Kit: No. 6042
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Dragon, distributed by Marco Polo Import Inc., 532 S. Coralridge Place, City of Industry, CA 91746
Price: $32.98
Comments: Injection molded, 467 parts (2 photoetched), decals.
THE “SIG 33” 15cm field gun mounted on the Panzer III chassis was one of several attempts to mobilize this powerful weapon. Only 24 vehicles were modified this way, and all saw service on the Eastern Front. This development led to the more familiar Brummbar and Sturmtiger self-propelled guns.
Dragon’s kit is neatly molded in light gray plastic, with photoetched screens for the engine intakes. I found a few minor sinkholes on the hull top and torsion bars. The detail is good, with rifling in the gun barrel. The boxy, heavily riveted fighting compartment is captured most convincingly.
Although I had no problem building the kit, there are a few things to watch for. The idler wheel assembly (B28, B16, A13) called for in step two is better added in step four, after the rear hull (A3) is glued to the lower hull. Alignment of the part is difficult otherwise. The idler wheels were a challenge to clean up due to the numerous sprue attachment points.
In step 2 most of the parts with numbers in parentheses attach to the side illustrated. This differs from the other steps. Also, the engine louver covers (E4) have small pins that fit into flashed-over holes on the hull. The instructions neglect to mention that you have to drill these out.
Included in the kit is Dragon’s standard PzKpfw III/IV individual track-link set. These are cleanly molded and assembled easily, but an earlier tread pattern with hollow guide horns appears to have been fitted to this vehicle.
I painted with a combination of Gunze Sangyo (Panzer Color set) and Polly Scale. A small, but accurately printed, decal set is included. The decals went on great and are the best yet from Dragon.
It took me just 20 hours to complete my model, and it looks good compared with photos and information in Chamberlain and Doyle’s Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War II. I like the way its boxy, aggressive appearance came through.
I recommend this kit to any modeler who enjoys building German armor, but keep in mind the extra time you’ll need to assemble the individual-link tracks.
Jim Zeske