'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 1944

[sam_dwyer]

Hi all,

Been ages since I posted, i've been busy doing a whole lot of modern stuff, ASLAV's and the like.

Back now to what I love most, German WW2. In this case, a befehls tiger II from Leibstandarte, sSS.Pz.Abt 101 in the Battle of the Bulge, Watch am Rhein (what ever you prefer). This vehicle was photographed passing through Tondorf in Belgium in the very early stages of the German advance, only to be abandoned due to mechanical failure of the final drives on the 18th December (second day of the offensive!) near Trois Ponts at the St Antoine farm, then sabotaged by its crew a few days later.

This is an interesting vehicle, as its a Befehls or command vehicle, so has extra antenna fittings, and is in hard edge ambush camo.

Here are some shots from various books of the real thing:

Rolling through Tondorf

Then sadly abandoned/destroyed a few days later

Not sure what state i'll do the vehicle in at this stage, in service or knackered. Time will tell!

Here's the pile of reference i'll be using to help get it right

And the pile of kit and aftermarket

So, with this post done, I can crack on with the build and more reading up on KT's

SD

 

[Matt Beattie]

Re:'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 194

Hi Sam great to hear from you how have you been
Great subject , can't wait to see this masterpiece finished

cheer's

Matt

 

[moon puppy]

Re:'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 194

Pretty amazing, such a short yet well documented history for one vehicle.

Was this the Tank that was rushed into production specifically for this battle? I seem to remember reading this somewhere.

 

[BradJ]

Whoa Sam!
There's some serious gathering of all media here; you look to have everything necessary to realise this vision!
I noticed the Platoon tancrewmen; I have seen an example of the standing pointing officer unpainted, and have to say it is one of the finest sculpts I have ever seen.
Look forward to this beast getting unleashed
Brad

 

[sam_dwyer]

Re:'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 194

Thanks Guys!

Moon Puppy - I think that most of the armour used in Watch am Rhein wasnt build specifically for the battle, but certainly units participating got a lions share of the armour allocations beforehand.

I usually kick off construction by getting all the major hull and turret components together, just to get any gaps sorted. In this case, I've also done it so that I can address the weld situation, and rolled armour texture situation. I'll give this a day or two to harden up, then i'll work out what welds need adding/replacing/augmenting. In the mean time i'll research more on 008, build date, features etc.

a gap or two here, and lots of welds to be added.. and I think the under sponson plates, and hull floor plate shouldn't meet the rear armour plate with such a gap

Sam

 

[noir]

Hi Sam, like the idea. The reference books with the kit and the arsenal of update sets are already impressive. Will look really nice when all built together. Hope you will handle the camouflage well, this part used to be essential to make an accurate KT.
Keep those pic comin'
Regards
Tibor

 

[sam_dwyer]

Re:'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 194

Thanks guys

Came across a couple of extra 008 pics:

(I think this one might be a model actually.. a VERY good photoshop job)

SD

 

[Kreighshoer]

Re:'008' Befehls Tiger II, sSS.Pz.Abt 101, Dec 194

way kewl project sam!

sam_dwyer wrote:

(I think this one might be a model actually.. a VERY good photoshop job)

it is a model - it's been aged with the same ps plugin i use from time to time to age a pic! can clearly be seen with the grease spots, the scratches and the rounded corners the builder forgot to change to straight edges!

now i wish i only knew how to insert a background that good!

 

[53Chevy]

WOW, that big cat is going to get a lot of grooming! lol Keep us up to date with lots of pics please.

 

[moon puppy]

You know this picture would be an excellent example for Glenn's Reference Picture GB.

 

[Rudi Richardson]

Nice one, Sam.

You planning to finish this one for W&T? Or will we have to wait for Expo?

 

[sam_dwyer]

HI Rudi,

Probably not Wheels & Tracks, given that its 19 days away! And Expo - who knows. I dont know what i'll put in there, i'll start thinking about it in April or May.

SD

 

[Plushy]

Hi Sam ,
i was wondering what you were up too :evil: good to see you building again .

Plushy