A Beautiful Panzer III (1 Viewer)

tmanthegreat

tmanthegreat

First Sergeant
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Messages
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I recently received the new Panzer III Ausf. M model from First Legion and it is a gem! The model is a new tooling and there are few obvious errors that I can find. The paint work and weathering are exceptional and a step above the competition. I like the inclusion of the schurzen panels, though they have a rather tight fit, making them tricky to attach. While the market is definitely saturated with various 1/30 scale Panzer IIIs at the moment, the First Legion Panzer III Ausf. M was different enough to warrant the purchase and I’m very happy I got it.

Here’s some pics of my very compact display with the tank:

IMG_4958.jpegIMG_4960.jpegIMG_4961.jpegIMG_4962.jpegIMG_4964.jpegIMG_4965.jpegIMG_4970.jpegIMG_4967.jpegIMG_4971.jpegIMG_4966.jpeg
 
Panzer ace said:
Who makes the figure with the binoculars in the commander’s hatch?
Click to expand...
Panzer Ace, the tank commander is an older War Park figure - KU024 Groß deutschland Tank Crew Member - that was released in 2019 as part of their Battle of Kursk series. It’s a really useful figure that I wish I’d gotten a couple more of back then.

IMG_4979.jpeg
 
Oh snap, that sure is a beauty. I was ‘on the fence’ about it, may have to jump in.

And as always, a GREAT display
 
Thank you everyone for the kind compliments on my display with the new FL Panzer III 😃

The tank is really a great model! Of the few models I’ve had come in at all about the same time this month, this Panzer III was definitely one of my favorites. Aside from a few goofs, First Legion has been on a roll with their latest armor releases.
 
fmethorst said:
Nice display. These new Kursk tanks look excellent.

For those interested here is org chart for the 6.Panzerdivision panzer regiment



The upcoming Pz.III N looks great too.



Click to expand...
Hello fmethorst,

Is it possible to know the name of the book which contains these organisation charts of Panzer Division at Kursk ?.
Thanks .....
 
fmethorst said:
Nice display. These new Kursk tanks look excellent.

For those interested here is org chart for the 6.Panzerdivision panzer regiment



The upcoming Pz.III N looks great too.



Click to expand...
Isn’t the spaced armour on the gun mantlet incorrect though?
I don’t think any of the N variants were produced with it.
And I can’t find any photos that show otherwise.
 
rschofer said:
Isn’t the spaced armour on the gun mantlet incorrect though?
I don’t think any of the N variants were produced with it.
And I can’t find any photos that show otherwise.
Click to expand...
Hmm, fair comment. Neither can I.

I appreciate that manufacturers sometimes economize on components, other times it's simply a miss. Long ago, I've accepted a degree of inaccuracy. Each collector can let their dollars do the talking.
 
rschofer said:
Isn’t the spaced armour on the gun mantlet incorrect though?
I don’t think any of the N variants were produced with it.
And I can’t find any photos that show otherwise.
Click to expand...

The First Legion model is accurate.

Plenty of Panzer III with the short 7.5cm cannon had schürzen on the turret. I can't tell you off the top of my head if these left the factory like this or if they were added by the Panzer Werkstatt's as part of the field upgrade program. I'd have to dig a little deeper to answer that.

Here's a couple pics of tanks at Kursk. The first is from 2. Pz.Div. like the First Legion model. There's plenty more like these from lots of different Panzer Regiments, so they were relatively common.


37975158402_4ff4759294_z.jpg





Panzer_III_Ausf_N_with_schurzen_2.jpgPanzer_III_Ausf_N_331_Kursk-4137660363.jpg
 
rschofer said:
Isn’t the spaced armour on the gun mantlet incorrect though?
I don’t think any of the N variants were produced with it.
And I can’t find any photos that show otherwise.
Click to expand...

Ignore my post above. I completely misread your question and missed that you were asking about the Vorpanzer on the gun mantlet, and not the turret schürzen. I tried to delete my post above, but when I caught my error it was past the 20 minute editing window.

I do feel like I've seen a pic of of the short barrel 7.5cm Panzer III with Vorpanzer (Hermann Göring in Italy is jumping to mind), but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. I do love a challenge, so I'll see what I can find.
 
Funny, I was just typing as your edited response appeared!
With WW II German armour there are often exceptions to the rule, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a variant like this did exist. If you do find a photo of one please post it.
I’m sure that FL and any buyers would be very happy…
 
rschofer said:
Isn’t the spaced armour on the gun mantlet incorrect though?
I don’t think any of the N variants were produced with it.
And I can’t find any photos that show otherwise.
Click to expand...
Well seen, you raised an acuracy issue.
Unfortunately, another variation of a model without doing complete historical research about it.
Effectively, on all PzKwIII Auf N, Vorpanzer was not mounted on the turret front because of the increased weight of the gun mantle and 7,5 cm gun.
All wartime photos I have seen confirm this fact, even for the HG Division in Italy.
But, if somebody find the "holy grail", I would be very interested to see it.
So, to have a correct tank, it would be necessary to carefully removed the part on the model ( if it is easily possible to do ...).
Or, simply accept a degree of inaccuracy as fmethorst says, what I also have to do.
 
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