Dear all,

I'd like to make a diorama about the old TV show, Combat, set in WW2 France. That show for me always brings to mind a certain type of German tank, or perhaps I should say, a certain look is what I recall. But, as to which tank that may be when it comes to finding a model, is the problem.

I have read that the show used US tanks, with different paint job and markings. When we were younger, many things looked cool, and "real." My thoughts on this may also be influenced by drawings a talented kid that I remember from grade school made, usually of German tanks, and infantry.

What I seem to recall is a German tank with a long, blocky looking rear end on the turret, with that portion up a bit higher than the main turret section. I also for some reason always picture the Panzer or German gray color scheme with the black and white "cross" that one sees in some images or on decals or box cover art.

Overall, one item reviewed on this site 1/35 Pz.Beob.Wg. IV Ausf.J has that general look that I have in mind, but without all the antennas. As my brother and I liked the show Combat the
diorama that I will make is for an audience of two, really, but I would also like to keep things plausibly accurate as far as vehicles used. For those of you more experienced than I with making models, and perhaps being well-versed in military history and accuracy, it's possible that you can point me to a given model.

Any thoughts on this, will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Pat

If you know a decent tank model without 600 small parts, that would be great. While there is a Hobby Lobby store in town, selection depends on what's in stock, when I go there; otherwise, I buy everything from Amazon so if you know of a given model that they may carry, that too would be good to hear about. Thanks, again.

Hi Pat

A quick google brought up this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat!

Try you tube to see if any episodes have been uploaded there.

Nige

Hi

I don't know the show in question but many big filmes used American Tanks painted as German, did.'t they use M40's in the Battle of the bulge film, so you may find that the TV companies also used these as well, or somthing similar. What they wouldn't have used was actual german WW2 tanks as there where not many left after the war, for some reason.

Paul

LOL! Combat, wow, I haven't seen that in years! Sounds like a Netflix search for me. Thanks for bringing back a memory.

happy 4th of July Pat,
I work 2nd shift and when I get home I have a little Midnite snack & a cold beer and watch Combat on a local nostalgia network, "Me TV" . They use a M-41 Walker Bulldog as the "Panzer". I'm gonna guess it was on loan from the California National Guard. A couple of weeks ago the squad had to knock out a SPG that was shelling the company. It was a HST with a big pipe for a barrel and a LOT of camo netting.
I have a M-41G in the stash from AFV. Haven't built it yet but looks good on the sprues. Squadron has it on sale from time to time ($25 ?). Tamiya also make one too, but no clue about that one.
Bottom line is to have fun. Tom

Sounds like a Pershing, to me.

try this site...

www.imcdb.org

very useful for finding out vehicles in movies...

I've been watching some lately and don't forget the German (US) halftrack with the funky round turret they added to the top which was in every other episode. Love that series.

Dear all,

Thanks for your time with replies, links, & information.

Tom: Funny that you mention the Bulldog; have one under the bench, at the moment. Looked at others that you refer to, and the M-41G (NATO) version in fact had the German cross on it. To cheat and be "authentic," I could paint the Bulldog gray, and put the proper decal on it, I suppose. ;-)

Matt also mentioned the Pershing, with a certain look to its turret; will now have to look for actual German tanks models, with the certain profile-look that I recall. Have to also further check to see if Shermans, and which ones, were in use at the time in France.

As 4 of 5 seasons of the show were shot in black and white, it may have lead one to assume/guess what colors were shown or implied. I was 10-11 in '62 when the show first aired, and again, I'd guess that I had only the "wow-cool-real" sentiment.

** Yes, true, one can't leave out the halftrack. ;-)

My thanks again, to all.
Regards, Pat

Dear all,

*Bear with me, please, as some of this rephrases my earlier posting here.

I would like to ask experienced tank builders to guide me toward a German tank model or models, but within certain parameters. I have made a few simple builds recently, after returning to models, & for now my skills are modest. I think for the time being it's wise to avoid kits with (a) lots of little parts, (b) photo-etch and (c) Magic Tracks judging from the little that I have read about them.

Bearing in mind those three things and any general advice that you may wish to offer, I'd like to find a specific tank/type, or, one
with a very similar (turret) profile to what I will mention. A certain look always comes to mind, for me, anyway.
In this thread, my first post on the forum, I had mentioned a model (1/35 Pz.Beob.Wg. IV Ausf.J) that has been reviewed on this site; that turret - notably the back end, at least as seen in a side profile on the box cover - has pretty much the look I'm after although I'm not keen on all the antennas, personally. I have also seen a photo of a King Tiger in profile view with Henschel turret, and a drawing of a Panzerkampfwagen V1 Tiger 11 with Henschel turret, and their profile-views looks great. ;-)

If you could steer me toward a specific kit or kits, not too complex for a comparative beginner, with the above described look or even a very similar look I would be most appreciative. I do most of my shopping on Amazon, and they do have Tamiya and Dragon kits, and other name brands. But, if there is a dealer or dealers preferably here in the US that you have had great luck with for sales and service, please, feel free to mention that also.

While the diorama that I will build is set in WW2 France as a salute to the old TV show (Combat), and I will try to keep things fairly authentic, that diorama will be for my brother and I and no one who may see it is an armor expert any more than I am. So, a smidge of artistic license is fine in this instance, if need be. Aside from the turret look, to me a German tank must have the Panzer gray paint job, and black and white cross/decal. That somehow sums it up, to me. I hate to sound like some dweeby kid, but I forgot what fun it was, building models. They look cool, what else can I say? I had jested with ivanhoe6/Tom in a post that I could cheat and repaint a Bulldog, and use it as a Panzer as the old TV show "Combat," had done. But, I will buy and build a proper German tank model, for that. I had also
seen a nice Dragon tank on Amazon, assembled and painted but that would be almost too perfect, and also cheating in a way. The fun, and agony, comes from the actual building of a model. It's like a car trip - you do that, if you can't afford to hire someone, to beat you up. LOL! To sum up, then: if you know of a model to build with a certain look and isn't overly complex for a beginner, let me know, please.

Painting/weathering, learning: one would hate to try out new things, and possibly ruin a nicely built model. Early on, what did you do, to practice new techniques? Did you have an old junker of a model, with a prior 639 coats of paint on it, that you would practice on?

And, is there a very good walk through about painting and weathering, start to finish, that doesn't use lots of jargon or mention many brand names usually from other countries and such, that would mean little to a beginner? If there is a web site, book, or video perhaps that gave you the "a-ha!" moment when first learning weathering and so on, what was it, for you, that greatly helped? Many here have produced such astounding work, that it leaves me nearly speechless, when viewing a finished model. I had joined this particular forum, as most all here seem quite gracious, and will help others. One particular forum that I had earlier looked at, early on, was akin to piranha savaging a hapless creature just so one person could display what an "authority" he was. Which is why I didn't join that site, as that sort of "critique" only helps the ego of the person opining on a model, that someone else had built. You folks here seem to remember that it is a hobby, that it's supposed to be
fun, and an end result is that the guy building it is really the only one who has to be satisfied with it. Again, I for one, appreciate your outlook.

Thanks, for your thoughts on this.
SignGuy1 (Pat)