Bottom Line Up Front: This set brings Tamiya’s 1/48 Panzer V ausf. D kit to the next level. It’s not for the faint of heart though. Like many 1/48 scale PE sets, it contains several sub-assemblies that will make you squint and reach for the Optivisors and the finest set of tweezers you have.

Hauler has one of the most extensive line of aftermarket photo etch for 1/48 scale armor. Their sets add exquisite detail to the already excellent lines of quarter scale AFVs from the likes of Tamiya and Hobby Boss.

This set contains two PE brass frets with upwards of 70 parts covering engine intake mesh, tool brackets, exhaust mounts, etc. The set comes in the standard Hauler clear plastic bag, stiff cardstock backing, instruction sheet and stapled header card.

There are numerous accounts of the various armoured campaigns that defined the major fronts of WWII from the perspectives of all sides involved. Some are exhaustive accounts filled with places, dates, and names that can be excruciating at times to read with the extensive details. Books by Anthony Tucker-Jones usually are a bit easier to decipher and can be enjoyable without getting too much into the minutiae. This book is a good example of this- to the point of being a bit watered down perhaps. The book looks at the entirety of the war from the Allied view-- with the book covering American, British and Commonwealth, and French armor forces and that is no small feat.

Bottom Line Up Front

A surprising swing and a miss for Tamiya on this kit. Technically this kit is very well done, but it’s rather boring and uninspiring. The kit is well engineered with many "modeler-friendly" features that make it a simple, quick build. The kit is molded in dark green plastic with hull weights, link-and-length tracks, poly caps, braided copper wire for the tow cables. Decals depict two vehicles from the Battle of Berlin in 1945. This is a "new tool" kit that does not use any parts from Tamiya’s earlier T-34/76 kit with the die-cast hull.

This is a reissue of the earlier MaxxPro kit issued two years ago, with the addition of Spark II mine roller parts. The ‘User Manual’ is twenty pages containing a map of the kit’s parts outlining 22 steps, a color four-view for one vehicle and no color suggestions or paint chart, though the four-view indicates that Gunze Sanyo Mr. Color were used in constructing the model.

This kit contains approximately 522 molded parts on 12 sprue trees, a sheet of 41 photo etched parts, four tires and a decal sheet. An example is that there are 3 sprue trees each marked a “B” indicator and each is a separate group of individual items—confusing to say the least.

There seems to be a budding trend in the scale modeling world toward the 'one true scale' of 1/144th models and dioramas. Any number of manufactures have been, for years, been producing some wonderful, small scale armor and aircraft kits. One thing that may have been missing is the ability of the modelers to place their latest small scale creations into context. Diorama or vignette builders have been somewhat at a disadvantage with the lack of 1/144th scaled vehicles with which to enhance the presentation of their small scale projects.

We are at a disadvantage no longer. Brengun, along with some other manufacturers, have been producing some lovely 1/144th scale for some few days now. Brengun has extensive offerings from which to choose: US / German staff cars, US jeep, Russian BTR's, GAZ-69, and now a 1/144th scale German Kubelwagen.