Wittmann's Tiger S03 Research questions

Thank you for the information. I was actually referring to the surface texture of rolled steel. I don't believe that Wittmann's Tiger did have a Zimmerit Coating under the whitewash.

Are there any other pics of Wittmann's Winter Tiger available besides the famous one of him and crew standing in front of it? 

According to "TigerAce: The Life Story of Panzer Commander Michael Wittman" (Gary L. Simpson--Schiffer Military History), the "winter Tiger" in which Wittman earned his Knight's Cross by destroying his 88th tank was numbered S08. It had 88 kill rings onthe tube, in wide rings of 10 each, with the number 10 between each, and nearest the muzzle brake were 8 individual thinner rings.THis was in Jan. '44. It did not have zimmerit

"Tigers in Combat 2"(Wolfgang Schneider--JJ Fedorowicz Publishing) states that camo was standard 3-color, in wavy (almost psychedelic in the photos!) lines. In early '44 the tanks recieved whitewash and "the letter-number combination had a black(or) white (depending on the season) double outline". I believe the inside of the letters/numbers were NOT filled in. In this book also says that the "S" (for "schwere" or "heavy") for headquarters tanks were S04 or S05. I believe the Academy decals are incorrect for Wittman's tank.  Interestingly, in this book it states that Wittman's tank was S21 !  SO go figure!! No markings are visible in the well-known photos. I'll see if I can scrounge up anything more, it may take a couple days...anyone else?!?! 

In the Stackpole Miltary History  series book Michael Wittmann volume 1, it states his tank was S21. It also states that the tigers in Wittmann's unit were painted in a ochre-yellow base coat and then Brown, dark green, and green tones. It also states that Wittmann destroyed his 66th tank on January 9th on the Eastern Front. Hope this helps.

David

Thank you very much for all this valuable information. This of course throws up the question about the marking on his tank. The one that comes with the kit (S03) did not seem correct to me.

 I found this graphic and it seems to be the panzer that i am building. It is stupendiously difficult to actually determine that darn number on the turret.

The image post above is of Tiger S04, just click on it and you can see it clearly.

In October of 1943, Wittmann changed his Tiger # 1331 for # S21. It is in S21 that he scores the majority of his victories through the end of Dec. 1943. On Jan. 13th, 1944, Wittmann receives the Knights Cross for 56 kills to his credit. On Feb. 2nd, he receives the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross for the total of 88 kills. S04 was painted up with the 88 kill rings especially for this photo shoot;

Wittmann had Tiger 'S21' first then 'S04' when he takes over the command of the Company on Dec.30 1943.

Using Mr Surfacer or liquid cement and stippling it with a brush replicates cast armour you often see on Soviet tanks, and some Shermans.  Take a look at Biffa's JSU-122 thread for a good example of that kind of texture.  That would be incorrect for a Tiger.  To get that kind of texture, you can use a Dremel on low speed and gently bounce the bit across the surface of the plastic.  Here's one possible way of doing it

http://ausfwerks.com//techniques/texture/main.html

HTH.

Thank you all for the additional information. I'll stick to a Dremel Tool then.

 In summary - is it correct to assume then that Wittmann never had a S03 marking ? 

No, there isn't even a "S03" in sSSPzAbt.101, (13./ SS-Panzerregiment 1). (See Tigers in Combat II, page 140) The company command tanks during this period are numbered S04 and S05. There are a large number of misprints and errors swirling around this topic. Tigers in Combat II erroneously lists S21 as being painted with the 88 kill rings, we know from analyzing other photos that this is not correct and the vehicle is indeed S04. Here is a little bit better looking artwork of S04;

Simpson's; Tiger Ace, The Life Story of Panzer Commander Michael Wittman, is rife with errors and while it makes for interesting reading, if you can get past the grammar and punctuation, has been widely discredited on several other forums, (Missing-Lynx, et al.,) and in online book reviews. I wasted $35 on it myself. Take a look at Amazon.com customer reviews of this book for starts;

http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Panzer-Commander-Michael-Wittmann/dp/0887405266

If you want to learn more about Michael Wittmann, get a copy of 'Michael Wittmann and the Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte' by Patrick Agte, published by JJ Fedorowicz.

Kykeon wrote:

Simpson's; Tiger Ace, The Life Story of Panzer Commander Michael Wittman, is rife with errors and while it makes for interesting reading, if you can get past the grammar and punctuation, has been widely discredited on several other forums, (Missing-Lynx, et al.,) and in online book reviews. I wasted $35 on it myself. Take a look at Amazon.com customer reviews of this book for starts; http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Panzer-Commander-Michael-Wittmann/dp/0887405266 If you want to learn more about Michael Wittmann, get a copy of 'Michael Wittmann and the Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte' by Patrick Agte, published by JJ Fedorowicz.

I'm embarrassed ( as A Wittman fan myself) that I too have the last book you mentioned there but have not had the time to actually read it yet! I agree it's an awesome book!

Thanks for the "heads up" about the book by Simpson--I agree-horrible! I actully wrote to the publisher to complain about the LACK of punctuation and awful grammar!

Anyway, thought I'd share these pics of my Wittman tanks, first a pic of the man himself:

Then a 1/35 Italeri model, #205, his actual command tank in Normandy...Bobby Woll on the rear deck.... 

...and a 1/76 Fujimi kit, with scribed zimmerit, in the fateful "007"...(sniff!)

That info will be really helpful for the next Wittman Tiger..Thanks!  

Wittmans last ride, thats pretty sad, I saw the aftermath of what happened.

Full story on this great tank commnader http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gen3.htm 

If he wouldnt have given up the offer to teach new tank commanders who knows, maybe he would die in Berlin knocking out a bunch of T34's before that. 

Hi All

Firstly, I apologise for "hijacking" this thread but have a question about painting the above tank.

How would one go about painting the above Tiger tank?

Red Brown or Dark Yellow base coat, with multiple light coats of white?

Or airbrush white and then use oil washes of reds/browns/rust?

Any assistance is appreciated.

Thx