2nd Afrika Korps Panzer III

Below are a few photos of my second Panzer III for my Afrika Korps force. Originally I intended this Panzer to be in early war grey but as I packed on the stowage on the rear of the tank, I changed my mind! The machine gunner on the turret is from the Plastic Soldier Company German Alte Halftracks set. The paint scheme is my standard Afrika Korps mix of Games Workshop paints - a Tallarn Sand undercoat dry brushed with Ushabti Bone and inked with Nuln Oil. At the moment I am using decals in a representative way - I don't think the German crosses were actually applied to the turret roof or hull front in reality, but I'm happy with the end product.

DAK Project - Panzers finished!

Here are the finished Panzer III Ausf G and Panzer IV Ausf F2 Special for my Afrika Korps force. The desert odyssey has started!

DAK Project - Panzers continued

Both of my desert panzers are starting to take shape. After an undercoat of black and a solid coat of Tallarn Sand, I decided to go for a lighter shade than the usual Panzer sandy brown, using a liberal drybrushing of Ushabti Bone, and a diluted inking to bring out all the bodywork details. Not pictured, I have also gone over the tracks in a light grey and gone over the petrol /water tanks with Tallarn Sand to highlight them.

The next step will be to use darker browns and a pale green for the remainder of the stowage items, and ink the tracks a weathered brown.

DAK Project - Panzers

These mark the beginning of my Deutsche Afrika Korps army. I've been meaning to start desert WW2 armies for a while, and whilst my BEF British are not complete, I took the plunge anyway.

I have started with two Plastic Soldier Company models, a Panzer III Ausf G and a Panzer IV Ausf F2 "Special".

The former was the workhorse of the early war German tank force. A medium tank that combined decent protection and a respectable 50mm gun, the Panzer III could hold its own against most Allied tanks. It's primacy was challenged by the appearance of the upgunned Crusader III and the Lee / Grant tank, both giving the Allies some respectable firepower.

The Panzer IV Ausf F2 "Special" is a late version of a tank that took over from its older brother. It has a long barrelled 75mm high velocity main gun, and good armour protection, able to match Allied medium tanks of the late war period. This model has no "Schurtzen" side skirts as these would have been impractical in desert conditions.

I've customised both with a variety of stowage and items on the back of the turrets. Why so many jerry cans? Well, they weren't used exclusively for fuel - in desert conditions it's easy to run out of precious water.

In terms of paint scheme I'm going to try my own desert scheme or combining a Tallarn Sand undercoat with an off-white drybrush. Combined with inking I hope by the time they're finished, Rommell would be proud to have them.

Panzer III Ausf L Flammpanzer

This is a German late war flame tank, a Panzer III fitted with a large flamethrower instead of a main gun. I have exaggerated its appearance by placing two large fuel drums on the back with some petrol cans, both from the PSC German tank accessories. The turret and hull have extra armour but to differentiate it from my other late war tanks I've gone for a conservative grey colour scheme and no side skirts (Schurtzen). This is one of three late Pz IIIs from the Plastic Soldier Company box. The other two have schurtzen and are fitted with a short 75mm and long barrelled 50mm gun respectively. The kit goes together very well and the slightly chunkier scale makes it both robust and easy to customise with extra furniture. One of my favourites.