In Appreciation of Palmtop Panzers

Many years ago I dismissed 1:72^nd scale armour as too small to take seriously, calling them “palmtop panzers.” Well—even then I had a sneaking interest, as I’d seen some wonderful dioramas in the scale, but working so small evoked memories of Airfix OO/HO scale (87^th ?) back in the 70s, and for a 1:35^th scale modeller it was hard to imagine going back to the little guys.

But the wheel turns eventually, and I tackled a small scale armour kit for for a group build in the second quarter of 2024. I did some stash-diving and pulled out Dragon’s 1:72 Jagdtiger, and at once could appreciate that they had packed in much of the detail one expects to find in a larger kit. The mouldings were sharp and attractive, a photoetched fret was included for the engine deck grills, and assembly was generally straight forward.

Small scale equals a quick build—the main structure was done in no time. The painting was the big deal, really, as order of priority comes into play no matter the scale, and I found I was investing the model with all the same techniques as I would apply to the larger, standard size kit. This was especially true of the running gear, which was sprayed, clear-coated, shade/dirt coated on the back of the wheels, wash-detailed, then treated with graphite to simulate the resilient steel rims. The one-piece tracks were sprayed with a deep umber acrylic mix, drybrushed with metallic and finished with MiG pigment dust... In other words, all the same tricks that I would use at larger scale.

This kit is of the Henschell suspension type, with eight pairs of roadwheels arranged on double bogie units. The bogies were keyed for proper alignment but the fit was loose enough for the keyways not to be effective. I ended up push-fitting the bogies and idlers, then looping the connected tracks into place and meshing the drive sprockets into the tracks, then securing them to the final drives with a spot of superglue.

I chose a scheme from a Squadron volume, and only long after committing to it did I realise the vehicle in question had Porsche suspension—nine axles, like the King Tiger (P), not eight. Hey-ho, I’ll build this subject again at 1:35^th scale and do it more justice!

If I have a specific criticism of this kit, it’s the alignment of the hull top and bottom. I must have tried twenty times to find their natural mate-up, but couldn’t. There are two internal pillars meant to mesh with receivers, and two mysterious screws which are not mentioned in the instructions but might have something to do with the pillars... As nearly as I could manage, I still needed to file away the top of one of the pillars to get the parts anywhere near fitting, and this left a fore-and-aft misalignment of about 1.5mm. The result was an “overbite” at the front of the hull, and a gap where the engine deck meets the transom (which I doctored with a strip of 010” plasticard. It’s not too noticeable at small scale, though in real life it would be a four-inch mismatch!

I sprayed Tamiya Acrylics overall, using the new-take shades, XF-87 and -88, which behaved very nicely. I lightened them at a ratio of three parts colour to one part white, to obtain a scale colour effect, as I was very conscious of how small the thing was going to be. After a little touching up to fix overspray, I overcoated with Microscale Flat, leaving a low lustre to accept the decals, which were then sealed the same way. Dragon provides two styles of balkenkreutzer and a large selection of turret numbers in both red and black, so you can get close no matter what subject you fancy.

As with 1:35^th scale Dragon armour, you end up with loads of spare parts—a sprue of detail parts was clearly in common with other Tiger kits, and one ends up with hatches, tow cables, U-connectors, spare bow MG, AA MG, track plates and more.

Overall, I’d have to say I really enjoyed this kit, and it won’t be my last “palmtop panzer.” I must finish the Revell Pz. III I was referring to all those years ago, and I have several more Dragon kits, collected over twenty years back. It’s a good job I have them in the stash—I checked the price of small scale armour and you’re looking at $40 or more at hobby shop rates these days!

Photos were taken with my phone and processed through Irfanview. Still hoping to renew that studio lighting and get back to fully controlled miniature photography!

A New Bit of Kit

 I’ve not put on a new piece of “plant” in a very long time, but circumstances recently compelled me to update. For something like 35 years, I’ve run my airbrush on a cylinder of compressed air, which has worked very well indeed, however complications with supply forced a rethink. When the yearly hire cost of the bottle crept up toward a dollar per day, I knew I needed a cheaper alternative.

I’ve resisted the idea of a compressor for years on two counts—the noise they’re liable to make, and the cost. I looked at units years ago and they were still substantially more expensive than bottle hire, but, lo and behold, there are more modest units designed specifically for the hobby/craft marketplace that are not so expensive, and, being meant for domestic or public-contact business applications, also run quietly.

It turns out I didn’t have to look far. This is the Artlogic AC1418, which is compact and tidy. I originally looked at the 1318 model, but on having a chat with the customer service folk at Airbrush Warehouse, I found the 1318 was not recommended for use with syphon-feed airbrushes, like my Paasche VL. The 1418 has a 3-litre collecting tank, which smooths the delivery, and this is certainly essential. The 1418 was on special, only $20 more than its smaller counterpart, so I was very much into pocket.

The unit weighs only 4.15kg, and is small—370 x 170 x 350mm. It neatly occupies the same floor space that the gas bottle used to, and is less obtrusive in the room (I can get to drawers without moving the cylinder now!) Operation is very straight forward, and the first thing that impressed me was how quiet the unit it. It generates only 47 dB with the pump running, which is no louder than a normal conversation!

Default setting on the pressure control valve was 35psi, which turned out to be way higher than I’ve been using all these years. My CIG gauges (yes, they’re so old they predate Australia’s Commonwealth Industrial Gasses concern being taken over by British Oxygen Corporation!) read in flow (litres per minute) rather than pressure, while the compressor reads in psi, and there is of course no objective way to convert between those measurements. A comfortable spraying pressure for my settup seems to be a touch under 20psi. I dialled it way down in the first session of experimentation, and will take it even lower for some applications.

The Paasche connector’s quarter-inch thread screwed straight onto the compressor outlet, and didn’t even need thread tape. I find the AC1418 easily delivers more power than my usual applications demand: I could see using the higher end (up to 60psi) for painting something big, a large-scale tank or battleship kit, or perhaps doing airbrush art in which I’m laying a solid base colour onto a large panel area—say a solid black over which to do spacescapes. I used to do paintings like that back in the 80s, with my old Badger 350—but I “blacked-up” the board with a 1” brush in those days!

I’ve done several sessions of work so far, and I must be using the unit well within its capacities. The instructions caution the user to let the compressor cool down before touching, but so far it’s only been mildly warm. Also, this is my first time working with a moisture trap, and I have yet to see any liquid collect in the trap chamber.

The price was very attractive. The unit plus courier costs came in at under Aus$200, and I’m very happy with that. I’m optimistic that this will be a new lease of life on my hobby and art. The next step is to renew my workshop lighting—the old strip light gave up the ghost years back, so it’s high time to get back to bright, daylight-type illumination for both working and photography, and the real kicker is that I can probably do it and still be into pocket against the savings on a single year’s tank hire . This blog could do with some serious revitalising, and soon I might just have a work flow worth talking about again!

Cheers, Mike Adamson