Leaderboard

The German Army set up a special program to get captured tanks (Beute-Panzer) back into service. A 1941 initiative directed a flamethrower to be installed on the French Char B1 bis. The conversion replaced the 75mm main gun with a flame thrower while the turret retained the 45mm gun. The model depicts vehicle number 23 from the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. In April 1942, a Beute-Panzer-Kompanie was created for the division. These Pz.Kpfw.B 2 were used in fighting partisans in the Balkans. They were eventually traded in 1943 to a different division and replaced with the Panzer 38(t). The markings for this vehicle come from the Echelon Fine Details decal set. These decals were kindly donated as they have been out of print for years. This build uses the excellent Tamiya Char B1 bis with the Blast Models resin conversion for the flamm-panzer. There are a few details missing from the Tamiya kit and the Blast conversion has some accuracy and molding issues which I corrected with some scratch building and custom 3D printed parts. I also used the Eduard PE set for the Char B1 bis. Model is painted with Tamiya acrylics, weathered with oils, enamels and pigments.

Willey Ley would be proud!