Griffon Models

1/35 Rear Storage Bins For the WWII German Panther Ausf. D/A/C & Jagdpanther

Stock Number: L35A049

Reviewed By  Michael Delano, IPMS# 45465

MSRP: $10.25 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Review Sample Provided by Dragon Models USA. The Griffon produced rear storage bins set for Panthers and Jagdpanthers is a very nice photo etch substitution for the pit supplied parts from Dragon and Tamiya among others. The set comes with a single sheet of brass 2 ½ inches by 4 5/8 inches in size along with a length of wire to detail the bin hinges, a small plastic rod used as both a tool to bevel the bin ridges and later use as bolt rods. Also included very detailed instruction sheet that should be quite easy for anyone with any PE experience to use. Assembly of the bins is very straight forward. Each of the outer bin shells are one piece with another one piece part for the part of the shell that backs up to the rear bulkhead of the Panther. As far as filling out the bin ridges, the instructions call for using the plastic rod included with the set. Out of fear that I’d break the rod however, I opted to just use a small burnishing head to do the trick. Assembly of the bin door hinges and clasps is a bit more of a challenge. As evident from the photos, the clasps for the bin doors are very small, though very well engineered as they are only two pieces – one for the main body of the clasp and one very small part for the locking mechanism. You’ll need magnifying apparatus for this though, as can be seen in the photo, there are small tabs that might need to be cleaned up if you’re like me and didn’t use a brand new X-acto knife. The bin door hinges are just as small, requiring 3 parts each for completion. Overall, I would recommend this detail set for one who is experienced with PE sets that include small parts. I ran into a number of instances where I lost parts from this set to the carpet monster as I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with PE quite this small prior to now. Aside from the experience factor though, this is a very nice set and when assembled and mounted looks much better that the kit supplied storage bins in my DML Panther A Premium edition kit. Many thanks to Dragon Models USA and IPMS for the sample and opportunity to review this detail set.