1/6 DID D80160 WWII German Panzer commander - Jager & E60068 Panther Tank Diorama

[Nosferatus_lair]

Mines just been shipped.

 

[Asta]

 

[Asta]

This is the latest news on the cupola:

Qu Rachel
Author
Admin
E60068 1/6 Panther tank diorama will be available in Jan or Feb in Asia and Feb or March in the Europe and the US.

• 5 h

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Yeah they told me the same today on fb

 

[Asta]

Jager's due for delivery today. Ten days door to door isn't bad considering it straddled New Year.

The time of year didn't have much effect on my parcel delivered just before Christmas either. Maybe next year Christmas will be cancelled completely due to lack of interest.

 

[Asta]

He's arrived, and while the parts are all very good I can understand the complaints about the "dwarf body".

The Short Slim worked fine for Bialas, but it doesn't look right with this Panzer uniform. Maybe it's the black trousers that give the impression that his legs are too short?

Those terrible early photos from the factory where it looked like his legs were collapsing under him is exactly as he wants to stand straight out of the box. My intention was to put him and his SS counterpart onto the regular Slim anyway, and save the short body in case DID don't use one for Rommel (because he definitely needs it).

The one thing I was concerned about was how the Panzer wraps were fastened. At first I assumed DID were using poppers. Then when they posted the first Chinese language video I wondered if it was magnets. But they're actually fastened with elastic loops, which are a bit fiddly to get hold of to undo. Getting the loops back around the buttons is easier, especially when using a button hook.

My plan was also to put the SS camo wrap onto a figure with the Italian camo trousers I already had. Though, as I feared, the colourings of the two camo pieces are too different to look right worn together. DID's pattern is quite a bit brighter. While I wanted an all black Panzer figure I'll have to have to partially camouflaged ones. This is really how it should always have been since DID's black trousers are Waffen-SS pattern with the two-button pockets.

So onwards with assembly.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

I hate those short dwarf bodies. I sold the Bialas body and bought a standard one I hated the look of it. So I guess I'll be buying yet another DID body now. Why did they put him in a short body when he's a film character and in fact in T-34 Jager seemed to be quite tall. Maybe they're trying to get rid of stock of their short bodies and use them up. Personally don't like them. Especially when you put an older DID body beside the new short one they look like dwarfs

 

[Asta]

I hate those short dwarf bodies. I sold the Bialas body and bought a standard one I hated the look of it. So I guess I'll be buying yet another DID body now. Why did they put him in a short body when he's a film character and in fact in T-34 Jager seemed to be quite tall. Maybe they're trying to get rid of stock of their short bodies and use them up. Personally don't like them. Slespecially when you put an older DID body beside the new short one they look like dwarfs

I didn't have a problem with Bialas, but it definitely looks off with this one.

Finished the first figure as a Heer Hauptmann on a regular (non-short) Advanced Slim body with QMx Patrick Stewart sculpt, Italian camo trousers from an unknown source, and boots cut down as short shaft Panzer marching jackboots

As always nowadays photography is a struggle. The photos using the flash were even worse.

I thought the most fiddly thing was putting the three rounds into the MP38, until I started to put the ring onto the finger. That required heating up the hand and using brute force to get it over the knuckle. Then I had to slice down between the fingers to separate them completely so the ring could go far enough up the finger.

Figure two will use the rest of Jager's parts on another standard Advanced Slim, with SW's creepy smiling SW Anthony Hopkins sculpt.

 

[Asta]

T'other figure finished, except for a belt and holster which I'll take from Rommel:

 

[Asta]

https://bbs.bbicn.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=391098&extra=page=1
It's that DID employee with the camera again...

 

[FlyAndFight]

So tempted by this figure and the cupola. Perfect display.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

They even have the Division ensignia upside-down!! Terrible photos

 

[Asta]

Jager came with a 'Standartenführer camo rank sleeve insignia', like this:

I didn't use it because they were meant to be put onto camouflage clothing that didn't have any other rank identification such as collar tabs or shoulder boards, whereas DID's Waffen-SS camo wrap already has both.

Something else I can't see ever see myself using are the gloves, which come pre-fitted to the bendy hands. Compared to the bare gripping hands they look huge because the gloves are so thick and overly long in the fingers. It'd be better if DID simply made sculpted gloved hands instead.

I also removed the Knight's Cross because it's such a specific award, in that only fifteen members of 12. SS-Panzerdivision 'Hitlerjugend' received the first grade.

I wanted my Heer Hauptmann to represent 26. Panzerdivision, of whom only thirteen received the first grade.

 

[Asta]

They even have the Division ensignia upside-down!! Terrible photos

The cap insignia was also upside down on their original attempt (and on the wrong cap):

And now the eagle's way off centre. It has to have been done as a joke.

gzr123, who's been sharing these photos, has to keep explaining that they're not his but an official DID unboxing.

 

[Asta]

Ever since pre-ordering I've imagined displaying the all black uniform, because it's the 'classic' Panzer look, but that wasn't viable due to the difference in colour between DID's camouflage wrap and the trousers I already had to make the second figure. It was always going to be a long shot.

While historically the colourings did vary over time, becoming brighter later, I didn't think it'd look right for an officer of Standartenführer grade to be mixing and matching. He'd more than likely had sourced enough cloth to have the full ensemble tailored at the same time.

As it happened the vice versa black/camo, camo/black makes for interesting looking figures, which I've now separated onto different shelves so the 26. Panzerdivision Hauptmann (representing their time in Italy) is now adjacent to the tropical troops.

This morning I was still craving a figure in the classic all black, so bought another Jager.

I plan to make changes to new figure to differentiate him. The medals are pinned onto the jacket so it should be easy enough to remove the Iron Cross and put it on the Hitlerjugend figure, because it looks a bit odd for an officer to reach the rank of Standartenführer and only have a 2nd class ribbon showing.

