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DR6469:
Flakpanzer 38(t) Sd.Kfz. 140 auf (Sf) Ausf. L "Gepard'.
1/35 injection plastic kit with multimedia
accessories
and decals
The Flakpanzer 38(t) was developed to provide the Panzer Division with
light anti-aircraft protection that could immediately engage aircraft
without the need for any preparation and also keep up with the tanks
when traveling off-road. 140 plus a prototype were built from late 1943
to early 1944 to provide an interim anti-aircraft tank prior to the
introduction of the more powerful Flakpanzer IV. Most of the Flakpanzer
38(t), which was also designated as Gepard, served on the Western Front
in Normandy, while others fought in Italy.
CONTENTS
This new release from Dragon provides a comprehensive 1/35 model of
the Flakpanzer 38(t), which includes interior detail for the fighting
compartment, the mid-mounted engine, transmission and much of the driving
compartment. This model is in the Smart Kit format and has extensive
use of refined molding techniques, such as slide molding, to produce
crisp parts such as the armored plate surrounding the flak, which are
thin and detailed inside and out. Most modelers will find this releases
allows them to build an impressive kit out of the box, while for others
it provides a solid basis for super detailing. The design of the kit
allows flexibility in choosing your level of challenge.
It has approximately 350 parts for the hull, gun and fighting compartment,
plus another 200 for the Magic Tracks. Parts include photo etch, pre-formed
metal parts, and twisted metal for the tow cable. The gatefold instructions
have 19 steps of line drawings. The spare parts are particularly useful
and include some Gen-2 personal effects (spades, helmets etc), clear
plastic periscopes, an Sd.Ah. 51 trailer (which with a bit of scratch
building could become an ammunition trailer), radio set, and assorted
Panzer 38(t) hull parts.
UPPER ARMOUR & FIGHTING COMPARTMENT
The Flakpanzer 38(t) has a new and distinctive open fighting-compartment
which had hinged upper armor plates. To achieve a lower center of gravity
(and overcome a problem with other vehicles such as the Flakpanzer I)
the hull of the Panzer 38(t) Ausf L / Marder III Ausf M was extended
to the rear to create an area large enough to mount the Flak. Having
the gun mounted lower down also allowed for side armor to be fitted.
This kit's rear armor has a thin profile and captures both the external
detail such as bolt and rivet heads, and the internal detail including
the reinforcing strips and the nuts for the bolts. As such this kit
features a more sophisticated level of tooling than on some other open
topped kits in the Panzer 38(t) family.
The upper armor can be modeled up or down and the kit includes the internal
catches that secured the hinged plates while traveling (two sets of
catches are provided one closed set for when the armor plate is up and
the other open set for when its down). The engine deck has the larger
hatches of the Flakpanzer and these can be modeled open to reveal the
engine.
The fighting compartment is fully equipped with ammunition, radios mounted
in their racks, gas mask containers (with PE straps), MP38/40 submachine
guns, crew seats attached to the armored body and the barrel case.
The front plate is equally detailed with the spare track rack, separate
transmission inspection cover and fine bolt head detail. The cast driver
compartment hood is a separate part that has subtle detail for the casting
texture, as well as detail for the bolt heads and the hinges.
On the rear exterior, PE is used for several small fastening straps
and a cover plate. As expected the fire extinguisher, exhaust pipe,
multi-part muffler and convoy light are all the latest tooling.
Like with related Dragon kits the driver's compartment has the driver's
seat, firewall detail, transmission and gearbox, providing potential
for leaving the varying hatches open to reveal the interior.
The new side fenders have a lip (fold) on the outer edge, and separate
fender support brackets. There are no predrilled holes on the fenders,
so take care when fitting the tools etc. The tools come with separate
PE clamps and the forward toolbox with its perforations is also PE with
separate 3 part latches (optional plastic tool box included). The Notek
light is Gen-2 standard with optional PE detail and the full side aerial
is included.
The left side armor has the air vents for the engine integrated into
the part for the side armor. The angled louvers are sharply defined
and even include the obscured bolts. On both sides of the Flakpanzer
38(t) there were horizontal intake grilles that are not visible in side
on photos. Dragon has included these grilles, which are made from drop
fit PE.
LOWER HULL, ENGINE & SUSPENSION
The lower hull is based on a crisp and detailed one-piece tub, which
has separate parts for the rear idler mount, return roller mounts, and
newly tooled front lower glacis and extended new rear plate. These plates
are well detailed with the rear plate having a separate access hatch
and separate parts for the tow hooks.
One attraction of this kit is the comprehensive engine bay, which compares
favorably to references and offers plenty of potential for dioramas
and super detailed projects as the bi-fold hatches can be built open.
