Introducing the Panzer III

The Panzer III, aka Sd Kfz 141 or Pz.Kpfw. III, was a German tank designed in the mid-30's as a tank fighter. Equipped with a 37mm anti-tank gun it was adequate against the light allied tanks encountered durig the early war campaings, but it proved outmatched in gun and armor when it went into Russia. The Panzer III was also equipped with a 3-man turret which freed the commander from loading and firing tasks to observe the battlefield and direct the fighting. This was a substantial advantage compared to other early war tanks. Up to 1942, there were multiple variations (Ausführung) of the tank made, from Ausf A to N. Ausf F introduced a 50mm gun but even that was not enough to match the Soviet tanks. Before it was retired, Ausf N actually upgraded the main gun to a low velocity 75mm gun to be used against infantry and 'soft' targets, but this meant that the Panzer III was no longer meant to be used as a tank fighter. Altogether, close to 6000 were built before production stopped in 1943. The Panzer III's chassis was more successful however, becoming the foundation of the Sturmgeschütz III of which close to 9500 were produced, many of them conversions from Panzer IIIs. The Panzer III saw action in Poland, France, the Balkans, North Africa and the Soviet Union. After the Battle of Kursk it was phased out in favor of the Panzer IV and subsequent heavier tanks, with only a few being around by the time the allies invaded Italy and France. In terms of scale models, we have a couple options available to us Courtesy of 21st Century Toys.

21st Century Toys Panzer III - Afrika Korps

This tank was released by 21C Toys after some of the heavier tanks had been issued, so I thought it would be a bit wimpy compared to its predecessors. However I was pleasantly surprised. It is certainly smaller, being true to its scale, but it has sufficiently nice detail making it worthy of one's collection. For instance, you can tell that it belonged to the Afrika Korps because of the insignia with the plam tree on the front of the tank.

21st Century Toys Panzer III - Afrika Korps

Here's another version of the Panzer III from 21C, this time, with a tan color, maybe more in line with what you normally associate with the DAK. I think I actually like this one better than the previous one. Note that this one also has an antenna that folds back down. 

21st Century Toys Panzer III

Here is another version of the Panzer III. Presumably the one that fought on the eastern and western fronts. I find the green color a bit unusual. In the pictures of real vehicles that I have seen, it has always been painted grey, but I trust 21C did their research when they developed this model. In any case, like AK version, it is also a nice reproduction of the original.

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Introducing the Panzer IV

The Panzer IV was a medium tank of the German army in service throughout the entirety if the war, and consequently seeing action on all fronts. Its official name was Sd Kfz 161 or Pz. Kpfw IV. Due to its long service history, it went through multiple adaptations/versions, from Ausführung A to J, with the first models coming out in 1936. The initial model carried a low velocity 75mm gun, meant primarily to fire explosive shells against 'soft' targets in support of infantry, although -by pre-war standards- it did have some reasonable armor piercing capabilities when using armor piercing ammo, which inevitably turned it into a tank fighter when the Panzer Is, IIs, and IIIs proved inferior to some of the allied tanks.The earlier versions of the Panzer IV were a bit unique in that the turret contained a double hatch for the commander, one of them being on the side of the turret. By the time the war began, Ausf D was already in production, with greater speed and some armor improvements. By the end of 1941, Ausf F2 (later G) was upgraded to use a short barreled version of the 75mm PaK 40 high velocity gun which gave it better tank-fighting capabilities. The reason for the short barrel was to be able to accommodate the recoil within the existing turret. Later versions of the Ausf G, were produced a longer 75mm barrel after making adjustments to the turret, which removed the side hatch. Ausf H was further upgraded in terms of armor, with side skirts for the hull and turret being added (they had been prototyped with Ausf G). Finally, Ausf Jwas a 1944 model which saw some simplifications introduced to speed up production and reduce cost, in response to the manufacturing challenges of the late stages of the war. One of those simplifications being that the turret now had to be traversed manually. In total about 9000 Panzer IVs were produced across all models, making it the most popular tank of the German armed forces. In addition to these models, the Panzer IV chassis was found to be very versatile and it was further used for a variety of other vehicles such as self-propelled anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns. As far as production of scale models, both 21C Toys and Forces of Valor have released versions of this panzer. Unfortunately I only have those from FOV as shown below.

Forces of Valor Panzer IV - Ausf F

This is one of my favorite FOV models. The paint job is realy nice with mud splattered where it should be and the rest of the tank seemingly covered in dust. The side hatch with a sitting figure and the short barrel give it a very unique look, and again, the metal feel to it makes you feel you have a real panzer in your hands.

