'Kampfgruppe Peiper' Ardennes 1944
1/16 Scale Diorama by Pierre Lanzon
The Story
The Ardennes offensive called ‘Wacht am Rhein' by the Germans or known better as The Battle of the Bulge started on 16 th December 1944.More than a million men fought in this battle including 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans and 55,000 British. The German force consisting of three Army Groups with ten Corps (the equivalent of 29 Divisions). The Allied side three Armies (more than 33 Divisions). The diorama represents ‘Kampfgruppe Peiper' one of the Battlegroups spear heading the attack. SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Peiper is in conference with some of his officers under his command while troops take up positions on the eve of the offensive. The King Tiger tank model is based on No 332 commanded by SS-Unterscharfuhrer Otto Blase serving in the 501 st Heavy Panzer Battalion. Today the original tank is on display in the Aberdeen Museum in USA.
King Tiger
Tamiya's 1/16 scale King Tiger (Henschel Turret) was available in the 1980's and is still around Actually I wanted a static model but when I purchased the kit, only a R/C version was available on the market.
Construction
I had no trouble in the construction procedure of this kit. The chassis tub was sanded with a steel wool ( this was done because the chassis comprised of mostly metal parts) and applied several coats of light grey primer. Next came the suspension assembly, finely detailed just like the real system. Assembly of the road wheels was next. Now came the part I was looking forward to – turret and body.
The following are some details added or converted:
Turret
- Added brackets for spare tracks.
- Replaced handle for rear hatch.
- Added sighting device on top of turret.
Tool racks, Tow cables and Grilles.
- The tool racks and tow cables that come with the kit look rather ‘toyish', so I decided to build my own from scratch using “Evergreen' sheets (all shapes and sizes) and steel wire for tow cables.
- Added framed mesh grilles for radiator and exhaust fan.
Hatch handles .
Since the molded handles on the kit had no details at all, I simply removed the handles off, drilled holes and fitted new ones by bending copper wire and super glued them in. The same was done for the Bosch headlamp wire.
Side Fenders .
I prefered to super glue the side fenders to the body instead of screwing them, also added extra detail.
Painting and Weathering.
The entire model was sprayed several light coats of automotive primer, left to dry for 48 hours.
I now sprayed my King Tiger in the famous three colour tone (Panzer yellow, red brown and dark green). Once finished I applied a coat of varnish to protect the paint. Left to dry for 24 hours. Finally washes of artist oils and pastel chalks were applied together with ‘9B pencil effect'.
Conclusion.
This model is extremely big in size and it took me three months to complete this baby. Having said that I enjoyed every single minute building this model.
Schwimmwagen Type 166
During the time when I was building the diorama, the only Schimmwagen available on the market in 1/15 scale was the MPM model (the Eduard kit was issued much later. The MPM model is made entirely of resin and was an expensive kit for its time (I believe its out of production now). I build this model straight from the box with only minor details added or replaced. Painting was done just like the King Tiger.
The Figures
A total of 14 figures were used on this diorama from different manufacturers as shown below. Some conversations were necessary to suit the diorama. All the uniforms and the equipment were painted with Humbrol and Revell enamals, flesh with artist oil colours.
The basic figures are as follows:
1 x No1620 SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Peiper – Dragon
1 x No1602 SS-Strumbannfuhrer – Dragon
1 x No1622 SS-Strumbannfuhrer Diefenthal – Dragon
1 x No1623 SS-Schutze – Dragon
3 x No1604 SS-Sturmmann Ardennes – Dragon
1 x No1629 352 nd Volksgrenadier Division – Dragon
1 x No1624 SS-Unterscharfuhrer – Dragon
1 x No36301 Wehrmacht Tank Crewman – Tamiya
1 x No36304 German Infantryman Winter Uniform – Tamiya
3 x Kirin Figures.
Other Accessories used
German Jerry Cans set No 940 – Verlinden.
German Infantry Equipment set No 448 – Verlinden.
German Miscellaneous Equipment set No 665 – Verlinden.
German MG 34 No 794 – Verlinden.
German Ammo & Equipment Boxes No 967 – Verlinden.
8.8cm Tiger Ammo with box No16012 – Aber.
The Diorama
A 1/2in (12mm) plywood measuring 36in x 24in (915mm x 610mm) was used to fit all models and figures. Building up the diorama was executed in the normal way, encountering no major problems. Natural soil, stones and sand was used for the groundwork. For the trees I used dead plants complete with roots. Some Bonsai tree trunks were also used. Once in place and glued I sprayed matt varnish for protection. For the snow, Hudson& Allen Studios snow (HS9604) was used, and applied as per manufactures's instructions.
Conclusion
There you go, another project completed, now on with the next.
Happy Modelling
Pierre Lanzon
Malta Society of Model Makers
