I started this one early 2023 or even late 2022, can’t be sure.
With the interior parts, it has taking me a lot time, slow building but also with a dozen other kits on the bench, I’m still a long way to finish it.
I started the wheels last week, and I still need to touch up some parts to get them done.
A lot of work needed on the ammo boxes and some delicate PE work for the transmission.
It’s a great kit, I mean the detail in unbelievable everywhere but it’s time consuming.
Starting to get a few things in place, but I still have a tone of work to do here before closing up the hull… weeks maybe months…
Looking good!
Enjoying following along.
I messed up here… the plastic part where all these small PE roundels go… is a little too short, I left PE10 and 2x PE20 out, and I also misplaced / switched PE15 with PE7, that was my mistake, and then it was too late to go back.
Working on the interior. Radio too, a lot of PE, it took me a lot of time…
Great job so far Nito.
I have one of the Panzer IVs from Tristar and it has as many parts as the Dragon Panzer IV E does. I’ll get to it one of these days. But I’m kinda dreading it lol
I understand it … this Pz38 with interior is quite challenging , a lot of detail everywhere, the worst part is the transmission, but the plastic parts are quite good.
There is too much detail on some of those interior parts and most of the interior you have to guess the colors since there’s no info.
Since I’m also doing some Panzer IV’s, one from Dragon (Ausf.A) and Tristar(Ausf.B)
I can tell you that the Tristar is easier to work with, also detailed and the instructions are not as challenging as Dragon’s.
That’s good to know. I loved the Dragon Panzer IV I built but it had a ton of parts; I compared the bogie assembly between the two kits and Tristar had maybe 2 or 3 less parts. Still 10-12 parts per bogie is enough to drive you crazy!
The bogie assembly ans suspension is much easier to work with , I was a little worried after doing the Dragon Ausf.A, but the Tristar/ HobbyBoss, it looks like a lot but it’s much easier.
Fitting, cleaning up the parts, all worked well with the Ausf.B and you don’t have to triple check the instructions…
Just my 2 cents… all these manufacturers should always look at Tamyia first before starting to complicate and engineering useless details on their new moulds.
I think in fairness to Dragon, I think their intentions were to make the model conducive to diorama builders. For instance, they give you the gears that go inside the final drives which could make for a nice maintenance scene, the tires for the road wheels are separate as well etc.
Once the Germans took over, they painted them to German standards and colors, or equivalents.
Ken
Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of Dragon kits, and might get some more in the future.
But sometimes their instructions are wrong and confusing.
Despite the high part count of Tristar ( now HobbyBoss ) Panzer IV’s, I find the boogie and suspension assembly easier to build.
In the next Panzer’s, Ausf.C , I will build them side by side , a Dragon and Tristar kits, so it will be easier to see the differences with the same version of Panzer IV.
A+++, I too much prefer TriStar’s interpretation on the earlier Pz IV’s to Dragon for the same reasons. Keep wishing Hobby Boss would reissue at least one of the TriStar Pz IV suspension kits.
Absolutely agree. Dragon’s instructions are difficult and confusing at times to put it mildly. I found them ok on their Panzer IV E I built.
