Dragon

1/35th Pz.Kpfw.38(t) Ausf.G with Interior

Kit Number: DRA6290

Reviewed by  Michael Novosad, IPMS# 36721

MSRP: $47.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com History The Czech LT Vz 38 became the Pz.Kpfw. 38(t) after Germany annexed Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. The Wehrmacht acquired 150 vehicles designated as the Ausf. A. This initial batch was from vehicle production suspended after the Munich agreement of 1939. The Germans added a gun loader to the crew, which in turn required that three ammunition bins, or 18 37 mm rounds, be eliminated. The subject of this kit, the Ausf. G was the final version of this vehicle and was produced from May until December of 1941. Ninety vehicles for this version were produced. The number of rivets was reduced by the increased use of welded joints. The vehicles weighed in at less than 10 tons. Front armor thickness was increased from 25 mm to 50 mm for the Ausf. G The Ausf. G served mainly on the Eastern from, with some vehicles being transferred to Hungary, Rumania and Slovakia. Despite being obsolete the 38 (t) Ausf. G served into 1944. I always wondered why this vehicle was not used in North Africa: The engine cooling system was such that the system was ineffective above 60 degrees Celsius. The Kit Instructions - The instructions are typical Dragon, with 10 fold-out pages, complete with sometimes very busy multi-step, exploded views. This format has often been criticized for complexity and confusion, but I have found with study and planning the instructions has served me well. I use a high-lighter to mark off the parts and steps completed. Very few parts were identified as not being used in the build, but several options were noted in the instructions. Reviewing the instructions I noted a complete interior is included: engine, transmission, crew seating, armament, bulkheads and accessories. The various crew and engine hatches are designed for posing in open positions. With all the detail included it would be a shame not to allow viewing all this superb detail. In addition to the instructions a small, six-page brochure was included that high-lights specific features of this kit. The individual track links supposedly have casting numbers included. There are two options for the leaf spring suspension system, drive sprockets and turret periscope allowing the modelers to match his specific vehicle references. One of the most distinctive features of these vehicles is the many rivets: all are reproduced in this kit, including the different styles and sizes! The one piece, slid-molded hull includes exterior as well as interior (although somewhat minimal) detail. Finally, the fenders may be installed straight, or bent as seen in vintage photos of this vehicle. Sprues and packaging - My kit arrived without the clear packaging wrapper, and all the sprues were without the typical individual plastic bags. Some parts had broken free from the sprue, but everything appeared to be included in the box. There were eleven sprues in grey plastic, one clear parts, a small photo etch fret and decals. The parts were crisply molded in the typical Dragon high standard for their recent kits. Clear parts - the clear parts are limited to the armored lenses for the side vision ports. Photo etch - the photo etch fret includes the external tool box, grilles, radio frame, battery box and clamps. Tracks - a single, small bag of Magic Track individual links is also included. Decals - decals are provide for six vehicles, including a three-color camouflaged unknown unit vehicle in Bohemia, one dark yellow Slovakian LT-38, one Panzer Grey Hungarian tank, and three German tanks in the familiar Panzer Grey scheme. These schemes should offer the modelers with options to meet their personal tastes. Construction Hull construction - Often the Dragon instructions are a bit vague when locating some parts, and it is necessary to look at later steps to verify the questionable part locations. Part A18, woven flooring is an example. The rear tow hooks, parts B24 and B25, have tabs that insert into previously installed mounting plates, parts B33. The tabs were a bit too thick to install in the slots, so I cut them off. A touch of solvent on the mounting face fixed the hooks in place. The muffle and exhaust pipe were assembled as part of step 3. The exhaust pipe should be vertical installation, but somehow mine ended up horizontal. Check this before the solvent sets up. I deferred the installation of the muffle/exhaust pipe until after the finish painting. In step 1 three rivets must be added on each side of the rear idler hull frame. The rivets are located on the "K" sprue. A sharp blade must be used to remove the rivets from the surface of the sprue. This is a bit of effort to add detail that will eventually be hidden. I ignored this step. Do not glue the hull front panels in place until after the transmission is fitted. The sides of the hull must be spread slightly to allow the drive gear to fit. Once the drive train was in place the hull front panels are glued in place. Somehow I created a step between parts B37 and B38, but a strip of square section styrene fixed the problem Running Gear - There are two choices for the drive sprockets. I could not discern the subtle differences, so I just picked the pair that I liked the best. Care must be taken when fitting the two halves together to align the internal ribs. There are two choices for the leaf springs, so once again I picked the ones that I liked the best. The fit of the various parts struck me as a bit loose, so after applying the solvent I dry-set the main wheels in place to make certain that all wheels touched the surface while the joins hardened. I mounted the main wheels on round toothpicks for painting later. From past experience I knew that I needed to mask the main wheel mounting axels, as normally the fit of the Dragon kit wheels and axels is tight, and any paint would require some cleanup before the wheels could be fitted. Later the main wheels, sprockets and rear idler would be dry fitted in place while the non-workable track links set up. Transmission/Engine Construction - The transmission is addressed in step 7, and went together as shown, with some minor cleanup of joints required. The parts are really nicely detailed and worthy of display. Rather than use the photo etch controls, I opted for the plastic part D58: I felt that with limited vision into the finished model the effort to use the etched parts could not be justified. Once completed this subassembly was set aside for later painting and weathering. The engine is a small model in itself. There were about 30 parts and four exploded views for the construction. Careful study of each exploded view is necessary to correctly locate the many miscellaneous parts. Some parts were incorrectly numbered. The intake manifold, carburetor and air cleaner was an especially challenging effort, and was left off until the engine was installed. Once completed the