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Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.B Manufacturer: Dragon models Scale: 1/35 Material: Styrene, photo-etch & wire Serial Number: 6572 Price: TBA
Introduction Having previously released the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F that was the subject of good reviews some time ago, many were hoping for an earlier version and then Dragon announced this kit at the Shizuoka show last month. Although largely dissimilar from later variants, they do share various assemblies.
The Kit Contents The kit contents consist of seven large sprues of Dragon's light grey styrene, eleven smaller ones plus two transparent sprues, a separate lower hull and turret shell, two bags of Magic Track tracklinks in two shades of grey, three small pre-formed wires, a brass pre-formed shovel bracket, small photo-etched fret and lastly, a decals sheet.
This is one of those kits that enthuses you to get back to the bench...containing as it does, more or less a full interior that can painted up and displayed 'as is', or super-detailed with various additions such as cabling and wiring.
There are some very nice touches in the kit such as the fully detailed 2cm KwK 30 main gun with a slide-moulded hollow muzzle, and the new turret, but the main attraction for those modellers looking for a non-specific project to build has to be the fully detailed interior.
Construction is fairly conventional, beginning with the running gear as you would expect. There are two types of drive sprocket included in the kit, but the correct ones to use with the extra rim rivets are indicated on the instructions. Each of the idler wheels is constructed from three parts for maximum detail, and the suspension bogies are supplied as one part assemblies just requiring the fitting of the roadwheel. The roadwheels themselves are detailed with the tyre manufacturers logo...or 'Continentau' which can be easily altered to read 'Continental'. Photo-etched chains are provided for the towing pintle on the rear wall, and a photo-etched exhaust screen is provided also.
Construction can then continue with the assembly of the driver's compartment. Although fairly complete, there are some omissions, for example, try as I might I can't see any evidence of a dash for the driver? Having said that, if you're likely to be worried about small omissions such as this, then you're also likely to have your own references and wan to add other things too. Such omissions are small though...especially when you consider what we are provided with. Besides the driver's station there's a fully detailed transmission, and the fighting compartment behind the driver is also fully detailed, with separate inserts providing the walls, including engine firewall for the detail to be built on to, such as various electrical junction boxes etc. which provide a good basis for that super-detailing should you want to go down that particular road!
There's a full set of ammunition storage bins for the right wall that I've not seen before, together with a drum magazine rack for the MG34. All the armoured visors included in the model, have their inside parts made from transparent parts, and are fully detailed. Although I have heard modellers complain that these are difficult to paint because of the need to mask certain areas on them, I've always found that there's no need to mask them, instead just scraping the paint off afterwards with a sharpened wooden cocktail stick.
The hull deck and upper fighting compartment is an integral part with the side fenders, which is acceptable given the small size of the vehicle. All the various hatches are supplied as separate parts with some rudimentary detail on their inner surfaces. Various detailed parts are fitted to the inside walls of the fighting compartment before fixing in place.
All the tools in the kit are supplied with photo-etched clamps on the PE fret included, which means that most of the locating holes present on the fenders will need to be filled before the tools are fitted. There's some confusion when it comes to numbering the various tools on the instructions, which is a simple mistake that shouldn't have been made, but not one that's too difficult to sort out, after all a pair of wire cutters is very different looking from a pry-bar for example! There are some tools provided with an alternative moulded clamp, but not all.
Moving on to the turret, the inside of which is superbly detailed. The gun consists of that slide-moulded barrel with the hollow end, the breech of which is provided and fully detailed. Again, all the internal parts of the various vision blocks are constructed from transparent parts, the supplied co-axial M34 is a second generation one, and the hatches are supplied as separate parts with some detail on their inner surfaces.
The track supplied are of the 'Magic Track' sort, supplied in two different shades of grey so that you don't get them mixed up, dark grey on the left, light grey on the right!
Marking Options There are seven option catered for on the instruction and decals sheet. All seven are panzer grey reflecting the early War period of this vehicle. For full details please see the instruction scans below.
Conclusion It's
definitely one of those must-builds for me. Most of what comes in for
review, even if I review it, is eventually sent to somebody else to
build. There are certain kits however, that you just really want to
build yourself...even if you don't have the time! Displayed with all
the hatches opened, and with a crew standing nearby for scale and not
obscuring that interior, this kit screams out to be built. With a few
small additions such as wiring etc., it could easily be a stunner! Recommended. - Vinnie Branigan 6572: Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf B
Details on the rear such as the lifting hooks, toolboxes (larger box can be modeled open) and splashguard are all separate parts. The tow coupling has PE for the pintle’s chain. The multi-part exhaust comes with a photo-etched heat shield with the characteristic perforations.
