1:35 Dug In Pz.Kpfw III Strong Point (North Africa)

A dug-in Pz.Kpfw III as a strongpoint, North Africa, 1:35 scale

The accessory captures the German Pz.Kpfw III medium tank sunk up to the hull into desert soil and turned into a firm firing position. It is placed into a diorama as a separate scenic whole: a model of a tank for building it is not, and it does not replace one. What is on offer here is a piece of terrain with hardware that gives a display case a story: a machine that will not drive off anywhere any more, but still holds the sector entrusted to it.

The real subject

In 1941 and 1942 the Pz.Kpfw III was the most numerous German battle tank on the African battlefield. Vehicles put out of action by a failure of the engine or the running gear were often not saved in the desert by towing, but buried in the sand. Only the turret with the gun then protruded above the terrain, an embankment, sandbags and a stone rim grew up around it. What came about was a cheap nest of the kind that could be prepared in the course of a single night at blocking lines, minefields and supply routes.

Building and painting tips

The basis is to unify the accessory with the base: blend the edges of the terrain with modeling putty or sand, so that the transition is not seen. Desert shades stand out when you apply a lighter dry brush over the basic tone and a darker wash into the hollows. Apply dust with pigments from the bottom upward, more strongly at the foot of the embankment, more weakly on the upper surface of the turret. Scuffed metal on the edges of the hatches and on the barrel gives the scene scale and pulls it out of flat monotony.

Who the accessory is for

• Builders of dioramas from the campaign in North Africa
• Modelers who want to give a scene a dominant feature without building another tank
• Collectors of German hardware of the early period of the war
• Advanced modelers who have no trouble blending terrain and dusty weathering