The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is one of the most advanced self-propelled howitzers in the world. The vehicle utilizes a large number of chassis parts of Leopard 1 MBT and Leopard 2 MBT. It is powered by the MTU MT881 engine which provides excellent mobility and is armed with a Rheinmetall 155mm L52 gun with an advanced sight and fire-control system. 60 rounds are stored vertically on board in a horseshoe arrangement. Its automatic shell-loading system has realized automatic management of all ammunition. This vehicle entered German Army service in 1998, and then into armies of Italy, the Netherlands and Greece. The Croatian Armed Forces (COA) recently completed a purchase agreement for 12 former Bundeswehr vehicles to fulfil their NATO requirement.

The Panzerfaust ("armor fist" or "tank fist") was an inexpensive, single shot, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, and was operated by a single soldier. The Panzerfaust was in service from 1942 until the end of the war.

Hauler, a small company out of Czechoslovakia, continues to add to its list of quality aftermarket and modeling supply products; this time with a package of Panzerfaust weapons complete with two cargo boxes in 1/35th scale.

The package contains a small PE sheet, a small sheet of decals, a sheet of instructions and a single baggie containing all the resin parts, including eight Panzerfausts. My sample arrived with one of the two delicate ‘rope’ handles broken off of each of the two boxes.

Thanks first to Aires/Quickboost for providing IPMS USA this review set and IPMS leadership for passing it my way!

OK, here we go. The Meng ME163B is a very nice kit; the addition of a bit of resin is applied in this case to the cockpit. I believe this set could also work in the 40-year old Hasegawa powered-egg… have not tried it yet.

The overall presentation is excellent. The tub itself is well detailed as is. Mounting straps for the “S” stoff tanks on either side of the pilot are there; the back bulkhead has rivet and seat mounting details. A yoke for the rudder pedals mounts in the forward tub, to which are attached massive foot pedals with standard boot harnesses. I recommend you remove about ¼” of the lower cheeks off the forward cockpit tub, because it will not fit in the model fuselage halves if you don’t. A simple fit check indicates that will work as a solution.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 470+ styrene parts on 24 sprues, DS tracks, one photo-etched fret, decals and the set of instructions that need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together. The DS tracks are misshaped with the guide horns flattened, there is substantial flash on the side, and the locating holes to glue the ends together do not line up with the pins on the other end. I tried to salvage these by using the Hobby Trax forms to straighten the guide horns. Generally I was successful, but if your model is to be shown in a contest, I suggest that you replace the tracks with individual links (Magic Tracks or Fruil).

Most Dragon models today are a collection of old sprues with additional new sprues added to create a new variant. Dragon has done so with this kit, and you will have some sprues using the same letter but are called out on the instructions with a separate color (see sprues blue A & B).

As I write this review, the real F-35C aircraft has recently been performing carrier qualification testing with the US Navy aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), which lasted about two weeks. The C-variant is the last release of the F-35 series following the A-variant that will be flown by the US Air Force and foreign nations purchasing a land-based plane, and the B-model, meant for Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) capabilities required by the US Marine Corps and a few other nations. The F-35C is the navalized version of the plane, which has stronger landing gear, longer wings with hinged tips (for storage onboard aircraft carriers), a tailhook, and the largest internal fuel stores of the three versions. If you follow any articles about the F-35, you already know that it is one of the most controversial aircraft ever produced for the United States, and some initial foreign interests have dried up due to early production issues.