German Panzer Kpfw. 38(t) Ausf. G Panzerbefehlswagen Pz.BfWg 38(t) Ausf. Gby Cookie Sewell
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Stock Number and Description | Tristar 1/35 Scale Kit No. 35022; German Panzer Kpfw. 38(t) Ausf. G/Panzerbefehlswagen Pz.BfWg 38(t) Ausf. G |
Scale: | 1/35 |
Media and Contents: | 543 parts (484 parts in tan styrene, 51 etched brass, 8 clear styrene) |
Price: | US $42.00 |
Review Type: | FirstLook and FirstBuild |
Advantages: | Subtly different from the earlier Ausf. E/F kit; options for either command or line variant of the tank, very nice track sets' |
Disadvantages: | tracks are not particularly fun to assemble (see text) |
Recommendation: | Highly Recommended for all early war German and "Small Army" fans |
Background
The TNHP-S has so far been served by the old Italeri kit and another
from Alan in Russia, but now Tristar has come out with not one but
TWO kits of this popular little tank. Following right on the heels
of their very nice Ausf. E/F kit is one of the Ausf. G. This one
does not come with figures but it does come with a lot of options
and also the ability to make it as an early command tank with the
"handrail" antenna.
According to the 2002 Francev/Kliment book on the TNHP-S tank, or "Praga"
(I messed up earlier; while the tanks were later built at the famous
"Skoda" works they were a CKD design and the term "Praga" is named
in honor of the Czech capital – Prague) reached its final tank
design with the German Wehrmacht in the Ausf. G in 1941; an H model
was forecast but the tank was then considered obsolete, but the
reliable and useful chassis were used instead for self-propelled
antitank guns. 306 of these tanks (and an extra 184 turrets for
fortifications) were built (serials 1101-1359 and 1480-1526) with
production terminating on 20 June 1942.
The G was little different from the F that preceded it, having
basically some changed fittings and new stowage and rearrangement of
items like the "Notek" light to provide better protection to fragile
components.
Roughly one tank in 20 was built as a command vehicle, and to
augment the normal Fu 5 radio set with pole antenna it mounted an Fu
7 or Fu 8, which required both the removal of the main gun and the
installation of a "handrail" antenna around the rear of the hull. To
avoid being singled out for destruction, a high-quality dummy gun
nearly identical to the normal 3.7 cm gun was installed. These tanks
had two radio operator/machine gunners instead of one radio
operator/machine gunner and gunner.
With input again from Tom Jentz (who again gets a free plug for "Panzertracts"
books on the bottom of the box!) this kit also provides for all
known basic options of the Ausf. G. More than 60 parts from the Ausf.
E/F are changed out for new sprues (surprise! Tristar makes NEW
sprues, not "mix and match" ones!) and a new sheet of etched brass
is included. This kit does not come with figures, however, to keep
things balanced and prices about even. There is a choice of fenders
and stowage bins provided, as well as a lot of smaller bits. There
are some minor quibbles (some of the bolt and rivet patterns appear
to be carried over, but since it is removal and not addition it is
pretty minor stuff to me) but overall it matches well with plans and
photos.
Having built the E/F, I can make the following comments on the G.
This is a very precisely engineered kit, and as noted above if parts
don't fit then it is YOUR fault and not Tristar's! I had some fit
problems which soon turned out to be "operator error" on my part and
not theirs.
Assembly starts with the wheels, which are very delicate and require
a great deal of care in assembly. Tires for the road wheels and
return rollers are separate parts, nice if you want to paint them
before installation, and since the last step is installing the
tracks you may prefer that. Like nearly all "flat kits" (belly,
sides, and rear plate as separate parts) the hull is next, and you
will have to take care to find the detail parts on the very compact
and busy sprues.
In Step 4 you begin using the clear parts; note that part G-3 is
mounted as far to the right in the glacis opening as possible in
order to clear handle C-19 if the visor C-18 is left in the open
position. There are two visor styles for the right side, G-1 and
G-2, but I have no idea what the difference is and simply used the
G-2 one. Mounting the bow machine gun is tricky as the handles are
difficult to get through the opening in the glacis and take some
finesse.
Step 5 – tools and stowage – come with very nicely done brass straps
with buckles, clasps and even "belt notch" holes in them. I suggest
annealing them over an alcohol lamp to make them easier to bend. The
rest of the step lists a large number of options. I must say that
Tristar's directions are much easier than DML's to follow in
figuring out where all the parts go, and what is and what is not an
option.
Step 6 covers the upper hull and again note that all parts are a
snug – but correct – fit. I suggest mount the rear deck frame (A-4)
first as it has to have its rear edge butted against the rear plate
and not on top of it. The driver's hatch is nicely done – padding is
molded on the inside and no ejection pin marks. (There are some on
the inside of the hull and under the fenders, but none in any place
of importance.)
The smoke candle box in Step 7D is somewhat tricky to assemble, for
the slotted section (part D-45) is the only one that did not seem to
self-align. Once assembled the box fits well on the stern plate. The
only problem I found in the entire kit worth mentioned took place
here. The E/F kit offers you the adjustment splines for the track
tensioning devices (parts E-33) or covers for them (E-34) but
suggests that the covers go over the splines. That flat out will not
work, as the covers are supposed to fit flush and if assembled per
kit instructions there is a good 2 mm of daylight under them. I left
the covers off, but I think the right choice would be to install the
covers and skip the splines. The G kit splits the difference and
shows an open spline E-33 on the left, and a covered one E-34 on the
right! Go figure.
Step 8 is the initial turret assembly and it requires care. If you
do it right, the gunner's telescopic sight (B-26) rotates with the
gun and this is visible from the front of the turret. Step 8-3
covers the commander's cupola and if you take your time and care the
entire assembly literally goes together without any seams that
should not be there.
In Step 8-4 – turret body – I cemented one side in place, then the
back, then the other side, and finally the roof and front skirt.
This way I was able to align all the parts and again, no gaps. The
turret front is a dead-on fit and the side plates (C-14 and 15) also
snug up without seams.
Step 9 starts with the rail antenna installation, which is pretty
straightforward. But note that the plastic bits have to have brass
footers to attach, so it will require some care to align the entire
assembly.
Last is the track installation; I did one their way and one my way.
Their way is simply snapping the links together and installing them,
but most of the pins are too weak to hold so it was more than a bit
frustrating. I did make a small jig for assembly out of a section of
0.080" square (2mm) strip glued to a section of 0.040" sheet (1mm)
to assist in alignment. "My way" was to use Tamiya "Orange" cement
and make sections of ten with the pins filled off the end sections,
and then assemble them on the model. It was faster and a LOT less
frustrating!
The kit provides decals and finishing instructions for three
different tanks: a command tank with a generic "R01" in red and
white on "Panzergrau;" a line tank from the 1st Armored Division
(Hungary), Estergom 1942; and a tank from the 9th Company of the
Armored Brigade, Bulgaria, 1944. I suggest a good source of photos
though, as the finishing directions are pretty spartan and do not
match with comments in the Francev/Kliment book.
Overall, this is a dandy little kit and will be a fun project for
just about anybody. It is an incredibly precise kit to assemble and
it's fun for me when you don't have to get out the body putty!
Highly Recommended.
Thanks to Bob Lewen of MRC for the review sample