AFV/13 Nov/Dec 03

Train Spotting 

14 

Introduction 

The Schwere Panzerabteilung 506 was 

created in August 1943 and was the first of 

these units to be equipped only with Tiger I 

tanks from its creation. The 506. was sent 

to the Eastern front were it fought in the 

Tscherkassy region until it lost all of its 

tanks. The unit was rebuilt with a new 

allocation of 45 Tiger I in March and April 

1944 and fought during the withdrawal 

from central Russia in late spring and early 

summer 1944, eventually being sent to 

Germany for refitting in August. The 506. 

was issued a full complement of 45 Tiger II 

that were used against the Western allies 

until the dissolution of the battalion in April 

1945. 

The diorama represents one of the rare 

quiet periods for a Tiger I of the s.Pz.Abt. 

506. during March 1944. At this moment, 

the Tiger Is belonging to the unit still were 

of the ‘mid’ type, with rubber tyred wheels. 

The crews have received orders to 

assemble the vehicles in Mankowzy, and 

prepare the tanks for railway 

transportation. The 506. handed its 7 

remaining Tigers over to the s.Pz.Abt. 503 

and travelled to Lemberg to receive their 

45 brand new Tiger I. For these veterans, it

y Antonio Martín Tello 

was time to say farewell to their old Tiger 

that had kept them alive during the last 

hard winter. 

Building the little Tiger 

Like many of us, I started in AFV modelling 

by building and painting 1/72 kits. Soon, I 

moved to 1/35 because these “big” tanks 

were more impressive, better detailed and 

I thought that they allowed my modelling 

skills more scope to develop. Thus, I 

relegated the 1/72 scale and saw it as a 

“starting point” and the models in this 

scale as toy like. Recently I discovered 

some of the newer 1/72 kits and was 

astonished. All the finesse and quality of 

the best 1/35 kits is there, but in a tiny size 

and they are fun and quick to build. Out of 

the box they give excellent representations 

of the “real thing” but they also leave 

plenty of room for the addition of details 

and improvements. The limit is just set by 

the builder and his/her sanity. Also, for the 

painting aspect, all the techniques used for 

bigger models can be applied to these 

little gems. 

Probably, the current leader in 1/72 

injected plastic kits is Revell. The quality of 

their most recent releases is astounding 

and small-scale modellers await each new 

one with great expectation. Anyway, one 

has to be cautious, since among these 

“state of the art” kits are re-editions of 

older Esci or Hasegawa moulds which are 

not up to the same standards. 

The Tiger I depicted in this article 

(reference 03516) is an example of one of 

these new generation Revell kits. This 

brand has in it’s 1/72 catalogue two Tiger I 

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16 

kits. This one represents a mid/late vehicle while the other 

(ref. 03508) allows you to build an “African” early Tiger I. 

Both kits share most of their parts, with one sprue specific 

for each type of tank, and their overall quality is excellent. 

I decided to build my model as a mid Tiger I with rubber 

tyred wheels. This type is provided in the box (they are 

common to the “African” version) along with the all steel 

type, but curiously enough, they are marked as “not for 

use” in the instruction sheet and thus no advice for their 

placement is given. Photographs and literature have to be 

checked for their correct installation, a minor task. A 

shortcut taken by Revell in this area is that the double 

wheels are represented by a single, thicker one, much in 

the same way as Tamiya did with its seventies 1/35 Tiger I. 

This apparent shortcoming is barely noticeable when all 

the running gear and tracks are installed. 

As I have already mentioned, I decided to finish my Tiger 

as one belonging to the s.Pz.Abt. 506. in Russia during 

spring 1944. The most remarkable feature of this unit’s 

markings at this period was the large unit symbol on the 

rear of the turret bin, consisting of a “W” (after its former 

commander, Major Willing) with the shield and the tiger. 

The colour of the “W” and the turret numbers denoted the 

company (Stabs-green, 1. Kp.- white, 2. Kp.-red and 3. 

Kp.-yellow). I chose this unit because the 506. crest is 

included on the decal sheet.The construction work 

progressed with no problems. There are plenty of 

aftermarket products available for 1/72 models including 

the Tiger I, but I decided to follow the “homemade way”. 

