munitionsschlepper Pz III

[greengiant]

Herman looks like it could be a quick build. But you could do the ones pictured without the extra armor plate in the front. That would require more work.

[HERMAN BIX]

Herman here I go again trying to teach an old dog new tricks, the munitionsslepper and the berg panzer share a lot of the upper hull and this site sells the large round hatch for £7 plus postage worldwide, an-bri-rc-modellbau
on e-bay. shaun

Herman cheat... and use a resin cover???????????????????...............nah I would imagine his build cries out for "real wood"...in which a coping saw ..compass... wire brush... and nerves of steel are the only requirement ....................

ALPHA

Oh hell no, Im not above using a resin canvas turret ring cover !! .............I was going to used brass rod & heavily doped paper or cloth, but I will check out the link & see about just buying one. Either way, if it arives & I dont like it, I can make the cover.

[HERMAN BIX]

Herman looks like it could be a quick build. But you could do the ones pictured without the extra armor plate in the front. That would require more work.

The Winterketten are different in width to the Ostketten but either will work with skirt armour. I really want to do the side skirts, but once I get to that point this can be decided.
Most of the schleppers in period pictures are plain sided................I guess once the tank was withdrawn from front line service for whatever reason, its extra armour if fitted was donated to a vehicle with more pressing needs.
The stock H/L machine has the spaced armour drivers plate and im not about to take it off to make it conform to the earlier vehicles...........
My only real desire is to try to clear as much space inside the vacant turret ring to box out & fill with ammo crates & fuel cans.
Yet to see just how much space I can cribb out of it.

[ALPHA]

I'm not certain of this Herman... but I recall seeing a reference leading to the existence of a thinner version of the Ostketten... the ones that are produced for RC tanks are the larger bladed versions .... I'm not saying it's impossible to make the Schurtzen .... but the mounts will have to extend quite far from the hull

This is my Stug.... and the hull extends further onto the fenders than on the Panzer III...I think it will look ok with schurtzen... but dang ...those supports will have to be pretty long lol


ALPHA

I think the ones you have in that picture ALPHA are winterketten, they are longer than the ostketten to try and spread the tanks weight even further in snow. I believe Taigen have made both ostketten and winterketten versions, Welshdragon has stocked both but not at the moment

http://www.welshdragonmodels.co.uk/panz ... -116-c.asp

Thanks Scalawag... I knew there were two different types..... but dang...those Osketten are just as wide as the Winterketten ...still either would make for a pretty mean looking tanks

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

Oh hell no, Im not above using a resin canvas turret ring cover !! .............I was going to used brass rod & heavily doped paper or cloth, but I will check out the link & see about just buying one. Either way, if it arives & I dont like it, I can make the cover.

OK ...OK... Herman lol....resin it is ...thought you might enjoy the visit to the doll house shop to acquire nice brass hinges and fittings for a nicely crafted wooden hood .... ...but if it's resin that will suffice... who am I to question the methodology

Have Fun Herman

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

LINK


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panzer-4-Panthe ... 3a8d8d2291

ALPHA

[HERMAN BIX]

The real thing is about timing - again.
The winterketten was the first to be bought in for the III's and IV's during the winter of '42, Schurzen not being really in as far as side plates go until mid/late '43. Seems the winterketten was an expedient.
The Ostketten was issued after this and was designed to be an actual wider track that could last the rigours of heavy mud and the dry season with less failure rate. The Ost had bigger pins, and an extra hinge.
The Winterketten were basically a recast standard track with the outer blades which seemed to do well for lowering ground pressure in the snow, but could not cope with the duty of harder dry terrain(pleanty of pics with missing blades). Carting the other set of tracks around must have been a right pain in the ass logistics wise.
The Winterketten and Ostketten are almost the same width, so fitting either inside side armour can be done. Tight-yes, but can be done.
It seems that the picture of Tiger '100' with the schlepper with side armour was a double rarity. This picture would have been post white tiger subject picture, and by then the word has it that as a gun tank, the III was being phased out. So to have one as a schlepper, still with armour is quite a picture (wouldnt you put side armour on a StuG or gun tank ?). I would say that III's with turrets and winterketten did not then have schurzen side plates because they did not have schurzen side plates as common fixtures. In a matter of months though, that changed, winter went, and most were back on standard tracks with schurzen fitted en mass. This is supposition, but most of the info points to the poor old III's getting through to the point of being no good in a T34 fight & either being upgraded or converted in a quite truncated timeframe.
Track width wise - skirts & wide heals will fit !

[ALPHA]

Turning out to be a good R&D thread Herman ...now if you can find the dimensions for the schurzen supports ...you're home free

ALPHA

[HERMAN BIX]

Yip, thats all thats missing. One thing to have the tracks and the armour, another to know if the mounts were extended to accomodate.
The winterketten were by a long way earlier than the Ostketten, and as such there are not many pics of the tracks AND the armour- plenty with mounts only- no armour, but with tracks.
I am sticking to the theory that the later arrival of the hull schurzen meant that the gun tanks in frontline service got winter tracks before they had a chance to get armour, and the added mobility during that winter outweighed the lack of extra protection.
Clearly by the pictures, the hull armour was fitted en-mass, and then as the III's became obscelete, those with added armour perhaps were donors for the StuGs or the upgunned IV's.
Thats my theory..................the fact finding continues.

[ALPHA]

Yip, thats all thats missing. One thing to have the tracks and the armour, another to know if the mounts were extended to accomodate.
The winterketten were by a long way earlier than the Ostketten, and as such there are not many pics of the tracks AND the armour- plenty with mounts only- no armour, but with tracks.
I am sticking to the theory that the later arrival of the hull schurzen meant that the gun tanks in frontline service got winter tracks before they had a chance to get armour, and the added mobility during that winter outweighed the lack of extra protection.
Clearly by the pictures, the hull armour was fitted en-mass, and then as the III's became obscelete, those with added armour perhaps were donors for the StuGs or the upgunned IV's.
Thats my theory..................the fact finding continues.

Or... you could just say they look darn good


ALPHA