Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 10 – Sd.Kfz. 251/C

Next up for the Operation Winter Storm project is some troop transport in the form of a half-track Sd.Kfz. 251/C, perhaps better known by the name of the manufacturer – Hanomag.

The Sd.Kfz. 251 was meant to transport the Panzergrenadiers into combat. Despite a fair number of vehicles being produced, they were always in shortage and most Panzergrenadier units had to make do with trucks for transport.

The Hanomag had room for one squad of men, who thanks to the armour of the half-track was protected against small-arms fire and to some extent artillery fire. In its role as troop transport, the vehicle was armed with at least one MG 34/42, with another mount at the rear, which provided close-support fire for when the soldiers had disembarked.

Once again this is kit from Plastic Soldier Company. As for the earlier kits I put together there were a fair number of components, and the instructions were very "bare-bones" to say the least, but it went together without any major hiccups.

Another step in the right direction for the weathering ...

Thank you for stopping by!

Next up: the final German vehicle for this project.

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 9 – Panzer III

Here are some more German support for the Operation Winter Storm project in the form of three Panzer III J.

Introduced in 1939, the Panzer III was designed as the primary battle tank for the German forces intended to fight other tanks. They were originally equipped with a 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/45 gun, which proved adequate during the campaigns of 1939 and 1940. However, after Operation Barbarossa, the Pz III proved to be inferior in both armour and gun power when facing the heavier Soviet tanks such as the KV-1 and T-34. In a bid to counter these tanks, the Pz III was upgraded with a longer, more powerful 50 mm gun and more armour.

These upgrades proved somewhat effective for a while, especially against the T-34, but by 1942 the Pz IV and Pz III had effectively switched roles – the former was now the main tank fighter and the latter used in close support of the infantry – due to the better upgrade potential of the Pz IV. After the Battle of Kursk in 1943 the Pz III was gradually withdrawn from the frontline. Instead the chassi was used as the basis for the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun, the single most produced German armoured fighting vehicle of WW2.

Like the Panzer IV, these models are from Plastic Soldier Company and represent great value for money. They're nicely detailed – especially compared to the Battlefront kits I've done before, where the tracks in particular have been poor with soft details.

One difference between the Panzer IV kit and this one, are the one-piece tracks. A welcome change indeed, as I found the separate tracks on the Pz IV too fiddly for my liking with no apparent gain in details. And with these tracks there wasn't any risk of putting anything on in the wrong place ...

I've added some more stowage to these Pz III:s, where as on the Pz IV I kept it relatively clean. Painting was done in the same way as the other tank. As for the weathering I tried to keep it a little more subdued this time, but I'm not 100% satisfied yet – slowly getting there though.

Now I'm in the homestretch for the German part of this project: just two more vehicles left.

Thanks for reading!

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 8 – Panzer IV

The first German tank to be finished for my Operation Winter Storm project is a Panzer IV G.

Introduced in 1937, the Panzer IV was the only German tank to remain in combat and production throughout the entire WW2 making it the most widely manufactured "proper" German tank. It was of course constantly upgraded and adjusted to fit the ever-changing fighting conditions of the battlefields in Africa, Europe and the Eastern Front.

The Ausf. G model was introduced in 1942 and the upgrades included an increased front armour of 80 mm and the new, longer, 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 gun. These were both direct measures to counter the new, heavier, Soviet tanks such as the T-34.

This model is from Plastic Soldier Company and was my first experience with this manufacturer. I must say that despite a fair number of fiddly bits and somewhat spartan instructions it went together very well. The only problem was the driving gears which I at first managed to glue on in the wrong places – I switched the front and back ones on both sides – but this was all my fault for not having checked the instructions properly. I had to slice them all off and glue them back in their correct positions.

Other than that, my main gripe was the separate tracks which was a bit of a pain to glue in place to be honest.

I can't really comment on the historical accuracy of the kit, but when it comes to value for money it certainly scores high marks indeed!

As this was my first time painting a vehicle in winter camo, I looked at some tutorials to get familiar with the different techniques employed to get this particular effect. However, it wasn't until I got some excellent pointers from fellow club member and all-round nice chap Sören, I felt ready to have a go myself. Now, Sören is a much more skilled painter than me and I of course managed to botch up his instructions. In trying to salvage the paint job I did some experimenting which in a roundabout way lead to a camo effect I was rather pleased with and intend to use on all my winter vehicles for this project.

As for the weathering, I'm not particularly pleased with it – it's more than a bit overdone. I find weathering is an art, and one I have yet to master. Still, it's "good enough" so I'll leave it at that.

Next up – more Panzers!

Thank you all for reading!