Dragon Models offers up yet another premium early Tiger I kit for German WWII armor enthusiasts; this time with the famous ‘131’ vehicle captured in North Africa. This particular vehicle was shipped to Tunisia between 12 March and 16 April 1943. The tank was assigned to No. 3 Platoon in No. 1 Company of the 504th Schwere Heerespanzerabteilung (German heavy tank battalion) during the North African Campaign. It bears the turret number 131 by which it has come to be known. Preserved at The Tank Museum in Bovington, England, it is the only operating Tiger tank in the world.

The kit contains a 3 ton truck, apparently an Opel Blitz although it does not say so, a driver figure, and a sprue of fuel drums, jerry cans, bags and rolled up tarps, and decals for two marking options.

There are two duplicate sprues for the wheels and tires, some suspension parts, headlights and other parts that are identical. The ejector pin marks are on inside of truck bed and inside of the doors and easy to hide. Unfortunately, there is no option for canvas cover to be over the bed. There is also no engine in the kit. The grill is molded solid as are the tool clips. The kit does have an option for clear headlight lenses or covered headlights with a horizontal slit across the face of the headlight.

Assembly

Initially the assembly went very well. The parts fit well and are generally designed for easy assembly. The steering column inserts from engine well side of the firewall and is very secure, ensuring proper angle of the steering wheel.

No one needs to remind the typical armor modeler of the significance of the Russian T-34 in the development of modern armor. I have at least twenty variants of this machine in my own collection, and have been fascinated with this vehicle ever since Tamiya released the very first decent versions back in the 1970’s.

This latest addition to the T-34 inventory comes from Academy models, and is a T-35/85 specific to the last-stage battles of World War 2 that took place within the confines of the German capital immediately before capitulation. At that point, even twelve-year-old Hitler Youth were being armed with the cheap and effective panzerfaust, and being sent up to the front lines often with nothing more than a solitary single-shot weapon. But they were effective enough to create some consternation among the Soviet armored columns driving into the heart of the city.

This is a review of the metal gun barrel set accessory package associated with Tamiya’s kit of the Panther Auf.D, kit number 35345.

This accessory package comes with both a plastic sprue containing a detailed breech for the 75mm main gun as well as the metal barrel that is a direct replacement for the plastic barrel supplied in the basic package.

The breech assembly is made up of 14 detailed parts including the scope and coaxial mg breech as well as parts to create the geared elevation system within the turret. There is also a single leftover piece that implies that this accessory kit may be for more than one make of Panther. The gun barrel is beautifully turned in aluminum and is a direct swap-out with no modifications necessary.

Tamiya’s Separate Track Link Set is a direct replacement for the vinyl tracks supplied in their new kit of the Panther Auf. D. Although the kit tracks are really quite nice in terms of detail and are glue-able with standard modeling adhesives, the separate track links feature open teeth and really permit adjusting the sag over the wheels that are such a distinctive feature of the Panther tank.