glue was very small and an application of turpentine was able to free it up. Minor detail but I also drilled out the co-ax MG flash hider, good �ole Xacto #11.

Completed application of the acrylic resin mud to the lower portions of the hull. I did the bottom of the hull and bottom of the outer hull sponsons as well as the inside walls behind the roadwheels, the suspension and underside of the mud guards. Did all of the downward facing surfaces like a spackled ceiling so as to look like a bunch of drips were going on at one time, plus that mud is a little fresher.

MIG acrylic resin for pigments with P033 Dark Mud and DAP plaster of Paris were used for the base mud. A little P028 Europe Dust is tossed in but not completely mixed in right before application. Three different (cheap) brushes are used, a small round, a medium round and a �� wide flat to work in and around everything. The flat brush comes in handy for applying mud (in this case) to the bottom of the outer hull sponsons while the roadwheels are in place. I worked with one side of the brush only keeping the side facing the wheels clean at all times. Once dry I randomly dusted the base mud with MIG P028 Europe Dust and P232 Dry Mud to punch it up a bit plus now it looks like I have a range of dry to still slightly wet mud over all lower portions of the vehicle.

Mud on the road wheels is basically hand painted in oils, MIG Dry and Dark Mud mixed in for texture. Pin wash used to bring out the hub details and add a little oil mess to the muddy surfaces. Wear to rubber tires was done with 400 wet or dry sandpaper with a dash of pigment tossed in here and there for color. Didn�t want the tires to be just one dull color. Right side is about done, need to finish up the left side roadwheels and whatnot next.



Rick

Tail end is done, added the exhaust extensions that seem to be particular to early 502 Tigers. Scratch built from thin walled 9/16� (about) aluminum tubing. Have no idea what the screens are from other than the spare parts box. A set of Aber Tiger I screens have been trimmed out for the grills and are ready for paint. Hull deck will be done last.

Front end is done with the exception of the spare tracks, still want to darken them up just a little more. Plus the end links need to be drilled, minor detail, easy to fix.

Still much to do, even though this project started out as practice on a pre-built kit I�ve had great fun so far and look forward to work on the base and ultimately completion.

Thanks for checking it out, comments are always most welcome.

Rick

Rick,

I'm assuming this is a 1/35 scale. Absolutely stunning model.

But when are you going to quit playing with those "toys" and sink your teeth into the 1/16th?

Yup, 1/35th. I originally wanted to model this tank in 1/16th but couldn�t find a full option Tamiya Tiger I for the right price. I still got so interested in these early examples that I started off on a campaign to build several of the first dozen or so Tigers produced and put into combat.

Rick

More progress over the past week. Hull weathering is complete with the exception of the hull deck, I�ll work the engine deck area next. Fruils are assembled and test fit. I�ll remove, glue, blacken and weather the tracks while I work on the hull deck. I like to have a few things going at the same time for a little variety in the tasks at hand.

Thanks for looking.

Rick