Photos 1 to 4 

First of all, the version I chose for my Tiger required a 

zimmerit coating. I did this by engraving with a small 

screwdriver the surfaces that had been previously 

softened with liquid cement. Two or three applications of 

glue were given in a relatively small area and after a few 

seconds, the pattern was engraved with the screwdriver. It 

may be necessary to check the degree of softening of the 

plastic and to apply more liquid cement before starting the 

engraving work. It probably would be advisable to practice 

a little bit first on non-visible surfaces, such as the interior 

or the underside of the hull. When the softened area is 

done, the process is repeated on the next area until the 

entire surface is completed. When the glue is completely 

dry and the plastic has hardened again, it may be 

necessary to sand the zimmerited surface in order to 

eliminate some hairs caused by the molten plastic. 

Photos 5 to 10 

Some other details added included new metallic towing 

wires, cleaning rods and their brackets, new track 

changing wire and its brackets, new exhaust protectors 

made with aluminium sheet, brackets for the missing fire 

extinguisher, electric wire for the headlight, periscope 

protectors from aluminium sheet for the driver and co- 

1 

2 

3 

4

driver hatch and turret roof, handles from 

wire on the commander and loader 

hatches and engine deck, holders for the 

spare tracks, brackets for the jack and 

details on the front mudguards and the 

turret bin. Just few words for two additions, 

the gun barrel and the engine deck grilles. 

The kit gun barrel looked too thick to my 

eye so I decided to replace it. The only 

material I had available at the time and 

was suitable was a nice pink lollipop stick. I 

5 

7 

9 

6 

8 

10 

had to sand this to make it thinner at the 

end where the muzzle brake fits. The 

engine deck grilles were cut from nylon 

mesh from a DML Panzer IV L70(A) kit and 

the frames made with aluminium strip. 

I reworked the side fenders, sanding them 

down until they were more of a scale 

thickness. Also, I cut them into sections as 

on the real tank. These fenders were the 

only parts I did not permanently glue to the 

model, in order to have a better access to 

paint and weather the upper portion of the 

tracks. 

Painting 

The base colour was Tamiya matt earth 

(XF-52). Onto this, I airbrushed Tamiya dark 

yellow (XF-60) but allowed the base colour 

to show at the edges of panels. Next coat 

was a mixture of dark yellow (70%) and 

matt yellow (XF-3) (30%), both from Tamiya, 

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18 

11 

12 

13 

14 15 

again without covering the previous colours, and finally, 

some details and the centre of some panels were 

highlighted with this mixture lightened up with Tamiya buff 

(XF-57). On this base, I airbrushed the brown camo colour. 

In order to obtain a colour that would blend better with the 

base, I made a mixture with Tamiya red brown (XF-64) 

(70%) and the mix of dark yellow and matt yellow 

previously mentioned (30%) (Photo 11). 


At this stage I added the decals. The unit symbol at the 

rear of the turret bin came from the kit decal sheet. 

However from the wartime photographs I consulted it 

seemed too small, and the W is hollow, so I had to paint 

its interior in white, matching with the colour of the tactical 

numbers on the turret sides. These are spare decals 

which I had and were applied using Microset and Microsol 

to conform to the Zimmerit. I applied a couple of filters of 

each of the following colours, all from the Humbrol enamel 

range: matt pale yellow (81), cream (103) and reddish 

brown (62). In all cases the paint was diluted with Humbrol 

thinner, which does not attack the previous acrylic paint. 

After this step, the model gained in chromatic variations. 

(slides T17-T21). 


Some chipping and scratching was made with the base 

colour lightened with buff (Vallejo). Also, I made some 

"deeper" chips with a mixture of Vallejo chocolate brown 

872 and black , concentrating especially on the edges and 

areas where a more intense wearing of the paint appears. 

The following step was the oil washes. As can be 

observed in the photographs, this technique allows 

obtaining a degraded and faded look on the paint at the 

same time the model gains once more in chromatic 

diversity. My method of application of the oil washes will 

be described with some detail and the support of step-bystep 

photographs in the SdKfz 251 painting chapter. Also, 

at this moment I painted the tracks and the tyres in black. 

