Flakpanzer 38(t) 'Gepard'
Flakpanzer 38(t) 'Gepard' Ref. # 6469 Scale: 1/35 Manufacturer: Dragon Price: Unknown Material: Styrene. PE. | |
IntroductionAs everybody knows, the initial air superiority of the Luftwaffe on the skies over Europe, was overturned by Allied air forces during the middle of WWII, and left the Germans casting about for an effective anti-aircraft measure that was mobile and could be brought to bear in a matter of minutes to protect their armour. The answer seemed to be to mount a FlaK 38 on a modified Czech manufactured LT-38 chassis, and an initial order for 150 of these was placed. Eventually, only 141 were ever manufactured, since the single 20mm FlaK 38 was found to be inadequate. The KitTo give this vehicle it's proper designation Flakpanzer 38(t) auf Selbstfahrlafette 38(t) Ausf. L (Sd.Kfz. 140) takes a lot longer to type than simply saying Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard. Also, there are some poor souls out there that sem to get really upset when it's called a Gepard. So from here on in, I'm going to call it a Gepard. That way we all know what we're talking about. That's the thing about language....it's constantly evolving! | |
On to the kit then! It's a 'Smart Series' kit, but you wouldn't know it from the contents...it's chock full of sprues and extra 'goodies' that seem to make it hark back to the good old Dragon 'Super kits' such as the Panzer IV E and the Tiger Initial. There are actually ten large sprues of grey styrene, fourteen smaller sprues, and one transparent sprue. There's a separate lower hull moulding, a bag of 'Magic Tracks', three photo-etched frets, two pre-formed wire baskets, a wire tow rope, a decal sheet, and a separate newly-tooled block to fit over the driver's position. | |
Needless to say the moulding is flawless, with absolutely no sinkholes or ejector pin marks where it matters. Or anywhere else for that matter! Construction begins with the lower hull and installation of the running gear, which is of course, familiar to anybody who has built any of the Panzer 38(t) based vehicle from dragon, although in this kit we have newly-tooled roadwheels, which have a ridge around the roadwheel tyre which was missing from those in previous releases. There's also a brand new pair of idlers, with circular lightening holes instead of the 'keyhole' ones in previous releases. The frontal armour of the lower hull has also been reworked. | |
As soon as you have the running gear in place it's on to the inside of the hull, engine and driver's compartment. This is a fairly complete kit, in that both a full driver's compartment and engine compartment is supplied, and there's not much missing. Of course, as with any injection-moulded kits there are of course things that can be added such as wiring etc., but there's not an awful lot you don't get! Full transmission and gearbox, engine, radiator, fuel tanks, driver's controls, radio gear...with a half decent paint job it will look superb! Once you have the inside sorted out, you can move on to the superstructure, most of which is of course, newly-tooled for this particular kit. Of course, all the hatches can be posed opened or closed, yet curiously the hatches aren't detailed on their inner surfaces? At least they're not marred by ejector pin marks though, as they're clean and smooth, so if you want to leave them open, you'll have to seek out further references to scratch the inner surface detail | |
Whilst you're building the upper superstructure, you'll notice that Dragon have not taken the usual route of other manufacturers in moulding the armoured walls over-thick but bevelling the edges to make the appear more scale thickness. Instead, they've just moulded them to scale thickness to begin with. Since most of the structure has detail on both sides, this is a positive boon. The on-vehicle tools in this kit are supplied with only photo-etched clamps, the moulded-on variety not being supplied. Whilst I see these as better, there may be some that prefer the latter type? New fenders are supplied to go with the new upper superstructure, and the benefit of only PE toolclamps being supplied is that there are no locating holes present in the fenders. I'm also happy to see that Dragon provide a plan view of both fenders for placement of the tools correctly...something missing in previous kits. | |
Now the good stuff! That fighting compartment! Just in front of it there are two engine access panels that can be posed open to reveal all that detail in the engine compartment. For those unfamiliar with this vehicle, the pedestal mount for the flak 38 was of an unusual octagonal structure that allowed ammunition boxes to be stored in it at an angle. This has been recreated by Dragon as a One-piece slide-moulded part. As mentioned earlier, all the side walls are reproduced commendably thin, and totally free of ejector-pin marks. The walls can be displayed up or down, and Dragon even supply two versions of the wall retaining latches for this. For crew gear attached to the inside brackets, Dragon supply one of their second generation kit personal kit sprues, so you'll have plenty left over for the spares box too. The FlaK 38 supplied is the one from their earlier release, and can be posed at any one of four different elevations with the installation of different parts. This is an entire kit on it's own. Many photo-etched parts are included, e.g. for the gun shield, and various fixtures, brackets etc. There are also two lovely pre-bent spent shell baskets provided. Although it builds up into an extremely complicated looking assembly, and the barrel is drilled, it would benefit greatly from the addition of an aftermarket replacement. The tracks supplied in the kit are those in the original 38(t) kit and are beautifully moulded, each separate link having a tiny casting number already moulded into it's surface. Even though you'll need a magnifying lens to see them...you'll know they're there! | |
Marking optionsAs far as I know, the majority of these vehicles were sent to units on the Western front, and Dragon reflect this in their choice of markings. Markings are provided for six versions, all in France during 1944. 21.Pz.Div., Normandy 1944 - Green angular over dark yellow Unidentified Unit, 1944 - Brown and green squiggles over dark yellow 12.Pz.Div., 'HJ', France, 1944 - Dark yellow 12.Pz.Div., 'HJ', France 1944 - Brown and green clouds over dark yellow 12.Pz.Div., 'HJ', France 1944 - Whitewash over dark yellow 12.Pz.Div., 'HJ', France 1944 - Brown irregular patches over dark yellow ConclusionThere are some modellers already berating Dragon for their choice of model. Sadly in my view. They forget that Dragon are a commercial company, and if they can get a particular model released before the competition...they have a duty to do so. This is a superb model by anybody's standard. For anybody to say otherwise is churlish. A full interior, engine, driver's compartment, extra kit, loads of photo-etch. I can't wait to start building it! Very highly recommended. Gepard. My Thanks to Dragon for the review sample For full information on all Dragon products, please see their website, Dragon Models Ltd. |
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