- Neville Lord Kit Review: Dragon Models 1/35 Scale ‘39-‘45 Series Kit No. 6572; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. B - Smart Kit; 883 parts (540 in grey styrene, 216 “Magic Track” links, 90 etched brass, 33 clear styrene, 3 pre-bent steel wire, 1 preformed etched brass); price estimated at US$45.50
Advantages: DML now has produced a first-rate early variant of the Pzkw. II family; new bits improve on earlier kits; full interior
Disadvantages: daunting number of parts for a relatively small vehicle; consideration should be giving to using DS Plastic tracks for smaller vehicles such as this one
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all early war German fans
There is an old military saying on equipment – “you run what you brung.” This was certainly true of the Germans in 1939-1940 as they had not been able to create the armored force they had planned before combat operations commenced. Therefore they wound up with a large number of tanks being the light Pzkw. II models armed with a 2 cm gun and a 7.92mm machine gun, with a maximum of only around 15mm of armor protection at any one spot on the vehicle. At least even this lowly vehicle had a separate commander and gunner, which put them one step up on the Soviet tanks they would face in 1941.
While the vehicles were nimble and fast for their time, they were not the weapon of choice and even in the Polish campaign it was discovered they were easily knocked out by antitank rifles. Later most of the survivors underwent an up-armoring program, and serious changes were made in the final major production model, the Ausf. F. Still, over 1,000 of the evolutionary Ausf. c and the production A, B and C variants were built before production ended on these models early in 1940.
In 2008 DML released their Kit No. 6432, Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. C mit Zusatzpanzer, which was one of the remanufactured vehicles with added armor protection. They have now gone back and produced a straight Ausf. B with the early thin armor protection and also some odd bits not usually seen, such as the short-lived antiaircraft machine gun for the commander. The kit now has another 63 parts over that release but adds 49 new parts to cover the major differences, mostly in the bow and upper hull and turret external details.
As previously noted with Kit 6432, DML has made use of their Marder II and Pzkw. II Ausf. F kits and made the necessary changes for this kit. First and foremost are a new hull with “rolled” lower glacis plate and new springs which more accurately represent the lighter tank ones and not the reinforced self-propelled gun springs which came with the Ausf. F. This vehicle with proper changes (and I am sure either DML or cyber-hobby.com will provide them!) can represent nearly any one of four variants (c, A, B or C) so anyone wanting the early Polish/French campaign Pzkw. II variants now has a “canvas” with which to work.
As before this kit comes with a full interior. Again it comes with a number of J sprues, with most of the interior parts. Bins and hatches all have separate lids so the interiors can be displayed, but no tools, rations or internal “chaff” is provided for the stowage bins. The model also offers tools with molded on straps and tools without, as well as all of the proper etched brass straps and mounts for affixing them.
The turret now sports the original split-flap hatches for the commander as well as the earlier viewer covers for the turret view blocks. The 2 cm is complete and the model uses a complete MG-34 from the generic German weapons sets. This comes with the ground mount for the bipod and ground sights, which should be removed prior to installation but may not be necessary (it uses flaps vice an aperture installation). Note that the AA MG mounts low on the right side of the casemate and not on the turret – I think I understand why this feature was dropped from the original vehicle’s “options” list!
As noted the running gear here does differ from the Marder II, and provides both new springs and mounts as well as new idlers. The kit again uses the “Magic Track” single link type, which may be the one area where the Tamiya kit – with its already ballyhooed link-and-length tracks, retains an advantage. With the links being no larger than a good sized medium tank’s tracks in 1/72 DML should give serious thought to making a set of DS tracks for these kits. As usual “Magic Tracks” links differ slightly by color (but the easier way is left side on the header card – left, right side – right.)
Technical assistance on this project was provided by Ed Kusiak, Tom Cockle and Gary Edmundson.
A total of seven finishing options are shown – however all are solid grey: 5./Pz.Rgt. 35, 4th Panzer Division, Eastern Front 1941 (white 521 with black crosses); Pz.Rgt. 15, 11th Panzer Division, South Russia 1941 (white 2 - red dot); Pz.Rgt. 18, 18th Panzer Division, Central Russia 1941 (white 704, white outline crosses); Pz.Rgt. 3, 2nd Panzer Division, Greece 1941 (white R02, white outline crosses); 1./Pz.Rgt. 24, 24th Panzer Division, South Russia 1941 (white 368 with snake on stick); Pz.Abt. 101 (Flamm), Central Russia 1941 (white 300, white outline crosses); and, 1./Pz.Abt.zBV40, Denmark. 1941 (red 622, black crosses). A very nice sheet of Cartograf decals covers these targeted markings.
Overall this is “Chapter 3" of the Pzkw. II family and should give the Tamiya kit a run for its money. But oddly enough, and as an aside, it has probably the worst box art of any recent DML kit. The artist has shown one German soldier in the foreground and - unless the Germans were using “Rupert” type rubber dummies and nobody ever found out – when scaled against the tank in the center of the painting it is about the size of a Tiger I. Perhaps the artist used a DML figure and a Tasca 1/24 scale model for this perspective.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.
Cookie Sewell
Sprue layout:
A 57
Pzkw. II Ausf. F - upper hull and details - Cookie Sewell Copyright 1998-2010 Dragon Models Limited. All Rights Reserved |