subassemblies were set aside for later painting and weathering. Steps 11 and 12 address the placement of the components within the engine compartment. A small photo etch box is installed on the left side of the compartment. I replaced this with a scratch-build item, as I did not like the way the PE parts looks once assembled. Before this part is fixed in place dry-fit the left fuel tank, battery box and engine maintenance tool box. This is a tight fitting area, and every part has its place. Since I decide the leave the engine covers in an open position I left several of the engine components out until after the painting was completed. The engine has two mounting nubs on the bottom, that fit into two mounting nipples on the engine compartment floor. These were impossible to align, and the nubs were cut off and the engine fix in place with super glue. Interior I pre-painted and weathered all the parts before the assembly. Everything fit with no problems. Pretty amazing. The radio consists of a PE frame and plastic radio parts. The interior assembly begins with step 2 and continues intermittently through to step 18. The interior gets quite busy after a while. Frequent reviews of the forthcoming steps is important. Each crew seat is fixed to two mounting holes in the floor. Fixing the seat to the mounting holes was impossible, so I cut the nubs off the seat bottoms and fixed them in place with super glue. Turret/main Armament Armament and turret assembly are addressed in steps 20 through 24. The main gun and adjacent machine gun are gems in themselves. I held off gluing the MG to the ball mount until after everything was painted. Both the turret and hull machine guns are inserted through the back side of the ball mount, so dry-fit the gun in place first to confirm that they will slide into place later. The assembly of the turret face is a bit trick and will require patience to get everything to fit before the solvent is applied. The rear portion of the turret contains several ammunition boxes fixed to the turret floor. Glue the boxes in place then dry-fit the parts into the turret before the solvent sets up. The boxes need to cant inward slightly to allow the turret top to fit perfectly. Parts C10, C11 and C25 fit below the turret mantel. The smaller parts (C10 and C11) were challenging to fix in place, and the front of the turret ring was too short and broke when I glued it in place. I had to clamp part C25 while the solvent set up, and still ended up with a gap that needed filling. The poor fit may have been my fault. The various clear vision ports were fitted in place, but before this was done small strips of Tamiya masking tape was applied to both sides of the vision lenses. This masking was left in place until after all the painting was completed. Remember to go back and remove all masking once the painting is completed. Tracks - The links are not workable. The instructions show that 96 links per side are required. I dry-assembled the links using a home-made jig, applied the solvent, and allowed the joins to semi-harden. The pliable assembly was draped around the running gear and allowed to set up. These assemblies can be fragile, so some care in the final installation will be required. The fit of the drive sprockets took some finessing to fit into the tracks. Again, patience is required. One track shrank a bit after curing and required the addition of one more link before the assembly would close. The other side was perfect. I recommend that the road wheels, sprockets, rear idler and return roller be left off until the tracks are ready for installation. For those of you who paint the tracks in place my hat goes off to you! Finishing/Painting The exhaust pipe and muffler were assembled as part of step 3. After cleanup of the joints, I used a hobby knife blade to drill out the exhaust pipe for a more scale appearance. The surface of the muffler and pipes were textured with Mr. Surfacer 500. This sub-assembled was first painted with Tamiya flat black. Pactra rust was then dry-brushed onto the surfaces, and some streaks and stains were added using burnt sienna and ochre oil paints. Most Pz.Kpfw. 38(t) tanks are seen in the early Panzer Grey paint scheme. Few are seen in Dunklegelb or a three color camouflage scheme. I was inclined to do the three color scheme. The model was first painted with Rustoleum's Painter's Pride, flat white. Once the primer had dried I airbrushed my mix of red oxide primer on all exterior surfaces. I then applied the Dunklegelb, followed by red/brown and field grey applied in a very random pattern. All paints used were Tamiya acrylics thinned with 91% isopropyl alcohol. A wash of thinned burnt umber oil paint was applied over the entire surface. This same mix was re-applied in the various recesses. Chipping was done with a foam sponge and black acrylic black paint. The vehicle that I modeled had minimal markings: a cross on each side of the turret. I used a piece of an old cotton T-shirt to buff the painted surface that would receive the decals. There appeared to be minimal carrier film on the decals. Using MicroSet and MicroSol the decals went down with no problem (the surface was flat) and there was no silvering. The finished model was sealed with an airbrushed coat of Floquil Flat.

References used in the Project Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. Squadron/Signal Publications Pz. Kpfw, 38 (t) in Action. Panzer Tracks Number 18. Very helpful in this project.. Conclusion The brochure included with the kit states that "The new kit of the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) with interior detail is the pinnacle of Dragon's work on previous Pz.Kpfw.38(t) kits". This kit has excellent detail and a sufficient number of parts to keep any modeler busy for some time. The model is certainly geared to the experienced modeler. The many small parts may prove challenging, but are worth the effort. Parts fit well in most instances, and the detail is crisp. Fixing the tools in place as shown on the instructions was a challenge, and not all fit exactly where shown. All in all, this is an outstanding kit, and gave me a great time during the build and painting process. This is highly recommended for a fun build and a great model to add to anyone's collection. I recommended the instructions be thoroughly reviewed (several times) before starting any assembly, and always check the next several steps to identify any of the several parts that appear on the drawings without being noted for installation in previous steps. Test-fitting of the engine compartment component subassemblies is important to avoid conflicts. This is a very tight area with some close tolerances. Be aware that the interior assemblies will take some planning and effort to fit properly. So decide early in the build if you want to spend the time in these steps. If you have the patience and perseverance it will be worth it. Thanks to Dragon and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to build this kit.