Forces of Valor Panzer IV - Ausf F - Cammo

Here is another variation of the same vehicle. In fact, FOV released this same model in at least one more color scheme with winter cammo paint (or maybe it's just meant to be snow?). Anyhow, the same good things to say about this one as for the previous one, although I do prefer the one above.  

21st Century Toys Panzer IV - Ausf D

21C Toys also released their version of the short-barreled Panzer IV. I bought this one second-hand, as they are no longer in production, and I suspect that the previous owner sprayed it with a greenish paint, because the pictures I've seen of the original show it in a 'purer' grey. In terms of detail it is OK, but not as nice as the one from FOV. For instance, the side hatch does not open. BTW, this vehicle was sold as a kit that you could assemble yourself. I guess it was an attempt by 21C Toys to keep costs down (or achieve greater profits) by letting the customer take care of the assembly.

Forces of Valor Panzer IV - Ausf G

This is also a very interesting vehicle. The side and turret skirts give it a very unique look. The side skirts show some nice leve of detail with dents and bends caused by the fighting. FOV advertised this model as the 'Kursk' version. Note that the side hatch is no longer there, which as explained earlier, had to be removed to make room for the recoild of the longer 75mm gun.

Forces of Valor Panzer IV - Ausf G

This is the same vehicle as above in a different color scheme. FOV does this with many vehicles. A good money-making strategy on their part. They sold it as an 'Easter Front' version. I actually felt that the tan color was better suited for the North African desert and remembering that Panzer IVs were part of Rommel's army, I decided to photograph it in such a setting. It was not until I was checking my facts that I realized that Ausf G was relased right about the time that the Afrika Korps was surrendering in May of '43, so I doubt that any such models ever reached them. But if you are willing to overlook that 'Ausf detail' it look just great next to some AK guys doesn't it?

21st Century Toys Panzer IV Conversion into Ammo Loader/Munitionsschlepper

This is a creation by Scott Schleh, a very talented collector who also does conversions commercially. In this case he took the chassis of a 21C Panzer IV and added an open turret area where shells can be transported, and also a crane that rotates to be able to lift them in and out of of vehicle. I looked up pictures of the real Munitionsschlepper and it does look something like that :-) The main difference is that the base of the crane and its mechanisms were more sophisticated. But good enough for my German troops to load ammo onto 'Loki', 

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Click here to see a post about the Panzer III

Click here to see a post about some other vehicles built on top of the Panzer IV chassis

Click here to see a post about the Tiger I which came after it.



Introducing the Tiger I

The Tiger Tank was Germany's first heavy tank of the war. It's also known as Sd Kfz 181 as well as PzKpfw VI Ausf. H (later PzKpfw VI Ausf. E), or Panzer VI for short. The 'I' was added retroactively to the name after the Tiger II (King Tiger) came out. The Tiger tank was designed and built in response to the Soviet Tanks encountered during the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of '41, which outgunned and were better armored than the Panzer III's and Panzer IV's. By September of '42 the first Tigers were already being sent into action around Leningrad, but as it was rushed to the front prematurely, it initially suffered from mechanical and reliability problems. Besides the Eastern Front, the Tiger Tank also saw action in North Africa, Italy and the Western Front. Its thick armor, 88mm gun, and decent speed for a heavy tank, made it a formidable opponent, able to destroy enemy tanks at very long ranges, and being very hard to knock out unless the opponent managed to get very close to it and hit it from a vulnerable angle, usually the sides or back. Its good performance in combat enabled multiple Tiget tank commanders to become 'aces' with over 100 kills to their credit. It is said that one Tiger was able to destroy 22 Soviet tanks in a single engagement.
Unfortunately, the Tiger's design was a bit too complex. For instance, due to its weight, it was not able to go over small bridges, so it was designed to ford water up to 4 meters in depth. This meant that it had to be equiped with additional systems for breathing, ventilation, and engine cooling, the hull had to be sealable, and some of the compartments had to be floodable so it would not just float and get dragged downstream. Likewise, it introduced a new design for several rows of overlapping, interleaved wheels which gave it a wider track, better able to distribute its huge weight. All this increased its manufacturing complexity and cost, which resulted in less tan 1500 being manufactured during the war. By mid-1944, it was phased out of production in favor of the Panther and the Tiger II.
Stackpole Books has a two volume narrative of Michael Wittmann's exploits as a Tiger I commander, which provides great insight into the Tiger's development, the operations of a tank battalion, and the Tiger's performance in combat. In terms of Toy Soldier manufacturers, we have a couple good examples courtesy of the usual suspects, 21C and FOV.

