Dragon

1/35 - Dragon Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. N. with Schurzen

Kit Number: 6474 Smart Kit

Reviewed by  Scott Staudt, IPMS# 46953

MSRP: $47.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com I would like to thank Dragon and IPMS for the opportunity to review this kit. Background The N entered service in June 1942 and production continued until August 1943. 700 examples were produced. Thru out its service, it was used as a close-support for Tiger battalions or Panzergrenadeir divisions. The Kit Once you pry the box top off, you are greeted with a box crammed full of sprues. There are 19 gray sprues, 3 photo etch frets, 1 clear sprue and 216 individual or magic tracks. As with a lot of the new DML kits, there are a lot of pieces that are extra. This is due to the fact that they throw sprues in from several older kits along with several new ones. This mix of old and new sprues leads to some confuse as there are several sprues that are labeled with the same letter. I found myself looking back at the front of the instructions where the sprues were pictured. I would think that they could at least letter all the sprues differently so it would be easier to find the right sprue. Other than that, the kit has no flash and no sink marks. Assembly The assembly is laid out much like every other tank type vehicle ever made. The running gear assembly is laid out in the first 5 steps. Step four covers the rear hull and where you have the first decision because you have a choice of 2 types of exhaust. Throughout the instructions there are several places where you have the choice of different pieces. Assembly of the upper hull is covered in steps 6 to 15. In step 9, the instruction's call for the shovel to be put in the wrong spot. I had to look several steps ahead to find the correct location. Steps 16 to 19 are where the upper hull, lower hull, and tracks come together. This kit has magic tracks. This was my first experience with magic tracks and it was not very hard to assemble both runs of tracks in no time. In steps 20 to 24, the turret comes together. And in the last step the whole tank comes together and the side schurzen, nicely done in photo-etch, are added. This kit was a real joy to put together. When you first look at the instructions, there is a sense of being overwhelmed with the large number of parts. But once you start, the kit falls together in no time. All throughout the assembly you have a choice of plastic and photo-etch. I choose to use the plastic for the simple reason I find it easier to use than the photo-etch, and there is no lose in detail between the photo-etch and plastic.

Paint There are 5 camo choices on the back of the instructions. 3 cover tanks used in Kursk in 1943. The other 2 cover a tank in Norway, 1945 and the other tank was on the western front in 1944. Each paint option has excellent Cartograf markings to finish off the tank. I choose to not follow any of the markings, and go with a three color camo that might have been used later in the war. Step one for me when it comes to painting, is a good coat of Tamiya primer. I find that this primer sucks down on every little detail and provides a good base to start painting. Nest step was to paint the tank with Tamiya's Hull Red. This color is a little dark for late war German primer, but it gives me a preshading coat. The next color used was Tamiya's Dark Yellow. I gave the model a good overall coat. Once dry, I lighten up the dark yellow with Deck Tan. I use this lighten color and shoot the model straight from the top. After the last yellow coat, I free hand a random camo pattern using Tamiya's NATO Green and Red Brown. Both of these colors are a good out of the bottle match to the late war German camo colors. I decided not to use any decals for this tank. The last two steps in finishing is to dull coat the model and weather with washes and powders.

Conclusion Another great model from the boys at Dragon. The fit of the parts was excellent with no flash and no visible sink marks. Instructions were well laid out and easy to follow. I would highly recommend this kit for a mid war German tank. And as always, with a Dragon kit, your spare parts box will double in size!