5B Productions: 'Tiger Killer' Diorama

Historical Context

Making its battlefield debut on the Russian front in 1942, the Tiger I (PzKpfw VI) heavy tank became one of the most powerful and feared weapons of the Second World War. When it entered service, with its 88mm gun and up-to 100mm armour protection, it proved to be a highly devastating and near invulnerable weapon in the German arsenal. The tank was capable of destroying any Allied or Soviet armoured vehicle, of the time, at ranges up-to 1000m and was almost impervious to hits from all Allied and Soviet anti-tank weapons.

Although the Tiger tank had this apparent battlefield superiority when it first entered service, due to the further technological advancements by the Allies and Soviets during the war this battlefield supremacy was soon diminished by the introduction of more powerful weapons and armoured vehicles to counter this new threat. This was first achieved by the Soviets in 1943, with the introduction of the SU-152 self-propelled gun, later followed that year with the KV-85 and T-34/85 tanks. The Russian army also introduced what can be described as the first tank to truly equal the power of the Tiger I in both firepower and protection in the form of the IS-2 (named after Iosif Stalin). This tank was equipped with a 122mm D-25 gun and protected by 120mm of armour thickness.

The Allied forces, on the other hand, took longer to develop such weapons, with the British first introducing the 17-Pounder anti-tank gun in 1943, however this weapon was not placed in a viable armoured vehicle until 1944, in the form of the M10 'Achilles' tank destroyer and M4 Sherman Firefly tanks. This was achieved by replacing the original American 76mm M7 (M10 'Wolverine') and 75mm M3 (M4 Sherman) guns with the newly developed British 17-Pounder.

Later in the same year (1944) the American forces first introduced armoured vehicles equipped with weapons capable of penetrating the frontal armour of the Tiger I tank at a reasonable range. This came in the form of the M36 Jackson tank destroyer, equipped with the 90mm M3 gun. This anti-tank capability within the American armoured forces was later improved with the introduction of the M26 Pershing tank in 1945. This was the first Western Allied tank to match the Tiger I in both firepower and armoured protection.

Design Development Process

Using this information and a spare Tiger I model from a previously completed Italeri® model kit, I decided to develop a diorama design that would include a knocked-out Tiger tank and another vehicle capable of causing its destruction. With some pre-purchased Armourfast™ tank destroyer kits, M10 'Achilles' and M36 Jackson kits, I decided to base the diorama on the Western front theatre of the war. Also, with both of these tank destroyers, the M10 and M36, using the same hull design, it was also possible to design the model with interchangeable turrets, using both that of the M10 'Achilles' and M36 Jackson.

With the featured vehicles of the diorama worked-out, the next step involved figuring-out the dimensions of the diorama base and finding a suitable material to construct it from. For this, I used a left-over piece of MDF board from a prior university and attached a piece of polystyrene packaging foam with a hot glue gun, but before this, I used a heat foam-cutting tool to shape the polystyrene. This was to make a ditch, which will have part of the Tiger tank model, to create the illusion of it falling in. I then decided that the top of the foam piece should feature a dirt road so it would appear as if the tank destroyer was driving past.

01. Models on foam and MDF base (Test)

02. Models on foam and MDF base (Test)

03. Models on foam and MDF base (Test)

Once the foam was secure, I removed the excess areas of the MDF base using a saw. Once this excess was removed, I turned my attention to developing the terrain details of the model. To achieve this, I collected some dry dirt from my garden, which I then ground-up and pushed through a sieve. Before placing the grounds of dirt on the base, using a hot glue gun, I positioned several streaks of hot glue along the edges of the track positions for the Tiger I model. By doing this, I was able to create a pair of channels in which to place the knocked-out tanks treads. After these had cooled and cured, I covered the planned dirt road and ditch areas with Woodland Scenics® Scenic Cement, applied using a spray bottle, before covering them with the dry, ground-up dirt. While these areas were still wet, taking the hulls of each model tank, I carefully pressed them down on the base in the areas they are going to be positioned to create track impressions in the dirt. After these areas had dried, I repeated the first step of this process, covering particular areas of the base with the scenic cement, before covering them with the terrain details, this time with Woodland Scenics® Green Blend Turf. To complete the base I painted the areas of dirt, with Humbrol™ matte finish enamel paint no. 26, so that it matched the paint used for the dirt detailing on the model tanks.

04. Diorama base (Work in Progress)

05. Diorama base (Work in Progress)

With all these elements secured and dry, I switched my attention to further development of the models that will feature on the diorama. For the two Allied vehicles, the M10 'Achilles' and M36 Jackson tank destroyers, as they came without crew figures, and being open-top vehicles, I used some figures from different 1/72 scale model kits of each nation, Britain and America, for each of the models. On the M10 'Achilles' model, I used gun crew figures for a 6-Pounder anti-tank gun kit, by Valiant Miniatures, and for the M36 Jackson, I used 1/72 scale Airfix® WWII U.S. Marines figures. With both sets of figures, I opted to paint them while they were complete, but once they had dried, to make them fit into the turrets of the model tanks accurately, I cut-off the base plates of each one before cutting them at the waist and testing them in the models. After I had worked-out each of the figures' positions in the turrets I glued them in place.

Alongside placing figures in the Allied vehicles as their crew, I also had to modify the model Tiger tank so it would appear as though it had been destroyed by that vehicle. This was achieved with the use of a styrofoam cutting pen, by Genround, which features a metal rod that heats up when switched on. While this tool is best used on styrofoam, due to the thickness of the heated rod, it is also highly effective at creating holes in the plastic model kits, and with the tool melting the plastic areas around the hole, it creates a realistic appearance to the detail of the model. The holes were created using the tip of the metal rod, but it also proved effective at creating grooves in the plastic, replicating ricochet damage, when held at particular angles against the model. To complete the illusion and the details of the penetration points, black acrylic paint was placed in and around these areas to create the appearance of scorch-marks/burnt areas. To complete the burning illusion, I took a ball of cotton and placed it in the turret ring of the Tiger tank hull, but to create the illusion of smoke, I carefully tore several pieces from the ball, which created a bellowing smoke effect.

06. 'Tiger Killer' diorama (Work in Progress)

07. 'Tiger Killer' diorama (Work in Progress)

To finish the base of the model, I cut-down strips of balsa wood to place around the edges as a border before attaching them to the MDF and foam sides. I measured the lengths of all the sides and cut the wood to match, after which, I attached the pieces to the base. Once these were in position, I carefully trimmed away the excess pieces of wood so that they fit tightly to the base. With these secured in place and trimmed to the correct sizes, once again using black acrylic paint, I covered these border areas of balsa wood. Once these final pieces of the base were dry, I was able to place the finished models into their correct positions on the diorama to complete it. This model has been designed in a particular way so that the British M10 'Achilles' tank destroyer can have it's turret replaced with one from an American M36 Jackson tank destroyer to easily change the Allied vehicle featured in the diorama.