Background
The very roots of the Neubaufahrzeug (literally: “New Construction Vehicle”) are connected to the arrival of Hitler as the new head of state, and the desire to have, as quickly as possible, a suitable heavy tank, both for the army needs and for propaganda purposes. It had to be a symbol of the renewal of the German Army and was conceived in quite a hurry. Its inspirations can be traced back to the British multi-turreted prototype Vickers A1E1 Independent, which also inspired the the Soviet T-28 and T-35. The former was under intense scrutiny when the Reichswehr decided, in 1926, to give a contract to Rheinmetall-Borsig, MAN, Daimler-Benz and Krupp for the Reichswehr Großtraktor.
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/neubaufahrzeug.php
The Kit
I’m tread head at heart and cannot help myself in collecting tank kits to support my FOW gaming. One of the vehicles I always wanted, but BF never delivered, was the German Neubaufarhtzueg tank. This tank was the first German Pz VI. Move over Tiger tank! Only a handful were made, with most being used during the fighting in Norway. Well, I came across the tank as a printed resin 3D model from Battlefield3D on eBay and could not help myself and had to buy a couple.
The models arrived cast in a light grey hard resin. The kit comes in five sections. The hull, main turret and two machine gun turrets. Everything fits well. The detail was nicely done. There is a bit of layering visible on the front venders and on the turret top (less so on the turret). I suppose if I was not impatient, I could have sanded this down, but I did not. Having said that, those areas are only visible when looking at the kit very closely.
I spayed the tanks with some Vallejo Panzer Grey. I painted the treads red brown. I hit the kits with an overall black wash. Once the wash dried, I hit the models with two layers of grey drybrush. I then painted a couple tools and mufflers (that I forgot earlier). I found some German crosses in my decal box and applied those to the turret sides. I finished up with a drybrush of Vallejo Iraqi Sand and a spray of Matt varnish.
I now am the happy owner of two Neubaufarhtzeug tanks. I also picked up a few other oddities that I will get to painting and posting. If you looking for the odd armored vehicle, check out https://www.ebay.com/usr/battlefield3d?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2559
- Manteuffel