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Writer's pictureBlaxkleric

"The Tiger II Is A German Heavy Tank Of The Second World War."

Updated: Mar 5


"The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B."

These two 10mm metal German Königstiger tanks were bought together as a pair within a single clamshell from “Pendraken Miniatures” at Salute 50, and were simply labelled as Tiger II (armoured vehicles). Destined for my Battle of the Bulge campaign, the weighty models each consisted of a separate Henschel hull, turret, gun and pair of tracks.


First used in combat by the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion during the Allied invasion of Normandy, the King Tigers were treated to a double coat of "Citadel" Adeptus Battlegrey, a generous dousing in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and an enthusiastic dry-brush of (more) Adeptus Battlegrey. The models' tracks were 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, base-coated using "Vallejo" Gunmetal, and shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Games Workshop" WIPS - A very roughly layered MK IV Space Marine Sergeant

Due to the sheer size of the sculpts, I also felt able to easily 'pick out' the odd visible shovel and tow cable using a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, or "Vallejo Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade as appropriate. The large tanks were finished courtesy of some transfers taken from both "Decal Details" DEC-GR-100 WWII German Insignia and Swastika, and RU-108 Russian 10/12mm armour numbers sheets.


Along with my two Königstiger tanks I have also made some progress on the first of my ten MK IV Space Marines by "Games Workshop". This 28mm hard plastic figure will be the sergeant of my third Sons of Horus tactical squad for "The Horus Heresy", and is being used as a test piece to pilot a change in my painting technique where I don't apply a shade to their armour until I've finished 'picking out' all their detail.

"Steel Fist Miniatures" WIPs - Three Foot Knights awaiting their details to be 'picked out'

Ordinarily, I perform this phase straight after base-coating the "towering, transhuman warrior" and then follow it up with a rough dry-brush. However, with such highly-detailed sculpts I repeatedly find myself having to later tidy up the armour because my brush-tip has inadvertently strayed - or in the case of "Vallejo" Gold, tiny metallic flakes have attached themselves to other areas of the model despite me being super-careful whenever I use the acrylic color.


Lastly, I have managed to advance a few more of my Foot Knights by "Steel Fist Miniatures" for my meagre-sized Italian Wars project. I must confess my drive for this Fifteenth-Century endeavour has been badly knocked by Simon Chick's decision to (temporarily) close the company, as I did have some plans to extend my forces beyond the heavily armoured infantrymen I currently own, and tend to find a constant stream of new releases/purchases a cracking motivator to main my hobby momentum...

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planetmut
Oct 19, 2023
Rated 5 out of 5 stars.

The tanks look great. Is there any chance of a photo of one (or all) of them next to a 28mm mini so we can get a better idea of their size? I know 10mm is small but I can't picture it compared to regular figures.


Nice to see the Sons of Horus coming along, and those knights have more extravagantly designed armour than even a Space Marine captain LOL!

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Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Oct 19, 2023
Replying to

Cheers Matt. I'll see what I can do. The King Tigers are slightly longer than the 40mm x 60mm bases they're superglued to, and are obviously massive compared to the Panzer I and IIs I've previously painted.


I'm hoping to get a fair few more SoHs finished before the end of the year, I'd like to get some more Italian Foot Knights completed to. But Steel Fist Miniatures' (temporary) closure has kind of dented my enthusiasm for the project.

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undercoat2670
Oct 17, 2023

Great work on the King Tigers, they look great. I will be interested to see them next to some other tanks to get a sense of scale.

Mk4 Sons of Horus, looking good. Are you working your way through every set of armour from the Martian forges? Lol. I love that green! I know I say it every time, but they look great!!

Those knights look flipping amazing! Can't wait to see the finished articles.

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Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Oct 17, 2023
Replying to

Thanks Undercoat. The gun barrel actually stretches just over the large rectangular base I use, which is the only tank to do so as memory serves. But the King Tigers should soon appear in a BatRep or two. 😀


I'd certainly like to have a unit of Sons of Horus sporting all the different armour types. LOL!! But we'll see. Hopefully I can polish off a few of the MK IV marines, and some more Italian Knights, before the end of the year.

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wsd50
Oct 15, 2023

It does but then I also know you of old mate..😁 🦋🦋🦋

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Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Oct 15, 2023
Replying to

LOL 😀


I'm definitely hoping to keep my projects down to just double figures next year, Roger. And have a few campaigns waiting in the wings to post up about too. 😁

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wsd50
Oct 15, 2023

Smashing looking Tigers mate, don't know how they play in the rules you are using but they were bloody deadly back when we used to play "Rapid fire", you might end up painting a boat load more Shermans to deal with them! 😁


Nice starts too on some more very nice figures, sorry about the sporadic commenting, I am reading though.


Cheers Roger.

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Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Oct 15, 2023
Replying to

Cheers Roger. I'm really enjoying all the 10mm Pendraken tanks I'm currently painting, and have added another pair of Shermans to the Allies' roster to bring them up to eight in order to face these monsters, plus they should soon be five Fireflies on the field as well. LOL!!! 😁


I'm hoping to get all the WIPs mentioned finished before the end of the year, as I'm planning on handling my projects a bit differently in 2024 so I can focus on those ranges I'm actually gaming with - if that makes sense.

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caveadsum1471
Oct 14, 2023

Great looking Tigers, good progress on your space marines and the renaissance knights are always a hit, didn't know they'd closed down!

Best Iain

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Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Oct 14, 2023
Replying to

Thanks Iain. The King Tigers are a great kit from Pendraken, though their Panther is still my fave as it has so much more stowage on the hull to pick out.


Sadly Simon's had the Steel Fist Miniatures website closed for a few weeks due to ill health. I do check regularly as I'm keen to pick up some additional Italian Wars figures - and hopefully when he does decide to open it back up he'll have some of the models I want back in stock.

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