The famous German 88 mm at 1/32 scale

The German 88 mm is maybe the most famous gun of WWII.

That's why Petite Infanterie badly need to have it in the line-up.

Its ancestor was developp at the end of WWI.  It was improved during the Twenties  (in the Krupp swedish unit because of the Versaille treaty) and  in the Thirties (under Nazi rearmament program).

It is known that it was built as a anti-aircraft gun.  What it is less known is the gun had, from the beginning, sights aimed at ground target fire.  The gun was designed as multi-purpose weapon.  It was first used against tanks during the Spanish civil war and very successfully during WWII where it became famous.

The 88 in the firing position

Reloading the beast

I read somewhere that it was possible to shoot eventhough the gun was on its wheels

The gun with its tractor

Aerial view of the all kit

A view on the two axles

The Petite Infanterie official photo!


That's all folks!

Comments are always welcome!

A SdKfz 124 Wespe at 1-32 scale

A SdKfz 124 Wespe at 1-32 scale has been made by my brother following the built of 4 towed 105 mm ie FH 18/2.

I decided to make more gun barrels to equip 4 Wespe. Here some historical facts about that tank quoted from Wikipedia:

"In 1940, during the Battle of France, it was apparent that the intermediate tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, was unsuitable as a main battle tank. Though mechanically sound, it was both under-gunned and under-armoured. The chassis, however, proved servicable for providing mobility to the 10.5 cm field howitzer. 

The design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, and was based on the Panzer II Ausf. F chassis (...) Amongst other modifications to the Panzer II, the engine was moved forward and the chassis was slightly lengthened to gain sufficient space for the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The superstructure was lightly armored, with 10 mm armor plate (enough to stop small arms fire) and was open at the top and to the rear. The vehicles were produced by FAMO's Ursus plant in Warsaw.

The Wespe was in production from February 1943 until June 1944, when Soviet forces approached the frontier. By that time, 676 had been produced. An additional 159 were modified to serve as mobile artillery ammunition carriers.[1] "

A good view of the Panzer II suspensions

The 105 mm leFH 18 gun with muzzle break

Two different camo colors

Ready to fire Sir!

A pretty cramp interior

A German Sd. Kfz.251 half-track at 1/32 scale

To have a Sd.Kfz. 251 in 1/32 scale was key to be able to build Petite Infanterie Panzer divisions. Having built mostly Panzer III and IV, we clearly needed armored vehicules for our panzergrenadiers.

Like mentioned in Wikipedia:

"The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was a WW2 German armored fighting vehicle designed by the Hanomag company, based on their earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15,252 vehicles and variants produced by various manufacturers, and were commonly referred to

simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied soldiers.[1]"

Matchbox Africa Korps have the perfect size for that vehicule.

The Sd.Kfz has a pretty low silhouette

The front show the latest model without bumper.

Two colors were used: Grey Panzer and Panzer night blue

We can clearly see the two sighting slots. 

Our Sd.Kfz. 251 at 1/32 scale can carry around 6 men; a little less than the real one  

That's all folk!

A Panzer IV at 1/32 scale

Petite Infanterie needed a Panzer IV in is line-up.  Why? The Panzer IV could be considered the most important german tank of WWII.

As summarize in Wikipedia:


"The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.

The Panzer IV was the most widely manufactured German tank of the Second World War, with some 8,500 built. The Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun.

The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. Upgrades and design modifications, intended to counter new threats, extended its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process."

Panzer IV, a versatile design

To be able to cover all the evolution of the Panzer IV during the war, my brother built two types of turrets.  One with the short 75mm and one with the long 75 mm barrel.

Our Panzer IV come in two camo colors:  "Blue Panzer" and "Desert Yellow"

An example with a short barrel

The same tank with the long barrel

Panzer IV, making the model at 1/32 scale

Here a couple of pictures of the making of the Panzer IV.  It's not a tutorial ( I know, I know, maybe next time).

To be sure that our Panzer IV would be acccurate and at scale, we used George Bradford's book: German early war armored fighting vehicule

Tracks before painting

Turret from the wood block to the final shape

The beast partly built

The Panzer IV works..

The assembly line

Panzer IV, being among its infantery men

Showing the suspension entirely drawn

That guy seems to be very enthusiastic about the new tank

Let's go forward!!!!!

Charcoal Marx and Desert Yellow; interesting mix!

That's all folks!  Your comment are always welcome!

Stug Panzer at 1/32

The Stug Panzer is one of the most interesting tanks of WWII and for many reasons.

Let's look at them courtesy of Wikipedia

"The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank, replacing the turret with a fixed superstructure mounting a more powerful gun. Initially intended as a mobile, armoured light gun for direct-fire support for infantry, the StuG III was continually modified, and much like the later Jagdpanzer, was widely employed as a tank destroyer."

"While the StuG III was considered self-propelled artillery, it was not initially clear which land combat arm of the Wehrmacht Heer would handle the new weapon.(…). It was agreed, after a discussion, it would best be employed as part of the artillery arm.
As the StuG III was designed to fill an infantry close support combat role, early models were fitted with a low-velocity 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun to destroy soft-skin targets and fortifications. After the Germans encountered the Soviet KV-1 and T-34 tanks, the StuG III was first equipped with a high-velocity 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 main gun (Spring 1942) and in Autumn 1942 with the slightly longer 75 mm StuK 40 L/48 gun. These versions were known as the Sturmgeschütz 40 Ausführung F, Ausf. F/8 and Ausf. G."

The two beasts :  with the long and the short barrel

A good example of an early Stug panzer with the short 75 mm

DSG Argentina Deetail recast as a comparaison 

The same tanks with TSSD

TSSD again

The two Stugs with a Panzer III as a comparaison

What about a short film about the real thing?  I know, I cheat because it's a replica.

If you like the article, feel free to write comments about it.  Thanks!

Operation Barbarossa at 1/32 (episode 1)

We were looking for a short wargame which could be played in few hours and we came up with the episode 1 of Operation Barbarossa.

The plot is as follow:  a German motorized column is going forward a few weeks after the original attack.  The column will face entrenched Russians along the road.  The Russians troops have been ordered to defend a strategic stone bridge at all cost.

The strategic stone bridge

 A 76 mm F22 garding the road

The German column