21st Century Toys Tiger I

This tank was the first of its kind to be produced. Released about 10 years ago, it is a realistic vehicle, at a good scale, factory-painted, with moving turret, gun, tracks, hatches, and a factory-painted crew for less than 15 dollars. At the time it came out I would be making trips to my local Toys R Us every weekend to try to catch the next shipment as they were flying off the selves. It was the best thing that happened to the hobby in terms of vehicles. After that, many more and even better models followed, but this one (and the half track) are the ones that started it all.

21st Century Toys Tiger I - Afrika Korps

A short time later, 21C Toys released another version of the Tiger I. Essentially the same vehicle in a different color scheme. I preferred the original colors, but I still got three of these to give Rommel's army a heaftier punch.

Forces of Valor Tiger I

A couple years later FOV came into the military vehicle landscape and released their own versions of the Tiger I. Several paint schemes were released. Unfortunately I only got one of them as I already had several of the 21C ones. FOV's Tiger is even better than 21C's. Aside from the fact that is made out of metal, the level of detail and realism is higher. For instance, notice the anti-magnetic Zimmerit paint cover to defend against mines, or the bent fenders above the tracks. Definitely a nice piece of equipment for your collection.

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Click here to see a post about the Panzer III.

Click here to see a post about the Panzer IV.

Click here to see a post about the Panther Tank.

Click here to see a post about the Tiger II.



Introducing the Panther Tank

The Panther Tank, aka Sd Kfz 171, was a medium tank deployed by Germany from mid-1943 onwards. It was designed in 1942 in response to the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks encountered the previous year during Operation Barbarossa, which were a tough match for the Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs. The Tiger was also built for the same reasons, but it was more difficult and expensive to manufacture and was about 30 tons heavier and slower than the Panther which came in a little under 50 tons. Initially the Panther was designated as Panzer V, but I suppose that because it was released after the Tiger, eventually the V was dropped from the name. The Panther was close to being ready just before the German summer offensive of '43 -what became known as the Battle of Kursk-. The intention was to have another Blitzkrieg type of battle, and with the Germans wanting to have their latest and best tanks play a role in it the offensive was delayed by two months. During this time, the Soviets built several defensive belts, with anti-tank ditches, emplaced anti-tank guns, and they also increased their tank numbers. In the end, the German offensive faltered and of the approximately 200 Panthers that were delivered, most were quickly out of action due to mechanical breakdowns or were knocked out due to the inexperience and insufficient training of the crews. One month after going into action, only 9 remained operational. Eventually the reliability of the tank was improved (although never entirely), however by that time the tide of the war had turned and the German manufacturing industry was already under heavy air attack, which further reduced the number of Panthers as well as the availability of spare parts. So, even though the Panther was a good tank in principle, with a high velocity muzzle firing 75mm projectiles capable of penetrating enemy armor at long ranges, good speed and good frontal armor, it was not enough to turn the tide of the ground war. During the course of the war, over 6000 of them were built, seeing action on both the Eastern and Western fronts, and a few other variations of the vehicle were produced, like the Jagdpanther tank destroyer. As far as Toy Soldier manufacturers go, both Forces of Valor and 21st Century Toys have treated us to some very nice vehicles. Let's take a look.

21st Century Toys Panther Tank

This tank is a nice, good looking model, but it is made entirely out of plastic. I actually have two of these models and one of them already lost its antenna, which broke off going in and out of the shelf. Nonetheless it is a faithful reproduction of the original. One thing to note is the overlapping design of the wheels, first introduced with the Tiger and repeated with the Panther.

Forces of Valor Panther Tank

The FOV Panther comes with the rounded gun mantlet. This was a liability of the design as it allowed shots to be deflected downwards into the hull. Later designs -Ausf G-, like the one from 21C Toys, had a flat mantlet with a 'chin' at the bottom, which would help against this problem. A nice thing about the FOV Panther is that is also comes with two infantry figures who can ride the tank, not to mention that it is actually made out of metal, which is a good thing when it comes to tanks.

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Click here to see a post about the Panzer III.

Click here to see a post about the Panzer IV.

Click here to see a post about the Tiger I.

Click here to see a post about the Tiger II.



