A few weeks ago I decided to invest in several more Warlord tank kits via ebay. I ordered five kits and only two came with instruction sheets and all were unboxed but sealed in bags. I paid an average of £18.00 per kit, so I wasn't buying them on the cheap, and if I'm honest I'm somewhat annoyed about it. The Shermans were fine, easy build kits plus I had already put one together anyway, but when it came to the Panzer III kit it was hopeless. Complaints about two part tracks with the joins at the most visible points resulted in Warlord producing this kit with four part tracks that I simply cannot get to fit together, I need an instruction sheet for this one badly! I checked a review or two of this kit and noted comments around the fine detail level of this one, it's obvious that Warlord have really gone out here to produce a scale model with far more fine detail than previous kits. It's a pain in the ar*e when you just really want to get on and paint the things.
The high command are NOT impressed with the situation!
So imagine my surprise yesterday when I noticed that the Panzer III is now also sold as a resin and metal kit with barely any 'bits' to stick on. I'm guessing it's the release of 'Tank Wars' that has led to this most welcome development, they are a little more costly at around £23.00 for the Panzer III and £26.00 for the superb 'Wittman Tiger 007' model, but the time saved in fiddly construction makes it well worth the price to me. I can see down the line that I will eventually have a pretty extensive collection of 28mm tank models that will require the use of the dining table in order to reach full gaming potential.
For the time being I will attack the plastic Panzer once again to see if I can get those tracks together, I also have one more plastic StuG to build, (an easier kit by far), plus a Cromwell, after that all will be resin and metal models.
The 'Wittman' story is the stuff of legend, I really enjoyed this documentary relating to his death in action and subsequent attempts to discover just who fired the shot that resulted in the huge Tiger turret being blown clean off killing Wittman and his crew instantly. British and Canadian tankers both claim the kill and battlefield archaeology tries to discover the truth.
My Grandfathers unit (or a squadron of it) took part in the same engagement but were well out of range of whittmans tank. I don't even think they are mentioned in the documentary. While I think Elkins may have got a tiger or two, the Canadians were firing from the flank at much closer distances. I'm pretty sure at that distance side/rear shots from even 75mm armed tanks would have had an effect - never mind any fireflies the Canadians had there. It was a stupid attack - without support or recon. And it shows that in Normandy tank combat it was the defender who had the advantage - something the allies tended to be doing more of. But every time the Germans launched a major armoured attack, they suffered heavy casualties as well.
Yes, the Canadians were shooting from much closer range so it must have been them that hit Wittmans Tiger. I note that the shot went into the cooling fans on the left rear of the Tiger, a lucky shot that caused the catastrophic explosion.
My Grandfathers unit (or a squadron of it) took part in the same engagement but were well out of range of whittmans tank. I don't even think they are mentioned in the documentary. While I think Elkins may have got a tiger or two, the Canadians were firing from the flank at much closer distances. I'm pretty sure at that distance side/rear shots from even 75mm armed tanks would have had an effect - never mind any fireflies the Canadians had there. It was a stupid attack - without support or recon. And it shows that in Normandy tank combat it was the defender who had the advantage - something the allies tended to be doing more of. But every time the Germans launched a major armoured attack, they suffered heavy casualties as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Canadians were shooting from much closer range so it must have been them that hit Wittmans Tiger. I note that the shot went into the cooling fans on the left rear of the Tiger, a lucky shot that caused the catastrophic explosion.
DeleteHave you tried contacting the maker to see if you can get a copy of the instructions? Perhaps a scan?
ReplyDeleteHi Ross, I'm going to do just that, I managed to fit the tracks finally, but that still leaves a lot of very small pieces!
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