Taking the pips off his shoulder boards will demote him to Leutnant.

This one can keep the scarred sculpt, and I'll see if I can get the short body to work. I have a spare Slim to use as a last resort. The only difference I can spot between the Slim and Slim Short is that the Short has shorter shins. That's the quick way to height reduction that I've done myself to figures, and can work as long as you don't bend the knees too obviously, otherwise the proportions start to look wrong.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

My Panther tank diorama has just been shipped

 

[FlyAndFight]

My Panther tank diorama has just been shipped

Looking forward to seeing your review on it.

 

[Nosferatus_lair]

Looking forward to seeing your review on it.

I have Jager shipped out last week, so when the diorama arrives I'll have both. I'll post up plenty of photos

 

[Uncle_Yoda]

I got the Jäger figure. I immediately swapped the head sculpt and used the scarred head sculpt on one of my grenadiers. Personal preference. I need some advice about piping and collar tabs if anyone can help. I’m putting together an SS totenkopf tank crew and grenadiers to go with my Panzer IV and I want to use the Did commander figure. Was pink or white piping dependent on rank? Did SS death head collar tabs have the jaw attach and Heer death head jawless? I read that on a forum but can’t remember which. Any help would be appreciated. Also - is there a difference between the Heer black panzer wrap and the black SS panzer wrap.

 

[Asta]

I need some advice about piping and collar tabs if anyone can help. I’m putting together an SS totenkopf tank crew and grenadiers to go with my Panzer IV and I want to use the Did commander figure. Was pink or white piping dependent on rank? Did SS death head collar tabs have the jaw attach and Heer death head jawless? I read that on a forum but can’t remember which. Any help would be appreciated. Also - is there a difference between the Heer black panzer wrap and the black SS panzer wrap.

There's some good advice here:

https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=103700

There are several important differences between the Heer and Waffen-SS panzer (and assault gun) jackets. The Waffen-SS developed their jacket later than the Heer so they made some changes. The wrap isn't as far across the front so when you are awarded the German Cross in Gold, there is sufficient place to put it. Many of the Heer recipients of the German Cross have it pinned almost on top of their national emblem (breast eagle), which is also very cramped. The front of the jacket opening on the Waffen-SS is vertical, whereas the Heer is diagonal, slanted at an angle. The Waffen-SS jacket has no central seam down the back. Generally speaking, the Waffen-SS collar is smaller and the the tips are rounded. These are the general differences between the jackets. On the trousers, the forward-facing flaps on the front pockets have two buttons for the Waffen-SS and a single centered button for the Heer.

Collar piping was essentially a pre- and early-war characteristic and mostly Army. The primary color for the Heer was of course PINK, but could also be Golden-Yellow (Panzer-Aufklärungs), Lemon-Yellow (Signals), and Red (Panzer-Artillerie). For the Hermann Göring Panzer Division the piping would be White. The collar tabs with the skulls had the same color piping. This piping remained after the collar piping was discontinued. Some other things changed as well as I believe, like Panzer-Artillerie. I think that went away or changed to something else but you don't see mid- or late-war Heer panzer wraps with red-piped collar tabs.

Early Waffen-SS panzer wrappers also had piped collars and collar tabs but these disappeared quickly. These were all pink, as far as I'm aware. There were some Hohenstaufen panzer crews who still used pink piped collar tabs in 1942 but these are rarely encountered. Shoulder board branch colors were primarily pink, golden-yellow and lemon-yellow. Golden-Yellow for Aufklärungs changed over to the StuG (Sturmgeschutz or assault gun) later. StuG branch colors were primarily red (artillery), pink (panzerjäger) and golden-yellow (aufklärungs). The attached picture shows an SS-Hauptsturmführer of Aufklärungs StuG jacket from the Das Reich Division. Officer jackets often had silver twist cord collar piping although this one does not. The shoulder boards have Golden-Yellow branch piping and the gilt metal "A" in Gothic for Aufklärungs (this jacket belongs to Willi Schumacher).

The assault gun tunics are similar but didn't really use collar piping all that much. And their collar tabs were different over the years, some having the black patches piped in artillery red and the skulls, some having green backing, some with the skulls attached to the collar and the piping sewn to the collar (no patch) and changing the skull to litzen. It varies.

Hope this is of some help.

Luft300

There's a difference in the tailoring between Heer and SS panzer wraps, as displayed in the difference between DID's camouflage SS and black Heer wraps.

Old photos indicate that 3. SS Panzerdivision "Totenkopf" did have the jaws on their skulls.


If you were asking about the piping on the cap, the Waffen-SS, by regulation, had white piping apart from a six month period in 1940 when Himmler authorised the wear of coloured Waffenfarbe. Coloured Waffenfarbe, however, continued to be worn throughout the war contrary to regulations that were seldom enforced particularly during front line service.

https://www.warhats.com/store/p1078/Waffen-SS-Panzer-Officers-Cap-Pink-Piping-Gaberdine-Aged.html

Branch color (Waffenfarbe) on Waffen-SS Field Caps (aka: The Crusher Cap)​

The Waffen-SS only permitted Waffenfarbe other than white between 10 May 1940 and 5 November 1940. They had stipulated a wear out date on incorrect waffenfarbe caps of 12/31/40, but they quickly switched back to only using white on visor caps due to the expense and difficulty of troops having to get new caps with each change in assignment, which was very common in the Waffen-SS as it rapidly expanded from one division (SS-VT) to many divisions. However, after the RZM lost exclusive rights to produce this headgear in 1941, people could get anything made up by a capmaker if they had the money and could get away with wearing.

https://www.lostbattalions.com/Resources/SSCrusherWaffenfarbe.html