Correcting Panzer IIC Models in 15mm

Sometimes, things go wrong. For example, take these four Panzer IIc models in 15mm scale that have come back from our friends at Fernando Enterprises…

I've got four problems with them:

1. one turret is missing its main gun
2. one turret is supposed to have a commander figure
3. the models are not completely assembled
4. the models are the wrong color

Now, the first problem is just one of those things that happens in shipping sometimes. Did the gun break off when I shipped it to them, or when they shipped it to me? Probably when I shipped it to them, because there's no broken bit in the box.

The second problem I blame on the painting service, because my instructions clearly state:

One vehicle with exposed commander; others with closed hatches.

Well, maybe I could have been more specific. "On one model, post hatches open and attach commander figure." But what they've done is paint the commander figure (and left it separate), and glued down all the hatches.

The last two problems may partly be my fault. When writing instructions for a painting service, it is important to be clear. In this case, I was sending several WWII German models to the painting service, so I wrote:

15mm WWII Germans

Paint in panzer gray. Assemble. Do not base.

What seems to have happened is that the assigned painter looked at the instructions for the Panzer IIc, and did not look at the earlier instructions for all the German models! Next time, I know it is better to repeat myself with specific instructions for each model.

So, what's happened is that the tread pieces are attached to the hulls, but some extra bits were left unassembled. Also, the tanks are mottled green instead of panzer gray.

Time to Get to Work!

First, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone, and turn the gunless turret into the commander's turret. Fortunately, I've got a paperclip handy that looks just the right size for the gun barrel, and I've drilled a hole in the turret using a twist drill. I tried but couldn't 'knock off' the hatches, so I used a power drill and a hand chisel to remove them. The surface can be a little rough, because eventually the commander figure will cover most of it.

In the picture below, you can see at top the turret with the wire superglued into the hole I drilled. I'll use the other turret as a guide when I cut the wire. Also shown are some bits that the painter left off.

I cut the 'gun barrel' using wire cutters to match the length of the other guns, and file the end smooth. To add a muzzle to the barrel, I dip the gun into some thick enamel paint to build up a lip. And I paint the hatch opening black.

Now, to correct the color. First, I drybrush all of the hulls and turrets with a suitable shade of gray, skipping those areas that shouldn't be gray.

I paint the machinegun black and drybrush with metallic. Then I drybrush everything again with a lighter shade of gray.

For the commander's turret, I cut some new hatches out from plastic card.

From what I can tell, the tank interior would have been painted white, so the white plastic works fine. I don't need to get the hatches too perfect, because they will mostly be concealed under the commander's arms when he is glued into place. So the next step is to glue the hatches in place.

Next, the commander figure is glued into place.

I also glue the loose bits to the hull, after making sure where they are supposed to go – on the left side, next to the superstructure, I have no idea what these are for!

I prefer to base my vehicles. First, I like the way it looks. Second, it helps to persuade players not to pack the tanks too closely on the tabletop. And third, I can put LITKO FlexSteel on the bottoms, so the tanks won't bounce around in storage.

So I take some Flames of War medium bases, prime them, flock them, seal the flock with a clear matte coat, glue down the tanks, and seal everything once more with a clear matte coat.

There are also four 'bailed out' tank crew models, which I mount up in pairs on small Flames of War bases to use as markers.

So here are the completed panzers:

The 'regular' Panzer IIC:

You can see the 'bit' added to the left side:

One of the bailed-out tank crews:

And the command tank:

I wanted the commander to be facing straight ahead, but sometimes figures have a mind of their own!

The hatches I made are perhaps too thick.

I forgot to mention that I edged the hatches in gray.

I'm happier now.

Note that these are not the current models in the Battlefront catalog, but an older version (same product code).