The degraded and worn out look was then accentuated by 

an acrylic mapping. This technique consists of the use of 

very diluted paint (Vallejo acrylic) to draw small spots of

irregular shape. Since the paint is so 

diluted, when dry, the effect is almost 

imperceptible, but it is there, and can be 

enhanced by repetition. I chose for this 

task brownish colours such as chocolate 

brown, flat earth, hull red, burnt umber, 

dark yellow, gold brown, medium flesh and 

orange brown. 

Now, I applied a controlled wash of very 

diluted matt black enamel on the nonzimmerited 

surfaces. I let the pigment 

accumulate in recesses and around the 

details. When dry I drybrushed with dark 

yellow (Humbrol enamel) very slightly some 

details in order to bring them out. 

Photo 18 

I painted the towing cables and tools in 

black, following by some light washes of 

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18 

20 

17 

19 

21 

chocolate brown, flat earth and hull red. 

Next, I painted the gun cleaning rods with 

gold brown. 


So far I had worked to achieve a degraded 

and worn out look, but the tank was clean, 

so my next job would be to make it dirty. I 

did not want to ruin the previous work so I 

decided to concentrate mainly on the 

19

20 

22 

24 

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lower areas. I tried to replicate the effect of dried mud in 

the recesses of the tracks and, more sparingly, on the 

wheels and lower hull. To make this mud, I mixed some 

pastel powder until I got a colour that I think was good for 

this purpose. Then I added to the powder a mixture of 

water and white glue until I obtained a paste with the 

desired consistency. Then, with a small brush I applied the 

paste to the track recesses. With a cotton bud I removed 

the excess paste, mainly on the outer surface of the track 

links. Also, I applied some patches of the paste on the 

wheels and lower areas and textured them with the brush. 

When dry I worked all the tracks and wheels with the 

pastel powder in order to integrate the mud. I also used 

some lighter shades of pastels to get some colour 

variations and a dried mud look. Next, I dry brushed very 

slightly with black enamel on the outer side of the track 

links to “clean” the surface where the mud should have 

gone. 

At this stage I glued the side skirts and applied some 

pastels on them, as well as in the tools and towing cables. 

I painted the periscope glass with very dark green artist’s 

oil. I added the periscopes in the commander’s cupola 

made with plastic strips painted in dark green. 

The final touch was to apply graphite powder on the tools, 

towing cables, bow machine gun, anti aircraft MG rail and 

some handles to give them a more metallic look. Also, I 

painted directly on the track details and horns, and drive 

sprocket teeth with a soft lead pencil to achieve this 

metallic look. 

The SdKfz 251 

Hasegawa also has in their catalogue an extensive range 

of AFV’s in 1/72 scale. Some of them are older kits that 

date back to the 80’s or even the 70’s and are not at the 

same level of more recent releases. Nevertheless, some 

of their later kits are very close or at the same level as 

Revell’s best. Some of the finest Hasegawa kits are the 

three versions of the SdKfz 251 German half track. 

Hasegawa produces the “normal” personal carrier SdKfz 

251/1 (ref. 31144), the SdKfz 251/22 “PakWagen” (ref. 

31145), armed with a 75 mm PaK 40 gun, and the SdKfz 

251/9 “Stummel” (ref. 31146), armed with a short 75 mm 

support gun. These last two versions are in fact the same 

kit as the 251/1 with the addition of a new sprue 

containing the gun and the corresponding attachments 

and a new decal sheet. The version of the famous German 

half-track depicted in these models is the final Ausf. D, 

designed in order to save materials and simplify 

production in the second half of WWII. 

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22 

29 

31 

33 

35 

30 

32 

34 

36


The construction of the model progressed 

with no special difficulties. I did not want to 

super detail this model and only made 

some small improvements. Thus, in the 

interior I added some levers by the driver’s 

seat made with stretched sprue. Outside I 

replaced the MG shield and the rear 

mudguards with aluminium sheet, since 

these parts were too thick in the kit. The 

MG itself was replaced by an MG34 with 

armoured sleeve (used in tanks), a spare 

from Revell. Also, I rebuilt the tubular 

support for the rear MG with stretched 

sprue. Finally I replaced the two width 

indicators with stretched sprue and a drop 

of superglue to simulate the ball. 

