Tag Archives: tamiya

German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf. E (Early version) (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 216-4000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf E – Early version’.

German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf E - Early version

History

It was the end of 1942 when a German heavy tank with extra thick armor and a powerful main gun first appeared on the North African front. The new tank, long-desired by the German soldiers who had hard-fought battles against the allies, became known as the Tiger I Ausf. E.

Development of the Tiger I began at the end of May 1941. The German Army Weapons Branch ordered the Henschel firm to vie with Porsche in producing a prototype. The first prototypes underwent trials on April 1942. The result of these and subsequent trial showed the superiority of the Henschel vehicle to the Porsche’s, and thus production orders were placed for it. The Henschel’s prototype had thick armor of 100mm at the front and 80mm on both sides, and the main gun was the then most potent, the 8.8cm KwK 36 L/56. The powerplant was Maybach’s HL 210 P45, yielding 650 horsepower.

Mass production started already in August 1942 with little alteration from the prototype. Starting from November 1942, air pre-cleaners were added on the rear hull plate. The mantlet was partly strengthened and “S” mine dischargers were fitted on five mounting points around the hull roof beginning from December. Moreover, a loader’s periscope was fitted from January 1943. The Tiger I produced from November 1942 to July 1943 featured these modifications, are referred to as the early production. About 200 units of these early production versions were produced.

Source: Tamiya website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 215-2600 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L

History

The German Pz.Kpfw.III, along with the IV, played an active part in the early stages of WWII as their mainstrength tanks. However when they encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on the Eastern Front, the weakness of the Pz.Kpfw.III was revealed and the balance of power tipped in favor of the Russians. Thus the Pz.Kpfw.III underwent constant improvement throughout its career to maintain an advantage. The Pz.Kpfw.III had a number of types, from the A to N. Among them, the Ausf. L was produced from July 1942.

As it was manufactured at the existing tank factory, the basic performance and structure were the same as previous versions with a few modifications. Armament consisted of an improved, long barreled Kwk50 L/60 tank gun, which was effective against the Russian T34 tanks up to a range of 600m, plus two 7.92mm MG34 machine guns. The armor of the front superstructure was increased to 57mm in thickness, and a 20mm thick spaced armor was added to the gun mantlet as well, which increased the tank’s weight by 200kg.

To cope with the added weight, the suspension system was also strengthened. The powerplant was a Maybach HL120TRM, V-12, water cooled engine producing 300 horsepower. In total 635 Ausf. L’s were produced by the end of 1942, and many of them saw active service on the Eastern Front and the North African Front. Although its roll was shortly replaced by the Tiger I and the Panther, the durable chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.III was used for self-propelled guns till the end of the war.

Source: Tamiya website

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German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 246 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter’.

German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter

History

As World War II progressed, the vehicles used on the battlefields became larger and larger. When these mammoth machines broke down or became damaged, the task of bringing them back from the front lines was not an easy one. This need was especially felt by the German Wehrmacht, who were fighting on a wide range of battlegrounds: from the scorching desert of North Africa to the railroad lacking plains of Russia. Bringing damaged vehicles back from these difficult conditions was indispensable to replenishing fighting strength to the army.

The German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track “FAMO” and Tank Transporter Sd.Ah.116 was one of the vehicles that contributed to this task. Including all variations, over 2500 18 ton half-tracks were produced by the end of the WWII. One of the major types was the tank recovery half-track, which was a mighty towing vehicle equipped with two rows of seats and a flatbed in back for the storage of equipment such as a draw-bar and spare wire rope. Tool storage compartments were found on each of the outer sides of the flatbed. In addition, the underside of a vehicle was equipped with a winch.

Its powerplant was a Maybach HL 108 12-cylinder engine, which put out 270hp. Tank transporting was conducted by either direct towing with a draw bar, or by loading the tank atop a massive trailer. Officially known as “Sd.Ah.116”, the Type 116 Trailer connected with the 18ton heavy half track, which allowed for the transportation of 22-23 ton class tanks such as the Pz.Kpfw.III, Pz.Kpfw.IV and other heavy artillery.

