The model warrior

Normandy Tiger

Normandy Tiger

I have not painted up any German armour for a long while
so on finding a Battlefront Tiger 1 E early still in my
large box of things I have never got round to painting it was game on.
Now the initial impetus came from finally watching the film, “Fury” and
no need to go into the failings of that film. Linked to a recent trip to
Bovington Tank Museum and a new burst of activity on my Normandy terrain
boards it was full steam ahead. Those of you who know your Battlefront
kits will immediately realise I had a problem because the Tiger has rubber
road wheels, no spare tracks and most importantly no zimmerit on it. All
these things are kind of vital for a Normandy Tiger. My first issue was solved
by a few rubber wheeled Tigers still serving in Normandy specifically I went for
tank number 131 belonging to Ustuf Walter Hahn of the Schwer Abteilung 101 .
Next problem was the Zimmerit, so time to experiment with fine household filler
and a sharp knife. In the end is was rather tricky but worked.

The model was airbrushed using Vallejo colours and it took me quite a few coats
to get the effect and colour I wanted. Unfortunately I`m no expert with an airbrush
and I`m sure a lot of people would have completed the job a lot quicker than me.
The spare tank tracks attached to the turret are PSC extras and so is part of the
stowage. The helmets are spare from somewhere ?

Next up being Normandy and the sky being full of Allied planes just itching to bomb
something friendly or not ,some serious camouflage was called for. I have found it
really difficult to get camouflage correct on tanks as 9 times out of ten it just looks
crap. So in my best effort yet I went for the car filter scheme, which has been broken
up into tiny bits and sprayed green and brown . Scatter was then added for effect.
Decals were a problem as I was unable to find any tank numbers in 15mm that are
green with a white outline(colour of the SS 101). I partially solved the issue by
attaching clear decals with white outlines. The green of the tank comes through
the decal, its not perfect but way easier than attempting free hand.

Hope you like it and the scenic backdrops ?