Panthers & Pumas & Tigers , oh my

[ripley]

Now for a couple of BA Panthers ,  1st one done as a Command tank, no co ax mg , extra radio antennas and antenna stowage tubes on the side . I decided to modify the exhaust pipes and jack stowage  to the early version





Next , this one got homemade tow cables , opened turret rear hatch , extra track armor on the turret as well as various bits and pieces ( turret lift rings and close defence weapon )





this is the BA  Puma , nice little kit with lift rings and various extra tools added , then covered in foliage  . I decided to try turning the wheels ( 8 wheel steering ) but am not happy with how it turned out . Still looking for a good picture

[ripley]

Now , the Rubicon Tiger  done up as an early version . Just added a tool box to the hull rear and a long handled shovel to the nose

[ripley]

This is the BA late Tiger .





This one is my Tiger / T-34 kit mingle . I trimmed the side skirts  off the hull and narrowed the front and rear fenders Removed the turret mounted track shoes and added zimmert ( green stuff & a razor saw ). Also , since it was sort of a  Hollywood TV show tank , I removed all tools except for the C hooks , jack and jack block . I scraped the ribs out of the T-34 wheels to represent the dish wheels , which I like better 

[Pinky]

I like the Panthers the best.  Especially the one with all the extra bits.

I can't believe you went to the trouble of removing all the ribs from the T-34 wheels!

[ripley]

The Panther with the extra track was 2nd 1/56 kit I built , so the spare track was taken from behind the side skirts ,( your not going to miss it , did the same with the Pzr IVs ) ,  Rubicon's stowage set was a year or so  in the future . And if you look close , you will see the back end of the gun shell guard through the rear turret hatch  .  I've always liked the dish wheels  on T-34s, and thought the BA 34s looked better with them. I did a couple of wheels as a test   at first to represent replaced wheels on a damaged tank . And then , did a couple of full wheel sets . Real easy if you have a 1/8th inch Xacto  chisel blade . I was gong to add the double ring of bolts on the wheels , but 16 bolts times ten wheels per tank time 3 or 4 tanks , I decided I had better things to do with my time . And in the couple of years I 've had these tanks , no one has ever noticed 

[ultravanillasmurf]

They are very good.

What did you use for the foliage? It looks suitably bushy.

The Panther turret rear hatch is a nice feature.

[ripley]

Foliage on all my tanks( 1/56 - 1/35)  is the Army Painter Poison Ivy . It comes in a 2 x 4 inch sheet , looks like a scrub pad , you just cut off the size piece you want , glue on with a white glue / water mix . Looks fantastic in multi scales . If you cut it small enough you can even use it on your troop's helmets .  The turret hatch was an after thought , so I had to be careful drilling it out as the turret was mostly built . I find a lot of my ideas come after the kit is partly built  . Both the driver and commander are removable , so I can depict the tank as abandoned or knocked out . Still trying to find / convert some dead Panzer crew figures .

Tamiya 1/35 Cromwell

Italeri 1/35 Puma

[Pinky]

Agreed - the foliage is very effective.  Perfect for Normandy campaign British and German vehicles. 

I just realised you opened the driver's hatch on the Cromwell [edit: as UVS said, actually the hull gunner's hatch].  Impressive.  I always wondered how a normal-sized man could get in and out of those tiny hatches - especially under fire.  Same with the Panzer III's side escape hatches.  Seems like a terrible design compromise.

[ultravanillasmurf]

The Cromwell driver did have a proper hatch on the top.
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/warlord-games-plastic-cromwell-bit-of.html
I think that was just so the driver could see where he was going.

Of course, the turret blocks the hatch IS poor design, which I guess is why there is that swing out hatch by the hull gunner's seat.

I have never worked out how the driver got out of Panzer III, somewhere I read it was through the access hatches on the deck in front, but that sounds unlikely.

[Pinky]

The Panzer III hull crew got out through the turret. 

[ripley]

Later versions of the Cromwell ( and Comet ) both had the side opening driver and bow gunner hatches , still a tight fit and a lot of wiggling to get out in a hurry . The Churchill wasn't much better , both front hatches folded up against the turret , not a good idea to stick your head out if combat is expected . Mind you looking at some of the new tanks , there's not much room for a driver euther unless the turret is off to one side . They also have a lock out so they can't move and decapitate the driver . 

The driver could get out through the front hatch on a Pzr III , there's just a horizontal drive shaft and a brake drum in there . Again lots of gymnastics to do it but there are more pictures out there .. this is all I have in my saved file ( for the Befl details )



Found these in Squadron / signal Stug III Walkaround book