Counting Rivets

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a tank snob. By that I mean when a tank is used in a movie or such, that it be correct in detail. Some of the more notorious examples are movies like Patton and Battle of the Bulge. Kelly's Heroes and Saving Private Ryan did a better job, but still wrong. Of the major productions, Band of Brothers probably does the best job.

In Patton, none of the vehicles are of period and the Germans are driving around in American M-48 tanks, ironically enough known as the "Patton".

In Battle of the Bulge, again no period vehicle were used. The Germans are again riding around in American equipment with the feared Tiger II being portrayed by a M-47.

Movies started to get better though. The Tiger I tanks used in Kelly's Heroes are mock ups based on Russian T-34s. While it is certainly better than the previous two movies, still not quite there though.

Saving Private Ryan does a much better job with equipment in general and vehicles specifically. Most are of period and authentic. However, at the climax of the movie, the battle "hinges" around two Tiger Is. These are T-34 mock-ups like in Kelly's Heroes. It would be easier to forgive if so much of the action did not pivot around the suspension, road wheels and tracks. Of course, these are the things that look the worst on the mock-ups.

Band of Brothers continued the advancement of the movie industries accurate portrayal of the period. Most equipment and vehicles are authentic. The mock-ups are done well. Their visual weakness are usually obscured with scenery or the action sequences. The Jagdpanther below is a mocked-up Russian T-55. It is fairly well done. Of course, there is no hiding the fact that a T-55 drive sprocket is in the rear while a Jagdpanther's is in the front.

However, there is a silver lining. In the upcoming movie Fury (November 2014), permission was granted by the Bovington Tank Museum to use the only fully operational Tiger I in existence (Tiger #131) in the movie. Hopefully, if they have gone through the trouble of getting Bovington to agree to let them use their tank (they have refused everyone else) in the movie, then that attention to detail will carry over into the rest of the film.

Now what does this have to do with my little Hetzer? Well I wanted you to understand the depth of my snobbery, especially when it comes to the suspension, road wheels and tracks. I anticipate I will spend as much time and effort on these three items as everything else combined.