German Panzer III Ausf. J
Polish Carpathian Lancers

After finishing my Autoblinda AB41 from the same unit, I ended up building a Panzer III Ausf J used by the Carpathian Lancers as well. What really caught my interest was the idea that this tank, once captured, appears to have been repainted in Light Stone, which is not something you commonly see on a Panzer III. I was curious to see how this iconic German silhouette would look in desert British-style colors. Also, for some reason, I find myself coming back to Panzer III kits more than any other, this one makes it my fifth so far (G, H, J, L, and N). Maybe I'll make it a personal mission to make all variants ?

The Panzer III Ausf J was introduced in 1941. It featured upgraded armor, up to 50 mm on the front hull and turret. Early in production cycle it was equipped with a 50 mm KwK 38 L/42 main gun (this model included) which was later changed for longer 5 cm KwK 39 L/60.

This model depicts one of three Panzer III tanks captured during the North African campaign, most likely during the battles around El Alamein in 1942, and handed over to Polish Carpathian Lancers. These tanks were not used in combat roles after capture but were instead repurposed for training exercises, and demonstration purposes. Reference material I was using includes photographs showing these captured vehicles lined up with Polish crews at the Middle East School of Artillery at El Maʽza near Cairo. These tanks bear red-white-red Allied recognition stripes and appear to be in freshly repainted condition. Some additional photos show these tanks used in a filming session for propaganda purposes.

The Carpathian Lancers were part of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade, a Polish unit formed in the Middle East by soldiers evacuated after the fall of Poland. The brigade fought in the Siege of Tobruk and became part of the Polish II Corps, later seeing action in Italy. While primarily an infantry formation, certain elements like the Lancers performed reconnaissance duties.

One of the biggest challenges with this build was making it visually interesting, since I wanted to stay faithful to the reference photos. Those show the vehicle as freshly painted, with no external stowage or battle damage, essentially a clean, factory-like appearance. That made it tricky to avoid a "boring" look. I tried to remedy that by experimenting with washes, using them more liberally than I normally do, in order to bring out as much detail as possible. Not the most interesting looking model I built, but at least not a plain yellow brick.

The kit is Academy No. 13531, a very nice model with a Tamiya-like quality. The tracks are 3D-printed T-Rex versions, incredibly detailed but also quite fiddly to work with. The kit-supplied tracks look good too, being link-and-length types, but unfortunately, they feature solid guide horns, which were never used on the Panzer III J.

Aside from that, the only additions are a few replacement clamps, a combination of 3D-printed and photo-etched (PE). The jerrycan rack was scratch-built from leftover PE pieces.

The model was painted with MRP Light Stone, and a combination of Vallejo and Gunze for details. Decals are Echelon, although I had a lot of problems with them (they disintegrated completely), so it would probably be much easier to just paint the markings.

Weathering was a bit different compared to what I usually do. I usually avoid washes, or use them very sparingly, because I'm a bit afraid that the result will not be realistic. In this case, I used them quite a lot. Several different brownish washes. Other than that, I used pigments, first sprayed over the whole model to blend everything together, and then rubbed here and there.

And these are the reference photos I used.