Okay, I’m getting ready to start my first armor project in well over a year. I pulled a Panzer 1 Ausf A out of my stash and thought I would set this little beauty in history at either the invasion of Poland or Norway.
Given this would be at the beginning of hostilities my thought is there would be little if any fading of the tanks paint, but than I think the tank itself could have been manufactured for several months/year but was probablly very well maintained and protected from the enviorment prior to either invasion. I’d like to obtain some input from the experts, any thoughts on this?
As soon as a tank rolls off the assembly line things start to wear down, rust, and age. Tracks show wear, paint begins to peel, handles get worn by crew use, dirt gets everywhere… basically even a Panzer I would show the stresses of war rather soon, thus weather accordingly.
Even the most well protected vehicle will still get a little bit dirty. Even those that sit in a motorpool will get dirty from falling rain, crew moving about during daily inspection and even basic field training. You don’t have to go over board with the weathering, dirt, mud, dust, chipping around the hatches and even some slight fading of the paint will be comen place for well maintained tanks. Just keep in mind that this yearly in the war, the crew would of taken pride in their equipment and maintained them with aviable parts.
I’m a big fan of the early Panzers - below is my last Panzer I Ausf A (Dragon) with Norwegian Markings. It’s one of my best to date, I’m really pleased with her.
Just think about what areas are going to rust up quickly (Muffler and chain/spare tracks etc), what’s going to get sooty (tailpipe and to a small degree the muzzle brake on a larger tank with a big gun), where there will be rain and rusty water run-off streaks and generally where the chipping is going to occur (ie around hatch edges and tools ) and what areas the crew are going to be stomping on all the time climbing in & out of the Panzer.
Nice work Ben! I’m super impressed and thanks for the feedback. I’ll take this as well as the others input. Even though their front line service was short compared to other tanks, the Pzr I A’s would experience the same degree of punishment(battle, weather and normal wear and tear) as their older and larger cousins.[:)]
