AXT351065
1/35 SchPzAbt 503 Tiger Is Kursk 1943 Operation Citadel 3.K
A pull-out-all-the-stops 3. Kompanie marking set for sAbt 503 Tiger Is during the Kursk offensive "Operation Citadel". Essentially, Kursk '43 503th Heavy Battalion markings and organisation (part of), demysified. The greatest variation of styles as compared to 1. and 2. Kompanie Tigers. The set removed much guess-work, like which style of numerals and balkenkreuz were used on each Tiger. Even the spacings between each digits, spread wide / close together, neatly aligned, sloped towards the front or unevenly applied, are now a non-issue. A straight forward, zero-fuss approach to application.
Of great interest are Tigers "314" and "323". Both had an additional black outline, even though the digits had black in-fills. These are clues that they were originally white numbers with black outlines. The Tigers at Rostov had used two sets of stencils (white with black outlines). One that was commonly seen, the other less common that had a narrow/tall appearance (on AXT351053), which "314" and "323" originated from. Instead of a complete repaint of numbers to conform to all black-with-white outline standard at Kursk, they were just in-filled with black, with a thin separation of white in between blacks. "314" was neatly done, whilst "323" a bit sloppily done. All the details of "323" digts were faithfully captured, including all the scratches (inner black) on the right side of the turret.
The illustrations also highlight which production batch that each Tiger came from, including unique details (if there were any) that were installed on the vehicle. The entire Kompanie is covered, in one way or another (not inclusive of all possible replacement or replaced tanks that were missed out), thus revealing the full organisational structure of the kompanie itself.
Battalion emblems (4 variations) are provided, they were researched and drawn from actual markings.
Like all large Echelon decal sets, much effort went into research and creation. The Kursk 43 503 sets took an even greater effort, over a span of 2 years, as there were huge amount of information to gather, sort and process. The accumulation of information alone took way longer than that.
3. Kompanie Tigers were assigned to go into battle with 7. Pz. Div. In the backdrops of some Pz.Rgt.25 images, 3. Kompanie Tigers can be found.
Of great interest are Tigers "314" and "323". Both had an additional black outline, even though the digits had black in-fills. These are clues that they were originally white numbers with black outlines. The Tigers at Rostov had used two sets of stencils (white with black outlines). One that was commonly seen, the other less common that had a narrow/tall appearance (on AXT351053), which "314" and "323" originated from. Instead of a complete repaint of numbers to conform to all black-with-white outline standard at Kursk, they were just in-filled with black, with a thin separation of white in between blacks. "314" was neatly done, whilst "323" a bit sloppily done. All the details of "323" digts were faithfully captured, including all the scratches (inner black) on the right side of the turret.
The illustrations also highlight which production batch that each Tiger came from, including unique details (if there were any) that were installed on the vehicle. The entire Kompanie is covered, in one way or another (not inclusive of all possible replacement or replaced tanks that were missed out), thus revealing the full organisational structure of the kompanie itself.
Battalion emblems (4 variations) are provided, they were researched and drawn from actual markings.
Like all large Echelon decal sets, much effort went into research and creation. The Kursk 43 503 sets took an even greater effort, over a span of 2 years, as there were huge amount of information to gather, sort and process. The accumulation of information alone took way longer than that.
3. Kompanie Tigers were assigned to go into battle with 7. Pz. Div. In the backdrops of some Pz.Rgt.25 images, 3. Kompanie Tigers can be found.
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