It was necessary to paint the interior 

before the two main parts of the hull were 

glued together. The painting process here 

was similar to that used in the exterior and 

will be described later. This was also the 

moment to put the driver’s figure in his 

place. This figure came from a Preiser set, 

and it’s fit in the tight driving station 

needed some major surgery in the seat. 

Fortunately, this area was barely visible 

when the model was completed. 

Painting the tiny 251 

Photo 31 

The overall procedure was very similar to 

the one described above for the Tiger, so 

only the main differences will be stressed. 

Again, the base colour was Tamiya matt 

earth (XF-52) on which I airbrushed Tamiya 

dark yellow (XF-60) allowing the previous 

colour to arise on the edges and panel 

separations. 


On this base, I airbrushed thin stripes of 

red brown (XF-64) as the first camouflage 

colour. To obtain better results I put the 

nozzle of the airbrush very close to the 

model (about 5 mm) and set my 

compressor to low pressure (around 0.5 

psi). Also, I diluted the paint more than 

usual with isopropyl alcohol, at about 75% 

(slide S8). The olive green (XF-58) colour 

was airbrushed next in a similar way. My 

first attempts were not successful as I got 

37 

39 

38 

40 

wide lines, “spider legs” and so on, so I 

had to retouch with dark yellow to finally 

get an acceptable result. At this stage I 

added the decals, the tactical numbers 

and German crosses are spares from 

Revell and the license plates are the ones 

provided by Hasegawa in the kit. To finish 

the airbrush job, I used a very dilute (95%) 

mixture of brown and black to outline the 

edges, separation lines and recesses. 

Photo 35 

Next, I applied a couple filters of cream 

(103) and reddish brown (62), both 

Humbrol enamels. 

Photo 36 

The chipped paint effect was done next. 

Some chipping and scratching was made 

with the base colour lighten with buff 

(Vallejo) and with a mixture of chocolate 

brown 872 and black. A thin, very sharp 

brush has to be used and the chipping 

should be kept small and done moderately 

in sensible areas. Also, on the sides I 

painted some longer scratches, since 

these parts would be more prone to this 

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24 

type of damage due to rubbing with 

branches, other vehicles or obstacles. 


The following step was the oil washes . As 

a general rule, I deposit a small fraction of 

the oils (several shades of brown, ochre, 

green, white and blue) on a tissue paper 

and wait for 15-30 minutes . Some of the 

greasy components of the oils are 

absorbed by the paper-this does not affect 

the pigment, but improves the final 

appearance. I wet a zone of the model 

with clean Humbrol thinner and then, I 

apply a very small quantity of oil directly on 

the model, blending it quickly . I never use 

a general wash, but small washes of 

several shades in small zones. In my 

opinion, the trick is that the oil has to be 

blended with the surroundings in order to 

achieve subtle tonal variations in different 

41 

43 

45 

42 

44 

46 

parts of the same zone. 


As in the Tiger, the worn out look was 

accentuated by an acrylic mapping (slides 

S19 and S20) of chocolate brown and 

orange brown. 


It was now time to apply dirt to the model. 

To do that, I applied controlled washes of

very dilute buff enamel colour (Humbrol). I 

avoided a general wash, but tried to draw 

vertical lines on the sides and other vertical 

surfaces simulating rain streaks, and 

irregular shaped spots on the horizontal 

surfaces letting the pigment accumulate 

slightly where the dust would be more 

apparent. 

Photo 45 

To enhance the details and the volume I 

applied a controlled wash of very dilute 

matt black enamel followed (when dry) by 

drybrushing with dark yellow (Humbrol 

enamel) very lightly in the same way as for 

the Tiger. I painted the tools in black, 

followed by some light washes of 

chocolate brown, flat earth and hull red, 

and graphite powder. Next, I painted the 

wooden handles with gold brown. 

Photo 46 

The tyres and the tracks were painted in 

matt black, then I applied some washes of 

brown and cream enamel colours. On the 

tracks I drybrushed the rubber pads with 

matt black and finally I applied graphite 

powder to the metallic parts. Now, I 

attached the tracks to the running gear 

with superglue, and glued both sets of 

wheels and tracks to the main body. The 

machine guns were painted in matt black 

and then rubbed with graphite powder. 

