Dragon certainly has produced a lot of Panzer IV kits and this latest one comes with some parts with Zimmerit on them, so you don’t have to apply it. This kit, other than the new Zimmerit parts, is a duplicate of their earlier kit no. 6300 (May 2009) of the Panzer IV Ausf H late production. Dragon also has supplied DS tracks rather than a set of “magic tracks”. We’ll see during the build how this works out. In the Dragon fashion we have at least 23 sprues (two of which come from their Brummbar kit) and as the box top states “over 520 parts”. I did not count the total parts, but just the parts marked "not for use" came to 158. I used about 200 parts on this model, so your spare parts box will have a large addition.

The Bell “Hueys” have been a workhorse of rotary wing groups in many air forces for decades. The UN-1N/Bell 212 is the twin engine of the ‘Huey’-family, sporting an enlarged fuselage.

This kit is a re-issue of the venerable “Twin Huey” from Italeri. The kit comes in two sprues (molded in medium gray plastic) plus a third sprue of clear parts. There is no flash and no ejector pin is located in any visible area. (Good engineering there!) The sprues include 7.62 mm machine guns. Decals look very nice, although the green on the Italian national markings seems to be a little bit out of register.

A Brief History

The wz. 34 armored car was developed as a modification of the wz. 28 half-track armored car with the tracked wheels being replaced with tires. This allowed simpler maintenance and improved the off-road capabilities. Ten squadrons of armored cars (80+ vehicles) were mobilized in September 1939. In these first days of fighting, the cars were used for reconnaissance and support. Polish crews achieved success by using the element of surprise despite German equipment superiority.

The Junkers JU-52/3m was to the Luftwaffe what the Douglas C-47 was to the American military during World War II. Stemming from Junkers’ World War I all-metal designs, the JU-52 first appeared in 1931 as a large, single engine transport, the last of which was produced during 1935. Only a few were built, but the trimotor JU-52/3m first flew in 1932, and it was an immediate success, being sold to Bolivia and Colombia as well as other European governments. Lufthansa began operating the type in 1932. Powered by a variety of engines, including a Diesel, the type quickly became a standard airliner during the middle thirties, and when the clandestine Luftwaffe was created after Hitler’s rise to power, the JU-52 was adapted as a bomber, seeing service in Germany and during the Spanish Civil War. It was World War II, however, that proved the versatility and usefulness of the type, and it was said that it was used for every military role possible except as a fighter.

The Kit

The kit is molded in a white styrene and also has a generous sprue of chrome parts, and rubber wheels. There is also quite an arsenal of weapons included, (M-16, Thompson sub-machine gun, M1, shotgun, pistol, and a grenade launcher). I guess Sheriff Rosco always wanted to be on a SWAT team. This kit depicts the Dodge Monaco police car and is a very good representation of that vehicle. It also includes a nice engine that could be detailed if you wanted to. One problem is that the hood of the car has no hinges to open so you will have to just lay it next to the kit to show off the engine compartment.

The Build

I don’t normally build car models but my son does, and he especially likes vehicles from different movies and TV shows. When he saw this up for review he wanted it for his collection, so I agreed that we could build it together.