Packaging

Master Box’s 1/72 Mk I “Female” British tank with Gaza Modifications comes in a heavy card stock box that opens at either end. Inside is a resalable plastic bag holding the four plastic sprues, one flexible rubbery sprue (tracks), and a small plastic envelope for the decal sheet. The plastic sprues have about 60 parts, but about a quarter of them are reserved for a different variant of the tank.

The front of the box shows an example of the prototype in a Middle Eastern setting. The back has a four-view illustration that also doubles as a painting guide. Two colors are called out, Vallejo 988 Khaki for the main section of the tank and a mixture of gunmetal and black for the tracks.

Trumpeter’s GAZ 67-B is an updated model of the vehicle, but is not an easy build. Less experienced modelers might get frustrated with a lot of cleanup and loose fit of the parts.

Background

The GAZ-67 and the subsequent GAZ-67B were general purpose four-wheel drive Soviet military vehicles built by GAZ starting in 1943. By the end of the war, it was the Soviet equivalent of the Willys Jeep.

The GAZ-67 was a further development of the earlier GAZ-64. The GAZ-67B had a strengthened chassis frame, enlarged fuel tank, a wider track of 1446 mm, and other improvements. It was powered by a slightly more powerful 54 hp version of GAZ M1 4-cylinder 3280 cc gasoline motor, and had a top speed of 90 km/h. Production of the GAZ-67 started on 23 September 1943, and in January 1944 it was replaced by the GAZ-67B.

The AFV

The Churchill was designed as an infantry support tank. The Churchill prototype was built before the start of World War II. The design parameters called for heavy armor and firepower over speed and maneuverability. The idea was that the infantry tank would assist the infantry as it crossed “no man’s land” between the trenches in France, just as they had in World War I. So the ability to stand up to light anti-tank weapons and to cross rough ground, including shell craters, was more important than tank-busting.

The prototypes were still in progress when France fell in 1940. Suddenly the design changed, as there weren’t going to be any trenches in France in the near future. The result of this change was that the Churchill was given a 6-pounder as its main weapon and a more powerful engine was developed.

Dragon’s Sd.Kfz.234/3 is an excellent kit with crisp molding, full interior detail and while complicated, it goes together very well. This new Premium Edition is a reissue of Dragon’s 2007 kit #6257 including new fenders with photoetch storage bin covers & locks, and movable suspension that allows the wheels to be angled for turns.

Vehicle Background

The SdKfz 234/3 was the third in a series of heavy armored reconnaissance vehicles produced by Germany during WWII. It had an open-topped superstructure in which a short-barreled 7.5cm L/24 gun was installed. This gun, surplus from the upgrade of older Panzer IV tanks, was intended for use against "soft" targets. Eighty-eight of the 234/3s were produced by Buessing-Nag between June & December of 1944.

Dragon's latest Panzer III represents the Panzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz. 141/1 Ausf L "Late" production. This kit is a bit of a mix and match from earlier kits, most notably the 2010 Dragon Models 6606 PzIII Ausf N with Winterketten. It also shares a bit of pedigree with the 2011 release of the Cyber Hobby 6422 Pz III ausf L Vorpanzer which builds an "Early" version of the Ausf L.

As early as 1940, Hitler ordered the Pz III to be equipped with the 5 cm Kw.K. L60 but it wasn't until December 1941 that the weapon was finally fitted to the Pz III ausf J. The Pz III Ausf J with the extra armor (Vorpanzer) and the L60 gun evolved into the Pz III ausf L and earlier Ausf Js with these features were re-designated Ausf Ls. Production of the Ausf L ran from June to December 1942 with a total run of 653 vehicles.