Source: Tamiya website

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German 6×4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 317-2000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 6×4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier’.

German 6x4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier

History

German’s Early-WWII Best Partner – The Sd.Kfz.70 was widely used by the German Army to transport troops and supplies during the early stages of the WWII.

It featured a sloped hood that housed a compact air-cooled inline 4-cylinder engine as well as rear double wishbone independent suspension which offered a superb off-road capability. The large cargo area was fitted with bench seats.

The Sd.Kfz.70s were produced from 1993 to 1942 and were widely deployed with infantry units, etc. Many of them deployed to frontlines were equipped with a tripod-mounted MG34 machine gun.

Source: Tamiya website

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  • Hobbymesse 2012

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122 (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 093-1600 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122’.

Russian Tank Destroyer, SU-122

History

Victorious At Kursk – The Russian T34 tank is known as a masterpiece. Based on the same chassis, the SU-122 featured a secured, wedge-shape fighting compartment, and was armed with a massive 122mm howitzer. The designation of SU-122 comes from the following; “SU” stands for Samokhodnaya Ustanovka (in Russian) meaning self propelled and “122” stands for the armament.

As Russian forces were forced to retreat from the relentless German blitzkrieg, large quantities of T34 and other tanks were produced in preparation of a counter attack. At the same time, Russian army urgently developed a new self-propelled gun, the SU-122. This tank featured a newly designed 122mm self-propelled howitzer and its production began in October 1942 at Tankograd in the Ural mountains. As the T34’s chassis and its mass production system was applied to SU-122, the first test models were amazingly completed with great speed taking approximately one month.

From there, the first lot of SU-122s were sent straight to the Leningrad front in January 1943. From July 1943, they saw action in the Battle of Kursk. The SU-122 with its 23 caliber 122mm howitzer fought with all its might against Panther and Tiger tanks and went on to superbly win a glorious victory. In following the success at Kursk, the SU-122 set the foundation on where other tanks such as the SU-85, SU-100, JSU-122, and JSU-152 were built upon.

Source: Tamiya website

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British Matilda MK.II (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 024 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘British Matilda MK.II’.

British Matilda MK.II

History

Rommel’s Bane – After WWI, England began development of infantry tanks which featured thick armor and produced the same speed to that of walking soldier. From this, two cruiser tanks were produced prior to WWII with one being the Matilda Mk.II infantry tank. It was the first British tank to come with a diesel engine. It was armed with a 2pounder main gun and had thick armor up to 70mm in some places which made it one big weapon.

At the beginning of WWII in May 1940, the Matilda was deployed to France were it fought hard against the Rommel led German tank divisions which consisted of Panzer I, II, & III tanks. It was quickly discovered that the opposing Germans tanks could not penetrate the Matilda’s thick armor and relied on the anti-aircraft 88mm gun to knock them out.

1941 saw the Matilda again once more face off Rommel’s tank divisions, but this time in North Africa. It was here where it fought fierce battles against Panzer III and IV tanks and once more it was impenetrable. This war which raged for three years saw the 88mm anti-aircraft gun the only thing capable of knocking out the Matilda.

Source: Tamiya Website

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German Sturmgeschütz III, Ausf. B (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 281-3000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Sturmgeschütz III, Ausf. B’.

German Sturmgeschütz III, Ausf. B

History

At the beginning of WWII, as the German army was on their rapid offensive, the need arose for a highly mobile infantry support vehicle that could provide heavy firepower to help infantry breakthrough defenses.

The Sturmgeschutz III was designed to meet this requirement, with the Ausf.B being the first mass produced variant.

Featuring a well armored crew compartment with 50mm front and 30mm side armor and armed with a 75mm StuK 37 L/24 gun, these vehicles were used during the invasion of the Balkans as well as in Operation Barbarossa. As the war went on, the StuG III found itself evolving into a tank destroyer in addition to its assault gun role, and were often used as replacements for actual battle tanks.

Source: Tamiya website

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