The engine block is multipart and has accurate small detail such as
the gasket heads. Numerous other engine bay fittings such as the battery,
air filter, radiator, firewall, fan with the numerous blades and belt,
filter and varying tubes are all included. For completeness all you
really need to add is some wire for the electrical cables etc. Given
the full engine block is detailed you could also model the engine removed
from the Flakpanzer or being hoisted up from the engine bay.
The
crisply tooled suspension can be assembled with some articulation to
allow for positioning on a diorama base either with the kit's own tracks
(while the glue dries) or with aftermarket workable tracks. The road
wheels are new tooling, which now features a raised lip on the rubber
tyres where they join the steel wheels. On close inspection of wartime
factory photos this new detail is visible. The previous set of road
wheels is included as spares and would be useful for updating some older
kits. For the rear idlers there is now a choice of two patterns, the
first having the tear drop shaped lightening holes and the second which
is new tooling has circular lightening holes. Many photos of the Flakpanzer
38(t) have the second profile.
The tracks are pre-cut Magic Tracks come loose and can be assembled
by clicking them together and applying glue when each track is finished.
They feature open guide horns and minute casting numbers on each link.
These links have slight injection marks and 99% of modelers could be
happily used without requiring clean up. I found the link clicked together
with a positive alignment, which held firm during normal handling.
FLAK 38
The Flak 38 was fitted on a raised platform in the rear of the Flakpanzer
and the space around the turntable was used to store ammunition. The
combination of this raised base and the hinged front and side armor
allowed the Flak to not only fire the full 360 degrees, but to also
engage ground targets with a negative 5 degree depression.
With the Flakpanzer 38(t) Dragon have provided a crisp new raised mount,
which has the stowage recesses for the ammunition cases. The cases are
separate parts with fine detail for the handles etc.
The Flak 38 in this kit shares most of its parts with other recent Dragon
releases. This gun has crisp detail and features a mix of slide-molding,
multiple parts for items such as the main gun sights. In this kit modelers
have the choice of the gun sight normally associated with the Flak 38
or a newly tooled sight seen in some photos of the Flakpanzer 38(t).
This new sight has a circular disk replacing a metal box.
The injection plastic gun shield parts have tapering edges, no injection
pin marks, detail for the brackets with nut heads and appear to be straightforward
to assemble. This kit provides the option to have the standard shield
or a modified version with revised lower plates including a cutout on
the (gunner's) lower left side. Optional photo etch parts are included
for the gunner's small shield, but not the larger main shield.
The spent shell case has PE mesh for the upper screens and pre-formed
metal mesh for the lower bag. Optional PE is included for parts such
as the tightening hand-wheels on the Flak's base.
The barrel tube is a single piece slide-molding with a hollow muzzle
opening, while the flash suppressors on the side are represented by
indentations. For the cannon's feeder & breech there is the choice
of three options and any one of these options can be fitted without
any need to rework parts.
Alternative arms and plates allow the gun to be positioned at one of
four angles of elevation, namely flat at zero degrees, raised 20 degrees,
40 degrees and 60 degrees, which effectively allow a modeler to choose
a position in each band of elevation.
DECALS
The decal sheet has four sets of Balkan Crosses. Two profiles are solid
black centers with white outline and the other two are white outline
only and differ in their size. The instruction sheet suggests a solid
dark yellow paint scheme as per the box art.
The instruction sheet has three view profiles of six Flakpanzer 38(t)
from France 1944. Three of them from 12 SS Panzer Division Hitler Jugend
have camouflage paint schemes with soft edged bands and patches, while
another from that unit has a solid dark yellow scheme. The one Flakpanzer
from 21 Panzer Division has a dark yellow base with a hard edged dark
brown camouflage. The vehicle on the box art is listed on the instruction
as being from an unidentified unit, although Francev and Kliment in
a colour profile have identified it as also being from Hitler Jugend
and having unit insignia on the left rear.
The decals include Balkan Crosses, shipping stencil, unit insignia for
HJ and the tactical numbers for two Flakpanzer. As usual the decals
are by Cartograf.
RECOMMENDATION
The Flakpanzer 38(t) "Gepard' is an impressive kit which on close
examination includes numerous details and improvements that reveal a
high level of research and tooling. The inclusion of PE, magic Tracks,
a driving compartment and the full engine bay ensure that the kit is
very comprehensive, and offers considerable potential for those who
wish to take advantage of the optional features. Overall this kit will
allow a wide range of modelers to build a rewarding model out of the
box. Highly recommended.
-
Neville Lord
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