This kit by Italeri is a rebox of their 2012 Pz. Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. G kit # 6493 with the addition of upgraded moulds, photo-etch fret and new gluable rubber tracks as stated on their website. Let me preface my review by stating that as modelers we do not always follow the instructions step by step. We tend to skip around completing steps in advance while letting previous steps dry or bond. For this build and review, I did indeed skip steps, but I will describe what I found in each step, pros or cons, so the builder will be enlightened as to what needs addressed during the build. I also will not review any historical data pertaining to the Panther tank as I assume the builder will review historical data prior to the build. The Panther tank I will be constructing represents Panther #122 under the command of Oberleutnant Rasim, which was destroyed and knocked out east of Berlin in late April 1945.

This kit is a representation of the British Army’s A13 Cruiser Tank that was captured by the Germans and placed in service for the Russian Campaign.

This is a multimedia kit but the use of the Photo-Etch is required, there are no optional plastic parts. Please be aware that some of the plastic parts are very, very small and will take a steady hand to get them off of the sprue without damage. And when they are off the sprue these minuscule parts do their very best to hide or get lost in the carpet or even on the work table.

Step 1 This step builds the chassis and includes the springs for the axels.

Step 2 This step builds the wheels drive sprocket and idler wheels, my particular sample had a short shot on some of the wheels. Bronco was very quick to replace those with a replacement sprue.

Step 3 This adds the front transmission housing along with some photo etched on the front of the tank.

The LaCrosse missile was one of the first tactical missiles designed and operated by the U.S. Army during the early years of the cold war. Put into production in 1959, the missile was capable of carrying a variety of warheads, including nuclear, and was fired from the back of a modified cargo truck. Apparently there were numerous problems with maintenance and the system was dropped from the inventory by 1964. Looking back over fifty years, it gives me pause to reflect how casually we regarded the possibility of nuclear conflict back then. That Armageddon could be initiated by a couple of guys in a truck seems lunacy now, but that was the world in those days.

Towards the closing days of WW2 Germany was desperate for any type of functioning fighting vehicles they could get. This led to the mounting different weapons on any available chassis that they had. One of the weirder vehicles was created by mounting the infamous 88mm Flak 36 on a Panzer IV chassis. There is very little information available on this vehicle but it does appear to have at least made it to the prototype phase. The chassis was not modified with stabilizers, so there is some speculation that the 88mm’s traverse was limited to just a few degrees off front center, similar to the Ferdinand. Also the Panzer IV was not designed to handle the recoil of the 88mm so the recoil may have shattered the suspension when fired.

Dragon recently released this oddity in kit form, however, it appears that the kit may actually be just a re-boxing of an older Cyber Hobby white box kit that has become a bit of collector’s item.

History

By the outbreak of WWII over 400 Albion 3-Point Fuellers were in use with the RAF both in Europe and the Far and Middle East. Many went to France with the RAF in 1940, and suffered a similar fate to the vehicles of the British Army, being abandoned on the run back to Dunkirk.

Those that remained gave sterling service during the Battle of Britain, helping to quickly refuel fighters in between sorties, their three refueling hoses drastically cutting down the time needed.

Construction

The kit is produced by Airfix, a well-known maker of scale model kits. The kit arrives in a very colorful box with artwork of an Albion refueling a Hurricane. There are some test shot photos displayed on the side of the box showing detail of the cab and pump.