Sd.Kfz. 138 Panzerjaeger 39 fuer 7.5 cm Pak 40/3 Ausf. H Marder III HReviewed by Cookie Sewell
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Stock Number and Description | Dragon Models Limited 1/35 Scale ‘39-‘45 Series Kit No. 6331; Sd.Kfz. 138 Panzerjaeger 39 fuer 7.5 cm Pak 40/3 Ausf. H Marder III H - Smart Kit |
Scale: | 1/35 |
Media and Contents: | 731 parts (398 in grey styrene, 240 "Magic Track" links, 82 etched brass, 10 clear styrene, 1 turned aluminum barrel) |
Price: | price estimated at US $41-45.00. Will be available online from Mission Models |
Review Type: | First Look |
Advantages: | First kit of this new subject to get to market; very nicely done and appears easier to assemble than competing kit |
Disadvantages: | May be compromised by shared parts with later Pzkw. 38(t) kits |
Recommendation: | Highly Recommended for all THNP series fans and German modelers |
FirstLook
After years of rather underserved neglect, in the past year model
companies have turned to the Praga TNHP-S series tanks and their
German derivatives with a vengeance. Last year Tristar released two
kits of the Pzkw. 38(T) Ausf E/F and Ausf. G, and this year they are
following it with a Marder III conversion. DML is also putting its
hat into the ring with a series of Pzkw. 38(t) kits, and this one,
the Marder III, is their first entry.
There has been a lot of speculation on the internet about this kit,
and having finally seen it, most of it turns out to be specious.
Only one problem brought up by the "boo birds" seems to be correct:
the base Pzkw. 38(t) chassis had a "kink" in the fenders about
halfway along their length with the front section angling up about 3
degrees from the rear section. The fenders on this kit are dead
straight, so it does not replicate that feature. However, many
checks of photos with a straight edge show most of the vehicles in
service either are hard to tell if this feature is present, or the
fenders are so bend up along their edges that it is impossible to
tell if it is kinked or not. While the kit comes with styrene
fenders, a set of cyber-hobby.com etched brass ones now seems
inevitable.
The kit is nicely done, but unlike past "Smart Kits" - designed so
that etched brass is either kept to a minimum or not required – this
kit has a good amount of brass with it and it must be used to
construct the model. Some parts are obvious, such as the various
grilles and the
"basket" at the rear of the deck extending out from the fighting
compartment (which is nicely pre-formed and packed separately.)
Others include the frame for the radio set and the ammunition rack
mounts.
Generally the kit follows the same formula as the Sd.Kfz. 251/22,
the Sd.Kfz. 234/4 and Marder II kits in that it is a base vehicle
with additional parts and two sprues from DML's towed Pak 40 kit.
The directions are typical DML and start out being obtuse. For
example, it shows the ammo cases being assembled and sealed with the
rounds INSIDE the cases – only a small wording of "open/close" and
some two-way arrows indicate it can be shown either way, with no
drawing of what "open" is. The suspension is similar to that of the
Tristar kits with each bogie assembly consisting of nine parts. A
"doormat" type matting is provided for the floor of the fighting
compartment. The rear plate comes with optional covers (D29) over
the track tensioning mounts (D28) but in this case, unlike Tristar's
first kits, it shows them as either/or rather than both at the same
time.
The driveline and interior are mostly styrene parts, such as the
transmission/clutch assembly, steering controls, driveshaft and
shield. DML's machine gun is similar to the Tristar one, but is not
moveable once installed. It consists of a single piece element with
a "slide molded" hollow flash hider. It comes with a mesh grille
(MA-20) with working cover (MA-1, MA-12) over the rear air exhaust
grille.
The ammo racks are all molded as groups of tubes and dummy half
rounds are provided to simulate a loaded tube. There is one small
radio and it mounts on the right side of the casemate. Each
periscope in the fighting compartment is all stryene (clear prism
component, grey mounts) and may be positioned as folded or erected.
Four different finishing options are provided along with two
Cartograf decal sheets (a targeted one for the vehicle, and a
generic one for the 7.5 cm ammo shipping containers.) The vehicles
are for Pz.Jg.Abt. 171, 17th Infantry Division, Italy 1943 (three
tone camo); 2nd Company Pz.Jg.Abt. 39, 21st Panzer Division, Tunisia
1943 (two color camo); 23rd Panzer Division, Eastern Front 1944 (Panzerbraun);
and unidentified unit, Italy 1944 (three color camo.)
Assistance on this kit is credited to Tom Cockle and Gary Edmundson.
Overall, this is a nice kit and a vast improvement over the 30+ year
old Italeri one. It appears to be well laid out and with the
(relatively) minimal amount of brass easy to assemble.
A 66 Pzkw. 38(t) wheels and
suspension
B 70 Pzkw. 38(t) Ausf. G fenders and hull components
B 63 Pak 40 upper carriage and barrel
C 31 Pak 40 7.5 cm rounds and shipping containers
D 58 Pzkw. 38(t) interior and transmission components
G 87 Pzkw. 38(t) - Marder III gun mount and details
E 1 Pzkw. 38(t) Hull
J 4 clear styrene vision blocks
K 18 Pzkw. 38(t) OVM
M 1 Pzkw. 38(t) hull rear plate
N 4 cleaning rods and accessories
W 3x2 clear styrene vision blocks
Y 240 Magic Track
MA 81 etched brass
MB 1 turned aluminum barrel
MB 1 preformed etched brass basket
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.