To finish the painting process of the tiny 

251, some touches were given with pastel 

powder of several shades of earth colours, 

mainly in the lower areas, but very 

sparingly in order not to hide all the 

previous painting work 

The diorama 

One of the advantages of 1/72 scale is that 

you can build dioramas combining several 

vehicles and still keep the size reasonably 

small. In this case, my idea was to try a 

somewhat different composition, with 

several levels and elements in a relatively 

crowded space, which was dictated by the 

circular wooden base. I have always 

admired the dioramas built by Japanese 

and other Asian modellers because I think 

they master the art of composition and the 

47 

49 

48 

50 

integration of all the elements (vehicles, 

figures, vegetation…) in scenes that are 

often full of life and dynamism. Bearing this 

in mind, I tried to build a diorama “à la 

Japonais”. 

I wanted to put both vehicles on different 

levels, with the SdKfz 251 climbing uphill 

towards the level where the Tiger I is, and 

with the tall tree emphasizing the vertical 

perspective. Two secondary elements such 

as the railway and the stone wall, would 

create some variety. 


The main body of the background was 

done with insulating foam, a versatile and 

light material that can be easily cut with a 

hobby knife and sanded. The basic shape 

was cut with the knife (Slide D1) and then 

a thin layer of modelling clay was used to 

model the ground and to create some 

texture. The ballast and the rail track are 

items from railway modelling, cheap and 

easily available in specialised shops. 

Another advantage of 1/72 is that many 

scenic elements conceived for train 

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26 

51 

52 

53 

54 55 

models can be adapted to our military dioramas. A 

generous amount of white glue diluted with water was 

used to fix the small stones and the tracks. To further 

enhance the texture of the ground, I glued bicarbonate 

powder as I thought that its grain size was adequate for 

this scale to represent the earth and sand. Also, I glued 

some small stones. The stone wall is also a railwaymodelling 

accessory. 

The painting process started with a first coat of Tamiya 

acrylic matt earth, followed by an irregular second 

overspray of dark yellow and a final one with buff. Then, 

the ground was drybrushed with several shades of 

Humbrol enamel ochre and tan colours. The ballast was 

painted with a dilute Vallejo acrylic mix of white and black, 

changing the proportions and concentrating more on 

some areas than others to avoid monotony. The track 

sleepers were painted in a medium brown and washed 

with very dilute brown, ochre and grey enamels. The rails 

were painted in black and treated with red brown pastel 

and graphite powder. The stone wall was painted in grey 

and also treated with several washes. 

The vegetation comes from different sources-the short 

green grass is again from railway modelling. It was glued 

to the surface with matt varnish and once it dried, it was 

drybrushed with the same ochre colours as the ground to 

integrate it better and to eliminate its excessive green hue. 

The tall grasses are natural plants and some Woodland 

Scenic materials, as did the tree and the purple flower 

plants. I have found that Woodland Scenic has an 

excellent catalogue full of very useful items for 1/72 

diorama builders. 

The figures are from Preiser. This brand has a very 

comprehensive catalogue of figures at different scales, 

mostly intended for railway modelling but also some very 

interesting military items in 1/72, among them are two sets 

of German panzer crews. I can only say that the quality of 

these figures is outstanding, with very natural poses and 

finely sculpted details. They are moulded in a hard plastic 

and most of them are of the “multipose” type, so you can

combine arms, legs and heads. I painted 

the figures mostly with Vallejo acrylics, 

using black and German green as the main 

colours, and shadowing and highlighting 

areas following the “light from above” 

method mostly described by the “Spanish 

school” of figure painters. 

References 

- Tigers in Combat I, by Wolfgang 

Schneider & Jean Restayn, J. J. 

Fedorowicz Publishing. 1994. 

- Achtung Panzer No.6: 

PanzerKampfWagen Tiger, by M. Bitou. Dai 

Nippon Kaiga. 1999. 

- Tiger I on the Eastern Front, by Jean 

Restayn. Histoire & Collections. 1999. 

- The SdKfz 251 Half Track, by Bruce 

Culver. Osprey Vanguard no. 32. 1983. 

- SdKfz 251 in action, by Charles Kliment. 

Squadron Signal Publications no. 21. 1981. 

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AFV/13 Nov/Dec 03

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