Panzer III and other Tank Ammunition
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:44 pm
Ammunition for the Panzer III and other Tanks.
Under a Pz III topic there has been a question about making ammunition. As I have already made the 88 mm rounds for the Tiger 1 and had plans to make other rounds I am replying to the question in a separate thread as some of you may not read it under the Pz III topic.
I can make all ammunition rounds given time, however the drawbacks are, research time to get them right, it took two years to do the 88 mm rounds with the help of a couple of 1:1 munitions collectors, cost of production and how many would sell.
When I made the 88 mm AP round I was lucky to find a company that priced them fairly cheaply and was able to offer them at only $9.95 each. These are machined turned alloy and electro color plated. However this company would not make them again unless I ordered over 10,000. No market for that amount. I was able to find a company to make the 88 mm HE round, but the prices was five times higher, and the minimum order was 500. So unless I can sell close to that number it would not be economical to make other rounds.
To have the Pz III rounds made in metal I would have to sell them at around $15.00 to $18.00 each estimated. Plus have confirmed orders for around 300 to cover my time and costs.
The alternative is to spin cast them in metal or resin cast them. Metal cast ones would be around $7 to $8, these would be in two parts with the shell case being hollow to reduce metal and weight. They would come unpainted. Resin cast ones would be a complete round and unpainted at a price of around $4 to $5 each.
Steve of Panzerwerks makes a few different rounds in resin, but his site is down at the moment so I was not able to check which ones he makes.
Here is a picture and information of German tank ammunition that covers most of the main tanks.
To answer Jim Flower's question about the Dragon Pak 38 ammunition, this was only used in the Pak 38 as far as I know. But I am not a expert on this, maybe someone with more knowledge than me can put in their 2 cents worth. The information and picture here was taken from a collectors web site.
I have most of the research done the AP and HE rounds for Panzer IV 7.5 cm ,the Panther 7.5 cm and Tiger II (King Tiger) 8.8 cm. All that is needed is a little more research and the tec drawings for machining.
Here are pictures of my 88 mm AP & HE rounds so you can see the quality and detail.
88-36AP-C1 88 mm Kw.K 36 AP Round with Copper Case 9.95
88-36HE-B1 88 mm Kw.K 36 HE Round with Brass Case 22.95
88-36HE-C1 88 mm Kw.K 36 HE Round with Cooper Case 22.95
Steel cases are sold out and will not be made again unless there is a large demand for them. I have limited quantities of brass cases and these are restricted for sale with the HE projectile. The AP projectile is resin cast in black as I have ran out of the metal turned ones. The price of $9.95 will remain as long as I have cooper shell cases in stock. To make the cases or the AP projectile in metal again I have to order 500 of each, I doubt these will be made again so once they are gone there will be no more. Decals sold seperately.
Regards
Mike
Under a Pz III topic there has been a question about making ammunition. As I have already made the 88 mm rounds for the Tiger 1 and had plans to make other rounds I am replying to the question in a separate thread as some of you may not read it under the Pz III topic.
I can make all ammunition rounds given time, however the drawbacks are, research time to get them right, it took two years to do the 88 mm rounds with the help of a couple of 1:1 munitions collectors, cost of production and how many would sell.
When I made the 88 mm AP round I was lucky to find a company that priced them fairly cheaply and was able to offer them at only $9.95 each. These are machined turned alloy and electro color plated. However this company would not make them again unless I ordered over 10,000. No market for that amount. I was able to find a company to make the 88 mm HE round, but the prices was five times higher, and the minimum order was 500. So unless I can sell close to that number it would not be economical to make other rounds.
To have the Pz III rounds made in metal I would have to sell them at around $15.00 to $18.00 each estimated. Plus have confirmed orders for around 300 to cover my time and costs.
The alternative is to spin cast them in metal or resin cast them. Metal cast ones would be around $7 to $8, these would be in two parts with the shell case being hollow to reduce metal and weight. They would come unpainted. Resin cast ones would be a complete round and unpainted at a price of around $4 to $5 each.
Steve of Panzerwerks makes a few different rounds in resin, but his site is down at the moment so I was not able to check which ones he makes.
Here is a picture and information of German tank ammunition that covers most of the main tanks.
To answer Jim Flower's question about the Dragon Pak 38 ammunition, this was only used in the Pak 38 as far as I know. But I am not a expert on this, maybe someone with more knowledge than me can put in their 2 cents worth. The information and picture here was taken from a collectors web site.
I have most of the research done the AP and HE rounds for Panzer IV 7.5 cm ,the Panther 7.5 cm and Tiger II (King Tiger) 8.8 cm. All that is needed is a little more research and the tec drawings for machining.
Here are pictures of my 88 mm AP & HE rounds so you can see the quality and detail.
88-36AP-C1 88 mm Kw.K 36 AP Round with Copper Case 9.95
88-36HE-B1 88 mm Kw.K 36 HE Round with Brass Case 22.95
88-36HE-C1 88 mm Kw.K 36 HE Round with Cooper Case 22.95
Steel cases are sold out and will not be made again unless there is a large demand for them. I have limited quantities of brass cases and these are restricted for sale with the HE projectile. The AP projectile is resin cast in black as I have ran out of the metal turned ones. The price of $9.95 will remain as long as I have cooper shell cases in stock. To make the cases or the AP projectile in metal again I have to order 500 of each, I doubt these will be made again so once they are gone there will be no more. Decals sold seperately.
Regards
Mike