German Mobile Anti-Aircraft Guns

At the beginning of the war, Germany's Flak (Fliegerabwehrkanone) guns were all static or towed. As the war progressed they developed a set of new vehicles in which they mounted the guns to provide them with greater mobility. The caliber of these mounted guns however was smaller than that of the ground-based 88s, with most of them carrying a 20 mm flakvierling (quadruple anti-aircraft gun) or a single 37mm gun on top of the modified chassis of other existing vehicles. The development of these vehicles was more of a reactive approach than a well thought out AA defense strategy. This, in combination with insufficient numbers of fighter aircraft on the part of the Luftwaffe, allowed the allies to achieve total air supremacy, which further increased the need for these guns, but they were never produced in large enough numbers to make a difference against the ever increasing number of fighter and fighter-bombers diving down on them. The situation became so bad that eventually most troop movements had to be carried out under the cover of darkness. In any case, the vehicles that were produced were an interesting bunch and the toy soldier manufacturers have done a decent job representing them. Let's review a few of them.

Forces of Valor Sd Kfz 7/1

The Sd Kfz 7/1 was a modified prime mover which was originally used to tow the guns. The last two rows of seats were removed and a 20 mm flakvierling was mounted. This model from FOV is nicely detailed as usual. The sides of the truck fold down to allow the gun to turn 360 degrees. The quadrupple gun also moves up and down, although it only goes about 3/4 of the way up relative to the vertical plane.  



21st Century Toys Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagen

This is again a 20mm quadruple gun, but this time it is mounted on a Panzer IV chassis. Most of these were disabled Panzer IVs from the eastern front sent back for repairs and refitted as self-propelled AA guns. Note that the sides of the vehicle fold down to allow it to rotate and fire, however this also left the crew completely exposed to shrapnel and strafing fire. When the sides of the vehicle were folded up it makes it look like a big box, probably the reason for it's nickname, the furniture truck. What is unusual about this vehicle is that when you read about it, it appears that only the first prototype carried the 20mm guns. In production it was equipped with a 37 mm cannon. It became available in April of 1944 and less than 300 were produced.

21st Century Toys Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind

The Wirblewind or Whirlwind was developed in late 1944. It offered a bit more protection to the crew than its predecessors, but it still contained an open turret, a necessity given the smoke produced by the quadruple 20mm guns. The 20mm flakvierling had a practical rate of fire of about 800 rounds per minute. Each magazine held 20 rounds and would have to be changed 10 times per minute to achieve that firing rate. These guns were also very effecgtive against ground troops and soft skinned vehicles. There is a scene in Saving Private Ryan in which a quad 20mm gun is used with devastating results against some unaware infantrymen who are inspecting a Panzer that they had just disabled.

Forces of Valor Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind

This is FOV's version of the Wirbelwind. It was actually released in two color schemes, the other one being a gold/dark green cammo color scheme. If you have been reading along you might have realized by now that this vehicle did not fight in North Africa. I took this picture before I checked when it was manufactured, but I suppose that you could pretend it did as the color is well suited. Coming back to the Wirbelwind, about one hundred of them were built and it was soon replaced by the Ostwind, which had the same turret but mounted a single 37mm gun.

Atlantic Mobile Anti-Aircraft Gun Flakvierling 38 - Part I

This is one of the more elaborate sets that I have seen from Atlantic. They had to inject quite a few pieces to make it all come together. The assembly is still pretty straight forward, but it makes you appreciate the design challenge to cast it. The quad gun has some movement up and down and it can also turn on its vertical axis.
 

Atlantic Mobile Anti-Aircraft Gun Flakvierling 38 - Part II 

From the back you can appreciate the crew a bit better. The two men on the side appear to be holding/loading the ammo clips and the one on the back is the main gunner, who seems to be adjusting the sight on top of the gun. The only odd thing are those 'handles' on the side of the chassis. I wonder if they were meant to be there or they are left over from the casting process.

Atlantic Artillery Tractor Sd Kfz 1 Klein

This is a nice complement to the AA gun, as they both fit perfectly and now you have a way to tow the gun into position. The tractor comes with a driver who can be removed so that you can close the hatch, which is necessary of you want to move the machine gun from one side to the other. As far as the name, I tried to dig up pictures of the real Sd Kfz 1, but it does not look anything like this tractor. I think the Sd Kfz 1 was in fact a staff car, so I don't know if Atlantic's name is accurate. Anyhow, both of them go well together and once I get around to painting them, I think they will display nicely. Better than their bright blue factory color, which is a bit intense on the eyes.

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Click here to see a post about the 88mm Flak gun.

Here you can see pictures of other Sd Kfz 7 models.